The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

New artificial skin helps avoid animal testing

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.

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Predictive grid cells help self navigation in the brain

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

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Super-thin wearable electronics just got more flexible

A method for making super-flexible and ultra-thin wearable electronics uses water-vapor plasma to create gold-gold bonds.

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Locating social memories in the brain

Scientists have identified where social memories are stored in the brains of mice. Mice are forgotten because memories cannot be retrieved.

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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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Toward human hibernation: cold-resistant mouse stem cells

Cold-resistant stem cells from “deep torpor” mice are a big step toward understanding why tissue survives hibernation.

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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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Smoker gut bacteria reduce bowel inflammation in ulcerative colitis

Mouth bacteria that settle in the guts of smokers activate helper T-cells that counter inflammation in ulcerative colitis.

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Blocking obesity with a protein-sugar combination

Discovery of an enzyme that prevents obesity in mice through glycosylation of a protein involved fat-cell differentiation.

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Palaeospondylus: mystery of vertebrate evolution solved

Micro-CT scans using synchrotron radiation X-rays reveal Palaeospondylus morphology, finally allowing its placement on the evolutionary tree.

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Carbon nanotubes, what are they good for?

Kylius Wilkins talks to Urs Frey and his recent success manufacturing carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

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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.

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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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Dec

AI identifies features associated with cancer recurrence

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Artificial intelligence has successfully identified features relevant to cancer prognosis that were not previously noted by pathologists

Nov

Longevity in supercentenarians linked to cytotoxic T-cells

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Oct

Schizophrenia biomarker (hydrogen sulfide) in human hair

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Not only is hydrogen sulfide a good biomarker for schizophrenia, it’s also the culprit and a new starting point for drug discovery.

Oct

Brain tissue kept alive for weeks with new microfluidic device

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

Oct

Massive filaments, galaxies, and supermassive black holes

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Big telescopes yield big data! Detailed observations gas filaments connecting galaxies in a distant proto-cluster in the early Universe.

Oct

Understanding non-coding DNA: gene “enhancers”

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

NETCAGE is a newly developed technique for determining the structure of portions of the non-coding genome called ‘enhancers.’

Aug

Mini-EUSO launched to the International Space Station ?

by jens wilkinson | News

The Mini-EUSO observatory was successfully launched to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS14! NASA video inside!

Aug

Implantable blastocyst‐like cysts grown from stem cells

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Embryo Organoids?! Blastocyst‐like cysts grown from pluripotent mouse stem cells were similar to natural blastocysts (early embryos).

Jul

Talking science Illustration with Misaki Ouchida

by adam phillips | Featured, Interviews, What's Up With Us

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.

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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How does gravity affect antimatter?

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

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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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Diazoxide pills for Alzheimer’s disease?

Drug therapy with with diazoxide relieved symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of mice and improved memory.

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Dec

Cassava engineered to produce healthier tapioca starch

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Reducing the amount of starch branching enzymes in cassava plants made more resistant and thus healthier tapioca starch.

Dec

Diazoxide pills for Alzheimer’s disease?

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

Drug therapy with with diazoxide relieved symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of mice and improved memory.

Oct

Zebrafish imagine a danger-free future to avoid threats in virtual reality

by admin | Hot Off the Press

By imaging the brain while zebrafish “swim” in virtual reality, scientists have learned that even fish can create internal models to predict future outcomes.