The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Tumor detection during breast cancer surgery

Scientists have developed a new way to accurately detect the margins between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue during breast cancer surgery.

Read on

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.

Read on

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.

Read on

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.

Read on

Robotic exoskeleton learns to help people stand up

This new robotic exoskeleton uses machine learning to know when users want help standing up.

Read on

Brainless memory makes the spinal cord smarter than previously thought

The spinal cord learns how to direct limb muscles to avoid aversive sensations and recalls the memories using separate neural circuitry. Oh, and without a brain!

Read on

Topics

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!

Latest Posts

No Results Found

The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.

AdR blockers protect the brain from stroke damage

Treatment with adrenergic receptor antagonists (AdR blockers) was able to reduce stroke-related brain damage in mice and improve motor recovery.

Read on

Eco-friendly ammonia production for fertilizers and alternative fuel

A new process that allows ammonia to be produced using much less energy than the standard methods.

Read on

Hepatoma (liver cancer) blocked by a sugar look-a-like

A sugar (fucose) analog can prevent liver cancer (hepatoma) from invading healthy liver cells.

Read on

Nanopores in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and the origin of life

“Naturally occurring selective nanopore ion channels in deep-sea hydrothermal vents are similar to ion channels found in cells and could help explain the origin of life.

Read on

Learning and unlearning to fear: The two faces of noradrenaline

Fear association and unlearning fear association require different populations of noradrenaline neurons in the locus coeruleus.

Read on

Understanding non-coding DNA: gene “enhancers”

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

Read on

Jul

Cyborg microchip valve driven by earthworm muscle

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

This earthworm muscle-controlled biological microelectromechanical system (bio‐MEMS) could lead the way to next-generation medical implants.

Jul

Eating a high fat diet without getting obese?

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

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

Jul

New metalloenzyme system selectively targets cancer cells

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Specific targeting of cancer cells and onsite drug synthesis has been achieved using a new artificial metalloenzyme delivery system.

Jun

Boosting betaine may be a treatment for schizophrenia

by admin | Hot Off the Press

Supplementing model mice with glycine betaine (trimethylglycine), a compound originally derived from beets, can alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia.

Jun

Gray matter volume links symptoms in autism

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Low gray matter volume in the posterior superior parietal lobule (pSPL) was found to correlate with specific cognitive and perceptual symptoms of autism.

Jun

New mechanism allows lower energy requirement for OLED displays

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Jun

CAPON links Alzheimer’s plaques to neurodegeneration

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

CAPON was found to link Aβ plaques and hippocampal neurodegeneration in mice, explaining how these two hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease are related.

May

AdR blockers protect the brain from stroke damage

by admin | Hot Off the Press

Treatment with adrenergic receptor antagonists (AdR blockers) was able to reduce stroke-related brain damage in mice and improve motor recovery.

Apr

Trigger region found for epileptic absence seizures

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

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.

Read on

Green hydrogen production for fuel cells and fertilizers

A new method of water electrolysis avoids rare metals, making hydrogen production green and sustainable.

Read on

Opossums are the first genome edited marsupials

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

Read on

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.

Read on

Jul

Methylation mutation directly linked to autism

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

Jun

Melatonin in mice, circadian rhythms, and daily torpor

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new breed of lab mouse allows the study of naturally occurring melatonin. These mice will adjust better to jetlag than regular lab mice and experience daily torpor.