Science News

How did humans get to be so much fatter than our closest primate relatives, despite sharing 99% of the same DNA? A new study suggests that part of the answer may have to do with an ancient molecular shift in how DNA is p...

Hand hygiene is a critical component of infection prevention in hospitals, but the unintended consequences include water splashing out of a sink to spread contaminants from dirty faucets according to new research.

A new study has uncovered a potential new way to treat patients with ALS, a debilitating neurodegenerative disease.

Researchers suggest a possible cell-based therapy to stimulate lung development in fragile premature infants who suffer from a rare condition called Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), which in the most severe cases can le...

Researchers have studied which genes are expressed in overactive immune cells in mice with asthma-like inflammation of the airways. Their results suggest that the synthesis and breakdown of fats plays an important part i...

A new study finds that the gene FOXA1 overrides normal biology in three different ways to drive prostate cancer. They refer to the three classes as FAST, FURIOUS, and LOUD to reflect their unique features.

One in 11 adults worldwide suffers from diabetes, and the number of diabetes patients is rising rapidly. Diabetes is worldwide one of the most widespread diseases. In the most common form of diabetes, type 2 diabetes, th...

Research points toward t-boosting supplements as having little or no known effect.

With summer in full swing, many people are cooling off in swimming pools. However, some of the substances that are made when chlorine in the water reacts with compounds in human sweat, urine or dirt aren't so refreshing....

Many psychiatric drugs act on the receptors or transporters of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. However, there is a great need for alternatives, and research is looking at other targets along the brain's metabolic...

Almost 20% of children develop facial or vocal tics by the time they are elementary school age. For many children, knowing others are watching them helps to reduce tic behaviors. A histor of anxiety disorder has been ass...

Nature has a way of finding optimal solutions to complex problems. For example, despite the billions of ways for a single protein to fold, proteins always fold in a way that minimizes potential energy. Slime mold, a brai...

Exposure to viral infections in the brain during childhood has been linked to an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis later in life.

Women who experience migraines while pregnant are at increased risk of miscarriage, caesarean sections, preterm labor and delivering babies with low birth weight.

Reduced levels of an amino acid called betaine is associated with schizophrenia pathology. Supplementing betaine levels improved cognitive and behavioral deficits in mouse models of schizophrenia. The amino acid also red...

DNA from 120,000-year-old bones sheds light on the ancestry of Neanderthals in Europe, revealing a remarkable 80,000 years of genetic continuity, interbreeding with a mystery hominin and migrations

DNA from 120,000-year-old bones sheds light on the ancestry of Neanderthals in Europe, revealing a remarkable 80,000 years of genetic continuity, interbreeding with a mystery hominin and migrations

How does your right arm know to be as long as your left? What tells your body how tall you are? Why does a giraffe's neck grow tall, as its body stays the same size? As much as we have learned in biology, we still don't ...

People who often go barefoot develop thicker skin on the soles of their feet for protection - but unlike cushioned shoes, thick skin can still sense vibrations

This tiny insect-inspired robot weighs just 259 milligrams, has four wings that flap 170 times per second and is powered by six mini solar panels

Electronic properties of materials can be directly influenced via light absorption in under a femtosecond (10-15 seconds), which is regarded as the limit of the maximum achievable speed of electronic circuits. In contras...

Entanglement is one of the main principles of quantum mechanics. Physicists from Professor Johannes Fink's research group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) have found a way to use a mechani...