The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Robotic researcher to the rescue

Masaki Watabe talks about automated robotic researchers, future robot rule, and scientific philosophy.

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.

Smoker gut bacteria reduce bowel inflammation in ulcerative colitis

Mouth bacteria that settle in the guts of smokers activate helper T-cells that counter inflammation in ulcerative colitis.

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Recipe for hydrogen: sprinkle manganese oxide with iridium atoms, add water

A few iridium atoms also go a long way. When sprinkled on manganese oxide, hydrogen is produced with 95% less iridium!

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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!

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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.

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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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Gene regulator that allows plant rehydration after drought

New genetic insights into the plant rehydration process: this is why your plants don’t die after you forgot to water them.

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The joys of computational mass spectrometry

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).

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Xist knockout rescues miscarriages in mice

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

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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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Recipe for hydrogen: sprinkle manganese oxide with iridium atoms, add water

A few iridium atoms also go a long way. When sprinkled on manganese oxide, hydrogen is produced with 95% less iridium!

Read on

RIKEN Research Summer issue

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Mar

Heat shock system helps dried up bug come back to life

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

An international collaboration has determined that cooption of the Heat Shock Factor (HSF) gene system is what allows larvae of the sleeping chironomid to be able to survive severe desiccation.

Feb

In living color: imaging the brain with synthetic bioluminescence

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new way to image the brain from outside the head using bioluminescence.

Feb

Deep-brain exploration with nanomaterials

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new way to optogenetically activate neurons deep in the brain using infrared light and upconversion nanoparticles. It’s non-invasive!

Feb

Running away from carbon dioxide: the terminal connection

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Even fish want to avoid carbon dioxide. Now we know that they can because of chemosensation and the Terminal Nerve.

Jan

Rainbow engineering to make the brain glow

by admin | Drop of science

Bar talk about tinkering with bioluminescent molecules from jellyfish, corals, and algae, figuring out how they work, and making them more useful for brain science.

Jan

Geostationary satellite enables better precipitation and flood predictions

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

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 admin | 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.

Introducing Nikola, the emotional android boy

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

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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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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.

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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.