For The Better

Researchers have made inroads into understanding how the mammalian brain encodes social rank and uses this information to shape behaviors. In mice engaged in a competition, the team discovered, patterns of brain activity differ depending on the social …

Scientists rely on brain-wide association studies to measure brain structure and function — using brain scans — and link them to mental illness and other complex behaviors. But a new study shows that most published brain-wide association studies are …

Some ‘hypervirulent’ strains of Listeria monocytogenes have a greater capacity to infect the central nervous system. Scientists have discovered a mechanism that enables cells infected with Listeria monocytogenes to escape immune responses. This mechani…

Researchers have developed an algorithm that uses the most quantum bits to date to calculate ground state energy, the lowest-energy state in a quantum mechanical system. The discovery could make it easier to design new materials.

Most global carbon-budgeting efforts assume a linear flow of water from the land to the sea, which ignores the complex interplay between streams, rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries, mangroves and more. Climate scientists now detail how carbon is sto…

One proposed strategy in the fight against climate change is to increase tree cover in the world’s savannas, either through the planting of new trees or fire suppression, to increase the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, a new study of Afr…

Bile acids, well known for their role in dissolving fats and vitamins, are also important players in gut immunity and inflammation because they regulate the activity of key immune cells linked to a range of inflammatory bowel conditions, such as ulcera…

Researchers have developed and demonstrated a ‘self-driving lab’ that uses artificial intelligence and fluidic systems to advance our understanding of metal halide perovskite nanocrystals. This self-driving lab can also be used to investigate a broad a…

The intermittent supply of green electricity requires large-scale storage to keep our power grids stable. Since normal batteries do not scale very well, the idea of using flow batteries, which store electricity in a fluid is attractive. Scientists have…

Allergy seasons are likely to become longer and grow more intense as a result of increasing temperatures caused by humanmade climate change, according to new research.

Researchers have taken the first step in using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict early outcomes with antidepressants in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder.

Beech forests in Europe are severely threatened by climate change, particularly in southern European countries, but also in central Europe. Models project severe beech growth declines over the next 70 years — ranging from 20 percent to perhaps more th…

Cells communicate with one another in the language of chemistry, but those from different kingdoms, such as bacteria and yeast, speak dialects virtually unintelligible to the other. By learning how microbes ‘talk,’ researchers hope to one day manipulat…

Dry, hot regions are difficult places to grow plants because the soil dries out quickly. As a result, farmers in arid and semi-arid regions irrigate their fields with buried networks of irrigation tubing and cover the ground with plastic sheets. But pl…

Seismic and acoustic data recorded 50 meters away from a research nuclear reactor could predict whether the reactor was in an on or off state with 98% accuracy, according to a new study.

Ice cores drilled in Antarctica and Greenland have revealed gigantic volcanic eruptions during the last ice age. Sixty-nine of these were larger than any eruption in modern history. According to the physicists behind the research, these eruptions can t…

Study shows how the mechanism of photoionization can be used to gain insights into complex molecular potentials.

Patients who undergo facial surgery think their surgical scars look worse than surgeons and independent observers do, according to a new study.

Scientists have 3D printed human testicular cells and identified promising early signs of sperm-producing capabilities. The researchers hope the technique will one day offer a solution for people living with presently untreatable forms of male infertil…