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For the first time in history, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have been able to eliminate dangerous drug-associated memories in mice and rats without apparently affecting other memories. Erasing memories If you’ve ever seen The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (truly a remarkable movie, which I highly recommend) […]
It may come as a shock to you to find out that the chemical make-up of human urine hasn’t been identified until now – but it shouldn’t. The study which led to this breakthrough took over seven years and involved 20 researchers; in the end, it revealed over 3.000 metabolites (small molecules resulted through […]
A cross-disciplinary team of scientists at Harvard that developed a novel type of vaccine for treating melanoma – the most lethal form of skin cance – recently announced the vaccine will enter its Phase 1 clinical trial. The announcement comes just a few years after the vaccine was tested on mice, 50% of whom showed […]
In a preclinical study recently published by the journal Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, researchers combined structural features from anti-nausea drug thalidomide with common kitchen spice turmeric to create hybrid molecules which are very effective at destroying multiple myeloma cells. Thalidomide was released into the market in 1957 in West Germany and was typically prescribed as […]
Henry Ford’s Model T automobile changed not only the way the average American traveled (the first trully affordable vehicle for the middle class), but the way industry in all its forms viewed production. By switching from hand craft to the assembly line, Ford drastically cut cost and speed of production of his automobiles, a model […]
It’s amazing how two different animals from two completely different environments evolve some identical physical features. Take bats and dolphins for instance. Both of them use a complex system that produces, receives and process ultrasonic sound waves in order to identify visually hidden objects, track down prey or navigate through obstacles better – typically this […]
The fat-tailed dwarf lemur, native to the marvelous isolated ecosystem of Madagascar, is the closest human relative known to hibernate. After studying the sleeping behavior of both captive and wild lemur specimens, scientists at Duke University have discovered a great deal about how hibernation works in lemurs. The key discovery is that they can go […]
In one of Stanley Kubrick’s weirdest movies (even by Kubrick standards), “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)“, one of the characters played by Peter Sellers is tormented by the irresistible and convulsive urge of lifting his right arm in a Nazi salute. He can’t control it, it’s […]
Today, cancer is typically treated through highly invasive, painful and low efficiency treatments. Doctors resect the tumors, do radiation therapy, and then chemotherapy. This process is actually more stressful and painful to the patient than the cancer itself, but it does save lives sometimes. Scientists all over the world are hard at work developing alternative […]
A team of evolutionary biologists at Indiana University has shown for the first time that asexual lineages of a species are doomed not necessarily from a long, slow accumulation of new mutations, but rather from fast gene conversions which unmask preexisting genetic mutations. The groundbreaking research started with the sequencing of the entire genomes of […]
Every time we’re engaged in a certain action, the sounds we produce while walking, eating, even playing music are tuned down a notch in volume by the brain. For instance, during a conversation your voice will be perceived as quieter than it actually is in reality, since our brain want to receive clearer the information […]
One of the smallest amphibians in the world, the Gardiner’s Seychelles frog, is also one of the most eccentric. The frog doesn’t stand out through an over-glamorous coloring or some unique, wild mating call, but rather as a result of one of its weird biological features. This frog doesn’t have ears – yet it can hear. […]
For infertile women everywhere, regardless of age, health and status, one thing was sure – they were never going to have children; and I say ‘were’ because now we have a precedent, a way through which that can be changed: an infertile Australian woman is now pregnant after growing new eggs in ovarian tissue transplanted […]
Snoring is a universal problem that affects a huge chunk of the population around the world. It doesn’t matter how rich you are, how smart you are, if you snore – you snore. There are various causes for snoring. As is the case with the other common conditions that affect a large number of people […]
A new study that surveyed through records of hundreds of thousands of men from 15 European countries found that the average height has risen by 11 centimeters since then 1870s. This remarkable surge in men’s height over the span of just four generations has been attributed to the advances in health care since, most notably […]
For some reason which continues to elude me, people are eating less and less fruit – but perhaps the increasing consumption of juice has something to do with this. Now, a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health researchers has shown that eating more fruits, particularly blueberries, grapes, and apples, was associated with […]
Pollution is real, and it’s a global phenomenon; it doesn’t happen only in the Captain Planet cartoons, and it’s not restricted to Africa or China. Sobering data from MIT’s Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment has shown that air pollution is having a dramatic impact on American health: over 200.000 lives are claimed early because […]
Fatal overdoses due to painkillers have reached epidemic levels, greatly exceeding those from heroin and cocaine combined, becoming the worst drug epidemic in US history. Prescriptions for painkillers in the United States have nearly tripled in the past two decades, and the results are dreadful. In 2012, enough painkillers were prescribed to keep every single […]
Most medical research looking to identify the mechanisms of a disease or test treatments rely on animal models. While very useful, mice for instance (a favorite lab pet for researchers) do not have nearly the same brain structure or genes as humans. Even if some genes and proteins scientists target are the same both in […]
Scientists have discovered an atypical gene that is thought to be crucial for the generation of new neurons in the brain, a process called neurogenesis. The discovery and further study of the gene might help scientists better understand how neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s affect the brain and, in term, how to address them. New […]
In a mind-boggling and, frankly, a bit frightening breakthrough, researchers at University of Washington have devised a brain-to-brain interface that for the first time has allowed the remote exchange of information between two human brains. The test that demonstrated the technology, although simple in nature, shows of a powerful display of force. One researcher (human brain […]
Crows, like most other species from the corvid family (ravens, rooks, etc.), are some of the most intelligent animals on the planet, actually rivaling apes and dolphins. Tool use is common among these birds, but where they shine is in their social and emotional intelligence. For instance, a few years ago I reported how ravens point […]
For nearly two years now, Syria has been embroiled in a gruesome civil war that has so far claimed thousands of lives. Cruelties in the region reached a climax in past weeks after alleged reports of chemical weapons use against civilians were made. So far, it’s unclear which side – the government or rebelling opposition […]
Regenerative medicine has come a long way, and while important strides forward have been made, scientists are still toiling with ways to completely grow organs in labs. There are millions of people worldwide suffering from afflictions to organs like the liver, lungs or heart – for many of them a transplant is they’re only chance […]
It’s clear that humans are now, more than ever, a driving force in evolutionary biology. Early domestication efforts through breeding and training have changed some species to the point that they’ve grown to be as we wanted them to become. The effects of climate change, a great part of which is anthropogenic, actually influence animals […]
Many months later after scientists isolated thousands of samples taken from different bat species found close to the home of the first known victim of the Mers coronavirus – a deadly virus which first emerged in the Middle East last year, killing 47 so far (~50% fatality among infected) – scientists found the evidence of the […]
There’s an extremely fine line between delusion and grand vision – it’s enough just to take a look back in history and you’ll find a myriad of examples where great minds who justly challenged the status quo were labeled insane, and in some even more unfortunate times, heretics. That’s not to say that behind every […]
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Neuroscience analyzed a massive survey of 130,000 randomly chosen people from the US to see whether there is any association between psychedelic drug use and mental health problems – a claim that has had large circulation and is often cited, despite little research in […]
Our bodies are hosts to some hundreds of thousands of bacteria that live in harmony with each other, helping the body be healthy, in return for the food and shelter it provides to these tiny organisms . Collectively, all the microorganisms inside the human body are referred to as the microbiome, most of whom are […]
It has been previously shown that during ovulation, women tend to increase their attractiveness to men (though not necessarily conscious). Not only do they change their voice pitch [1], but they also tend to dress more fashionable [2]. A new study published in Psychological Science adds to this growing body of research by suggesting that […]
Some 300 million cases of malaria are reported each year in Africa, the continent where the disease is still running rampant. For decades, scientists have been investing immense amounts of energy battling the disease, trying to come up with effective treatments. The recent step forward in the war against malaria comes from Maryland-based biotech Sanaria, which […]
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is an established neurosurgeon, but you all might know him better as CNN’s chief medical correspondent through the various live interventions he’s had along the years on television as well as some feature documentaries. Last night, his most recent documentary, called “WEED”, premiered on CNN as you might have already guessed, it’s all […]
The Argus II is the first bionic eye implant, designed to grant the blind vision, that has been approved by the FDA in the US. The wearer of such an implant is now capable of distinguishing objects and live an almost independent life, which is absolutely remarkable by itself, however its performance is light years […]
A while ago, ZME Science reported on some mind blowing research in which dogs were trained to literally sniff lung and breast cancer from samples. The dog’s detection accuracy was between 90% and 95% for breast and lung cancer, respectively, compared to biopsy results. Recently, a collaborative team of researchers from University of Liverpool and the […]
I have never in my life eaten a crab or a lobster, because ever since I was a kid, boiling an animal alive seemed extremely cruel; it just didn’t make sense that an animal doesn’t feel pain – and even today, it doesn’t, to me. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is […]
A few years ago ZME Science reported how a group of researchers at University of Maastricht in Holland were on a mission to grow the first lab cultured ‘hamburger’. After five years of painstaking work and €250,000 invested (backed by Google’s Sergey Brin), an edible version was finally developed and what better way to put it to […]
Temperature is an important physical parameter which greatly influences a system. Monitoring and/or manipulating this state parameter with great accuracy is thus of great importance to scientists. Recently, researchers part of DARPA’s Quantum-Assisted Sensing and Readout (QuASAR) program proved a new technique that allowed them to measure and control temperatures at the nanometer scale inside living cells. Measuring […]
A new study performed by scientists in China has further elevated stem cell research after they successfully grew teeth-like structures using cells derived from an unlikely source: urine. Eventually, they hope that human stem cells could provide the basis for a tooth bud that could be transplanted into the jaw of the patient. Some of you […]
Weighing in at 33 pounds (15kgs), this huge honey mushroom was recently discovered by locals in China’s Yunnan Province. Specialists aren’t sure yet, but the giant fungus could actually be a record breaker. The large clump of mushrooms, which numbered over 100 caps attached at the base of their stems, caused quite a stir amongst […]
How many times did you apply for a job or to enter a graduate program in some school somewhere only to find that the position was filled by someone less capable than you? Now, we’re strictly referring to people genuinely less capable than you, otherwise we’d be hitting the same bias exhibited by the manager […]
It’s no easy task for any psychologist to bear the news to a parent that his child is suffering from autism. For the parent, receiving the news is much worse. Not all hope is lost, however, as it’s been reported that a promising fraction of those diagnosed with autism eventually recover during young adulthood, despite […]
Studying death in humans has always been precarious. I mean, it’s not like anyone would volunteer to be live dissected as they slowly die, and even if someone would agree to such a procedure, most likely it would not be allowed. Not in any western hospital anyway. Luckily, death is such a common, as in […]
Most smokers fall prey to the poisonous grasp of cigarettes because they became seduced by the simple act itself, not because of the taste or other pleasures relieved from smoking. There are many aspects that make smoking extremely appealing, especially to attention-seeking young. Despite several policies have been introduced in the past decades to put […]
Biotech giant, Monsanto, has been met with a wave of furious protests during the past year in Europe, as the company intended on introducing genetically modified seed crops in the EU. As opposed to the US, where despite the general public is nearly or just as adverse in the face of genetically modified crops, politicians […]
Scientists have striven for years to comprehend the complicated neurological mechanisms that underline the human brain and consciousness. Besides the philosophical aspects of such a quest (how we do think? what is consciousness born?), a better understanding of the human brain will help solve a number of medical issues that currently plague the human brain. […]
Society today is becoming ever stressed out it seems. According to a recent American Psychological Association poll, nearly a quarter of Americans confessed to currently feeling under “extreme stress,” however not all of us are as stressed under the same conditions. For instance, there’s a general consensus in the medical world that women are better at […]
The insertion of one gene can shut down the extra chromosome which causes Down Syndrome, according to a study published today in Nature. A dreadful disease Down Syndrome (DS), also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It’s the […]
Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have successfully grown and inserted functional blood vessels into animal models after they used vascular precursor cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These blood vessels lasted for as long as nine months, much longer than any previous attempt, making the Harvard researchers’ efforts seem extremely promising. Patients […]
It may not seem like much, but by differentiating between bacterial and viral fevers, this new test could help doctors decide whether or not to prescribe antibiotics. Fevers are a common symptom in many infectious diseases, but it’s often difficult to know if the cause is bacterial or viral, and thus, antibiotics are often needlessly […]
An extremely challenging study published by a team of researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine claims that through some unknown mechanism mammals can bias the sex of their offspring in order to win the genetic lottery and produce extra grandchildren. The holy graal of modern evolutionary biology After analyzing 90 years of breeding records […]
