Science News

Some supposedly inert ingredients in common drugs -- such as dyes and preservatives -- may potentially be biologically active and could lead to unanticipated side effects, according to a preliminary new study.

A new article shows that an annual investment of $30 billion should be enough to offset the costs of preventing another global pandemic such as COVID-19.

A new study found that lung ultrasound was highly sensitive for detecting abnormalities in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with B-lines, a thickened pleural line, and pulmonary consolidation the most common...

Researchers report on the decline of emergent medical, surgical and obstetric hospitalizations at the medical center during the six-week period following the week of the declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergenc...

When drugs to kill microbes are ineffective, host-directed therapy uses the body's own immune system to deal with the infection. This approach is being tested in patients with COVID-19, and now a team of researchers has ...

Researchers have compiled genetic data from consenting 23andMe research participants to paint a more complete picture of African ancestry in the New World. By linking genetic data with slave trade historical records, the...

A CT scan technique that splits a full X-ray beam into thin beamlets can deliver the same quality of image at a much reduced radiation dose, according to a new study. The technique, demonstrated on a small sample in a mi...

Researchers have confirmed that Heartland virus, an emerging pathogen with potentially dire consequences for those infected, is present in Lone Star ticks in two Illinois counties hundreds of miles apart. Lone Star ticks...

A new modified version of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has a 10-fold higher expression rate in cell cultures than an earlier version that forms the basis of some candidates currently in clinical trials. Vaccine manufactu...

Even by the standards of quantum physicists, strange metals are just plain odd. The materials are related to high-temperature superconductors and have surprising connections to the properties of black holes. Electrons in...

Telescopes all over the world watched a bright flash light up space around a distant, supermassive black hole. And then, within hours, it was gone.

From chemistry to materials science to COVID-19 research, the APS is one of the most productive X-ray light sources in the world. An upgrade will make it a global leader among the next generation of light sources, openin...

Frequency combs are becoming one of the great enabling technologies of the 21st century. High-precision atomic clocks, and high-precision spectroscopy are just two technologies that have benefited from the development of...

A new technology that can allow for better light control without requiring large, difficult-to-integrate materials and structures has been developed by Penn State researchers. The new photonic integrated chip could allow...

Genetic data from people in the Americas with African heritage hints at unusually high death rates among certain slaves, and points to systematic rape of women of African descent

Optical tweezers are a device which uses a laser beam to move micron-sized objects such as living cells, proteins, and molecules. In 2018, the American physicist Arthur Eshkin received the Nobel Prize for this technology...

If you had to guess how long it takes for a drug to go from an idea to your pharmacy, what would you guess? Three years? Five years? How about the cost? $30 million? $100 million? Well, here's the sobering truth: 90 perc...

Early-life exposure to antibiotics may impact brain signaling pathways associated with social behavior and pain regulation. Young mice treated with antibiotics had reduced expression of receptors that mediate endorphin, ...

Scientists have discovered extinct strains of smallpox in the teeth of Viking skeletons - proving for the first time that the killer disease plagued humanity for at least 1400 years. Smallpox spread via infectious drople...

The lack of human activity during lockdown caused human-linked vibrations in the Earth to drop by an average of 50 percent between March and May 2020.

To predict and help control the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, it's important to know where and why certain mosquitoes got their taste for biting humans in the first place. Now, researchers have identified two major...

Nerve cells have a special ion channel that has a key role in starting the electrical impulse that signals pain and is sent to the brain. New research finds that people who inherited the Neanderthal variant of this ion c...