The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Brain tissue kept alive for weeks with new microfluidic device

A new microfluidic device can keep tissue cultures functional for weeks on an artificial membrane

Skipping fatty acids could be recipe for schizophrenia

Prenatal lack of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids linked to epigenetic changes that lead to schizophrenic symptoms in mice.

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Eve Marder: freeing knowledge, crashing neurons

None of us would get on a plane that had its parts changed in mid-air, says Eve Marder, who has spent her career probing a very specific cluster of crustacean nerve cells. Yet we are all walking around undergoing a constant turnover of cellular parts, and so are the lobsters and crabs Marder studies.

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AdR blockers protect the brain from stroke damage

Treatment with adrenergic receptor antagonists (AdR blockers) was able to reduce stroke-related brain damage in mice and improve motor recovery.

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Mutation links bipolar disorder to mitochondrial disease

ANT1 mutations found in bipolar disease that affect mitochondria lead to hyperexcitable serotonergic neuronal activity in the brain.

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Robotic researcher to the rescue

Masaki Watabe talks about automated robotic researchers, future robot rule, and scientific philosophy.

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Topics

Latest research animations

Self-assembly of spider silk

This gut microbe might protect against diabetes and reduce insulin resistance

NEW: One-way hydrogel guides motion of tiny worms!

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Organic nitrogen in soil helps crop growth

Scientists used a multi-omics analysis to show that soil solarization helps crops grow because it increases organic nitrogen in the soil.

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Next stop: clinical hair regeneration

A new recipe for continuous cyclical hair regeneration in mice. This means that the hair will continue to fall out and regrow like normal hair.

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Smarter AI: machine learning without negative data

Scientists have developed a new method for machine learning that allows an AI to make better classifications without negative data.

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Social novelty in the brain: haven’t I seen you someplace before?

Social novelty and contextual novelty are segregated in the SuM region of the hypothalamus and in projections to the hippocampus, allowing memories of meeting new people to be formed separately from memories of new places.

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Something smells fishy: categorizing odors in the brain

Calcium imaging and mathematical model explain how categories and mixtures of odors are represented in the fly brain and consistent across individual flies.

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Bacterial drug resistance studied by robotic E. coli evolution

Experimentally evolving E. coli under pressure from a large number of antibiotics was able to identify constraints underlying evolved drug resistance.

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Apr

Chaos theory provides hints for controlling the weather

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Computer simulations were used to show that small adjustments to certain variables in the weather system could modify weather phenomena such as sudden downpours.

Mar

Robotic exoskeleton learns to help people stand up

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

This new robotic exoskeleton uses machine learning to know when users want help standing up.

Feb

Nanocarrier spray: better crops without genetic modification

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Gene expression, but not genomes, altered in plants and crops with a spray containing bioactive molecules tethered to nanocarrier peptides

Feb

Introducing Nikola, the emotional android boy

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

A new android named Nikola will help researchers study facial expressions, emotions, and social interactions.

Feb

Green hydrogen production for fuel cells and fertilizers

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

A new method of water electrolysis avoids rare metals, making hydrogen production green and sustainable.

Feb

Social contact-seeking behavior and loneliness in the brain

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

Levels of the peptide amylin in the brain are related to loneliness; activating amylin neurons in the MPOA drives isolated mice to seek social contact.

Feb

New treatment assembles cancer drug inside the body

by masataka sasabe | Featured, Hot Off the Press

Cancer drugs assembled inside the body on cancer cells should reduce harmful side effects to other tissue.

Jan

New lab-grown retinal sheets almost ready for clinical trials

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

A new retinal transplant technique works by preventing bipolar cells from maturing in lab-grown retinal sheets.

Jan

The free-energy principle explains neural network behavior

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists show that the free-energy principle can explain how neural networks work.

Transgenic plants ??on acid survive without water

Scientists designed transgenic plants that survive drought-like conditions by bumping up acetic acid production only when water is scarce.

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Social contact-seeking behavior and loneliness in the brain

Levels of the peptide amylin in the brain are related to loneliness; activating amylin neurons in the MPOA drives isolated mice to seek social contact.