For The Better

Researchers have created an intelligent nanopore system sensitive enough to detect single SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. By training a machine-learning algorithm, the platform was able to identify between various coronaviruses in just five minutes. This w…

Researchers have developed a prototype device that could potentially diagnose pregnancy complications by monitoring the oxygen level of the placenta. The device sends near-infrared light through the pregnant person’s abdomen to measure oxygen levels in…

Scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the young star Elias 2-27 have confirmed that gravitational instabilities play a key role in planet formation, and have for the first time directly measured the mass of p…

Researchers now have a better understanding of the mechanism underlying how certain bacteria can transfer genetic material across taxonomic kingdoms, including to fungi and protists. Their work could have applications in changing how bacteria perform c…

Since 2005, the guidelines for the care of unconscious cardiac arrest patients have been to cool the body temperature down to 33 degrees Celsius. A large, randomized clinical trial has now shown that this treatment does not improve survival.

Conservationists have long warned of the dangers associated with bears becoming habituated to life in urban areas. Yet, it appears the message hasn’t gotten through to everyone. News reports continue to cover seemingly similar situations — a foraging …

Inhibiting necroptosis, a form of cell death, could yield a new treatment approach for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory lung condition also known as emphysema, new research shows. The study revealed elevated levels of necro…

Electrons are ubiquitous among atoms, subatomic tokens of energy that can independently change how a system behaves — but they also can change each other. An international research collaboration found that collectively measuring electrons revealed uni…

A new study shows that medium-sized predators all but disappeared late in dinosaur history wherever Tyrannosaurus rex and its close relatives rose to dominance. In those areas — lands that eventually became central Asia and Western North America — ju…

Like the movie version of Spider-Man who shoots spider webs from holes in his wrists, a little alpine plant has been found to eject cobweb-like threads from tiny holes in specialized cells on its leaves. It’s these tiny holes that have taken plant scie…

Sweat bees navigate through dark tropical forests guided by canopy patterns.

Using a numerical model that simulates ocean currents, researchers are shedding light on the important ”motion of the ocean” in the Straits of Florida. They have conducted a first-of-its-kind study identifying the mechanisms behind the formation of s…