MD
40 news posts
Health
30 Aug 2024
Promising antibiotic candidates discovered in microbes deep in the Arctic Sea
Researchers from Finland and Norway developed a new suite of methods for the screening of antivirulence activity of unknown compounds of bacterial origin. The compounds tested had been derived from actinobacteria living inside invertebrates in the Arctic Sea. They found two interesting compounds with strong antivirulence or antibacterial effects against enteropathogenic E. coli. These results demonstrate the potential of prospecting novel habitats for promising new antibacterial drugs, to solve the current global antibiotics crisis.
Featured news
23 Aug 2024
Men infected with high-risk types of HPV could struggle with fertility
Researchers from Argentina compared semen quality between men infected with high-risk (HR-HPV) and low-risk (LR-HPV) genotypes of human papillomavirus and HPV negative men. They showed that HR-HPV positive men had higher percentages of dead sperm, a higher level of reactive oxygen species, and a lower count of white blood cells in their semen. These results suggest that HR-HPV positive men, but not LR-HPV positive men, may have lower fertility due to oxidative damage to sperm.
Featured news
08 Aug 2024
Microbes conquer the next extreme environment: your microwave
Researchers have measured the diversity of microbes inside microwaves for the first time. They showed that microwaves harbor a specialized community of locally adapted microbial genera, which resembles that reported on kitchen surfaces and in another extreme, highly irradiated habitat: on solar panels. This finding has potential biotechnological applications, in processes that require microbes resistant to thermal shock, radiation, and desiccation.
Featured news
02 Aug 2024
'Screaming Woman' mummy may have died in agony 3,500 years ago
Researchers from Egypt used state-of-the-art techniques to ‘virtually dissect’ a female mummy from the New Kingdom, named the ‘Screaming Woman’ for her remarkable expression. They showed that she had been embalmed with costly imported frankincense and juniper. There was no obvious cause of death, but the mummy’s wide open mouth may be due to cadaveric spasm, which is typically associated with dying in considerable pain and under strong emotions.
Health
26 Jul 2024
Conflicting health advice from agencies drives confusion, study finds, but doctors remain most trusted
Researchers from the US analyzed replies to the Health Information National Trends Survey and found that doctors are more trusted than scientists and especially government health agencies. The results revealed that perceived uncertainty in health recommendations, inherent in the scientific process, tends to confuse the public and undermine its trust in experts apart from doctors. This implies that doctors are best placed to communicate changes in recommendations, to ensure better health and restore trust in agencies.
Space sciences and astronomy
12 Jul 2024
Real-life ‘stillsuit’: Dune-inspired upgrade for spacesuits allow astronauts to recycle urine into water
Existing waste management systems for spacesuits are uncomfortable, unhygienic, and don’t recycle valuable water in urine. Now, researchers from Cornell University have designed a prototype for an integrated urine collection and recycling system, which can be carried on the back of next-generation spacesuits. The system is now ready for testing.
Featured news
05 Jul 2024
Desert-loving fungi and lichens pose deadly threat to 5,000-year-old rock art
Researchers sampled microflora from the rocks bearing unique, millennia-old petroglyphs in the Negev desert. The diversity and abundance of species found on these rocks was low, suggesting that few can survive the harsh conditions. Most identified species from the petroglyphs were specialized microcolonial fungi and lichens, known to damage rock art through mechanical and chemical means. The authors cautioned that these natural deterioration processes can’t be stopped, making it necessary to monitor and document this important cultural heritage.
Featured news
02 Jul 2024
Study shows hairy skin does not become less sensitive with age
Our sense of touch is generally thought to decline with age, just like the other senses. However, a study has now shown for the first time that age-related decline in sensitivity only happens in hairless skin like the tip of the index finger, but not in the hairy cheeks and forearms. The authors speculate that the exceptional sensitivity of the cheeks throughout life is due to our evolutionary history as social primates, for whom touch is an important method of communication.
Health
19 Jun 2024
Ultrasound beam triggers ‘nanodroplets' to deliver drugs at exactly the right spot
Conventional drug delivery is inefficient and imprecise. Through a series of preclinical experiments, researchers from the University of Utah have optimized a novel, targeted method of delivery through nanodroplet carriers, which are triggered to release their drug at exactly the desired spot by a focused beam of ultrasound. Their results showed that nanodroplets with a core of perfluorooctylbromide are stable, efficient in delivery, and well tolerated. Clinical experiments are likely to follow.
Featured news
14 Jun 2024
Meet a scientist who's helping to create a 'shared vision' for future rewilding
As part of our Frontier Scientist series, we spoke to Dr Sally Hawkins, a specialist in wildlife restoration, about her career and research.
Featured news
11 Jun 2024
How older people explore new spaces could suggest cognitive decline and dementia
Aging people commonly show a decline in navigation ability, and this has generally been attributed to worsening spatial memory. But now, researchers from the US have shown for the first time that this decline is partly driven by changes in typical exploration behavior by middle age. In a maze learning task, middle-aged people were less efficient explorers than young people. This discovery could have applications in the clinical diagnosis and therapy of cognitive decline and dementia.
Featured news
22 May 2024
Babies in the womb exposed to two languages hear speech differently when born
Researchers have shown for the first time that newborns of monolingual mothers respond differently to playback of a carefully selected sound stimulus than newborns of bilingual mothers. The findings suggest that bilingual newborns are sensitive to a wider range of acoustic variation of speech, at the cost of being less selectively tuned in to any single language. These results underscore the importance of prenatal exposure for learning about speech.
Featured news
02 May 2024
Why do male chicks play more than females? Study finds answers in distant ancestor
Researchers observed the frequency of play by aged chicks between six and 53 days old. Males engaged more frequently in social and object play than females, but there was no difference in the frequency of locomotor play. The researchers concluded that these patterns can be explained by the strong sexual dimorphism of adult junglefowl, the ancestors of domestic chickens. This means that male chicks benefit more from practicing skills related to physical ability and social tactics.
Featured news
25 Apr 2024
Puzzling link between depression and cardiovascular disease explained at last: they partly develop from the same gene module
It’s long been known that depression and cardiovascular disease are somehow related, though exactly how remained a puzzle. Now, researchers have identified a ‘gene module’ consisting of 256 functionally related, co-expressed genes, which is part of the developmental program of both diseases. These genes can now be used as biomarkers for both depression and cardiovascular disease, and could ultimately help to find new drugs to target both.
Featured news
19 Apr 2024
Baby sharks prefer being closer to shore, show scientists
Scientists have shown for the first time that juvenile great white sharks gather in waters up to 10 meters deep with a temperature between 6 and 22 °C – a very different habitat from that of adults. These preferences may optimize their growth and minimize the risk of predation. These results can inform conservation efforts and help to avoid negative shark encounters.