Science news

• Newly-Discovered Ancient Diabetes-Related Gut Virus 'CrAssphage' Lives in Half of World's Population

  25-07-2014 12:31
  
  Scientists have discovered a previously unknown virus that exists in half of the population of the planet and could play a major role in obesity and diabetes. A new study led by biologists at San Diego State University unearthed a newly-described virus called crAssphage, which infects one of the most common types of gut bacteria, Bacteroidetes. This phylum of bacteria is thought to be connected with obesity, diabetes and other gut-related diseases, and as the virus is so widespread, researchers
  
  Read more

• Future foods: What you could be eating by 2050

  22-05-2022 02:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say we need to future-proof our diets in a warming world by eating little-known plants.
  
  Read more

• Organic farming or flower strips: Which is better for bees?

  21-05-2022 15:33 via sciencedaily.com
  How effective environmental measures in agriculture are for biodiversity and wild bee populations depends on various factors and your perspective. This is shown by agroecologists. The research team found that when assessing the effectiveness of different measures, whether in the field (organic farming) or next to the field (flower strips in conventional farming), biodiversity benefits should be evaluated differently. Like-for-like comparisons of environmental measures could easily be misleading,
  
  Read more

• Long-hypothesized 'next generation wonder material' created

  21-05-2022 15:33 via sciencedaily.com
  New research fills a longstanding gap in carbon material science, potentially opening brand-new possibilities for electronics, optics and semiconducting material research.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Haptics device creates realistic virtual textures

  21-05-2022 15:33 via sciencedaily.com
  Tactile sensation is an incredibly important part of how humans perceive their reality. Haptics or devices that can produce extremely specific vibrations that can mimic the sensation of touch are a way to bring that third sense to life. However, as far as haptics have come, humans are incredibly particular about whether or not something feels 'right,' and virtual textures don't always hit the mark. Now, researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a new method for computer
  
  Read more

• Where do 'Hawaiian box jellies' come from?

  21-05-2022 00:12 via sciencedaily.com
  An insightful cross-disciplinary team, working for over a decade, published a study recently revealing that a key number of hours of darkness during the lunar cycle triggers mature 'Hawaiian box jellyfish' (Alatina alata) to swim to leeward O'ahu shores to spawn.
  
  Read more

• Unraveling a perplexing explosive process that occurs throughout the universe

  21-05-2022 00:12 via sciencedaily.com
  Novel simulation brings extraordinary fast radio bursts into the laboratory in a way once thought impossible.
  
  Read more

• Researchers unveil a secret of stronger metals

  21-05-2022 00:12 via sciencedaily.com
  Researchers determined exactly what happens as crystal grains in metals form during an extreme deformation process, at the tiniest scales, down to a few nanometers across. The findings could lead to better, more consistent properties in metals, such as hardness and toughness.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Study discovers an underlying cause for infantile spasms and points to a novel therapy

  20-05-2022 20:47 via sciencedaily.com
  A groundbreaking study has found the underlying cause and a potential treatment for infantile spasms -- intractable epilepsy common in babies and with limited treatment options.
  
  Read more

• PFAS chemicals do not last forever

  20-05-2022 20:47 via sciencedaily.com
  Once dubbed 'forever chemicals,' per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, might be in the market for a new nickname. Adding iodide to a water treatment reactor that uses ultraviolet (UV) light and sulfite destroys up to 90% of carbon-fluorine atoms in PFAS forever chemicals in just a few hours, reports a new study led by environmental engineers. The addition of iodide accelerates the speed of the reaction up to four times, saving energy and chemicals.
  
  Read more

• Haywire T cells attack protein in 'bad' cholesterol

  20-05-2022 20:47 via sciencedaily.com
  Detecting these T cells may lead to diagnostics to better detect heart disease--and disease severity--through a blood sample. The knowledge also brings researchers closer to developing a vaccine that dampens this dangerous immune cell activity to prevent atherosclerosis.
  
  Read more

• Deciphering the biosynthetic gene cluster for potent freshwater toxin

  20-05-2022 20:47 via sciencedaily.com
  Scientists discover the enzymes responsible for the production of one of the most toxic and fast-acting neurotoxins associated with freshwater harmful algal blooms in lakes and ponds. The discovery revealed that guanitoxin-producing cyanobacteria are more prevalent than originally known in the United States, opening the possibility for new molecular diagnostic testing to better inform and protect the public from this natural freshwater toxin.
  
  Read more

• Scientists smash lethal bacteria that acts like a hammer

  20-05-2022 20:46 via sciencedaily.com
  New research could lead to better treatment options for a rare but very lethal type of bacterial infection.
  
  Read more

• New research shows no evidence of structural brain change with short-term mindfulness training

  20-05-2022 20:46 via sciencedaily.com
  A team found flaws in previous research that purported to show meditation could alter the brain's structure.
  
  Read more

• Mixing laser- and x-ray-beams

  20-05-2022 20:46 via sciencedaily.com
  Unlike fictional laser swords, real laser beams do not interact with each other when they cross -- unless the beams meet within a suitable material allowing for nonlinear light-matter interaction. In such a case, wave mixing can give rise to beams with changed colors and directions.
  
  Read more

• Light pollution can disorient monarch butterflies

  20-05-2022 20:46 via sciencedaily.com
  Biologists say nighttime light pollution can interfere with the remarkable navigational abilities of monarchs, which travel as far as Canada to Mexico and back during their multi-generational migration. Researchers found that butterflies roosting at night near artificial illumination such as a porch or streetlight can become disoriented the next day because the light interferes with their circadian rhythms. Artificial light can impede the molecular processes responsible for the butterfly's remar
  
  Read more

• Neuromorphic memory device simulates neurons and synapses

  20-05-2022 19:29 via sciencedaily.com
  Researchers have reported a nano-sized neuromorphic memory device that emulates neurons and synapses simultaneously in a unit cell, another step toward completing the goal of neuromorphic computing designed to rigorously mimic the human brain with semiconductor devices.
  
  Read more

• Children with same-sex parents are socially well-adjusted

  20-05-2022 19:29 via sciencedaily.com
  Difficult social and legal conditions are stress factors for same-sex families, but do not affect the behavior of children and young people with same-sex parents, new research suggests.
  
  Read more

• Superconductivity and charge density waves caught intertwining at the nanoscale

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  Scientists discover superconductivity and charge density waves are intrinsically interconnected at the nanoscopic level, a new understanding that could help lead to the next generation of electronics and computers.
  
  Read more

• Study links thalamus inhibition in adolescence to long-lasting cortical abnormalities

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  Researchers have reported new evidence that cognitive abnormalities seen in neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia may be traceable to altered activity in the thalamus during adolescence, a time window of heightened vulnerability for schizophrenia.
  
  Read more

• Research reveals surprising inactivation mechanism for a voltage-gated ion channel

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  The study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital presents a new understanding of how a VGIC, crucial for the communication of neurons and muscle cells, can become unresponsive.
  
  Read more

• Novel preclinical drug could have potential to combat depression, brain injury and cognitive disorders

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  Scientists have described a novel preclinical drug that could have the potential to combat depression, brain injury and diseases that impair cognition. The drug, which notably is brain-permeable, acts to inhibit the kinase enzyme Cdk5.
  
  Read more

• New research challenges established ideas about infant crying

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  A research project provides a new understanding of what can be defined as normal and excessive crying among infants.
  
  Read more

• Killer T vs. memory -- DNA isn't destiny for T cells

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  Scientists have uncovered how one type of T cell creates two genetically identical, but functionally different, daughter cells.
  
  Read more

• Function follows form in plant immunity

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  Scientists have discovered a novel biochemical mechanism explaining how immune proteins defend plants against invading microorganisms.
  
  Read more

• Climate change likely to reduce the amount of sleep that people get per year

  20-05-2022 19:28 via sciencedaily.com
  Most research looking at the impact of climate change on human life has focused on how extreme weather events affect economic and societal health outcomes on a broad scale. Yet climate change may also have a strong influence on fundamental daily human activities -- including a host of behavioral, psychological, and physiological outcomes that are essential to wellbeing. Investigators now report that increasing ambient temperatures negatively impact human sleep around the globe.
  
  Read more

• Uncovering new details of the brain's first line of defense

  20-05-2022 16:13 via sciencedaily.com
  A research team has mapped out the development and genetic trajectory of previously understudied macrophages associated with the central nervous system. Among other things, the team found that meningeal macrophages are formed during gestation and develop in the same way as microglia, while perivascular macrophages develop after birth. Their new insights could pave the way for better understanding the origins and mechanisms behind leading brain-related pathologies such as Alzheimer's disease.
  
  Read more

• Insomnia in midlife may manifest as cognitive problems in retirement age

  20-05-2022 16:13 via sciencedaily.com
  According to a new study, long-term insomnia symptoms can pose a risk of poorer cognitive functioning later in life. This is another reason why insomnia should be treated as early as possible.
  
  Read more

• Earth's core: Unexpected flow behavior in liquid metals

  20-05-2022 16:13 via sciencedaily.com
  Some metals are in liquid form, the prime example being mercury. But there are also enormous quantities of liquid metal in the Earth's core, where temperatures are so high that part of the iron is molten and undergoes complex flows. A team has now simulated a similar process in the laboratory and made a surprising discovery: Under certain circumstances, the flow of liquid metal is far more turbulent than expected -- and this has a significant impact on heat transport.
  
  Read more

• 'Traffic calming' boosts breeding on coral reefs

  20-05-2022 13:31 via sciencedaily.com
  Coral reef fish breed more successfully if motorboat noise is reduced, new research shows.
  
  Read more

Follow @ScienceUKnews on Twitter!