A study in mice shows that removing chemical messengers in the brain that are involved in both wakefulness and addiction may make withdrawal from opioids easier and help prevent relapse.

A new study looking into the impacts that large industrial farming has on biodiversity found that increased farm size causes a decline in bird diversity. Researchers studied how different farming indicators impact the diversity of local birds in the farmland bordering the former Iron Curtain in Germany. They found that increased farm sizes resulted in a 15 per cent decline in bird diversity.

Flat materials that can morph into three-dimensional shapes have potential applications in architecture, medicine, robotics, space travel, and much more. But programming these shape changes requires complex and time-consuming computations. Now, researchers have developed a platform that uses machine learning to program the transformation of 2D stretchable surfaces into specific 3D shapes.

Researchers describe the unusually large optical features of Callichimaera perplexa, a 95-million-year-old crab fossil discovered in Colombia. The findings suggest Callichimaera perplexa was a highly visual, swimming predator.

Researchers demonstrated that phosphorus-alloying significantly increases the activity of precious metal nanoparticles for the deoxygenation of sulfoxides into sulfides. In particular, ruthenium phosphide nanoparticles exhibit excellent catalytic activity and high durability against sulfur-poisoning, outperforming conventional catalysts.

Chemists have solved a problem in the field of organic synthesis that had been considered a challenge for years. To do so, they employed what is known as ternary catalysis.

Vascular systems found in trees transport vital nutrients from root, to branch, to leaf. In a new study, researchers have developed a chemical process to mimic this arboreal architecture in foamed polymers, enabling directional fluid transport and adding structure throughout the material.

New research suggests that more shark attacks occur during fuller phases of the moon. While the exact cause remains unclear, the researchers found that more shark attacks than average occur during periods of higher lunar illumination and fewer attacks than average occur during periods of lower illumination. Many different types of animals show behaviors that are linked to moon phases yet few...

Most dairy calves are housed individually in the first weeks and sometimes months of their lives, a practice that has come under scrutiny for its effects on animal behavior, welfare, and health. Despite growing scientific and public support for social housing, approximately 75% and 60% of preweaning dairy calves in the United States and Europe, respectively, are still housed individually. A new...

A new study has found that people who experienced increased stress, anxiety and depression at the start of the pandemic, were at greater risk of getting COVID-19. The research found that greater psychological distress during the early phase of the pandemic was significantly associated with participants later reporting SARS-CoV-2 infection, a greater number of symptoms and also more severe...

Scientists demonstrate the direct transmission of bisphenol A (BPA) from a mother to her developing child via the placenta could negatively impact fetal brain development.

Astronomers have discovered the first example of a binary system where a star in the process of becoming a white dwarf is orbiting a neutron star that has just finished turning into a rapidly spinning pulsar. The pair is a 'missing link' in the evolution of such binary systems.

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system. Patients who have active immune responses against cancer cells tend to have better outcomes, but much of what is known focuses on only one type of immune cell called T cells. Researchers now provide insight on the role of B cell immunity in endometrial cancer.

Black men are disproportionately impacted by injuries in the United States. This disparity is glaring given that injury is one of the top ten causes of death. Data show that injured Black men from disadvantaged neighborhoods experience higher injury mortality, years of life-expectancy loss, and psychological symptoms that persist after initial wounds have been treated.

Bioengineers successfully regrew cartilage in a rabbit's knee, a promising hop toward healing joints in humans.

Male mosquitoes beat their wings faster when swarming at sunset to better detect females and increase their chance of reproducing, finds a novel study.

Researchers find high-energy oxygen and sulfur ions in Jupiter's inner radiation belts -- and a previously unknown ion source.

Because rivers are in near-constant motion, researchers previously assumed lightweight microplastics quickly flowed through rivers, rarely interacting with riverbed sediments. With new simulations, researchers now have discovered hyporheic exchange -- a process in which surface water mixes with water in the riverbed -- can trap lightweight microplastics that otherwise might be expected to float.

The effectiveness of face masks has been a hotly debated topic since the emergence of COVID-19. However, a new study offers more evidence that they work. Researchers found that face masks reduce the distance airborne pathogens could travel, when speaking or coughing, by more than half compared to not wearing a mask.

Among patients with advanced cancer who were prescribed immune checkpoint inhibitors, those who experienced skin-related side effects were significantly less likely to die. The findings may help clinicians counsel patients who develop skin-related side effects of immunotherapy and determine the effectiveness of these medications in individual patients.

Predator species may buffer the negative impacts of climate change by mitigating against the loss of biodiversity, according to new research. The team of scientists behind the discovery say their findings underline the importance of conserving biodiversity, and top predators in particular, and highlight the potential for species extinctions to worsen the effects of climate change on ecosystems.

A molecular feature in prostate cancer, called endogenous retroviral (ERV) RNA, has been found to have prognostic value and also distinguish differences between men of African and European or Middle Eastern ancestry, according to a new study. The team also identified ERV expression signatures that may be useful for identifying prostate cancer patients at greatest risk of progression regardless of...

Researchers experimentally evolved rod-shaped E. coli in conditions that mimic the primordial environment, by providing oleic-acid vesicles as a nutrient source rather than glucose. As the cells adapted to the new conditions and increased their growth rate, they became smaller and spherical. Each of the experimental lineages adapted in diverse ways. This study supports theories that the origin of...

In a study using mice, a team of researchers has improved upon a method they developed in 2017 that was designed to kill HIV-infected cells. The advance could move scientists a step closer to being able to reduce the amount of virus, or even eliminate it, from infected people who are dependent on lifesaving medications to keep the virus from multiplying and illness at bay.