For The Better

Researchers address criticisms to previous work by providing additional evidence to suggest the cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus has Mirror Self-Recognition.

New research finds that, while the Knights of the Round Table have won global fame, most medieval heroic or chivalric stories in English have been lost. Meanwhile, more than three quarters of medieval stories in Icelandic and Irish survive to the prese…

A first-of-its-kind, eight-year study has found widespread and frequent lead poisoning in North American bald and golden eagles impacting both species’ populations. Researchers evaluated lead exposure in bald and golden eagles from 2010 to 2018.

Rapid hydroelectric dam expansion in the Amazon poses a serious threat to Earth’s largest and most biodiverse river basin. There are 158 dams in the Amazon River basin, with another 351 proposed; these projects are typically assessed individually, with…

A new imaging technology uses polarized ‘optical vortices’ to provide a detailed, dynamic view of molecules in motion.

By linking human population studies with experiments in cell and animal models, researchers have provided evidence that complex mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals impact children’s brain development and language acquisition. With their novel ap…

Geologists know well how rock towers and arches shimmy, twist and sway in response to far-off earthquakes, wind and even ocean waves. Their latest research compiles a first-of-its-kind dataset to show that the dynamic properties, i.e. the frequencies a…

Researchers found a way to inhibit the mitochondrial fission in nerve cell axons, which can promote normal growth and potentially stop further damage in neurodegenerative disorders like hereditary spastic paraplegia and Parkinson’s disease.

Data stored in spin states of ytterbium atoms can be transferred to surrounding atoms in a crystal matrix.

Common flies feature more advanced cognitive abilities than previously believed. Using a custom-built immersive virtual reality arena, neurogenetics and real-time brain activity imaging, researchers found attention, working memory and conscious awarene…

A new study has identified a molecular ‘culprit’ responsible for causing damaging levels of cell death and inflammation in the body. The findings could lead to improved treatment options for a range of conditions driven by inflammatory cell death, incl…

A study has identified a gene, KCNJ15, that is associated with helping our immune system fight tuberculosis (TB), and potentially other infectious diseases.

A team of astronomers has discovered a rare pair of brown dwarfs that has the widest separation of any brown dwarf binary system found to date. They’re 12 billion miles apart, or three times the separation of Pluto from the Sun. The discovery is except…

Measurements of London’s atmosphere show the city is releasing more of the potent greenhouse gas methane, primarily from natural gas leaks.

Tall trees in Central Amazonia are impacted by periods of high maximum temperatures, which can cause them to shed their leaves and branches. With deforestation increasing, forests are becoming fragmented and this exposes their interiors and increases t…

Developing therapies for genetic forms of blindness is extremely challenging, in part because they vary so widely, but scientists have now highlighted a target with great promise for treating a range of these conditions. The scientists have highlighted…

Researchers have used molecular modelling methods to investigate the movement of nano-sized plastics in membrane structures. The results indicate that for some microplastics, passive transport through the cell membrane may be a significant gateway into…

An international team has discovered a protein that plays a key biological role in a parasite that causes malaria. Deactivating this protein reduces in vitro growth of Plasmodium falciparum, the protozoa behind the most virulent form of the disease, by…

Sweden is one of the few countries that have removed the dental health recommendation to give prophylactic antibiotics to people at a higher risk of infection of the heart valves, so-called infective endocarditis. Since the recommendation was removed i…

Analyzing the brain changes that occur in the first stages of juvenile fibromyalgia could help to better understand the pathophysiology of this syndrome.