Science & Technology
Telling left from right: Cilia as cellular force sensors during embryogenesis
A new study now reveals that cilia in the organizer function as sensors for mechanical force exerted by flow to shape the left-right body plan of the developing embryo.
Two out of three glaciers could be lost by 2100
Scientists have made new projections of glacier mass loss through the century under different emissions scenarios.
Newly discovered anatomy shields and monitors brain
Researchers describe a previously unknown component of brain anatomy that acts as both a protective barrier and platform from which immune cells surveil the brain for infection and inflammation.
Alzheimer’s disease researchers study gene associated with the brain’s immune cells
Researchers are studying how the reduction of a gene variant found in the brain’s immune cells could diminish the risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Invasive rats transform reef fish behavior
Scientists have discovered for the first time that invasive rats on tropical islands are affecting the territorial behavior of fish on surrounding coral reefs. The new study shows that the presence of invasive black rats on tropical islands is causing …
New quantum computing architecture could be used to connect large-scale devices
Researchers have demonstrated an architecture that can enable high fidelity and scalable communication between superconducting quantum processors. Their technique can generate and route photons, which carry quantum information, in a user-specified dire…
Caribbean breadfruit traced back to Capt. Bligh’s 1791-93 journey
Exactly 230 years after Capt. William Bligh’s voyage on the HMS Providence, a plant biology team has traced five major lineages of Caribbean breadfruit back to that single introduction from Bligh’s voyage. Three generation of women solved the centuries…
Treatment for combat-related PTSD advances with method shown to be fast, effective
A randomized controlled trial in 234 military personnel and veterans from four Texas locations found clinically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms in more than 60 percent of patients and long-term remission of the diagnosis in more than 50 percent…
Pharmacotyping of childhood leukemia provides a blueprint for ‘true precision medicine’
Scientists have performed the largest study yet examining drug sensitivity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia across genomic subtypes and its association with treatment response.
New approach successfully traces genomic variants back to genetic disorders
Researchers have published an assessment of 13 studies that took a genotype-first approach to patient care. This approach contrasts with the typical phenotype-first approach to clinical research, which starts with clinical findings. A genotype-first ap…
DNA from archaeological remains shows that immigration to Scandinavia was exceptional during the Viking period
A new study based on 297 ancient Scandinavian genomes analysed together with the genomic data of 16,638 present day Scandinavians resolve the complex relations between geography, ancestry, and gene flow in Scandinavia — encompassing the Roman Age, the…
How evolution works
What genetic changes are responsible for the evolution of phenotypic traits? This question is not always easy to answer. A newly developed method now makes the search much easier.
A soft, stimulating scaffold supports brain cell development ex vivo
Brain-computer interface companies like Neuralink are in the news a lot these days for their potential to revolutionize how humans interact with machines, but electrodes are not the most brain-friendly materials — they’re hard and stiff, while brains …
New York City’s greenery absorbs a surprising amount of its carbon emissions
A study of vegetation across New York City and some densely populated adjoining areas has found that on many summer days, photosynthesis by trees and grasses absorbs all the carbon emissions produced by cars, trucks and buses, and then some. The surpri…
New York City’s greenery absorbs a surprising amount of its carbon emissions
A study of vegetation across New York City and some densely populated adjoining areas has found that on many summer days, photosynthesis by trees and grasses absorbs all the carbon emissions produced by cars, trucks and buses, and then some. The surpri…
New method of donor-lung distribution expected to decrease deaths among those on transplant waiting list
A new method of donor-lung distribution is projected to decrease the number of candidate deaths who are on the waitlist for lung transplant, according to a new study.
Research could simplify process for calculating soil carbon credits
A study provides new insights for quantifying cropland carbon budgets and soil carbon credits, two important metrics for mitigating climate change. Using an advanced agroecosystem model on corn-soybean rotation systems in the U.S. Midwest, researchers …
Spring sunny heat waves caused record snow melt in 2021, adding to severe water supply impacts across the Western US
Researchers examine the role of spring heatwaves on the melting rates of mountain snowpacks across the West. They found that in April 2021, record-breaking snowmelt rates occurred at 24% of all mountain snowpack monitoring sites in the region, further …