Science & Technology

A mouse study designed to shed light on memory loss in people who experience repeated head impacts, such as athletes, suggests the condition could potentially be reversed. The research in mice finds that amnesia and poor memory following head injury is…

Climate change is causing Western U.S. forests to be less effective carbon sinks, even as it boosts the productivity of forests in the Eastern U.S., according to new research.

Fossils of kelp along the Pacific Coast are rare. Until now, the oldest fossil dated from 14 million years ago, leading to the view that today’s denizens of the kelp forest — marine mammals, urchins, sea birds — coevolved with kelp. A recent amateur …

This month, a group of stroke survivors in British Columbia will test a new technology designed to aid their recovery, and ultimately restore use of their limbs and hands. Participants will wear a new groundbreaking ‘smart glove’ capable of tracking th…

Supersulfides, many of which are produced by cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (CARS), are essential compounds across many different lifeforms. However, the precise physiological roles of CARS-produced supersulfide are unclear. Now, using a strategically engin…

‘Soft robots,’ medical devices and implants, and next-generation drug delivery methods could soon be guided with magnetism — thanks to a metal-free magnetic gel developed by researchers. Carbon-based, magnetic molecules are chemically bonded to the mo…

New research shows the early lunar crust which makes up the surface of the Moon was considerably enriched in water more than 4 billion years ago, counter to previously held understanding.

A study exploring the mechanisms behind why cognitive performance improves in response to exercise, has found that dopamine plays a key role.

Researchers have simplified the operation of an important class of chemical transformation: synthesis of beta-lactams, the intricate scaffold of many antibiotics. Their experimental protocol minimizes the toxicity that is a common feature of similar Fi…

A feeding method of the extinct jawless heterostracans, among the oldest of vertebrates, has been examined and dismissed by scientists, using fresh techniques.

RNA is thought to have sparked the origin of life by self-copying. Researchers have now revealed the atomic structure of an ‘RNA copy machine’ through cryo-EM. This breakthrough sheds light on a primordial RNA world and fuels advancements in RNA nanote…

Neuroscientists have investigated whether playing violent video games leads to a reduction in human empathy. To do this, they had adult test subjects play a violent video game repeatedly over the course of an experiment lasting several weeks. Before an…

A new experiment could in principle test the quantumness of an object regardless of its mass or energy.