The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

A faster and more sensitive antibody test for COVID-19

Fast and sensitive: A new antibody test for the COVID-19 virus. Just a pinprick of blood and results in 30 minutes.

Trigger region found for epileptic absence seizures

A mouse model shows that absence seizures are triggered by faulty connections between the cortex and fast-spiking neurons in the striatum.

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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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Protons are lighter than previously thought

A new and most precise measurement of protons shows that they are lighter than previously thought.

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Crying baby? Science says walk, then sit

Recipe for success: Walk 5 min, sit 8 min, lay no-longer-crying baby down. Now you can relax.

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Leaky plants bad for drought resistance

The KAI2 receptor for compounds found in smoke helps plants retain water and survive during drought.

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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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Cassava engineered to produce healthier tapioca starch

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

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Big news in iPS cell transplants

iPS cell-derived retinal cells have been successfully transplanted from one monkey to another without need of immunosuppressant drugs.

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Organ regeneration in the lab

Interview with Takashi Tsuji, team leader of the Laboratory for Organ Regeneration at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology

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The brain’s GPS has a buddy system

In addition to encoding self location, brain cells in the rat hippocampus act like a GPS that encodes the location of other rats.

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Dietary amino acid linked to cancer in flies

Researchers have found a dietary amino acid linked to oncogene expression / tumor formation; reduced consumption reduced cancer in flies.

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Plant peptide spells relief from salty stress

Newly discovered plant peptide hormone can be used to protect plants from excessive environmental salt.

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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.

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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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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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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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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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.