Science & Technology

People consistently underestimate how much they would enjoy spending time alone with their own thoughts, without anything to distract them, according to new research.

Insects like biting flies and cockroaches are not likely to spread the agent of COVID-19 to humans, according to a recently published article.

New research shows that a decline in a person’s sense of smell over time predicts their loss of cognitive function and can foretell structural changes in regions of the brain that are important in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The findings could le…

A needle-free vaccine patch could better fight COVID-19 variants, such as Omicron and Delta, than a traditional needle vaccine, according to a study in mice.

The movement of elephants through wildlife corridors is directly impacted by differing forms of human pressures and development, new research shows. The study takes an in-depth look at how varying land-use affects elephants and their use of wildlife co…

Restoring coastal vegetation — so called ‘blue carbon’ habitats — may not be the nature-based climate solution it is claimed to be, according to a new study. In their analysis researchers challenge the widely held view that restoring areas such as ma…

An advanced form of cardiac MRI has for the first-time enabled clinicians to measure the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with the life-limiting condition ‘stiff heart syndrome’.

Constructing a tiny robot from DNA and using it to study cell processes invisible to the naked eye… You would be forgiven for thinking it is science fiction, but it is in fact the subject of serious research. This highly innovative ‘nano-robot’ shoul…

In severe COVID-19 patients, the metabolism produces insufficient amounts of certain energy-rich compounds called ketone bodies. However, these energy carriers are needed by two important cell types in the immune system in order to fight the virus effe…

A new study reveals that introduced donkeys and indigenous pumas are helping to resurrect extinct food webs in Death Valley.

New research shows that face shields didn’t give high levels of protection against COVID. They were a popular choice of PPE during the pandemic, but until now there hasn’t been a great deal of evidence about how protective they really are. Researchers …

Inactivity, diets high in sugar and salt, and excess weight account for nine in ten cases of high blood pressure in children and adolescents, according to a consensus paper by heart health. The document, which focuses on hypertension in 6 to 16 year-ol…

Researchers have developed an AI algorithm that accurately and quickly diagnoses idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease. The algorithm makes its diagnosis based only on information from non-invasive examinations, including lung images and medica…

Scientists have used neutron scattering to determine whether a specific material’s atomic structure could host a novel state of matter called a spiral spin liquid. By tracking tiny magnetic moments known as ‘spins’ on the honeycomb lattice of a layered…

Patients should be able to use images and metaphors alongside traditional medical scales to describe their pain to doctors, a new study says.

Graphene scientists have created a novel ‘nano-petri dish’ using two-dimensional (2D) materials to create a new method of observing how atoms move in liquid.