For The Better

A new study associates some types of shunts used after epilepsy surgery with brains shifting toward the side of the skull.

Researchers have demonstrated how a heterostructure consisting of superconductors and magnets can be used to create uni-directional current like that found in semiconductor diodes.

The condition, known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), can result in severe brain damage, which is why researchers are studying the condition to evaluate how HIE is treated and develop new, more effective options.

Learning from others can mitigate harmful risk aversion, even if the others we learn from tend to avoid risky, but profitable decisions themselves. This is shown in mathematical modelling and large-scale online experiments by social psychologists.

Stress and trauma during adolescence can lead to long-term health consequences such as psychiatric disorders, which may arise from neurodevelopmental effects on brain circuitry. A new study has used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to exami…

A purely mechanical method can produce a novel, more sustainable fertilizer in a less polluting way. Scientists have optimized a production method that is an adaptation of an ancient technique: by milling two common ingredients, urea and gypsum, the sc…

Ever smaller and more intricate — without miniaturization, we wouldn’t have the components today that are required for high-performance laptops, compact smartphones or high-resolution endoscopes. Research is now being carried out in the nanoscale on s…

Rising levels of income inequality in the United States may be one reason that the health of Americans has been declining in recent decades, new research suggests.

Chemists have developed a new machine-learning (ML) framework that can zero in on which steps of a multistep chemical conversion should be tweaked to improve productivity. The approach could help guide the design of catalysts — chemical ‘dealmakers’ t…

Fruit flies continue to mate with each other even when infected with deadly pathogens — reveals a new study.

Ancient moa DNA has provided insights into how species react to climate change, a new study has found.

An analysis of 11 major psychiatric disorders offers new insight into why comorbidities are the norm when it comes to mental illness. The study suggests that while there is no single gene or set of genes underlying risk for all of them, subsets of diso…

Poor sleep, difficulty moving and injuries from hitting something accidentally are just some of the challenges faced by suffers of often-painful involuntary muscle spasms. However, a new study investigating motoneurons in the spine has revealed two met…