The hardy wild grass that could save our bread
An obscure species of wild grass contains ‘blockbuster’ disease resistance that can be cross bred into wheat to give immunity against one of the deadliest crop pathogens.
Science & Technology
Quantum physics sets a speed limit to electronics
Semiconductor electronics is getting faster and faster – but at some point, physics no longer permits any increase. The speed can definitely not be increased beyond one petahertz (one million gigahertz), even if the material is excited in an optimal wa…
Rapid glacial advance reconstructed during the time of Norse occupation in Greenland
The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest ice body in the world, and it has the potential to contribute significantly to global sea-level rise in a warming global climate. Understanding the long-term record of the Greenland Ice Sheet, including bot…
No flight, no bite: ‘Mosquito grounding’ bed net nearly halves malaria infection in Tanzanian children
A novel class of bed net that kills mosquitoes resistant to traditional insecticides by making them unable to move or fly, significantly reduces malaria infection in children, according to new research published in The Lancet. Unlike other insecticides…
Rescued Victorian rainfall data smashes former records
A superhuman effort by an army of volunteers during the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown has resulted in 5.2 million rainfall observations, recorded by hand on paper sheets now stored in the Met Office archives, being added to a digital national record. Th…
Simply printing high-performance perovskite-based transistors
A research team develops high performing p-type transistor using perovskite. Solution-processed metal halide perovskite transistors can now be printed.
Citizen divers aid understanding of fish in the Salish sea
Citizen scientists are increasingly playing crucial roles in understanding fish populations, according to a new study. Over the past 20 years, volunteers have helped monitor more than half of the total fish species known to occur in the Salish Sea.
Cells dancing harmonic duets could enable personalized cancer therapies
Mechanical engineers are using two electronic ‘voices’ singing a harmonic duet to control suspended particles and cells in new and valuable ways. Their prototype device can form and rotate a single-layer crystal from a group of particles, create arbitr…
New research shows certain exercises can help with muscular dystrophy
A new study using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in zebrafish found that certain activities may help strengthen muscles affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe type of muscular dystrophy that affects young boys. The researchers d…
Once called cellular debris, tiny bubbles may play key role in understanding, treating diseases
Scientists have long puzzled about a critical way that cells communicate with one another, but researchers have now used a simple roundworm to solve the mystery.