Science & Technology

Models of sea level rise based on our understanding of how Earth’s ice sheets respond to a warming atmosphere could be incorrect, a new study has found. This could have significant implications for future predictions of global sea level rise from the G…

A team has shown experimentally, that hoverflies migrating during the spring orientate north. In late spring earlier this year, a large-scale migration of insects arrived on the Isles of Scilly and mainland Cornwall. Species included many migratory but…

The first ecosystem model that covers the complete food web of the western Baltic Sea predicts how marine life in the region would react to different fisheries scenarios and additional human-induced stressors. The model simulations reveal that ecosyste…

Cancer cells use an unusual mechanism to migrate into new tissue and form metastases there. The same process probably also keeps some immune cells on their toes. According to the study, certain structures, the centrioles, increase in number. This makes…

Resurrecting billon-year-old enzymes reveals how photosynthesis adapted to the rise of oxygen.

The so-called NKCC1 protein is found throughout the human body where it has important functions in organs that process fluids or perform neurotransmission. A research team has now determined a three-dimensional atomic structure of the NKCC1 protein, wh…

Researchers have found that the irregular movement of lithium ions in next-generation battery materials could be reducing their capacity and hindering their performance.

When searching for the causes of illnesses and developing new treatments, it is absolutely vital to have a precise understanding of the genetic fundamentals. Researchers have devised a new technique for this purpose.

Diseases that affect mitochondria — specialized compartments within cells that contain their own DNA and convert the food we eat into energy needed to sustain life — typically interfere with mitochondrial function, but in these two patients, mitochon…

Whether or not an object is indistinguishable from its mirror image has important consequences for its physical behavior. Say you watch a basketball player in a mirror. The ball, the player and their surroundings are, at first glance, just the same in …

A new study compares the effectiveness of two antisepsis aqueous solutions in reducing the risk of infection in patients requiring surgery for open fractures. The research team found that contrary to current international recommendations, chlorhexidine…

Miscanthus and sorghum — both C4 plant species — occupy a distinct niche of the leaf economics spectrum (LES), with greater photosynthetic rates and nitrogen use efficiency than more common C3 plants.

Individuals with Down syndrome have less-frequent viral infections, but when present, these infections lead to more severe disease. New findings show that this is caused by increased expression of an antiviral cytokine type I interferon (IFN-I), which …

The classic view of pain is that it protects by detecting and signaling the presence of harmful agents, but new research shows pain can shield the gut more directly.

Scientists have created a novel thermoresponsive polymer by adding divalent cations to polymers and water solvents. They also succeeded in controlling thermoresponsive properties by changing the type and mixing ratio of ionic species. This new polymer …