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168,132 articles from ScienceDaily

Increasing accessibility of 3-D printing raises concerns about plastic guns

Three-dimensional printers can make artists' and hobbyists' dreams a reality, opening up a new world of inexpensive, on-demand plastic parts manufacturing, but there's also a dark side. As these printers -- now available at major U.S. retail stores -- become more popular, concerns are growing about their use for designing and building custom plastic firearms -- weapons that could conceivably go...

Recruiting E. coli to combat hard-to-treat bacterial infections

The notorious bacteria E. coli is best known for making people sick, but scientists have reprogrammed the microbe -- which also comes in harmless varieties -- to make it seek out and fight other disease-causing pathogens. This new type of E. coli can even kill off slimy groups of bacteria called biofilms that are responsible for many hard-to-treat...

Researchers identify the neural circuits that modulate REM sleep

Researchers have identified, for the first time, a precise causal link between neuronal activity in the lateral hypothalamus and the state of REM sleep. Using optogenetics, they were able to induce REM sleep in mice and modulate the duration of this sleep phase by activating the neuronal network in this area of the...

Seamless photography: Using mathematical models for image stitching

Panoramic photographs were invented to capture large objects or scenes that could not otherwise fit within the constraints of a single photo. Panoramic photography is achieved through image stitching, a process that combines two or more photographs, seamlessly blending input images with overlapping regions into one...

Understanding the dangers of the fake marijuana called 'Spice' or 'K2'

The harmful effects of increasingly popular designer cannabis products called "Spice" or "K2" have puzzled scientists for years, but now a group of researchers is reporting progress toward understanding what makes them so toxic. The study describes development of a method that could someday help physicians diagnose and treat the thousands of young adults and teens who end up in emergency rooms...

Peculiar, diverse and dangerous to crops: A checklist of the scale insects of Iran

Largely diverse and economically important group, the scale insects of Iran require further investigation and improvement of knowledge, both from taxonomic and practical point of view. A new detailed checklist of Coccoidea in Iran provides the first steps in the better understanding of the family and a call for future investigations and practical use of knowledge in pest control...

Measuring height by connecting clocks

How far above sea level is a place located? And where exactly is "sea level"? It is one objective of the geodesists to answer these questions with 1 cm accuracy. Conventional measurement procedures or GPS technologies via satellites, however, reach their limits here. Now optical atomic clocks offer a new approach, because the tick rate of a clock is influenced by...

Proper diet, exercise to limit diabetes epidemic

The number of diabetics worldwide is exploding. In response, the largest study of its kind to date is set to investigate type-2 diabetes prevention through diet, exercise and lifestyle. Eight EU nations, along with New Zealand, Australia and Canada, will participate in the...

Eye contact may make people more resistant to persuasion

Making eye contact has long been considered an effective way of drawing a listener in and bringing him or her around to your point of view. But new research shows that eye contact may actually make people more resistant to persuasion, especially when they already disagree.

Did you have a good time? We know where you'll store the memory of it

Where do you go for a tasty bite and where is the food not so good? Where are you likely to have a great time and where might things not turn out so well? For every person – but also for animals – the information about pleasant and unpleasant experiences is of key importance. Researchers have now discovered how and where pleasant memories are...

Spinach and nanodiamonds? nanodiamond biosensor for detection of iron-level in blood

Popeye, the comic book hero, swears by it as do generations of parents who delight their children with spinach. Of course, today it is known that the vegetable is not quite as rich in iron as originally thought, but that iron is nevertheless essential for our physical well-being is undisputed. Lack of iron -- caused by malnutrition -- can lead to anemia while an increased level of iron may signal...

Like father, not like son: Brain and song structure in zebra finches are strongly influenced by the environment

A central topic in behavioral biology is the question, which aspects of a behavior are learned or expressed due to genetic predisposition. Today it is known that our personality and behavior are far less determined by the genetic background. Especially during development environmental factors can shape brain and behavior via so-called epigenetic effects. Thereby hormones play an important role....