When an infected tsetse fly bites humans or other mammals to feed on their blood, microscopic parasites (African trypanosomes) in the fly's saliva are transferred. The unfortunate recipient of the bite, once infected, often faces severe health consequences, even death.

A Northwestern University research team has revealed a new approach to conducting chemical reactions—one that doesn't require direct contact with a catalyst.

The cosmic detector that required a series of difficult spacewalking repairs is back in action.

Chi Chen, a Boston University graduate researcher, and Ranga Myneni, a BU College of Arts & Sciences professor of earth and environment, released a new paper that reveals how humans are helping to increase the Earth's plant and tree cover, which absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and cools our planet. The boom of vegetation, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, could be skewing our perception of...

Scientists have found the wreckage of a cargo steamship that became associated with the Bermuda Triangle when it disappeared in 1925 off the Atlantic Coast of Florida.

New research techniques are being adopted by scientists tackling the most visible impact of climate change—the so-called greening of Arctic regions.

Physicists at Washington University in St. Louis have proposed a way to use data from ultra-high energy neutrinos to study interactions beyond the standard model of particle physics. The 'Zee burst' model leverages new data from large neutrino telescopes such as the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica and its future extensions.

In the face of a changing climate, the process of accounting greenhouse gas emissions is becoming ever more critical. Governments around the world are striving to hit reduction targets using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines to limit global warming. To have a chance of hitting these targets, they need to know how to accurately calculate and report emissions and removals.

University of Groningen physicists have visualized hydrogen at the titanium/titanium hydride interface using a transmission electron microscope. Using a new technique, they succeeded in visualizing both the metal and the hydrogen atoms in a single image, allowing them to test different theoretical models that describe the interface structure. The results were published on 31 January in the journal...

Theoretical physicists from Trinity College Dublin have found a deep link between one of the most striking features of quantum mechanics—quantum entanglement—and thermalisation, which is the process in which something comes into thermal equilibrium with its surroundings.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are regions of DNA with high diversity, and they have long been a mainstay for botanists examining the genetic structure of plant populations. However, as the cost of sequencing DNA continues to plummet and genetic technologies advance, newer techniques for mapping genetic diversity such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) or RAD-seq have begun to rival the traditional...

Humans have been cooling metal mixtures from liquid to solid for thousands of years. But surprisingly, not much is known about exactly what happens during the process of solidification. Particularly puzzling is the solidification of eutectics, which are mixtures of two or more solid phases.

February 1st marks the start of Black History Month. While many people are familiar with iconic figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman, there are many other lesser known African-Americans, whose achievements should also be recognized.

Songs that Sing the Crisis: Music, Words, Youth Narratives and Identities in Late Modernity is the title of a special issue of the journal Young (Nordic Journal of Youth Research) to be published on 1 February, now available online, that reflects on the role of music as an expression of the crisis. It contains case studies of musical genres rap, punk, folk metal, black metal, fado, reggaeton and...

Following the result of the UK Brexit referendum in June 2016 many Euroskeptic parties across Europe celebrated, contending that the vote could pave the way for similar referendums in other countries. This was explored in a paper, Eager to leave? Populist radical right parties' responses to the UK's Brexit vote, the lead author of which was Dr. Stijn van Kessel, Senior Lecturer in European...

One of the most confronting impacts of climate change is the risk of more deaths from hot weather. Heat stress can exacerbate existing health conditions including diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease. Older people are particularly vulnerable.

A team of researchers from Louisiana State University and ExxonMobil Chemical has found a way to replace the rhodium catalysts used in the hydroformylation process. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their process and how it compares economically with current methods.

When food makes people sick, some blame birds because they hang around farms, and their feces can contain E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter, three common pathogens that can cause food-borne illness.

How you interact, how you feel, and how you act: The three basic tenants of social, emotional, and behavioral health are simple concepts, yet they can be some of the strongest predictors of well-being as children grow into adulthood. While a large number of children and adolescents meet the diagnostic criteria for mental health disorders, only a fraction actually receive needed services—and it...

Rat spermatozoa are two to four times larger than that of other animal species and are easily damaged by changes in pH, osmotic pressure, and temperature. Because these animals are very frequently used in medical research, a cryopreservation method was developed nearly 20 years ago. However, rat spermatozoa motility after thawing is extremely poor, and unless artificial insemination is performed...

DNA in preserved museum specimens can allow scientists to explore the history of species and humanities impact on the ecosystem, but samples are typically preserved in formaldehyde which can damage DNA and make very difficult to recover.

A RUDN chemist in collaboration with colleagues from N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry and N.K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology (IDB), RAS have developed a new method for the synthesis of isoxazole derivatives—substances that destabilize the process of cell division and potentially may become the basis for new anticancer drugs. The new method is based on the use of easily...

An international team of researchers has found a new way to create 1-D heterostructures—by nesting nanotubes. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how they nested the nanotubes and the shapes they were able to create. Yury Gogotsi and Boris Yakobson with Drexel University and Rice University have published a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in the...

A journey to Mars is not going to be easy and there are a number of problems that need to be solved before we go. One interesting problem is how do we monitor the astronauts themselves. Of course, it is easy to monitor their heart rate and blood pressure, but is it possible to monitor what is going on inside their heads?