The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

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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In living color: imaging the brain with synthetic bioluminescence

A new way to image the brain from outside the head using bioluminescence.

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Engineering crop immunity from a receptor in pomelo fruit

Synthetic receptors derived from the pomelo fruit can help crops become immune to thousands of pathogens.

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Hibernation-like state can protect kidneys during heart surgery

Activating Q-neurons in the mouse brain led to a hibernation-like state that protected kidneys during heart surgery.

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Eating a high fat diet without getting obese?

Scientists discover that without innate immune cells in the intestines, eating a high fat diet does not lead to obesity in mice.

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Microcolumns: elementary neuronal units that carpet the (mouse) brain

A hexagonal lattice organizes major cell types in the cerebral cortex, with similar cells synchronizing their activity in microcolumns.

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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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Root growth improved in soil contaminated with cesium

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

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Protein pileup affects social behavior through altered brain signaling

When a normal cellular cleanup process is disrupted, social behavior in mice is disrupted and they start behaving in ways that resemble human symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.

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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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Hibernation-like state can protect kidneys during heart surgery

Activating Q-neurons in the mouse brain led to a hibernation-like state that protected kidneys during heart surgery.

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Dopamine reduces beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease

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

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Methylation mutation directly linked to autism

A mutation in a gene needed for H3K9 methylation is directly linked to autism spectrum disorders and early neurodevelopment.

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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.

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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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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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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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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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.