Science & Technology

An interdisciplinary research team has found important clues about the functioning of the sensorimotor cortex. The new findings on neuronal activities in this brain area could be helpful for the further development and use of so-called neuroprostheses….

Healthy diets are rich in antioxidants like amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin C, but exactly how beneficial these micronutrients are for cardiovascular health has long been controversial. Now a new meta-analysis provides some clarity.

Scientists used high energy x-rays to investigate the solid-electrolyte interphase, a chemical layer in batteries that’s key to stabilizing lithium metal anodes. Chemists unraveled this complex chemical mechanisms that is crucial for boosting energy de…

The Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Northern — but no one knew why. A new study lays out the first concrete explanation for this phenomenon. Researchers found two major culprits: ocean circulation and the large mountain ranges in the Northern…

More and more trees are suffering the consequences of decades of human-made climate change. The growth of the European beech has so far suffered decline mainly in southern Europe. European beech is Germany’s most important native forest tree species an…

New research suggests that a common parasite associated with cats turns Yellowstone National Park wolves into risk takers, who when infected are much more likely to disperse across the landscape and become pack leaders.

An international team of researchers has uncovered a new mechanism that enables cancer cells to move throughout the body, providing a potential new target to stop metastasis, which is responsible for 90 per cent of cancer deaths. The team identifies th…

Nearly 10,000 years ago, humans settling in the Fertile Crescent, the areas of the Middle East surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, made the first switch from hunter-gatherers to farmers. They developed close bonds with the rodent-eating cats t…

Scientists have identified an off-patent drug that can be repurposed to prevent COVID-19 — and may be capable of protecting against future variants of the virus — in research involving a unique mix of ‘mini-organs’, donor organs, animal studies and p…

Major ice streams can shut down, shifting rapid ice transport to other parts of the ice sheet, within a few thousand years. This was determined in reconstructions of two ice streams, based on ice-penetrating radar scans of the Greenland ice sheet.

New modeling shows how synonymous mutations — those that change the DNA sequence of a gene but not the sequence of the encoded protein — can still impact protein production and function.

Paying cash to people with obesity for losing a specific amount of weight or completing weight-reducing activities works better than offering stand-alone free tools, such as weight-loss programs, diet books, and wearable fitness trackers, a new study s…

Researchers have uncovered inflammatory markers that may predict which COVID-19 patients are more likely to respond to therapies like the anti-cancer drug pacritinib, according to phase 2 trial results.

Orbital observations unveil the presence of an enormous mantle plume pushing the surface of Mars upward and driving intense volcanic and seismic activity. The discovery reveals that Mars, like Earth and Venus, possesses an active interior, which challe…

Extremely intense light pulses generated by free-electron lasers (FELs) are versatile tools in research. Particularly in the X-ray range, they can be deployed to analyze the details of atomic structures of a wide variety of materials and to follow fund…

Studying an atomic clock on-board a spacecraft inside the orbit of Mercury and very near to the Sun could be the trick to uncovering the nature of dark matter.

AI is a powerful tool for studying the human genome. But its recent popularity has inundated the field with innovation. With so many options, it’s hard to know which AI algorithms work best. Computational scientists have now come up with a solution cal…

Women with prolonged mental health problems up to three years after childbirth may be suffering from irregular immune system responses, according to new research.

Researchers have developed a new method for producing a key component of lithium-ion batteries. The result is a more affordable battery from a faster, less wasteful process that uses less toxic material.

Researchers have found that growing human intestine-like spheroids in suspension and transferring them to a bioreactor for maturation results in the generation of differentiated human intestinal organoids (HIOs) suitable for subsequent transplantation …