The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Cubes of brain tissue allow drug discovery without animals

Modeling the blood-brain-barrier with brains-in-a-cube allows drug testing without the need for animals.

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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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Scientists create new type of self-healing material

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

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Are you “at risk” of being a habitual coffee drinker?

Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are related to dietary habits, including coffee, tea, tofu, and yogurt consumption.

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Something smells fishy: categorizing odors in the brain

Calcium imaging and mathematical model explain how categories and mixtures of odors are represented in the fly brain and consistent across individual flies.

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Japanese people are a mixture of three separate ancestral groups

A new study shows that the current Japanese population is derived from 3 ancestral groups, one of which brought Denisovan DNA to the party.

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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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Geostationary satellite enables better precipitation and flood predictions

Data from the Himawari-8 geosynchronous satellite was used in weather simulations to improve forecasts of sudden precipitation and tropical storm development.

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New rice fights off drought

Researchers have created drought resistant transgenic rice using a gene from a small Eurasian flowering plant

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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.

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Millions of years of galaxy evolution simulated in mere months with the help of AI

When a machine learning AI was asked to help simulate galaxy evolution, processing time went from years to months.

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Scientists create new type of self-healing material

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

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From evolutionary morphology to Godzilla

I recently spoke with RIKEN scientist Shigeru Kuratani about evolutionary morphology, sci-fi monsters, the genius of Alien, and more.

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Aug

Flies use fecal deposits as pheromones

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

Bioluminescence imaging of fly brains reveals neurons sensitive to fly poo laced with pheromones (you can see the fecal “landmark” in the dotted circle). Need we say more?

Jul

Hippocampal memory isn’t all about place cells

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have found evidence that hippocampal memories of experience are not stored in place cells.

Jul

Summer fun: how plants beat the heat

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have discovered a gene that allows plants to cope with extreme heat by changing the composition of chloroplast membranes.

Jun

Freedom from fear ?‍♀️

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Researchers discover a dopaminergic circuit in the brain that allows fear associations to disappear when there isn’t anything to be afraid of anymore.

Jun

Blue gene regulation helps plants respond properly to light

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Blue light alters some gene expression in plants by changing the transcription start sites to downstream locations.

Jun

Out on a limb: the many ‘brains’ of the octopus

by amanda alvarez | Drop of science

Learn how (neurologically) cool octopus arms are (as if you didn’t already know).

Jun

Mutation links bipolar disorder to mitochondrial disease

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

ANT1 mutations found in bipolar disease that affect mitochondria lead to hyperexcitable serotonergic neuronal activity in the brain.

Jun

My science communication journey in Tokyo

by sarah naimi | What's Up With Us

New contributor and nuclear physicist Sarah Naimi talks about her recent experience in science communication at a recent scicom event in Tokyo.

Jun

Gene linked to intellectual ability affects memory replay in mice

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have discovered a gene in mice that allows memory replay at rest, a process necessary for forming long-lasting memories in mice.

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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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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New treatment assembles cancer drug inside the body

Cancer drugs assembled inside the body on cancer cells should reduce harmful side effects to other tissue.

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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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May

Consciousness, brain connections, and the claustrum

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

Research shows that the claustrum acts as a ‘consciousness conductor’ that synchronizes and connects areas within the mouse brain.

May

A new imaging biomarker for the aging brain

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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.