For The Better

A single protein can reverse the developmental clock on adult brain cells called astrocytes, morphing them into stem-like cells that produce neurons and other cell types, UT Southwestern researchers report in a new study. The findings might someday lea…

Stress seems to have a negative effect on the learning of movements – at least in mice. This is the conclusion of a recent study. According to the study, the neurons of rodents lose some of their contacts with other neurons after stress. The animals al…

Novel research on the life history of fruit fly sperm demonstrates molecular continuity between the male and female reproductive tracts.

What happens when a disease disrupts a protected ecosystem so forcefully that cascading consequences are felt by nearly all wildlife and plants within it? A study examines how the mange outbreak among vicuñas restructured tightly linked food-chain inte…

The first large-scale assessment of utility-level water loss in the United States found that leak reduction by utilities can be the most cost-effective tool in an urban water manager’s toolkit, provided utility-specific approaches are used. California …

New research from the shows that reading aloud can triple a child’s resilience at school, particularly for children at-risk.

An ancient Mexican city, Monte Albán, was the biggest settlement in the region and lasted for more than a thousand years. Some hypotheses for the city’s success are that people were drawn to fertile farmland in the area, or were forced to move there by…

New research compares the biodiversity value of plants classed as ‘injurious weeds’ against those stipulated by DEFRA for pollinator targeted agri-environmental options. The findings show that the abundance and diversity of pollinators visiting weed sp…

Researchers have developed a new method for rapid 3D imaging. Instead of having to scan repeatedly in 2D, the researchers proposed a one-scan technique that uses a light needle to process at depth and laterally.

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, researchers have for the first time detected dimethyl ether in a planet-forming disc. With nine atoms, this is the largest molecule identified in such a disc to date. It is also a …

The rapid development of fauna 540 million years ago has permanently changed the Earth – deep into its lower mantle. A team has now found traces of this development in rocks from this zone.

Global warming is likely to increase the number of people requiring hospitalization due to critically low sodium levels in the blood, a condition known as hyponatremia. A new study projects that a temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius would increase th…