Science & Technology

When Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a high-end category 4 storm, it left in its wake the largest catastrophe in the history of the island. Along with the human toll, the devastation impacted all the island’s wildlife, inc…

New research discovered that the fungus Rhizopus fights back against soil predators and human immune cells by partnering with a bacteria called Ralstonia in a two-way partnership.

Very little of the plastic water bottles, milk jugs and yogurt cups we use gets recycled. But chemists now describe a radical method they used to transform tossed out plastic into a tougher, stronger material commonly used for food packaging. Through ‘…

In many mammals including humans, the placenta invades the wall of the uterus during pregnancy in the same way that cancer cells invade surrounding tissues. Using genomic sequences and gene expression information, researchers were able to predict speci…

Researchers report that a prospective study of 14 infants and children demonstrated that convalescent plasma — a blood product collected from patients recovered from infections with the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 — was safe in high…

An imprinted gene associated with development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is switched on in mice who nurse from mothers with metabolic syndrome, even when those mice are not biologically related.

Biologists from Southern and Baja California have published the first major account of the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis in the Mediterranean region of Baja California. Their results indicate that the disease is more prevalent on the peninsula tha…

Critically ill COVID-19 patients on a mechanical ventilator or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) lived more often when randomized to receive baricitinib. Doctors call this drug ‘bari,’ and receiving the pill once a day for up to 14 days yielde…

Researchers have developed a new protocol for monitoring acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common cancer in children, to inform more effective treatment strategies and detect disease recurrence. The personalized mediator probe PCR (MP PCR) u…

An analysis of federal health data indicates that people who have had COVID-19 are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular complications within the first month to a year after infection, according to researchers.

During the first wave of the pandemic, patients with COVID-19 who experienced strokes caused by blockage of blood flow to brain tissues were more likely to die or have serious complications compared with non-infected stroke patients, a study finds.

Skyrmions, tiny magnetic anomalies that arise in two-dimensional materials, can be used to generate true random numbers useful in cryptography and probabilistic computing.

Researchers have described the new species of titanosaur dinosaur Abditosaurus kuehnei from the remains excavated at the Orcau-1 site, in the southern Pyrenees (Catalonia, Spain). The semiarticulated 70.5-million-year-old skeleton is the most complete …

Thanks to 20 years of seismic data processed through one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, scientists have created the first complete, 3D visualization of a mountain-size rock called the Kumano Pluton buried miles beneath the coast of southe…

With the federal government planning to hold the largest sale of offshore wind farm leases in the nation’s history, a new study could help inform the development of offshore wind farms by providing detailed models characterizing the frequency, intensit…

Scientists have discovered a new fossil that reveals the origin of gills in arthropods.

Several layers of nanographenes stacked on top of each other: such functional elements could one day be used in solar cells. Chemists have now paved the way for this.

Pregnant women with COVID-19 appear to be at greater risk for common pregnancy complications — in addition to health risks from the virus — than pregnant women without COVID-19, suggests a new study.

Nanowires have a unique property: These ultra-thin wires can sustain very high elastic strains without damaging the crystal structure of the material. A team of researchers has now succeeded in experimentally demonstrating that electron mobility in nan…

A new study demonstrates the ability of the mutant Kras oncogene to use genetic reprogramming to make cells more stem-like and plastic; it resolves the long-standing debate over why Kras is so special in tumor formation. They were also able to identify…