Two new studies shed light on the relationship between obesity and the use of prescription opioids in the United States.

Scientists share details of the most ancient fossil of Homo erectus known and discuss how these new findings are forcing us to rewrite a part of our species' evolutionary history.

You know that feeling in your gut? We think of it as an innate intuition that sparks deep in the belly and helps guide our actions, if we let it. It's also a metaphor for what scientists call the 'gut-brain axis,' a biological reality in which the gut and its microbial inhabitants send signals to the brain, and vice versa.

Neuroscientists describe how the common Toxoplasma gondii parasite prompts the loss of inhibitory signaling in the brain by altering the behavior of nearby cells called microglia.

Researchers know that people are motivated to be vegetarian for different reasons -- the most common in western cultures being health, the environment and animal rights.

In a new study of mice, researchers have found that an experimental drug that breaks down the amino acid cysteine slows pancreatic tumor growth by causing ferroptosis, an unusual form of cell death.

An international team has found a trial drug that effectively blocks the cellular door SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect its hosts.

Turning a brittle oxide into a flexible membrane and stretching it on a tiny apparatus flipped it from a conducting to an insulating state and changed its magnetic properties. The technique can be used to study and design a broad range of materials for use in things like sensors and detectors.

Backed by experimental data from a laboratory machine that simulates the huge forces involved in glacier flow, glaciologists have written an equation that accounts for the motion of ice that rests on the soft, deformable ground underneath unusually fast-moving parts of ice sheets. Models using the equation -- a 'slip law' -- could better predict how quickly glaciers are sliding, how much ice...

Scientists have announced a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. When tested in mice, the vaccine -- delivered through a fingertip-sized patch -- produces antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus.

Researchers have shown that how we respond to changes in nutrients at a molecular level plays an important role in the aging process, and this is directed by some key genetic mechanisms.

Want to find out how to design and build materials atom by atom? A new liquid phase electron microscopy will advance full control of nanoengineering. Whether a material catalyzes chemical reactions or impedes any molecular response is all about how its atoms are arranged. The ultimate goal of nanotechnology is centered around the ability to design and build materials atom by atom, thus allowing...

New artificial proteins have been created to function as molecular logic gates. Like their electronic counterparts in computers, these biochemical tools can be used to program the behavior of complex systems, such as gene regulation inside human T-cells. This new advance might improve the durability of future cell-based therapies.

Live, single-cell imaging shows cellular 'memory' of growth factor availability throughout the cell cycle (and not just snapshot of growth factor availability) influences cells' decision to replicate.

Researchers have described different emotional facial expressions for mice. Similar to humans, the face of a mouse looks completely different when it tastes something sweet or bitter, or when it becomes anxious. With this new possibility to render the emotions of mice measurable, neurobiologists can now investigate the basic mechanisms of how emotions are generated and processed in the brain.

To truly understand an animal species is to observe its behavior and social networks in the wild. With new technology, researchers are able to track tiny animals that divide their time between flying around in the sky and huddling together in caves and hollow trees -- by attaching little backpacks to them with glue.

Low-carbon technologies that are smaller scale, more affordable, and can be mass deployed are more likely to enable a faster transition to net-zero emissions, according to a new study. Innovations ranging from solar panels to electric bikes also have lower investment risks, greater potential for improvement in both cost and performance, and more scope for reducing energy demand -- key attributes...

Female eggs exposed to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, have an impaired ability to produce viable embryos, and are significantly less likely to result in a viable pregnancy, according to an animal study.

A new study offers clues to why autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in boys than in girls. National Institutes of Health scientists found that a single amino acid change in the NLGN4 gene, which has been linked to autism symptoms, may drive this difference in some cases.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has already resulted in mass layoffs in several industries, other essential industries will instead face critical workforce shortages, according to a new report.

Cold brew may be the hottest trend in coffee-making, but not much is known about how this process alters the chemical characteristics of the beverage. Now, scientists report that the content of potentially health-promoting antioxidants in coffee brewed without heat can differ significantly from a cup of joe prepared the traditional way, particularly for dark roasts.

In a new approach to storm surge protection, a team has created a preliminary design for dual-purpose kinetic umbrellas that would provide shade during fair weather and could be tilted in advance of a storm to form a flood barrier. The researchers used computational modeling to begin evaluating the umbrellas' ability to withstand an acute storm surge.

A synthesis study looks at how climate change will affect the risk of wildfires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana. The authors also suggest how managers and individual landowners in different ecosystems can best prepare.

A prevalent heart protein known as cardiac myosin, which is released into the body when a person suffers a heart attack, can cause blood to thicken or clot -- worsening damage to heart tissue, a new study shows. A team made the unexpected finding after a series of experiments spanning three years and involving researchers from multiple collaborating institutions.