SciGlow | All Science News In One Place
SciGlow is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. SciGlow keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have leveraged machine learning to interpret human brain scans, allowing the team to uncover the regions of the brain behind how abstract concepts, like justice, ethics and consciousness, form. The results of this study are available online in the October 29 issue of Cerebral Cortex. “Humans have the unique ability to … Read more
A long-term study of copperhead snakes in a forest near Meriden, Connecticut, revealed that five consecutive years of drought effectively ended the snakes’ reproductive output. Not one of the dozens of female snakes in the closely monitored population became pregnant the year after the drought ended, researchers found. The year before that, only one female … Read more
Some types of bacteria have the ability to punch holes into other cells and kill them. They do this by releasing specialized proteins called “pore-forming toxins” (PFTs) that latch onto the cell’s membrane and form a tube-like channel that goes through it. This hole (structure?) across the membrane is called a pore. Punctured by multiple … Read more
The renowned scientific journal Nature Climate Change pays extensive attention to climate research at the Ecotron Hasselt University. “Research into the impact of climate change on our ecosystems is very complex,” says project leader François Rineau. “With the Ecotron we have already made good progress in this research, it is great to see that this … Read more
Migratory sandpipers breeding in Greenland who choose to spend the winter in West Africa instead of elsewhere along the East Atlantic coast have a lower chance of survival, are more likely to skip their first breeding season and arrive later at their breeding grounds. An article in the Journal of Animal Ecology, spearheaded by researcher Jeroen … Read more
In a development offering great promise for additive manufacturing, Princeton University researchers have created a method to precisely create droplets using a jet of liquid. The technique allows manufacturers to quickly generate drops of material, finely control their size and locate them within a 3D space. Although both 3D printers and traditional manufacturers already use … Read more
Buzz about tennis’s newest rising stars — like 15-year-old prodigy Coco Gauff, who beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon — can be so intimidating it can make their opponents play worse, according to new research from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. A study of more than 117,000 pro tennis matches and more than 5 million … Read more
A study of human activity within thousands of conservation spaces in over 150 countries suggests that – on average across the world – protected areas are not reducing the “anthropogenic pressure” on our most precious natural habitats. Protected areas are vital to preserving diverse life on Earth, as well as mitigating climate change by conserving … Read more
Tau can quickly spread between neurons but is not immediately harmful, according to research in mouse neurons published in JNeurosci. Intervening during the initial accumulation of tau could potentially halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. A hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease is the accumulation of tau protein in neurons, which leads to their death. A diseased version … Read more
MIT chemists have devised a way to synthesize polymers that can break down more readily in the body and in the environment. A chemical reaction called ring-opening metathesis polymerization, or ROMP, is handy for building novel polymers for various uses such as nanofabrication, high-performance resins, and delivering drugs or imaging agents. However, one downside to … Read more