Science & Technology

Methanol made from CO2 in the air can be transformed into carbon neutral fuels. A new mechanistic understanding aids development of this sustainable alternative.

New research builds the case that a Western-style diet — rich in red and processed meat, sugar and refined grains/carbohydrates — is tied to higher risk of colorectal cancer through the intestinal microbiota.

Researchers have now visualized the molecular structure of the LAG3 protein. They describe the crystal structure of LAG3 and how it interacts with molecules produced by cancer cells.

Researchers examined how heat impacts the behavior and physiology of Zebra finches. They discovered that heat altered the activity of hundreds of genes in the testis, but fewer in the brain, suggesting that the brain may be less responsive to extreme t…

Testing the longevity of new electric vehicle battery designs could be four times faster with a streamlined approach, researchers have shown.

A species of sea urchin in the Mediterranean will be able to live in our future climate-changed seas — while other animals will die as waters become hotter and more acidic. Added to this, urchins generally are known to destroy ecosystems as their numb…

Engineers have successfully developed a novel Vacuum Ultra-Violet (VUV) meta-lens which can generate and focus the VUV light, a disruptive technology for the UV optics market.

Vultures perform important ecosystem functions as they clean the landscape by eating carcasses and thus limit the spread of wildlife diseases. Yet, vulture populations are rapidly declining, mainly owing to intentional and unintentional poisoning. Agai…

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is widespread, and so far there is no effective drug. In the search for one, the so-called rocaglates have come into focus: plant compounds that can inhibit the replication of viruses. Researchers have examined a library of chem…

Researchers have discovered electrical brain-wave patterns given off during social interactions in mice. They also observed that mice showing signs of stress, depression, or autism lacked these brain waves. The results reveal more about the mechanics u…

A new research result questions whether the benefits of breast cancer screenings has gradually declined to a degree that it is too small in relation to the costs in the form of overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

Stacking solar cells increases their efficiency. Researchers have now produced perovskite/CIS tandem solar cells with an efficiency of nearly 25 percent — the highest value achieved thus far with this technology. Moreover, this combination of material…

Using light-capturing proteins in living microbes, scientists helped reconstruct what life was like for some of Earth’s earliest organisms. These efforts could help us one day recognize signs of life on other planets.

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is one of the most important methods to study biological function in cells, but it is limited by potential inaccuracies in the data it generates. Now, a research team has developed a new method called terminator-a…

Researchers have developed a virtual robotic limb system which can be operated by users’ feet in a virtual environment as extra, or supernumerary, limbs. After training, users reported feeling like the virtual robotic arms had become part of their own …

The first high-quality genome of the desert locust — those voracious feeders of plague and devastation infamy and the most destructive migratory insect in the world — has been produced. The genome of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is enorm…

Volunteer community scientists, aka citizen scientists, help researchers with data collection that would otherwise be a time-consuming slog. But while community science can be a valuable learning experience, the question remains how useful the voluntee…

An original approach to mass-producing low-cost solar cell foundation blocks could lead to the wide adoption of solar panels made from perovskite ink — a ‘miracle material’ — according to new research.

Scientists reveal an advanced, innovative method that they have developed and used to detect nonvisual traces of fire dating back at least 800,000 years — one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for the use of fire. The newly developed technique …

Researchers identify how acetylcholine sets off a signal cascade in brain cells that directly influence aversive learning and memory formation.