Apr

23

Artificial gravity protects the immune system of mice in space

by adam phillips | Featured, Research News

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Mice who experienced artificial gravity on the ISS suffered less damage to their immune system (thymus) than weightless mice did.

Apr

14

Ultraprecise clocks and the Tokyo Skytree verify Einstein’s theory of relativity

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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Time measured at the top and bottom of the Tokyo Skytree with ultraprecise clocks has verified the time dilation effect predicted by Einstein.

Mar

20

Low-protein diet changes sperm and health of future offspring

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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Low-protein diets in male mice alter sperm and result in offspring that have metabolic problems like diabetes in adulthood.

Mar

13

Physiological origami and proper body development in flies

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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

Mar

11

Efficient and durable ultra-thin solar cells

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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Ultra-thin, flexible, organic solar cells that degrade less than 5 percent after 3,000 hours and an energy conversion ratio of 13%.

Mar

9

Tape and vermilion: ingredients for mapping artifact origins

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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Vermilion samples taken from ancient artifacts with sulfur-free tape can tell us about trade patterns 3000 years ago.

Jan

29

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

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

Jan

24

Astrocytes powered by norepinephrine during fear-memory formation

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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Norepinephrine released in the locus coeruleus during fear learning is accompanied by increased calcium and cAMP levels in nearby astrocytes.

Dec

19

Brain wave synchrony can predict memory age

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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The degree of neuronal synchrony between the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus during recall is an indication of memory age (in mice).

Dec

18

AI identifies features associated with cancer recurrence

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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Artificial intelligence has successfully identified features relevant to cancer prognosis that were not previously noted by pathologists

Nov

15

Longevity in supercentenarians linked to cytotoxic T-cells

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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Blood analysis in supercentenarians showed that they have many more cytotoxic CD4 T-cells than people with average life spans.

Oct

29

Schizophrenia biomarker (hydrogen sulfide) in human hair

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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Not only is hydrogen sulfide a good biomarker for schizophrenia, it’s also the culprit and a new starting point for drug discovery.

Oct

10

Brain tissue kept alive for weeks with new microfluidic device

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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A new microfluidic device can keep tissue cultures functional for weeks on an artificial membrane

Oct

4

Massive filaments, galaxies, and supermassive black holes

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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Big telescopes yield big data! Detailed observations gas filaments connecting galaxies in a distant proto-cluster in the early Universe.

Oct

3

Understanding non-coding DNA: gene “enhancers”

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Aug

9

Implantable blastocyst‐like cysts grown from stem cells

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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Embryo Organoids?! Blastocyst‐like cysts grown from pluripotent mouse stem cells were similar to natural blastocysts (early embryos).

Jul

16

Talking science Illustration with Misaki Ouchida

by adam phillips | Featured, Interviews, What's Up With Us

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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.

Jul

9

Cyborg microchip valve driven by earthworm muscle

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

Jul

3

Eating a high fat diet without getting obese?

by adam phillips | Featured, Hot Off the Press

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

Jul

2

New metalloenzyme system selectively targets cancer cells

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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

Jun

27

Boosting betaine may be a treatment for schizophrenia

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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

Jun

19

Gray matter volume links symptoms in autism

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

Jun

6

New mechanism allows lower energy requirement for OLED displays

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Jun

6

CAPON links Alzheimer’s plaques to neurodegeneration

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

May

20

AdR blockers protect the brain from stroke damage

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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

Apr

25

Trigger region found for epileptic absence seizures

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

Apr

23

Opto-OISI: imaging connections in the living brain

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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A new imaging technique called opto-OISI allows scientists to non-invasively visualize where specific neurons project in the living brain.

Apr

19

Flies smell through a gore-tex system

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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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

11

Protein pileup affects social behavior through altered brain signaling

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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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

29

The joys of computational mass spectrometry

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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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

5

Pulses of light can enhance superconductivity

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Feb

15

Scientists create new type of self-healing material

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Feb

12

Brain clock ticks differently in autism

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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

Dec

19

Supermassive black holes still dark and mysterious

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Dec

7

Evolution of the inner ear: insights from jawless fish

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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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

5

Tumor detection during breast cancer surgery

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

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

Nov

26

Smarter AI: machine learning without negative data

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

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Scientists have developed a new method for machine learning that allows an AI to make better classifications without negative data.

Nov

16

Nerdnite recap: When the brainbow met the boson

by amanda alvarez | Drop of science

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Fun times at nerdnite tokyo. Brains, bosons, and math, oh my!

Nov

13

Mutations, CRISPR, and spinocerebellar ataxia

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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Scientists discover that mutations causing the degenerative movement disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 29 work by disrupting calcium release of neurons inside the brain.