For The Better

Astronomers have identified what could be two of the Milky Way’s earliest building blocks: Named ‘Shakti’ and ‘Shiva’, these appear to be the remnants of two galaxies that merged between 12 and 13 billion years ago with an early version of the Milky Wa…

Researchers examined the developmental processes and reproduction-related behavior of 8 of the 11 families of Dermaptera (earwigs) in detail and compared with those reported in previous studies. The results confirmed that Dermaptera is a polyneopteran …

A 3D-printed ‘brain phantom’ has been developed, which is modeled on the structure of brain fibers and can be imaged using a special variant of magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI). The scientific team has now shown in a study, these brain models can be u…

Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade — even at the microplastic level — in under seven months.

Following injury, plants release terpenoids to enhance their defenses. Researchers studying terpenoid-enriched essential oils (EOs) have found that rose EO (REO) can stimulate defense genes in tomato leaves. Furthermore, REO attracts herbivores that pr…

A challenge to space scientists to better understand our hazardous near-Earth space environment has been set in a new study.

The oldest Scandinavian bedrock was ‘born’ in Greenland, according to a new geological study. The study helps us understand the origin of continents and why Earth is the only planet in our solar system with life.

Aging may be less about specific ‘aging genes’ and more about how long a gene is. Many of the changes associated with aging could be occurring due to decreased expression of long genes, say researchers. A decline in the expression of long genes with ag…

Scientists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a 270-million-year-old ancient amphibian ancestor in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The team of researchers described the fossil as a new species of proto-amphib…

The first study of humpback whale entanglements in B.C. aquaculture facilities found eight over 13 years, with the curiosity of young whales a potential contributing factor.

A group of coastal Alaska Native tribes in 2016 began monitoring shellfish, a traditional harvest, for deadly biotoxins because the state only tests commercial harvests. The program fills an essential gap in public health protection and has found succe…

A research team has developed an n-channel diamond MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor). The developed n-channel diamond MOSFET provides a key step toward CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor: one of the most popular tech…

What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does div…

New research finds a direct communication path between the lungs and the brain which may change the way we treat respiratory infections and chronic conditions. The lungs are using the same sensors and neurons in the pain pathway to let the brain know t…

A research consortium made a recent discovery that the natural molecule trigonelline present in coffee, fenugreek, and also in the human body, can help to improve muscle health and function.

The dust of comets fills the space between the planets, collectively called the zodiacal cloud. Still, severe breakdown has reduced that dust in size so much that it now scatters sunlight efficiently, causing the faint glow in the night sky known as th…