Science & Technology

A new study reveals the unique cell-to-cell communication networks that can perpetuate inflammation and prevent repigmentation in patients with vitiligo disease.

An international research team has investigated the chances of survival of kombucha cultures under Mars-like conditions. Kombucha is known as a drink, sometimes called tea fungus or mushroom tea, which is produced by fermenting sugared tea using kombuc…

Evidence behind the effectiveness of cannabis-related products to treat chronic pain is surprisingly thin, according to a new systematic evidence review. Voters in a number of states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana; however, the resea…

A new study shows that American Sign Language (ASL) is more linguistically complex than previously understood. In particular, new research documents the emergence of the copula — a word meaning to be (e.g. is, was, are, were) — in ASL, something th…

Over the last few decades, researchers have built minuscule molecular machines that rotate or shuttle other molecules. However, it’s difficult to determine the mechanical work and forces that these tiny contraptions produce, which is important when usi…

Seeing a warning icon on a restaurant menu may help consumers identify the high amounts of added sugar hidden in menu items — and it may even convince them to reach for healthier items like water, say researchers.

A new study is providing an enhanced look at the intertwined evolutionary histories of polar bears and brown bears. Becoming separate species did not completely stop these animals from mating with each other. Scientists have known this for some time, b…

New research transforms our understanding of the circumstances and timing of the domestication of chickens, their spread across Asia into the west, and reveals the changing way in which they were perceived in societies over the past 3,500 years.

Researchers are hoping to catch stomach cancer before it develops in at-risk patients. Researchers identified a genetic variation that could help identify when patients with Helicobacter pylori are more likely to develop stomach cancer.

Photonics researchers have introduced a novel method to control a light beam with another beam through a unique plasmonic metasurface in a linear medium at ultra-low power. This simple linear switching method makes nanophotonic devices such as optical …

A new study examines mathematical models designed to draw inferences about how evolution operates at the level of populations of organisms. The study concludes that such models must be constructed with the greatest care, avoiding unwarranted initial as…

A recent study found that COVID-19 patients had a roughly 25% increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder in the four months following their infection, compared with people who had other types of respiratory tract infections.

Gathering vision data for hundreds of vertebrates and invertebrates, biologists have deepened scientists’ understanding of animal vision, including the colors they see. The researchers determined that animals adapted to land are able to see more colors…

Although about 20% of Illinois cropping systems are planted to continuous corn, it’s nearly impossible to find fields planted this way for decades at a time. Yet long-term experiments, including over 40 years of continuous corn under different nitrogen…

Biomedical and genetic engineers have developed a process to change the color of a mouse’s tissue to better image its internal physiology. The approach will help researchers isolate and remove sources of strong background noise in biomedical images, gi…