Science & Technology
Metabolic diseases may be driven by gut microbiome, loss of ovarian hormones
Mice that received fecal implants from donors that had their ovaries removed gained more fat mass and had greater expression of liver genes associated with inflammation, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis. The findings may shed li…
Combination of group competition and repeated interactions promotes cooperation
How did cooperative behavior prevail in human evolution? Researchers have challenged two prevailing explanations — repeated interactions on the one hand or group competition on the other. Instead, both mechanisms synergistically contribute to fosterin…
A new beginning: The search for more temperate Tatooines
Luke Skywalker’s childhood might have been slightly less harsh if he’d grown up on a more temperate Tatooine — like the ones identified in a new study. According to the study’s authors, there are more climate-friendly planets in binary star systems –…
Photon upconversion: Steering light with supercritical coupling
Researchers have unveiled a novel concept termed ‘supercritical coupling’ that enables several folds increase in photon upconversion efficiency. This discovery not only challenges existing paradigms, but also opens a new direction in the control of lig…
Cracking the code of neurodegeneration: New model identifies potential therapeutic target
Scientists have developed an innovative neural cell culture model, shedding light on the intricate mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration. Their research pinpointed a misbehaving protein as a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of amyotrophi…
Air pollution hides increases in rainfall
In a new study, researchers broke down how human-induced greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions influence rainfall in the United States. Greenhouse gas emissions increase rainfall, while aerosols have a long-term drying effect as well as short-term impac…
Damage to cell membranes causes cell aging
Researchers have discovered that damage to the cell membrane promotes cellular senescence, or cell aging.
Treating newly-diagnosed Crohn’s patients with advanced therapy leads to dramatic improvements in outcomes
A large-scale clinical trial of treatment strategies for Crohn’s disease has shown that offering early advanced therapy to all patients straight after diagnosis can drastically improve outcomes, including by reducing the number of people requiring urge…
Uncovering anxiety: Scientists identify causative pathway and potential cures
Quick-acting targeted therapies with minimal side effects are an urgent need for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders. While delta opioid receptor (DOP) agonists have shown ‘anxiolytic’ or anxiety-reducing effects, their mechanism of action is no…
Brightest and fastest-growing: Astronomers identify record-breaking quasar
Astronomers have characterized a bright quasar, finding it to be not only the brightest of its kind, but also the most luminous object ever observed. Quasars are the bright cores of distant galaxies and they are powered by supermassive black holes. The…
Real-time wearable human emotion recognition technology developed
A research team has unveiled a groundbreaking technology that can recognize human emotions in real time.
Three years later, search for life on Mars continues
Scientists suspect Mars once had long-lived rivers, lakes and streams. Today, water on Mars is found in ice at the poles and trapped below the Martian surface. Researchers now reveal that Mars also may have had hydrothermal systems based on the hydrate…
Scientists can tell where a mouse is looking and located based on its neural activity
Researchers have paired a deep learning model with experimental data to ‘decode’ mouse neural activity. Using the method, they can accurately determine where a mouse is located within an open environment and which direction it is facing, just by lookin…
Method identified to double computer processing speeds
Scientists introduce what they call ‘simultaneous and heterogeneous multithreading’ or SHMT. This system doubles computer processing speeds with existing hardware by simultaneously using graphics processing units (GPUs), hardware accelerators for artif…
Physicists discover a quantum state with a new type of emergent particles: Six-flux composite fermions
Physicists have reported a new fractional quantum Hall state that is very different from all other known fractional states and will invoke the existence of a new type of emergent particle, which they are calling six-flux composite fermions.
Climate change could push bowhead whales to cross paths with shipping traffic
The population of bowhead whales that migrates between the Bering and Beaufort Seas each year is a conservation success story, with today’s population nearing — if not exceeding — pre-commercial whaling numbers. But climate change is shifting the wha…
Air pollution linked to more signs of Alzheimer’s in brain
People with higher exposure to traffic-related air pollution were more likely to have high amounts of amyloid plaques in their brains associated with Alzheimer’s disease after death, according to a new study. Researchers looked at fine particulate matt…
Does Russia stand to benefit from climate change?
There exists a narrative about climate change that says there are winners and losers — with Russia being one of the countries that stand to benefit from its effects. In a new study, researchers found that Russia is suffering from a variety of climate …
Little groundwater recharge in ancient Mars aquifer, according to new models
Mars was once a wet world. The geological record of the Red Planet shows evidence for water flowing on the surface — from river deltas to valleys carved by massive flash floods. But a new study shows that no matter how much rainfall fell on the surfac…