A newly published research study shows the benefits of smoking cannabis for spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Using 30 adult patients with multiple sclerosis, the researchers found that smoked cannabis was superior to a placebo in reducing symptoms and pain in patients with treatment-resistant spasticity, or excessive muscle contractions. A clinical study of 30 adult patients [...]

A joint team of scientists have identified and determined how a tropical rainforest microbe is able to endure high concentrations of an ionic liquid used to dissolve cellulosic biomass. Their discovery may provide a basis for engineering ionic liquid tolerance into strains of fuel-producing microbes for a more efficient biofuel production process. In the search [...]

Using SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source, a team of physicists discovered never-before-seen behavior by electrons in a material called striped nickelate, representing a new era in materials science research. An international team of researchers has used SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to discover never-before-seen behavior by electrons in complex materials with extraordinary properties. The [...]

A new study from the University of Washington shows whether mammals in the Western Hemisphere will actually be able to move to new areas suitable for them when they are displaced by climate change. Results of the study show that carnivores like coyotes and wolves are likely to do okay, while many other species won’t [...]

By using an “aluminum-doped zinc oxide,” or AZO, Purdue researchers have shown how to create metamaterials without using silver or gold. The new metamaterial consists of 16 layers alternating between AZO and zinc oxide and has enhanced performance that is compatible with semiconductors. West Lafayette, Indiana – Researchers have taken a step toward overcoming a [...]

The mathematics behind the claims of a group of quantum theorists state that the wavefunction, a probability amplitude used to in quantum mechanics to describe a particle’s state, isn’t just a statistical tool but rather a real, objective state of a quantum system. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Physics. This view [...]

Chinese physicists have just broken the previous record for quantum teleportation with the creation of a pair of entangled protons over a distance of almost 100 km (62 miles). The researchers published their findings through arXiv. Quantum entanglement is the phenomenon when two particles become intertwined and behave as one single system independent of if [...]

While exposure to low-dose-rate radiation from cosmic radiation and natural radioactive isotopes in the environment is part of everyday life, a new study from MIT measures the genetic damage of low doses of radiation delivered over a long period of time. A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine [...]

Archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of the sophisticated astronomy and the time-keeping rituals of the ancient Mayan people, deep under the earth in the Guatemalan rain forest. The researchers led by David Stuart, anthropologist at the University of Texas in Austin, published their findings in the journal Science. Dates, tables, and depictions of lunar [...]

The weak Golbach conjecture states that you can break up any odd number into the sum of, at most, three prime numbers. Prime numbers cannot be evenly divided by any other number than themselves or 1. Fields Medalist Terence Tao of the University of California, in Los Angeles, has inched closer toward the proof. He [...]

Astrophysicists are getting closer to understanding the unexplained force that influences the laws of gravity throughout space. Newly published findings narrow down the possibilities of what this force could be as they research a fifth force (beyond gravity, electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces) that alters gravity on cosmologically large scales. Most people [...]

New calculations have shown that the average human gets hit by a particle of dark matter about once a minute. Dark matter, which is supposed to make up about 80% of the matter in the Universe, hasn’t been directly observed, but scientists have seen its apparent gravitational effect on galaxies and even larger galaxy clusters. [...]