For The Better

Scientists have accurately monitored the breathing patterns of cane toads in a proof of principle to develop contactless vital-sign monitoring for humans in a range of settings such as intensive care units, aged-care facilities, for at-risk prisoners, …

Climbing trees, making mud pies, or simply playing outside, parents and educators know that being in nature is an important part of every childhood. But when it comes to messy or risky play, it’s a whole different story according to new research.

Topological materials’ unique properties make them a great choice for making next-generation devices. In order to exploit them, it was thought that crystalline materials, where atoms are highly ordered, were needed. But now, a research group has verifi…

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in predicting how to change the optimum temperature of an enzyme using large computer calculations. A cold-adapted enzyme from an Antarctic bacterium was used as a basis.

Birds need to adapt to climate change, but evolution is a slow process. Model species such as the great tit are an indispensable yardstick for our ability to predict the impact of climate change on nature. Using innovative methods, a team from the Neth…

Up to half of consumers may decide to pour perfectly good milk down the drain based solely on their glance at the date label on the carton, a new study suggests.

Ticks can be attracted across air gaps several times larger than themselves by the static electricity that their hosts naturally accumulate, researchers have discovered.

Insights into healing and aging by those who studied how a tiny sea creature regenerates an entire new body from only its mouth. The researchers sequenced RNA from Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus, a small, tube-shaped animal that lives on the shells of h…

A new study has revealed the most extensive analysis to date on what led to the eventual heart failure in the world’s first successful transplant of a genetically-modified pig heart into a human patient.