Science & Technology

Enzymes are capable of degrading synthetic polyisoprene. The specific conditions for that have now been created and exploited. Polyisoprene is the principal component of natural rubber and of many types of rubber also used in car tires, for example. Up…

Rising as high as 20 feet, ancient stone monoliths in southern Ethiopia are 1,000 years older than scientists previously thought, according to a new study. A research team used advanced radiocarbon dating to determine the often phallic-shaped monoliths…

A new study has shown that the signs of age related macular degeneration can set in earlier than previously thought — even before patients begin to lose their sight. The findings open the door for research into earlier treatment that could help slow d…

Cities are responsible for 60-70% of energy-related CO2 emissions. As the world is increasingly urbanized, it is crucial to identify cost-effective pathways to decarbonize. Here, we propose a ‘SolarEV City’ concept, in which integrated systems of citie…

An international team of scientists has demonstrated that burrowing snakes have undergone extensive vision gene loss over tens of millions of years of evolutionary history.

Large future changes in climate variability. New computer model simulations identify widespread changes in climate variability under sustained anthropogenic forcing.

Toxic metals in the environment may increase the risk of atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque in the arteries that can prevent blood and oxygen from reaching major organs. Arsenic and cadmium, metals that can be found in food, water and tobacco, plus t…

Scientists have discovered that gene therapy and the diabetes drug metformin may be potential treatments for late-onset retinal degeneration (L-ORD), a rare, blinding eye disease. Researchers generated a ‘disease-in-a-dish’ model to study the disease.

Engineers have reached a theoretical limit for efficiently converting analog data into digital bits in an emerging computer technology.

Two complementary studies show that defibrotide can successfully suppress the formation and progression of neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs, which are web-like networks of toxic proteins that play a role in forming blood clots and promoting infl…

A new study showed that while precipitation and sea level drive coastal groundwater levels, it is sea level, especially tides, that play gatekeeper on the amount of groundwater discharging to Hawai’i’s coastal zone.

Chemically analyzing sequential samples from the baleen of dead whales makes it possible to read not only the history of the diet, but also the migration route of the animals. In a new study, researchers present their results of a novel way of analyzin…

Back pain affects many people at some point in their lives, and a common cause is damage to the squishy discs or flexible, rubbery tissues of the spine. However, observing this damage at an early stage is difficult with current imaging methods. Now, re…

Researchers have shown that blood from young adult mice that are getting lots of exercise benefits the brains of same-aged, sedentary mice. A single protein in the blood of exercising mice seems largely responsible for that benefit.

If researchers can detect Q-balls in gravitational waves, it could help explain why more matter than anti-matter was left over after the Big Bang.

Debilitating cluster headaches commonly begin in childhood, but patients are not typically diagnosed until they are adults, according to new research.

A recent study suggests that teaching children to understand other people’s perspectives could make it easier for them to learn how to forgive other people. The study also found that teaching children to make sincere apologies can help them receive for…

Appealing to athletes’ sense of ‘future guilt’ through psychological intervention could prove a powerful weapon in the fight against doping, according to a new study.

Immune cells could be doing much more than we think in protecting our eyes — researchers uncover new details.

Researchers found that shifting learning weeks to the summer term and extending the winter vacation period can reduce the university’s yearly CO2 emissions by more than 4%.