Science & Technology

An anti-inflammatory compound may have the potential to treat systemic inflammation and brain injury in patients with severe COVID-19 and significantly reduce their chances of death, according to a new study.

Researchers have developed a protocol for using robotic pets with older adults with dementia. The protocol uses a low-cost robotic pet, establishes ideal session lengths, and identifies common participant responses to the ‘pets’ to aid in future resear…

In a new study, researchers found that antibiotics have sex-specific effects on the gut microbiome makeup of male and female laboratory rats. The findings could have implications for using the drugs in humans to treat or prevent bacterial infection.

SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, but only for women infected in their final trimester, according to researchers. The study of over 5,000 pregnant women is one of the first to look at pregnancy outcomes for COV…

Researchers have developed and validated a new tool known as the Extremist Archetypes Scale to help distinguish different psychological traits found among people engaged in violent extremism.

A new analysis contradicts popular thinking about beliefs in conspiracy theories, suggesting that such beliefs may not have actually increased over time.

Evolution has long been viewed as a rather random process, with the traits of species shaped by chance mutations and environmental events — and therefore largely unpredictable. But an international team of scientists has found that a particular plant …

Researchers have developed a new learning method for robots called WHIRL, short for In-the-Wild Human Imitating Robot Learning. WHIRL is an efficient algorithm for one-shot visual imitation. It can learn directly from human-interaction videos and gener…

The implications of new AI voice research go beyond user experience to making AI more efficient, which could change the industry and significantly reduce carbon footprints.

New research has used motion capture technology to assess the accuracy of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technologies in football. The study suggests that VAR is useful for preventing obvious mistakes but is currently not precise enough to give accurate…

Using data collected over two decades ago, scientists have compiled the first complete map of hydrogen abundances on the Moon’s surface. The map identifies two types of lunar materials containing enhanced hydrogen and corroborates previous ideas about …

A new lab study on garden eels shows how these shy creatures use their burrows, and change their movement and posture, when feeding in strong currents.

A new study provides the first nationwide, small-area analysis of the variation in spending by the three main funders of health care in the United States: Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. The researchers’ goal: to see whether there are regions…

In a series of studies over more than 20 years, evolutionary biologists have demonstrated that paper wasps, despite their tiny brains, have an impressive capacity to learn, remember and make social distinctions about others.

Physicists have demonstrated how simulations using quantum computing can enable observation of a distinctive state of matter taken out of its normal equilibrium. Such novel states of matter could one day lead to developments in fast, powerful quantum i…

A groundbreaking Bayesian method and new statistical analyses of genomic data from geckos in the Philippines shows that during the ice ages, the timing of gecko diversification gives strong statistical support for the first time to the Pleistocene aggr…

Microbiologists have shed light on the structure of an enzyme that produces formic acid from molecular hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The enzyme of the bacterium Thermoanaerobacter kivui was discovered a few years previously by microbiologists…

A new study shows that the experience of racial discrimination affects the microstructure of the brain, as well as increasing the risk for health disorders.

Researchers sampled nearly 10,000 shark fin trimmings from markets in Hong Kong — one of the largest shark fin trade hubs in the world. With a little DNA detective work, they unraveled the mystery of what fin belonged to what species, and found that e…

Researchers tested more than 100 topical cannabidiol (CBD) products available online and at retail stores, and found significant evidence of inaccurate and misleading labeling of CBD content.