Artificial intelligence uncovers new insight into biophysics of cancer
For the first time, artificial intelligence has been used to discover the exact interventions needed to obtain a specific, previously unachievable result in vivo, providing new insight into the biophysics of cancer and raising broad implications for biomedicine.
[AI]
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Metallisk brint skabt i laboratoriet: Kan give os super-raketter
Metallisk brint – et ultra-sjældent materiale – er en realitet knapt 100 år efter, det først blev foreslået, skriver forskere. Det er i så fald en sensation, der har et enormt potentiale. [HYDROGENMETAL ]SAMME EMNE:
Metallic hydrogen, once theory, becomes reality
Nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists have succeeded in creating the rarest – and potentially one of the most valuable – materials on
SAMME EMNE:
Physicists doubt bold report of metallic hydrogen
Many researchers are sceptical of a paper claiming to have compressed hydrogen to a metallic state.
SAMME EMNE:
Hydrogen Squeezed Into a Metal, Possibly Solid, Harvard Physicists Say
Scientists have been chasing solid metallic hydrogen for decades. The latest claim, published in the journal Science, draws debate.
SAMME EMNE:
Metallic hydrogen finally made in lab at mind-boggling pressure
Diamonds, low temperatures and pressures way above what's found at Earth's centre were used to create a form of hydrogen foreseen back in the 1930s
SAMME EMNE:
Metallic hydrogen, once theory, becomes reality
Nearly a century after it was theorized, scientists have succeeded in creating metallic hydrogen. In addition to helping scientists answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter, the material is theorized to have a wide range of applications, including as a room-temperature superconductor.
SAMME EMNE:
Doubts Cloud Claims of Metallic Hydrogen
A new study reports the compression of hydrogen gas to a metallic state, but skeptics are unconvinced
SAMME EMNE:
Lab-Made 'Metallic Hydrogen' Could Revolutionize Rocket Fuel Scientists have finally created a metallic form of hydrogen that conducts electricity and could be used as an ultralight rocket fuel. [HYDROGENMETAL]
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Earth's orbital variations and sea ice synch glacial periods
Earth is currently in what climatologists call an interglacial period, a warm pulse between long, cold ice ages when glaciers dominate our planet's higher latitudes. For the past million years, these glacial-interglacial cycles have repeated roughly on a 100,000-year cycle. Now a team of Brown University researchers has a new explanation for that timing and why the cycle was different before a mil[ISTIDER]
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Forskere skaber blanding af gris og menneske Selvom vejen stadig er lang, er vi nu et lille skridt nærmere at kunne dyrke menneske-organer i grise.[KIMÆRER] SAMME EMNE:
Forskere skaber gris med menneskelige stamceller Potentialet for at bruge dyr til at dyrke menneskeorganer beregnet til transplantation er nået et skridt nærmere. Amerikanske forskere har skabt en menneskegris ved at blande menneske- og grisestamceller i et grisefoster.[KIMÆRER]
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Why tripping on acid lasts so long New research reveals why a tiny tab of acid on the tongue can set off a daylong trip through hallucinations and other psychedelic experiences. The work shows precisely what the drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) looks like in its active state when attached to a human serotonin receptor of a brain cell, and the first-ever crystal structure reveals a major clue for why the psychoactive effects[LSD] SAMME EMNE:
Extended Trip: Why LSD's Effects Last So Long
Scientists found that when LSD attaches to serotonin receptors, the drug gets locked inside for a long time, which could explain the duration of acid trips.[LSD] SAMME EMNE:
First look at LSD in action reveals acid-trip biochemistry
Studies reveal drug's crystal structure and how it affects people's perceptions of meaning. Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2017.21377[LSD] SAMME EMNE:
LSD literally gets stuck inside your brain
Health New research helps explain why the effects of acid last so long in a new study out this week, a group of scientists report that they have identified the key mechanism behind LSD's long acting effect.[LSD] SAMME EMNE:
Structure of LSD and its receptor explains its potency
Lysergic acid diethylamide — more commonly known as 'LSD' or simply 'acid' — is one of the longest lasting and most potent hallucinogens, but researchers have never understood why LSD's effects linger for 12 hours or more. The key to the drug's psychedelic longevity lies in how it fits into receptors in the brain.[LSD] SAMME EMNE:
Answers to how our brains make meaning, with the help of a little LSD
We all have particular experiences or particular things — a favorite song, for example — that mean much more to us than others. Now, researchers who've studied how perceptions of meaning change when people take the psychedelic drug known as LSD have traced that sense of meaningfulness to particular neurochemicals and receptors in the brain.[LSD] SAMME EMNE:
LSD alters perception via serotonin receptors
Researchers have discovered how the perception of meaning changes in the brain under the influence of LSD. The serotonin 2A receptors are responsible for altered perception. This finding will help develop new courses of pharmacotherapy for psychiatric disorders such as depression, addictions or phobias.
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Young Girls Are Less Apt To Think That Women Are Really, Really SmartGirls are less likely to identify their own gender as brilliant than boys are, even at age 5. One question is whether it's the girls who need to change their thinking about innate intelligence..[PIGESMARTHED]
SAMME EMNE:
Stereotypes about 'brilliance' affect girls' interests as early as age six, new study finds
By the age of 6, girls become less likely than boys to associate brilliance with their own gender and are more likely to avoid activities said to require brilliance, shows a new study conducted by researchers at New York University, the University of Illinois, and Princeton University.[PIGESMARTHED]
SAMME EMNE:
Stereotypes about 'brilliance' affect girls' interests as early as age 6, new study finds
By the age of 6, girls become less likely than boys to associate brilliance with their own gender and are more likely to avoid activities said to require brilliance, shows a new study.[PIGESMARTHED]
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Key to restoring great tomato flavor discovered
What's wrong with the supermarket tomato? Consumers say they lack flavor, so scientists identified the important factors that have been lost and put them back into modern tomatoes.[TOMATFLAVOUR]
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Memories can be disconnected – and it could help those with PTSD
An innocuous smell or sound can be enough to trigger painful memories of trauma. Now researchers have found a way to disconnect linked memories in mice. [TVANGSGLEMSEL
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Cosmic lenses support finding on faster than expected expansion of the universe
By using galaxies as giant gravitational lenses, an international group of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have made an independent measurement of how fast the universe is expanding. The newly measured expansion rate for the local Universe is consistent with earlier findings. These are, however, in intriguing disagreement with measurements of the early universe. This hints at [UNIVERSUDVIDELSE ]
SAMME EMNE:
Flickering Quasars Used To Measure Universe Expansion | Video
Using gravitational lensing, astronomers have imaged distant quasars with the Hubble Space Telescope. They used the imagery to determine that the Universe is expanding quicker that previously thought.
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For this metal, electricity flows, but not the heat
There's a known rule-breaker among materials, and a new discovery by an international team of scientists adds more evidence to back up the metal's nonconformist reputation. According to a new study led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and at the University of California, Berkeley, electrons in vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity [VANADIUMDIOXID ]
SAMME EMNE:
For this metal, electricity flows, but not the heat
Scientists have discovered that electrons in vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity without conducting heat, an exotic property in an unconventional material. The characteristic could lead to applications in thermoelectrics and window coatings.[VANADIUMDIXOID]SAMME EMNE:Absorbing electromagnetic energy while avoiding the heatElectrical engineers at Duke University have createdthe world's first electromagnetic metamaterial made without any metal.The device's ability to absorb electromagnetic energy without heating up has direct applications in imaging, sensing and lighting.

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The polluted brain
Some of the health risks of inhaling fine and ultrafine pollutant particles are well-established, such as asthma, lung cancer, and, most recently, heart disease. But a growing body of evidence suggests that such exposure can also harm the brain, accelerating cognitive aging, and may even increase risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. The link between air pollution and dementia r
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Genmodificerede cyborg-guldsmede skal bestøve og overvåge
Biomedicinsk virksomhed vil gøre guldsmede til levende droner.
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Mareridtsbakterie koster liv i USA: Spreder sig i Danmark
Multiresistent bakterie, der modstod 26 slags antibiotika, er kommet for at blive. Vi skal gøre alt for at begrænse den – og lignende bakterier. Nu, siger speciallæge.
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Can Mom's Blood Pressure Affect the Sex of a Baby?
The concept of being able to predict the sex of a baby during early pregnancy or even influence it by eating or doing certain things when trying to conceive has been the subject of public fascination and debate for many centuries.
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China's new microwave weapon can disable missiles and paralyze tanks
From Our Blogs: Eastern Arsenal An electronics-killing ray has a variety of uses in war. A weapon that uses microwaves to knock out electronic equipment wins a top Chinese science prize.
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People are bad at taking over from autonomous cars
New study offers human understanding for autonomous hand offs People are bad at responding to prompts to take over an autonomous car.
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Biologer renser danske søer med tonsvis af aluminium og syre
Fosforfyldte danske søer er i forsøg blevet renset ved brug af aluminium opløst i syre. Nu skal forsøgene gøres permanente – trist, men nødvendigt, lyder det.
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Dommedagsuret rykker 30 sek. frem: Nu er vi 2½ minut i 12
Valget af Donald Trump som præsident har gjort verden mere usikker, mener komiteen fra Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, der hver år i slutningen af januar stiller på dommedagsuret.
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First 3-D observation of nanomachines working inside cells
Currently, biologists who study the function of protein nanomachines isolate these complexes outside the cell in test tubes, and then apply in vitro techniques that allow them to observe their structure down to the atomic level. Alternatively, they use techniques that allow the analysis of these complexes within the living cell but that give little structural information. In this study, the scient
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Driverless bus makes debut in Georgia at start of US tour
A shuttle bus that drove itself—along with human passengers—through a course in a parking lot near Atlanta is embarking on a tour that will include stops in Texas and California.
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Ikea buys Canada wind farm to offset carbon footprint
Ikea in Canada announced plans to buy a wind farm with 55 turbines in the oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta to offset its local stores' electricity use and reduce their carbon footprint.
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Toward a practical nuclear pendulum
Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) Munich have, for the first time, measured the lifetime of an excited state in the nucleus of an unstable element. This is a major step toward a nuclear clock that could keep even better time than today's best atomic timekeepers.
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Scientists discover BCAS2 involved in alternative mRNA splicing in spermatogonia and the transit to meiosis
Alternative splicing significantly expands the form and function of the genome of organisms with limited gene numbers and is especially important for several stages of mouse spermatogenesis.
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Tiny satellites poised to make big contributions to essential science
Tiny satellites, some smaller than a shoe box, are currently orbiting around 200 miles above Earth, collecting data about our planet and the universe. It's not just their small stature but also their accompanying smaller cost that sets them apart from the bigger commercial satellites that beam phone calls and GPS signals around the world, for instance. These SmallSats are poised to change the way
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Twitter adds 'explore' to make finding tweets easier
Twitter added an "explore" tab aimed at making it easier to find interesting content, the latest move to boost engagement at the one-to-many messaging service.
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Stimulating the brain with electricity may reduce bulimia symptoms
Key symptoms of bulimia nervosa, including the urge to binge eat and restrict food intake, are reduced by delivering electricity to parts of the brain using non-invasive brain stimulation, according to new research.
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New method of harvesting crowd wisdom
The wisdom of crowds is not always perfect. But a team of researchers has found a way to make it better. This method, explained in a newly published paper, uses a technique the researchers call the 'surprisingly popular' algorithm to better extract correct answers from large groups of people.
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Hypoxia due to CHD linked to abnormal neurogenesis and impaired cortical growth
The subventricular zone in normal newborns' brains is home to the largest stockpile of neural stem/progenitor cells, with newly generated neurons migrating from this zone to specific regions of the frontal cortex and differentiating into interneurons. When newborns experience disruptions in cerebral oxygen supply due to congenital heart disease, essential cellular processes go awry and this contri
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Study in teens shows that brain responses to rewards are linked to pain sensitivity
Patterns of brain responses to rewards are a significant predictor of pain symptoms — a link that is already present by adolescence — and may be influenced by gene variants affecting pain sensitivity, reports a new study.
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Gene therapy for Pompe disease effective in mice, poised for human trials
After decades investigating a rare, life-threatening condition that cripples the muscles, researchers have developed a gene therapy they hope could enhance or even replace the only FDA-approved treatment currently available to patients. The therapy uses a modified virus to deliver a gene to the liver where it produces GAA, an enzyme missing in people with Pompe disease.
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New gene-delivery therapy restores partial hearing, balance in deaf mice
Using a novel form of gene therapy, scientists have managed to restore partial hearing and balance in mice born with a genetic condition that affects both.
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Researchers discover how primary tumors can program cancer cells that spread to become dormant, resist cancer treatment
In a first of its kind study, researchers have discovered the conditions by which specific signals in primary tumors of head and neck and breast cancers, pre-program cancer cells to become dormant and evade chemotherapy after spreading. Their findings could lead to new drug development, treatment options and transform the way doctors care for cancer patients to treat metastatic disease.
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Anti-inflammatory diet could reduce risk of bone loss in women
Anti-inflammatory diets — which tend to be high in vegetables, fruits, fish and whole grains — could boost bone health and prevent fractures in some women, a new study suggests.
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Earth's orbital variations, sea ice synch glacial periods
New research shows how sea ice growth in the Southern Hemisphere during certain orbital periods could control the pace of ice ages on Earth.
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How insects decide to grow up
Like humans, insects go through puberty. The process is known as metamorphosis. Examples include caterpillars turning into butterflies and maggots turning into flies. But, it has been a long-standing mystery as to what internal mechanisms control how insects go through metamorphosis and why it is irreversible. Now, a team of scientists has solved the mystery.
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Premature babies don't use sensory-prediction brain process that may be key to development
Babies born prematurely don't use their expectations about the world to shape their brains as babies born at full term do, important evidence that this neural process is important to development.
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New peptide could improve treatment for vision-threatening disease
A new peptide holds promise for improving treatment for degenerative retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. These vascular diseases often result in central vision loss as blood vessels grow into tissues at the back of the eye, where such growth should not occur.
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Feed a cold, starve a fever? Not so fast, study suggests
A discovery into how bacteria control a host's hunger points to new ways to treat infections and appetite loss.
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High-tech maps of tropical forest diversity identify new conservation targets
New remote sensing maps of the forest canopy in Peru identify new regions for conservation effort. Scientists used airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy, to identify preservation targets by undertaking a new approach to study global ecology — one that links a forest's variety of species to the strategies for survival and growth employed by canopy trees and other plants.
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IV contrast for CT is not associated with increased risk of acute kidney injury
Intravenous contrast media (typically iohexol or iodixanol) used in computed tomography (CT) does not appear to be associated with chronic kidney disease, dialysis, kidney transplant or acute kidney injury, despite long-held fears to the contrary. The results of the largest controlled study of acute kidney injury following contrast media administration in the emergency department were just publish
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Gene key for chemically reprogramming human stem cells
Scientists have discovered the gene essential for chemically reprogramming human amniotic stem cells into a more versatile state similar to embryonic stem cells.
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Chronic sleep deprivation suppresses immune systemMany people report getting sick when they don't get enough sleep. A new study helps explain why. Researchers took blood samples from 11 pairs of identical twins with different sleep patterns and discovered that the twin with shorter sleep duration had a depressed immune system, compared with his or her sibling.
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'Survival gene' stops strains of TB mutating into deadly 'superbugs'
A newly found 'survival gene' stops strains of TB mutating into deadly 'superbugs,' outlines a new report. The discovery of a gene called NucS that dramatically reduces mutation rates in mycobacteria — the infectious microbe which causes tuberculosis (TB).
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Roots of Alzheimer's disease can extend as far back as the womb
Biochemical reactions that cause Alzheimer's disease could begin in the womb or just after birth if the fetus or newborn does not get enough vitamin A, according to new research. These new findings, based on studies of genetically-engineered mice, also demonstrate that supplements given to newborns with low levels of vitamin A could be effective in slowing the degenerative brain disease.
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Scientists find brain hormone that triggers fat burning
Biologists have identified a brain hormone that appears to trigger fat burning in the gut. Their findings in animal models could have implications for future pharmaceutical development.
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In NASA Study, Twin Astronauts Show Stresses of Space Travel
Early results from examinations of NASA's Scott and Mark Kelly reveal alterations to gene expression during spaceflight
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Lucy in the Sky with Protein: Key to LSD's Psychoactive Potency Found?
The discovery of how LSD changes a protein’s structure may explain why the drug is so powerful, and why its trips are so long and strange
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Proliferation of Bird Flu Outbreaks Raises Risk of Human Pandemic
In the past three months there have been multiple outbreaks in Europe, Africa and Asia
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Rain from Thunderstorms is Rising Due to Climate Change
More extreme rains could have implications for water management and flooding because the ground can’t absorb as much rainwater when it falls all at once
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First Human-Pig Chimera Is a Step Toward Custom Organs
Scientists at the Salk Institute report today the first ever embryos containing cells from both pigs and humans.
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Researchers have invented new ways to interact that provide a little more control, including taps of the skin, nudges on the side of the watch and breathing on the screen.
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Stadig flere danskere sættes i blodfortyndende behandling
Markant stigning i andelen af atrieflimmerpatienter, der sættes blodfortyndende behandling, viser resultaterne af nyt dansk studie.
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Tre spædbørn smittet med MRSA-bakterie på Næstved Sygehus
Næstved Sygehus har i dag lukket sin neonatal-afdeling efter fund af MRSA-bakterie hos tre spædbørn
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Nyt skelsættende mikroskop på Det Sundhedsvidenskabelige Fakultet
Novo Nordisk Fonden har doneret 60 millioner kroner til et højt-avanceret kryo-elektronmikroskop…
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News at a glance
In science news around the world, the advocacy group 500 Women Scientists adds its voice to the Women's March on Washington, Amsterdam will host Europe's first "body farm" to study the decomposition of corpses, the Netherlands is the latest country to vie to host the European Medicines Agency post-Brexit, the World Meteorological Association determines that 2016 was the hottest year on record, and
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Brazil's ‘doomsday’ scenario
A budget crisis has cut off all public funding for thousands of scientists in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which includes Rio, Brazil's second biggest city. The state's science agency, FAPERJ, is bankrupt. It has fallen $150 million behind on grant payments, and over 2 years has been unable to fund 3670 research projects, raising the risk of a massive brain drain. There is little FAPERJ
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Can dark matter vanquish controversial rival theory?
A long-smoldering feud over the existence of mysterious dark matter is heating up. For decades, a few scientists have argued that dark matter—the stuff thought to make up 85% of the matter in the universe—cannot explain a universal pattern in the motions of spiral galaxies such as our own Milky Way but that a theory called modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) can. Now, a leading theorist argues that
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Japanese military entices academics to break taboo
Shortly after the end of World War II, the Science Council of Japan (SCJ) adopted a statement proclaiming that the country's scientists "will never pursue scientific research for the purpose of war." In keeping with that sentiment, Japan's university professors have largely avoided conducting any military research on campus. For the last 2 years, however, Japan's Ministry of Defense has had a smal
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Out of bounds
Tensions between a graduate student and a prominent biomedical researcher at Harvard University have produced a series of extraordinary events, including an involuntary psychiatric evaluation of the student and a court order against the scientist ordering him to stay 30.5 meters away from the student and have no contact. The student says the forced evaluation occurred because he had filed a scient
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[Perspective] Cracking the problem of ice nucleation
Ice-nucleating particles in Earth's atmosphere have a profound impact on cloud properties. Among the plethora of particle types in the atmosphere, certain feldspars associated with desert dust have been identified as very important ice-nucleating particles (1). As Kiselev et al. (2) show on page 367 of this issue, specific crystallographic features, which only appear in small patches in cracks or
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[Report] Overlapping memory trace indispensable for linking, but not recalling, individual memories
Memories are not stored in isolation from other memories but are integrated into associative networks. However, the mechanisms underlying memory association remain elusive. Using two amygdala-dependent behavioral paradigms—conditioned taste aversion (CTA) and auditory-cued fear conditioning (AFC)—in mice, we found that presenting the conditioned stimulus used for the CTA task triggered the conditi
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Australia's 'fairy possum' faces uncertain future
A tiny possum, an emblem of the state of Victoria in Australia, is rapidly heading towards extinction, say scientists.
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Claim made for hydrogen 'wonder material'
US scientists draw controversy as they claim to have fulfilled the decades-long quest to turn hydrogen into a state where it behaves like a metal.
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Forskere kortlægger indlandsisens bevægelser gennem en million år
Statistisk model gør det muligt at se, hvordan isen har ændret landskabet gennem istider og mellemistider i det vestlige Grønland.
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To probe Parkinson’s, treat the brain like a piece of electronics
If there’s a problem with a piece of electronics, the best way to troubleshoot is to check the flow of electricity through the various circuit components to spot faulty parts. Bioengineer and neuroscientist Jin Hyung Lee, who studies Parkinson’s disease at Stanford University, has adapted that idea to diseases of the brain. Lee, who trained as an electrical engineer before becoming a brain research
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Paris and Michael Jackson: Does Depression Run in Families?
How much do a person's genes influence their risk of developing depression?
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A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes
University of Florida scientists say they have found a recipe that would return flavor that has been lost through breeding of modern hybrids.
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The chemicals in burnt toast and crispy fries won't kill you, but the calories mightHealth We’re pretty bad at identifying which cancer risks make a difference But don’t tell the British government…
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The nuclear arsenals of China and the U.S.: Plans for a future armageddon
From Our Blogs: Eastern Arsenal A quick run-down of they have now, and what they'll get in the coming decades. Here's a quick run-down of the nuclear systems of both countries—and what they are planning to obtain in the next 25 years.
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Robotic food delivery is rolling into the United States in February
Technology Will the Starship bot be the future of takeout? Postmates and DoorDash will test their new delivery boy next month, a six-wheeled robot built by Starship Technologies.
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A young scientist's quest for clean water | Deepika Kurup
Deepika Kurup has been determined to solve the global water crisis since when she was 14 years old, after she saw kids outside her grandparents' house in India drinking water that looked too dirty even to touch. Her research began in her family kitchen — and eventually led to a major science prize. Hear how this teenage scientist developed a cost-effective, eco-friendly way to purify water.
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Starvation and Propaganda as Weapons of War, 1917
Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: January 27, 1917
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Brexit er også Brexatom: Hvem skal nu sikre de britiske atomanlæg?
Efter en del usikkerhed ligger det nu fast, at Storbritannien også forlader Euratom. Det får store konsekvenser for sikkerheden i de britiske atomkraftværker og oprydningen efter fusionsforskningsreaktor.
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Europa giver gensplejsede afgrøder en ny lussing
EU-Kommissionen kunne fredag ikke få flertal for at sige ja til dyrkning af tre typer genmodificeret majs på de europæiske marker.
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Leder: Retten til at tænde ild er ude af trit med den moderne storby
Brændeovne Forurening
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Professor til Kalundborg: Kombinér spildvarme og varmpepumper
Det ærgrer Aalborg-professor, at Kalundborg Forsyning køber varmepumper til at hente lunkent spildevand, mens de lader Statoil lukke skoldhed spildvarme ud til fuglene.
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‘Snefnug’ i søer får fosfor til at dale til bunds
Biologerne er blevet dygtige til at fjerne fosfor fra søerne med aluminium – men det kræver styr på alt fra pH-værdi til fosfortilførsel.
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Værsgo: 8 gode grunde til dobbelt uddannelse
Mød ingeniøren, der blev sognepræst, musikeren, der arbejder som akustikingeniør og datalogen, der læste til psykolog for at forbedre arbejdsmiljøet i it-branchen.
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The ancient Indus civilization's adaptation to climate changeWith climate change in our own era becoming increasingly evident, it's natural to wonder how our ancestors may have dealt with similar environmental circumstances. New research methods and technologies are able to shed light on climate patterns that took place thousands of years ago, giving us a new perspective on how cultures of the time coped with variable and changing environments.
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Anthropologists uncover art by (really) old masters—38,000 year-old engravings
An international team of anthropologists has uncovered a 38,000-year-old engraved image in a southwestern French rockshelter—a finding that marks some of the earliest known graphic imagery found in Western Eurasia and offers insights into the nature of modern humans during this period.
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A new approach to 3-D holographic displays greatly improves the image quality
The potential applications of three-dimensional (3D) digital holograms are enormous. In addition to arts and entertainment, various fields including biomedical imaging, scientific visualization, engineering design, and displays could benefit from this technology. For example, creating full-sized organs for 3D analysis by doctors could be helpful, but it remained a challenge owing to the limitation
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A chain reaction to spare the air
Twelve billion tons of carbon dioxide spew into the air every year from power plants burning coal, oil and natural gas around the world. And energy demand only keeps growing.
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Climate models may underestimate future warming on tropical mountains
In few places are the effects of climate change more pronounced than on tropical peaks like Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, where centuries-old glaciers have all but melted completely away. Now, new research suggests that future warming on these peaks could be even greater than climate models currently predict.
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The French ponder 'joie de vivre' in a work-free future
What role will work play in our future lives populated with robots and driverless vehicles? As France prepares to elect a new president, it is wrangling with bigger issues than simple election manifestos.
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A new test for life on other planets
A simple chemistry method could vastly enhance how scientists search for signs of life on other planets.
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What can we learn from lottery spending?
What can we learn from where people buy their lottery tickets—and how much they spend?
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Microgel composite could overcome fibrin blockade to accelerate healing
In regenerative medicine, the ideal repair material would offer properties that seem impossibly contradictory. It must be rigid and robust enough to be manipulated surgically, yet soft and porous enough to allow healing cells to pass through it to launch repair and regeneration processes.
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NASA airborne mission chases air pollution through the seasons
Earth is a planet that breathes with the seasons. In winter months atmospheric gases and air pollution accumulate, waiting dormant until spring and summer bring sunshine and plant-life, sparking transformations that change the make-up of gases in the atmosphere. A NASA airborne mission will take a world-wide survey of these seasonal transformations by flying from the heart of winter in the Norther
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Nordic countries are bringing about an energy transition worth copying
What can we learn from the Nordic low-carbon energy transition given the new US leadership vacuum on climate change? A new study by Professor Benjamin Sovacool at the University of Sussex offers some important lessons.
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Ocean acidification can promote shell formation
Fact: More carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air also acidifies the oceans. It seemed to be the logical conclusion that shellfish and corals will suffer, because chalk formation becomes more difficult in more acidic seawater. But now a group of Dutch and Japanese scientists discovered to their own surprise that some tiny unicellular shellfish make better shells in an acidic environment. This is a comple
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Rapid trait evolution crucial to species growth, study finds
Rapid evolution at the edges of a given species habitat may play a larger role in population expansions than previously suspected, according to the results of a new University of Colorado Boulder-led study.
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New technique could lead to safer, more efficient uranium extraction
The separation of uranium, a key part of the nuclear fuel cycle, could potentially be done more safely and efficiently through a new technique developed by chemistry researchers at Oregon State University.

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Researchers list reasons not to lick a toad
As human diseases become alarmingly antibiotic resistant, identification of new pharmaceuticals is critical. The cane toad and other members of the Bufonidae family produce substances widely used in traditional folk medicine, but endangered family members, like Panama's golden frog, Atelopus zeteki, may disappear before revealing their secrets. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues at the Universi
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Toxic mercury in aquatic life could spike with greater land runoff
A highly toxic form of mercury could jump by 300 to 600 percent in zooplankton—tiny animals at the base of the marine food chain—if land runoff increases by 15 to 30 percent, according to a new study.
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Acupuncture for Infant Colic Part 2: Acupuncture Boogaloo
On Wednesday, Steve Novella published a post discussing a recently-published study investigating the use of acupuncture for infant colic, as did a friend of SBM back on January 19th. As expected, they did a masterful job pointing out weaknesses in the study design and the absurdity of the authors’ conclusion when put into the context of a science-based understanding of acupuncture’s plausibility
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Planet Earth makes its own water from scratch deep in the mantle
Computer simulation confirms that water can form within our planet rather than arriving from space, and the process may explain mysterious deep quakes
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Eye muscles are resilient to ALS
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS, is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that affects all voluntary muscles in the body leading to paralysis and breathing difficulties. Eye muscles, in contrast to other muscles, generally retain their mobility even in the final stages of the disease.
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Study reveals public perception of police and body-worn cameras
There is a push to expand the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in policing. Yet, limited research and only anecdotal evidence suggests that the public supports using them in law enforcement. Results of a new study describes general public perceptions of BWCs with some unexpected results.
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New drug SAK3 may offer hope to Alzheimer's disease patients
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that plays an important role in controlling attention and cognition. Acetylcholine system dysfunction is believed to be one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia.
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Twitter data could improve subway operations during big events
In a preliminary study, engineers found that as subway use swells during events that draw big crowds, so too does the number of tweets at these events. The results suggest that data from Twitter, and possibly other social media platforms, can be used to improve event planning, route scheduling, crowd regulations and other subway operations.
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Scientists unveil new form of matter: Time crystals
Normal crystals, likes diamond, are an atomic lattice that repeats in space, but physicists recently suggested making materials that repeat in time. Last year, reseachers sketched out the phases surrounding a time crystal and what to measure in order to confirm that this new material is actually a stable phase of matter. This stimulated two teams to build a time crystal, the first examples of a no
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Precision medicine: Study creates 'mini-lung' to study effect of pulmonary fibrosis drugs
Pulmospheres, three dimensional multicellular spheroids composed of lung cells from individual patients, were shown to be effective in predicting the efficacy of medications for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to new research findings.
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'Sweet' 1950s separation method to clean nanoparticles from organisms
Giving a 65-year-old laboratory technique a new role, researchers have performed the cleanest separation to date of synthetic nanoparticles from a living organism.
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How the border guards fail in HIV infection
Using a novel technique to analyze antibodies in fluid collected from intestines of 81 HIV-1-infected and 25 control individuals, researchers have found abnormal gut antibody levels in people infected with HIV-1.
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Examining women's bones during menopause may help head off fractures
A new study examined the bone traits of 198 midlife women transitioning through menopause for 14 years. The goal: identifying women who will experience bone fragility well in advance of fracture.
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Physics: Toward a practical nuclear pendulumFor the first time, researchers have measured the lifetime of an excited state in the nucleus of an unstable element. This is a major step toward a nuclear clock that could keep even better time than today's best atomic timekeepers.
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Stem cell secretions may protect against glaucomaStem cell secretions, called exosomes, appear to protect cells in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye, a new study in rats shows. The findings point to potential therapies for glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the United States.
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Oral devices reduce sleep apnea but may not affect heart disease risk factors
In patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), oral appliances that treat the condition by moving the lower jaw forward appear to improve sleep but not reduce key risk factors for developing heart and other cardiovascular disease, according to new research.
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Scientist uncovers physics behind plasma-etching process
A team of physicists has uncovered some of the physics that make possible the etching of silicon computer chips, which power cell phones, computers, and a huge range of electronic devices.
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The link between growth of retail-based clinics, nurse practitioner scope-of-practice reformJust as primary care provider shortages are becoming acute, retail-based clinics in pharmacies and grocery stores are set to fill the gap in accessible patient care. Yet in some states, access to this convenient care is constrained due to restrictive scope-of-practice laws.
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New 'needle-pulse' beam pattern packs a punch
A new beam pattern could bring unprecedented sharpness to ultrasound and radar images, burn precise holes in manufactured materials at a nano scale — even etch new properties onto their surfaces.
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NASA studies cosmic radiation to protect high-altitude travelers
NASA scientists studying high-altitude radiation recently published new results on the effects of cosmic radiation in our atmosphere to help improve real-time radiation monitoring for aviation industry crew and passengers.
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Anthropologists uncover art by (really) old masters
An international team of anthropologists has uncovered a 38,000-year-old engraved image in a southwestern French rockshelter — a finding that marks some of the earliest known graphic imagery found in Western Eurasia and offers insights into the nature of modern humans during this period.
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Impact of genetics on human height is not increasing
The relative impact of genetics on height does not increase with improvements to the standard of living. These are the findings of an international research group that analyzed the impact of genetic and environmental factors on adult height over a span of more than a century. The research material comprised 40 twin cohorts, including more than 143,000 twin pairs from 20 countries.
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Why people are so good at spotting product downsizing and so bad at judging supersizing
Consumers drastically underestimate portion supersizing but are incredibly accurate at spotting downsizing, making it difficult for food marketers to cut giant portions. But there is a way to make customers more receptive to smaller portions, say authors of a new report.
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Safe uti¬li¬za¬tion of die¬ta¬ry su¬gars requi¬res dy¬na¬mic cont¬rol of re¬dox ba¬lance
Without dynamic control of redox balance animals lose their ability to survive on sugar-rich food. The regulatory system to control redox balance involves sugar-dependent gene regulation and protein phosphorylation.
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Absorbing electromagnetic energy while avoiding the heat
Electrical engineers have created the world's first structured metamaterial made without metal that can absorb electromagnetic energy. The advance has direct applications in imaging, sensing and lighting.
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Research suggests way to improve stroke treatments
Working with animal models, researchers now have demonstrated the potential of giving a drug in combination with tPA that might improve stroke outcomes and increase the window of opportunity for the therapy.
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New survey finds many Americans want changes to ACA but few support immediate repeal
Forskere: Vi har 3D-printet hud, der kan bruges til transplantation
Ind i printeren kommer menneskeceller og væv – og ud kommer et stykke fuldt fungerende hud, hævder forkere bag ny 3D-bioprinter.
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Challenging traditional theories on organisms' 'range expansion'
As climate change and biological invasions continue to impact global biodiversity, scientists suggest that the way organisms move to new areas, called range expansion, can be impacted directly by evolutionary changes.
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Finding credibility clues on Twitter
By scanning 66 million tweets linked to nearly 1,400 real-world events, researchers have built a language model that identifies words and phrases that lead to strong or weak perceived levels of credibility on Twitter. Their findings suggest that the words of millions of people on social media have considerable information about an event's credibility — even when an event is still ongoing.
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A wolf's stowaways
Since the year 2000, the Eurasian grey wolf, Canis lupus lupus, has spread across Germany. For researchers, a good reason to have a closer look at the small “occupants” of this returnee and to ask the question whether the number and species of parasites change with an increasing wolf population. This was the case, because the number of parasite species per individual wolf increased as the wolf pop
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Toxic mercury in aquatic life could spike with greater land runoffA highly toxic form of mercury could jump by 300 to 600 percent in zooplankton – tiny animals at the base of the marine food chain – if land runoff increases by 15 to 30 percent, according to a new study. And such an increase is possible due to climate change, according to a new pioneering study.
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CDC's Canceled Climate Change Summit Raises Self-Censorship Concerns
Scheduled speakers cite political sensitivities, but the government’s disease-control agency has not offered a
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Shortages of One Obscure Atom, Key to Medical Scans, Are about to Endanger Millions
Millions of patients depend on a rare radioactive form of one element to scan them for disease. But the old nuclear reactors that make it are shutting down
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Volvo’s Cars Now Spot Moose and Hit the Brakes for You
The latest advance for the safety-obsessed Swedes.
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