The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

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

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.

Read on

A new imaging biomarker for the aging brain

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.

Read on

Purple biomass makes a good crop fertilizer

Biomass made from purple marine bacteria provides more than enough nitrogen to plants without harming the environment

Read on

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.

Read on

Mathematical model predicts self-organized learning in real neurons

The free energy principle predicted how real neural connections changed as neurons “learned” in a dish.

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.

Omics Omics Omics: Analysis predicts ovarian cancer-treating drug

Multi-omics analysis prediction: drugs that inhibit Ras signaling will help prevent tumor formation in serous ovarian cancer.

Read on

Marsupial heart regeneration ability given to mice

Regeneration of mouse hearts ? ?? after birth achieved by figuring out how it’s possible in opossums.

Read on

Robotic AI helps efficient growth of replacement organs

Humans team-up with a robotic AI to speed up experiments to find the best way to regrow damaged eye tissue from stem cells.

Read on

Xist knockout rescues miscarriages in mice

Xist knockout rescues miscarriages in mice whose egg cells lack H3K27me3 epigenetic instructions.

Read on

A new and improved way to store hydrogen

A simple chemical reaction allows hydrogen-carrying ammonia to be stored and retrieved cheaply and easily.

Read on

Stem cell exhaustion and proliferation: An aging fly’s tale

Blocking the gene ced-6 led to stem cell exhaustion in aging fruit flies and prevented repair of damaged intestines.

Read on

Apr

Flies smell through a gore-tex system

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

The newly named gore-tex gene is responsible for the development of nanopores that allow chemicals in the air to be detected (in flies).

Apr

Protein pileup affects social behavior through altered brain signaling

by admin | Hot Off the Press

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.

Mar

The joys of computational mass spectrometry

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have developed a new automated computational mass spectrometry system that can search an organism’s entire metabolome for as-yet-unknown metabolites (potential drugs).

Mar

Pulses of light can enhance superconductivity

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Pulses of light could be used to turn materials into superconductors through an unconventional type of superconductivity.

Feb

Scientists create new type of self-healing material

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

This newly created ethylene-based material has shape memory that allows self-healing!

Feb

Brain clock ticks differently in autism

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new brain imaging study shows that autistic severity is linked to how long certain regions of the brain store information.

Dec

Supermassive black holes still dark and mysterious

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

For the first time, scientists have measured the strength of magnetic fields near supermassive black holes and something doesn’t add up.

Dec

Evolution of the inner ear: insights from jawless fish

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

A new story for inner ear evolution based on the developmental patterning found in hagfish, one of two extant jawless vertebrates and a link to the last common ancestor of modern jawed vertebrates.

Dec

Tumor detection during breast cancer surgery

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

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

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.

Read on

How does gravity affect antimatter?

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

Read on

Introducing Nikola, the emotional android boy

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

Read on

Mar

Telework: a societal game-changer

by jens wilkinson | Interviews

COVID-19 series — installment #3: Team Leader Osamu Sakura (@RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project) talks about how the pandemic has affected society through the need for telework.

Mar

Decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic

by jens wilkinson | Interviews

COVID-19 series — installment #2: RIKEN CBS Unit Leader Rei Akaishi talks about government decision-making during the pandemic.

Mar

Confronting a string of epidemics including COVID-19

by jens wilkinson | Interviews

COVID-19 series — installment #1: RIKEN Executive Director Shigeo Koyasu talks about epidemics and what a good response looks like.

Feb

Next stop: clinical hair regeneration

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

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.

Jan

Godzilla-sized zooplankton for better aquafarming

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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.

Dec

Electric rays to help us map the ocean floor

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Electric rays and sting rays could map the ocean floor through their natural behavior, helping us find resources and collect data on other ocean life.

Follow Us

Topics

Latest research animations

Latest Posts

No Results Found