The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Diagnosing fetal heart disease benefits from explanatory AI

Diagnosis accuracy improved when doctors used explanatory AI to help diagnose congenital heart disease from fetal ultrasound videos.

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Memory retrieval needs a neuronal connecting flight

Scientists use optogenetics to discover a part of the brain necessary for retrieving memories of personal experiences.

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Microbial infections are a parasitic plant’s dream

Parasitic plants use quinones produced by their host to attack. Now we know that crops produce quinones as an immune response against microbial infection. How can we protect crops from both kinds of attack?

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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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Tape and vermilion: ingredients for mapping artifact origins

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

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Boosting betaine may be a treatment for schizophrenia

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

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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

May

Plant peptide spells relief from salty stress

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Newly discovered plant peptide hormone can be used to protect plants from excessive environmental salt.

May

Putting E. coli to work for us

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Specially engineered bacteria can produce an industrially significant chemical from renewable sources in a much gentler process than the one currently used by industry.

Apr

Why being sick can create anxiety

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Researchers have linked changes in mouse immune-cell metabolism to anxiety-related behavior and alterations in brain chemistry.

Apr

Plant hormone combats dehydration

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

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 amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

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

Feb

Deep-brain exploration with nanomaterials

by amanda alvarez | 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 amanda alvarez | 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 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.

Nov

Microcolumns: elementary neuronal units that carpet the (mouse) brain

by amanda alvarez | Hot Off the Press

A hexagonal lattice organizes major cell types in the cerebral cortex, with similar cells synchronizing their activity in microcolumns.

Oct

Jupiter’s volcano-powered auroral lights

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

A collaborative effort used data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft to explain the transient auroras found on Jupiter.

Oct

Hepatoma (liver cancer) blocked by a sugar look-a-like

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

A sugar (fucose) analog can prevent liver cancer (hepatoma) from invading healthy liver cells.

Oct

Random movements help color-detecting cells form the proper pattern

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have used a mathematical model to explain why zebrafish cone cells in the eye are arranged in a specific pattern in all individuals.

Sep

Visualizing chick-brain morphogenesis

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

A new statistical-based method provides insight into the morphogenesis of developing organs.

Sep

Skin-like wearable electronics

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Sensors made from stretchable nanomesh allow skin to breathe naturally while continuously monitoring patient health.

Sep

Solar cells you can put in the wash

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have developed ultra-thin photovoltaic solar cells that can be incorporated into fabric and even washed.

Sep

Learning and unlearning to fear: The two faces of noradrenaline

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Fear association and unlearning fear association require different populations of noradrenaline neurons in the locus coeruleus.

Sep

ּּּBigger oocytes = more mistakes

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

The large size of mouse oocytes is shown to create errors when chromosomes divide between daughter cells.

Sep

Superfly flight simulator helps unravel navigation in the brain

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Optical imaging neural activity in flies as they use a flight simulator can help us understand how the brain codes navigation.

Sep

Skipping fatty acids could be recipe for schizophrenia

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Prenatal lack of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids linked to epigenetic changes that lead to schizophrenic symptoms in mice.

Aug

A gut-wrenching defense against parasitic worms

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Mast cells in the gut help fight off parasitic worms in the early stages of infection.

Aug

Memory retrieval needs a neuronal connecting flight

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists use optogenetics to discover a part of the brain necessary for retrieving memories of personal experiences.

Aug

From egg to embryo

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

A newly discovered gene turns off an egg’s egginess, allowing it to become an embryo.

Aug

This nickel catalyst bats from both sides of the plate

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Scientists discover that a nickel catalyst acts as both a acid and a base during molecule assembly.

Jul

New info about how chromosomes form

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

Fewer components are needed for chromosome assembly during cell division than previously supposed.

Jul

Tracking how stars grow up in a virtual playground

by amanda alvarez | Research Highlight

Amanda Alvarez writes about Steven Rieder and his research in modeling clusters of growing new stars.

Jul

Protons are lighter than previously thought

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

A new and most precise measurement of protons shows that they are lighter than previously thought.

Jul

Untangling depression in Huntington’s disease

by riken research highlights | Research Highlight

New research implicates clumps of insoluble, misfolded proteins in the development of mental illness in people with Huntington’s disease

Jul

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

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

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

A researcher’s journey: from surfing to studying pain

Joshua Johansen from RIKEN CBS tells us about his journey from surfer to pain researcher and beyond. Stay tuned for part II …

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Gut bacteria reduces insulin resistance, protects against diabetes

Scientists discover gut bacteria that reduce insulin resistance in your body and sugar in your poo.

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Implantable blastocyst‐like cysts grown from stem cells

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

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A new and improved way to store hydrogen

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

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Blood cell mutations linked to leukemia are inevitable

Researchers show that blood cell mutations increase with age identify risk factors for developing leukemia in Japanese and European populations.

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New mechanism allows lower energy requirement for OLED displays

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

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Mar

ERRg predicts atrial fibrillation and hidden comorbidity

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Polygenic risk scores based on the genetic data from more that a million people predicted atrial fibrillation, stroke, and mortality.

Dec

Memories are made of this ?? – (Part 2)

by adam phillips | Interviews

Thomas McHugh from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science continues his discussion about memories, emotions, the brain, and life.

Dec

Replicating opossum heart regeneration to help fight cardiovascular disease

by adam phillips | Research Animation

Animated research highlight: Opossum hearts hint at new ways of fighting cardiovascular disease

Dec

Spacey, nerdy nights in Tokyo

by kelly | What's Up With Us

Kelly, our new It Ain’t Magic contributor, writes about her nerdy nighttime experiences in Tokyo.

Dec

Memories are made of this ? ? – (Part 1)

by adam phillips | Interviews

Brain science ’round midnight episode 8: Thomas McHugh from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science discusses memories and the brain

Nov

Hibernation-like state can protect kidneys during heart surgery

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Activating Q-neurons in the mouse brain led to a hibernation-like state that protected kidneys during heart surgery.

Sep

Crying baby? Science says walk, then sit

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Recipe for success: Walk 5 min, sit 8 min, lay no-longer-crying baby down. Now you can relax.

Sep

Cyborg cockroaches to the rescue!

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

The key to this remote-controllable cyborg cockroach is a solar-cell rechargeable battery and an ultrathin flexible backpack.

Aug

Ethanol pretreated soil protects plants from drought

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Pretreating soil with ethanol protected plants, including wheat and rice, from the adverse effects of water deprivation.

New lab-grown retinal sheets almost ready for clinical trials

A new retinal transplant technique works by preventing bipolar cells from maturing in lab-grown retinal sheets.

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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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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.

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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.