All Posts - It Ain't Magic

Dec

6

Scientists develop new and improved quantum gates

High-fidelity, low error quantum gates allow more reliable and accurate quantum computations, making the future of quantum computers more promising.

Dec

5

Nanopores in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and the origin of life

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

“Naturally occurring selective nanopore ion channels in deep-sea hydrothermal vents are similar to ion channels found in cells and could help explain the origin of life.

Dec

4

Albumin drops medicine off at cancer site then leaves the body

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

By changing albumin’s identity, drugs can carried to their targets and then removed from the body after being used.

Oct

16

Protein antigens in meat, milk, and other foods suppress gut tumors

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Food antigens were found to prevent small intestinal tumors in gut-tumor prone mice by making ensuring we have enough T cells for defense.

Oct

2

Stem cell exhaustion and proliferation: An aging fly’s tale

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Blocking the gene ced-6 led to stem cell exhaustion in aging fruit flies and prevented repair of damaged intestines.

Aug

30

Chromosome copying errors pinpointed in developing embryos

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

The DNA duplication process changes during embryogenesis and chromosome copying errors increase during the transition.

Aug

20

Predictive grid cells help self navigation in the brain

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have discovered grid cells in the brain that map an animal’s (or human’s) future position in space.

Aug

7

Dopamine reduces beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Increasing dopamine in the brains of AD model mice led to increased neprilysin, which broke down amyloid-beta plaques and improved memory.

Jul

8

RIKEN discovers new T cells related to immune disorders

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Immune-related diseases like multiple sclerosis associated with genetic variation in newly discovered, rare T cells.

Jul

2

Will the “love hormone” ever be used to treat a rare genetic disease?

by masataka sasabe | Drop of science, What's Up With Us

One of the pitfalls of researching an extremely rare disease: getting enough data to support clinical trials could be impossible.

Jun

27

Purple biomass makes a good crop fertilizer

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Biomass made from purple marine bacteria provides more than enough nitrogen to plants without harming the environment

Jun

20

Atlas of the aging lipidome highlights kidneys and gut bacteria

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

The atlas revealed sex differences in the aging kidney lipidome and lipid byproducts of gut bacteria that accumulate throughout the body.

May

22

Root growth improved in soil contaminated with cesium

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Overactivating the ABA signaling pathway in plants prevented cesium in soil from blocking root growth in plants.

May

17

Japanese people are a mixture of three separate ancestral groups

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

A new study shows that the current Japanese population is derived from 3 ancestral groups, one of which brought Denisovan DNA to the party.

May

13

Space Café Tokyo explains sus sci-fi media

by kelly | What's Up With Us

Our very own Kelly writes about how much fun she had at Space Café Tokyo. Softcore science and beer.

May

10

Recipe for hydrogen: sprinkle manganese oxide with iridium atoms, add water

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

A few iridium atoms also go a long way. When sprinkled on manganese oxide, hydrogen is produced with 95% less iridium!

May

6

Stable green hydrogen production in a PEM electrolyzer

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

A little structurally manipulated manganese goes a long way when using a PEM electrolyzer to make hydrogen from water.

Apr

24

Brainless memory makes the spinal cord smarter than previously thought

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

The spinal cord learns how to direct limb muscles to avoid aversive sensations and recalls the memories using separate neural circuitry. Oh, and without a brain!