The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

New lab-grown retinal sheets almost ready for clinical trials

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

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Blue gene regulation helps plants respond properly to light

Blue light alters some gene expression in plants by changing the transcription start sites to downstream locations.

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The free-energy principle explains neural network behavior

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

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Flies smell through a gore-tex system

The newly named gore-tex gene is responsible for the development of nanopores that allow chemicals in the air to be detected (in flies).

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New mechanism allows lower energy requirement for OLED displays

Scientists have found a way to significantly reduce the amount of energy required by organic light emitting diodes (OLED) displays.

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Most precise measurement ever of proton magnetic moment

Using a sophisticated setup, scientists have made the most precise measurement to date of the proton magnetic moment.

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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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Cubes of brain tissue allow drug discovery without animals

Modeling the blood-brain-barrier with brains-in-a-cube allows drug testing without the need for animals.

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Gene linked to intellectual ability affects memory replay in mice

Scientists have discovered a gene in mice that allows memory replay at rest, a process necessary for forming long-lasting memories in mice.

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Hippocampal memory isn’t all about place cells

Scientists have found evidence that hippocampal memories of experience are not stored in place cells.

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Flies use fecal deposits as pheromones

Bioluminescence imaging of fly brains reveals neurons sensitive to fly poo laced with pheromones (you can see the fecal “landmark” in the dotted circle). Need we say more?

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A researcher’s journey: from surfing to studying pain

Joshua Johansen from RIKEN CBS tells us about his journey from surfer to pain researcher and beyond. Stay tuned for part II …

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Award-winning 3D images of living cells

An interview with Yuko Kiyosue, discussing the 3D images of living cells that gained her and her colleagues a recent award.

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Jan

Godzilla-sized zooplankton for better aquafarming

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have created extra large zooplankton to help feed the fish in aquafarms. The new plankton were created using an ion beam to generate mutations.

Dec

Electric rays to help us map the ocean floor

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Electric rays and sting rays could map the ocean floor through their natural behavior, helping us find resources and collect data on other ocean life.

Nov

Bacterial drug resistance studied by robotic E. coli evolution

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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

Nov

New artificial skin helps avoid animal testing

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

A new artificial skin that reproduces proper tension can be used to research skin function and disease while reducing the need to experiment on animals.

Oct

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

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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.

Sep

FABP4: A preschool-aged biomarker for autism

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Reduced FABP4 was found in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder, making it a potential new biomarker for the condition.

Sep

Microbial infections are a parasitic plant’s dream

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Parasitic plants use quinones produced by their host to attack. Now we know that crops produce quinones as an immune response against microbial infection. How can we protect crops from both kinds of attack?

Aug

Gut bacteria double team worsens symptoms of multiple sclerosis

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Joint activity of two gut bacteria leads to excessive MOG-specific T-cell activity and demyelination of neurons in the spinal cord of a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

Aug

Something smells fishy: categorizing odors in the brain

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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

H2AK119ub1: How you inherit acquired traits from your mom

H2AK119ub1. Say that three times really fast! But seriously, it allows maternally acquired traits to be inherited.

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Why (mouse) mothers take risks to protect their infants

The calcitonin receptor and its ligand amylin act in the brain to motivate mouse mothers to protect their pups, even in risky/dangerous situations.

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How does gravity affect antimatter?

Scientists find that antimatter reacts to gravity the same way that regular matter does.

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Opossums are the first genome edited marsupials

A new piezoelectronic microinjection method has allowed the first successful genome editing in marsupials: albino opossums.

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Apr

A new type of cell death discovered in fly guts

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

A completely unknown type of cell death called “erebosis” has been discovered in the guts of the common fruit fly.

Apr

Diagnosing fetal heart disease benefits from explanatory AI

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Diagnosis accuracy improved when doctors used explanatory AI to help diagnose congenital heart disease from fetal ultrasound videos.

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.