Science & Technology

Using high quality molecular data, researchers have re-investigated a long-standing question about the position of two phyla of small aquatic invertebrates — Kamptozoa and Bryozoa — on the evolutionary tree.

Recently, a group of 23 science and policy experts from the U.S. and Canada published a review of mining risks to watersheds ranging from Montana to British Columbia and Alaska. The paper brought together experts in salmon ecology, watershed science, m…

Researchers are developing precision optical sensors for telescopes and observatories. The team has now improved the spectra resolution of their superconducting sensor, a major step in their ultimate goal: analyzing the composition of exoplanets.

The fossil record tells us about ancient life through the preserved remains of body parts like bones, teeth and turtle shells. But how to study the history of soft tissues and organs, which can decay quickly, leaving little evidence behind? In a new st…

Researchers report the development of a chemical-based sequencing method to quantify different epigenetic markers simultaneously. Their method, called NT-seq, short for nitrite treatment followed by next-generation sequencing, is a sequencing method fo…

Scientists have developed a new CRISPR-based technology that could offer a safer approach to correcting genetic defects. The new ‘soft’ CRISPR approach makes use of natural DNA repair machinery, providing a foundation for novel gene therapy strategies …

Scientists have discovered a convergent mechanism that may be responsible for how two top-ranked genetic risk factors for autism spectrum disorder/intellectual disability (ASD/ID) lead to these neurodevelopmental disorders.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently listed a new sibling diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), termed complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). An international team has now summarized the symptoms of the long-awaited new …

Researchers improve a widely used simulation method for high-performance computing clusters.

DNA testing reveals that the wild ancestors of the common domestic and feral pigeons, now extinct in many parts of the world, are still living on islands in Scotland and Ireland.

A 15-year study details the origins and diversity of every known mineral on Earth, a landmark body of work that will help reconstruct the history of life on Earth, guide the search for new minerals and ore deposits, predict possible characteristics of …

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are defined by pathogenic accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain. Now, however, scientists have established that the p62 protein, which is involved in cellular protein degradation, can pr…

Adolescents are over three times more vulnerable to developing a cannabis addiction than adults, but may not be at increased risk of other mental health problems related to the drug, according to a new study.

Pesticides and heavy metals in soil may have detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system, according to a review paper.

A new study has found humpback whales can learn incredibly complex songs from whales from other regions.

HIV has an ‘early and substantial’ impact on aging in infected people, accelerating biological changes in the body associated with normal aging within just two to three years of infection, according to new research.

After the Big Bang came the earliest galaxies. Due to the expansion of the universe, these galaxies are receding away from us. This causes their emissions to be redshifted (shifted towards longer wavelengths). By studying these redshifts, it is possibl…

A research team develops a sound-sensing skin-attachable acoustic sensor. The new sensor decreased in size and increased in flexibility and is applicable as auditory electronic skin.

Researchers investigating the exposure of small mammals to plastics in England and Wales have found traces in the feces of more than half of the species examined. The densities of plastic excreted were comparable with those reported in human studies.