The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Gut bacteria could help overcome milk allergy

Analysis shows that some gut bacteria could help improve oral immunotherapy against milk allergy.

Read on

Imaging whole-body cancer metastasis at the single-cell level

A new optical clearing method allows imaging of cancer metastasis at incredibly high resolution.

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

RIKEN Research Summer issue

A quick post to let you know that the Summer issue of RIKEN Research Magazine came out towards the end of June. This issue covers brain evolution, regenerating skin, super-clear synapses, and much much more! Enjoy!

Read on

How an herbal medicine protects against inflamed bowels

A Japanese herbal medicine promotes good bacteria and innate immune cells in the gut, which protects against intestinal inflammation.

Read on

Quick, call Spiderman: scientists discover how spider silk is formed

A group of scientists led by researchers have discovered a key mechanism through which spider silk is formed.

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.

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

Physiological origami and proper body development in flies

Genetics and mechanical origami in the fly embryo helps proper body development by fighting off “noisy” fluctuations is the environment.

Read on

Genomic “butterfly effect” involving TADs explains risk for autism

De novo mutations in three-dimensional structures in the genome containing known ASD genes were found to be associated with ASD risk.

Read on

RIKEN Research Winter Issue

It’s almost the end of the year and a here’s an early holiday present! The winter issue of RIKEN Research is here, covering plant parasites, depression, atomic clocks, and more! Enjoy!

Read on

Plant hormone combats dehydration

Scientists show that CLE25 is a plant hormone that travels from roots to leaves and helps close stomata in times of dehydration stress.

Read on

Pathogenic genetic variation linked to H. pylori-related stomach cancer

Researchers find that the risk of stomach cancer due to infection withH. Pylori bacteria increases with specific genetic variations.

Read on

Jan

Clean and green: a moss that removes lead (Pb) from water

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists show that the moss Funaria hygrometrica can remove harmful lead from water when in the protonema stage of development.

Jan

The brain’s GPS has a buddy system

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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

Dec

Leaky plants bad for drought resistance

by adam phillips | Research in Depth

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

Dec

Helping the body clock keep its cool

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Two parallel temperature-responsive mechanisms ensure that circadian rhythms are not skewed by changes in temperature

Dec

The stars align

by amanda alvarez | Drop of science

The stars align. That’s what you say, when things work out perfectly. In the case of an eclipse, of course, it’s not stars that align but rather the moon and sun.

Dec

What’s that smell? The advantage of sniffing

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Rhythmic sniffing boosts phase-coded neuronal signals in the mouse olfactory bulb that allow odors to be identified.

Nov

Quantum dots light up cancer with a little help

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Researchers have found a small connecting protein that can help make quantum dot-based probes for biomedical imaging.

Nov

Most precise measurement ever of proton magnetic moment

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Using a sophisticated setup, scientists have made the most precise measurement to date of the proton magnetic moment.

Nov

Proton and antiproton still seem identical

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Using a novel two-particle measurement method, scientists have measured the magnetic moment of the antiproton at a precision 350 times higher than any previous measurement.

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.

Read on

Talking science Illustration with Misaki Ouchida

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.