For The Better

Researchers have discovered that Type I interferon (IFN) plays a key role in helping the immune system effectively target viruses, while stopping white blood cells from ‘going rogue’ and attacking the body’s own organs. This opens the way to potential …

Older breast cancer survivors with cardiometabolic risk factors who restricted food intake to eight hours during the weekday, followed by 16 hours of fasting, lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) after a few weeks, according to a new rese…

Statins have been hailed as a wonder drug; the cholesterol-lowering drugs have been prescribed to tens of millions of people since their approval in the late 1980s to prevent heart attack and stroke. But the drugs may yet have additional benefits, some…

Scientists saw for the first time hallmarks of concussions and other head trauma in the brains of deceased headbutting animals — muskoxen and bighorn sheep. The results may contradict the commonly-held belief that ramming animals do not suffer brain i…

Commensal fungi need to be alive and actively making proteins that stimulate our immune cells to elicit that commensal benefit, according to new findings.

To uncover the mystery behind the differences in motion, a team of researchers studied the aerodynamics of bird perching maneuvers and their implications for aircraft design.

Researchers have identified a previously unknown function for the fragile X protein, the loss of which is the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability. The researchers showed that the protein modulates how neurons in the brain’s memory center…

New research describes a ‘chaperone’ protein that delivers zinc, a trace element essential for survival in all living things, to where it’s needed. The chaperone could be especially important when access to zinc is limited — for example in nutrient de…

Based on similar technology to night-vision goggles, researchers have developed a device that can generate electricity from thermal radiation.

People who practice intensive meditation report memories of states in which their sense of self dissolves. Is this at all possible?

Adolescent athletes with high motivation for school also have high motivation for sports. Male students tend to be less interested in school than their female peers, a new study shows.

An algorithm can accurately predict which hospitalized patients are at the highest risk of death and require critical care, regardless of immune protection status and virus variant.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) secreted from sensory neuron-interneuron crosstalk is key to the spreading of inflammation across joints, acting as a neurotransmitter and inflammation enhancer.

A research team has demonstrated an ultrathin silicon nanowire that conducts heat 150% more efficiently than conventional materials used in advanced chip technologies. The device could enable smaller, faster, energy-efficient microelectronics.

Researchers assessed the potential impact of a rocket launch on atmospheric pollution by investigating the heat and mass transfer and rapid mixing of the combustion byproducts. The team modeled the exhaust gases and developing plume at several altitude…

Scientists determined that by increasing the accuracy of weather forecasts over the last decade, consumers netted at least $384 million in energy savings. The researchers based their predictions on NOAA’s High Resolution Rapid Refresh model, which prov…

A team has described and characterized the first zinc metallochaperone: a protein that puts zinc into other ‘client’ proteins. The findings shed light on the public health issue of zinc deficiency and open an entirely new area of biology for exploration.

Researchers have developed a desktop air curtain system that blocks all incoming aerosol particles. An air curtain, or air door, is a fan-powered ventilation system that creates an air seal over an entryway, but one challenge in developing smaller air …

Antibiotic resistance represents a major public health challenge, associated with a high mortality rate. While bacteriophages — viruses that kill bacteria — could be a solution for fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, various obstacles stand in t…