Diatoms are the most important producers of plant biomass in the ocean and help to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere into the deep ocean and thus regulate our climate. Because diatoms rely on silica rather than calcium carbonate to build their shells, they were previously thought to benefit from ocean acidification -- a chemical change in seawater triggered by the increasing...

Researchers have taken the initial step in identifying what may be an effective way to detect gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) earlier in pregnancy, potentially improving diagnosis and treatment for what is the most common disorder of pregnancy.

Seven healthy habits and lifestyle factors may play a role in lowering the risk of dementia in people with the highest genetic risk, according to new research.

Humble potatoes are a rich source not only of dietary carbohydrates for humans, but also of starches for numerous industrial applications. Scientists are learning how to alter the ratio of potatoes' two starch molecules -- amylose and amylopectin -- to increase both culinary and industrial applications.

A gene called FMNL2 may explain why people with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, or obesity have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Men taking either of the two most common oral medications for advanced prostate cancer who had also undergone hormone therapy to treat their disease were at higher risk of serious metabolic or cardiovascular issues than patients who were only receiving hormone therapy, researchers found.

A new study shows how the brains of Egyptian fruit bats are highly specialized for echolocation and flight, with motor areas of the cerebral cortex that are dedicated to sonar production and wing control.

Engineers have developed the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot -- and it comes in the form of a tiny, adorable peekytoe crab. Just a half-millimeter wide, the tiny crabs can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn and even jump. Although the research is exploratory at this point, the researchers believe their technology might bring the field closer to realizing micro-sized robots that can...

Scientists have identified processes that control the development and composition of thymic tissue throughout life. Specifically, they were able to show that a certain growth factor can maintain progenitor cells even in the aging thymus and thus counteract the age-related shrinkage of the organ and the reduction in the number of powerful immune cells. The results provide new avenues for...

Researchers have now designed a micro-sized artificial cilial system using platinum-based components that can control the movement of fluids at such a scale. The technology could someday enable low-cost, portable diagnostic devices for testing blood samples, manipulating cells or assisting in microfabrication processes.

In 2021, scientists discovered a new form of superconducting nickelate using computational methods. The discovery lets researchers explore similarities and differences between nickelates and cuprates -- promising copper-based materials -- and among nickelates. Both families of materials appear to display 'super-exchange,' where the material trades electrons in copper or nickel atoms through a...

DNA mutations are essential to the rapid development of an array of antibody-producing immune cells called B cells that collectively can recognize a vast number of specific targets. But this process can go awry in people with a mutation in a gene called SETD2, leading to a type of aggressive blood cancer, according to a new study.

Researchers have succeeded in teleporting quantum information across a rudimentary network. This first of its kind is an important step towards a future quantum Internet. This breakthrough was made possible by a greatly improved quantum memory and enhanced quality of the quantum links between the three nodes of the network.

Several hundred settlements from the time between 500 and 1400 AD lie in the Bolivian Llanos de Mojos savannah and have fascinated archaeologists for years. Researchers have now visualized the dimensions of the largest known settlement of the so-called Casarabe culture. Mapping with the laser technology LIDAR indicates that it is an early urbanism with a low population density -- the only known...

Our brains lose the ability to link related memories as we age. Scientists genetically restored this brain function in middle-aged mice and identified an FDA-approved drug that achieves the same thing. The study suggests a new approach for combating middle-aged memory loss and a possible early intervention for dementia.

Researchers took an all-terrain vehicle on wild rides through tall grass, loose gravel and mud to gather data about how the ATV interacted with a challenging, off-road environment. They drove the heavily instrumented ATV aggressively at speeds up to 30 miles an hour. They slid through turns, took it up and down hills, and even got it stuck in the mud -- all while gathering data such as video, the...

Norwegian mountains are full of time capsules. Thousands of years of human and ecological history are preserved in remnant patches of ice. Now this treasure trove of information threatens to melt away, unless we take action.

Residents of Belmont County in eastern Ohio have long suffered from health problems they suspected were the result of air pollution from fracking facilities, but regulators dismissed and downplayed their concerns. With technical assistance from volunteer scientists, local advocacy groups set up their own network of low-cost sensors. They found that the region's three EPA sensors were not providing...

Researchers have used silicone wristbands to track firefighters' exposures to 134 potentially carcinogenic chemicals. Analysis of the chemicals absorbed by the wristbands over a six-day shift show that while some exposures are linked to being at the scene of a fire, others aren't. This suggests that just being a firefighter means you are exposed to more of these compounds than the average adult,...

A new study shows that a longer period of exclusive breastfeeding was associated with decreased odds of current asthma.

A technique used in chemical synthesis is called hydrogen atom transfer, or HAT. It's a potentially powerful and versatile chemical tool, but technical constraints have limited its use. Now chemists have borrowed a technique from the chemistry of energy storage to accomplish HAT with fewer chemicals and less cost.

There's a new method for determining whether dinosaurs were hot- or cold-blooded, using clues in their bones that indicated how much the individual animals breathed in their last hour of life. The study shows that the bird-hipped dinosaurs like T. rex and Brachiosaurus were hot-blooded, while the lizard-hipped dinosaurs like Triceratops and Stegosaurus were cold-blooded.

Researchers have identified the genetic causes of three mitochondrial diseases by figuring out what dozens of poorly understood mitochondrial proteins do. The functions of hundreds more mitochondrial proteins remain unknown, indicating that this approach could be a promising path to finding better ways to diagnose and treat the bewildering array of conditions linked to malfunctioning mitochondria....

Escaping imminent danger is essential for survival. Animals must learn a new environment fast enough for them to be able to choose the shortest route to safety. But how do they do this without ever having experienced threat in the new environment?