The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Getting a grip on slow but unique shark evolution

Scientists have decoded the genomes of two species of shark, bringing the grand total of sequenced shark genomes to three.

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Introducing Nikola, the emotional android boy

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

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Freedom from fear ?‍♀️

Researchers discover a dopaminergic circuit in the brain that allows fear associations to disappear when there isn’t anything to be afraid of anymore.

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Longevity in supercentenarians linked to cytotoxic T-cells

Blood analysis in supercentenarians showed that they have many more cytotoxic CD4 T-cells than people with average life spans.

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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

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Gut bacteria in babies predict childhood food allergies

Scientists found that one-month-old infants with certain gut bacteria were less likely to develop food sensitivities and food allergies later in childhood.

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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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Winter Hackathon and SupercomputingAsia

Find out what RIKEN R-CCS has been up to!

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Researchers create a functional salivary gland organoid ?

Scientists have succeeded in growing three-dimensional salivary gland tissue that produced saliva like normal glands when implanted into mice.

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A new type of cell death discovered in fly guts

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

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Godzilla-sized zooplankton for better aquafarming

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.

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Detecting pathogens: the evolution of plant immunity

Scientists find recognition receptors for plant growth and plant immunity that share a common evolutionary origin.

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Memory retrieval needs a neuronal connecting flight

Scientists use optogenetics to discover a part of the brain necessary for retrieving memories of personal experiences.

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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.

Jul

Photosynthetic bacteria spin spider silk for the masses

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

A little genetic engineering and a special recipe allows photosynthetic bacteria to mass-produce super lightweight spider silk for use in manufacturing.

Jun

Blood cell mutations linked to leukemia are inevitable

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Researchers show that blood cell mutations increase with age identify risk factors for developing leukemia in Japanese and European populations.

Jun

Organic nitrogen in soil helps crop growth

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

May

Consciousness, brain connections, and the claustrum

by admin | Hot Off the Press

Research shows that the claustrum acts as a ‘consciousness conductor’ that synchronizes and connects areas within the mouse brain.

May

A new imaging biomarker for the aging brain

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Enlarged ventricles is a sign of an aging brain. New research shows that this phenomenon can be predicted by lagging brain circulation that is detected by MRI.

Apr

Sphingolipid S1P: Potential new target for schizophrenia treatment

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Sphingolipid S1P is reduced in brain white matter of people with schizophrenia, making S1P receptors a good target for new treatments.

Apr

Staining that lights up whole organs and bodies

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have developed a staining procedure that makes see-through tissue, organs, and bodies useful.

Talking science Illustration with Misaki Ouchida

Whether it’s bird anatomy or science cartoons, Masaki Ouchida can do it all. She spoke with us about her career in science illustration, from the US to Japan.

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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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How does gravity affect antimatter?

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

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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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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.