Science & Technology
A noninvasive treatment for ‘chemo brain’
A noninvasive treatment may help to counter ‘chemo brain’ impairment often seen in chemotherapy patients: Exposure to light and sound with a frequency of 40 hertz protected brain cells from chemotherapy-induced damage in mice, researchers found.
Micro- and nanoplastics in the body are passed on during cell division
The gastrointestinal tract is already known to researchers as a major storage site for micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) in the human body. A research consortium has now investigated the effects of the tiny plastic particles on cancer cells in th…
Early life adversity leaves long-term signatures in baboon DNA
Early experiences in an animal’s life can have a significant impact on its capacity to thrive, even years or decades later, and DNA methylation may help record their effects. In a study of 256 wild baboons, researchers found that resource limitation du…
First heat map for individual red blood cells
Entropy is often associated with disorder and chaos, but in biology it is related to energy efficiency and is closely linked to metabolism, the set of chemical reactions that sustain life. An international research team has now developed a novel method…
Viscose manufactured solely from recycled materials
At present, viscose textiles are made of biomass from the forest, and there is no such thing as fully recycled viscose. Researchers have now succeeded in making new viscose — from worn-out cotton sheets.
The world’s most prolific CO2-fixing enzyme is slowly getting better
New research has found that rubisco — the enzyme that fuels all life on Earth — is not stuck in an evolutionary rut after all. The largest analysis of rubisco ever has found that it is improving all the time — just very, very slowly. These insights …
More than half of American Indian youth may have abnormal or high cholesterol
More than 70% of American Indian young adults aged 20-39 and 50% of American Indian teens have cholesterol levels or elevated fat in the blood that put them at risk for cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests. In some cases, these levels — specif…
Marine algae implants could boost crop yields
Scientists have discovered the gene that enables marine algae to make a unique type of chlorophyll. They successfully implanted this gene in a land plant, paving the way for better crop yields on less land.
Gaining time in nature — Nature experiences may hold the key to a healthier relationship with time
According to a new study, there is mounting evidence that nature can help humans address the time pressure of contemporary urban lifestyles by contributing to the regulation of human sense of time. A better understanding of the relationship between nat…
Global warming is affecting bats’ hibernation
Global change is altering the physiology of the hibernation and behavior of bats, according to a study carried out over a twenty year period. Given the milder winters we are having, bats are accumulating less fat reserves in autumn, they shorten their …
Scientists CT scanned thousands of natural history specimens, which you can access for free
Natural history museums have entered a new stage of scientific discovery and accessibility with the completion of openVertebrate (oVert), a five-year collaborative project among 18 institutions to create 3D reconstructions of vertebrate specimens and m…
Hearing study: Each nerve fiber trains on it’s own
Axons that are regularly stimulated do not pass on increases in performance to their neighbors, study on mice reveals.
Making quantum bits fly
Physicists are developing a method that could enable the stable exchange of information in quantum computers. In the leading role: photons that make quantum bits ‘fly’.