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.
In response to seizures, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a network of flattened tubes in the cell that packages and transports proteins, triggers a stress response that reduces brain activity and seizure severity. The new findings, reported by Nien-Pei Tsai and colleagues at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on 26th September in PLOS Genetics, may have important … Read more
Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have gone to creative lengths to earn their scouting merit badges for knot-tying. In a study that will appear Sept. 26 in the journal Science, a team of researchers discovered a new way to tie microscopic knots within a solution of liquid crystals. This type of material is found … Read more
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Science in Society Journalism Awards, sponsored by the National Association of Science Writers: >> In the Book category, She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions and Potentials of Heredity, by Carl Zimmer, published by Dutton >> In the Science Reporting category, “In the Land of … Read more
Neurons, take your places. The cells that eventually become neurons must first travel across the embryo to reach their final destinations in the nervous system. There, they blossom from undefined cells into neurons with specific roles, working together in circuits to direct an animal’s behavior. But exactly how this journey unfolds is still somewhat mysterious. … Read more
Caltech scientists have discovered a new species of worm thriving in the extreme environment of Mono Lake. This new species, temporarily dubbed Auanema sp., has three different sexes, can survive 500 times the lethal human dose of arsenic, and carries its young inside its body like a kangaroo. Mono Lake, located in the Eastern Sierras … Read more
A NASA satellite searching space for new planets gave astronomers an unexpected glimpse at a black hole ripping a star to shreds. It is one of the most detailed looks yet at the phenomenon, called a tidal disruption event (or TDE), and the first for NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (more commonly called TESS.) The … Read more
Synthesizing new data and assessment methods is showing how freshwater fish is an invisible superhero in the global challenge to feed poor rural populations in many areas of the world. But there’s a problem: Invisibility is the wrong superpower. Researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United … Read more
Fossil animal droppings, charcoal from ancient fires and bone fragments litter the ground of one of the world’s most important human evolution sites, new research reveals. The latest evidence from southern Siberia shows that large cave-dwelling carnivores once dominated the landscape, competing for more than 300,000 years with ancient tribes for prime space in cave … Read more
How long does it take ecosystems to recover from mass extinction and to become functional and resilient again? A team, including Samantha Gibbs from the University of Southampton, and researchers from the universities of University College London, Bristol, Frankfurt and California have tackled that question by producing an unprecedented record of the biotic recovery that … Read more
By this point, scientists have a pretty good handle on what kinds of big animals exist. Researchers still turn up new species of rats and insects, but most animals bigger than your hand are old news. But by looking at 90-year-old crocodile skulls in museum collections and double-checking with live specimens at a zoological park … Read more