Warning: Some “Inactive” Drug Ingredients May Not Actually Be Inert
The inactive ingredients that make up a major component of drug formulations may not be as inactive as previously thought, researchers report. According to a…
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Drastic Reduction in Earth’s Seismic Background Noise Due to COVID-19 Lockdowns
Global COVID-19 “lockdown” measures — the quarantines, physical isolation, travel restrictions and widespread closures of services and industry that countries around the world have implemented…
New Ultrafast Insulin for Faster Management of Blood Sugar in Diabetes
A new, ultra-rapid formulation of insulin reached peak activity in pigs with diabetes about twice as fast as a commercially available option, according to new…
FDA Approved Drug May Help Calm Cytokine Storm in COVID-19
The drug acalabrutinib, FDA-approved for the treatment of several types of B cell cancers, improved the oxygenation levels and decreased molecular markers of inflammation in…
Bats, Pangolins and Humans: COVID-19 Virus Likely Emerged From Recombination of Viral Genes Across Different Species
Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) through recombination and strong purifying selection. A combination of genetic shuffling and evolutionary selection of near-identical genetic…
An Incredible New Bumble Bee Behavior Was Just Discovered – So Sophisticated, Scientists Cannot Reproduce
Facing a scarcity of pollen, bumblebees will nibble on the leaves of flowerless plants, causing intentional damage in such a way that accelerates the production…
Brain Stimulation From Ultrasonic Waves Used to Control Monkeys’ Behavior
Remote, brain region-specific control of choice behavior with ultrasonic waves. Noninvasive pulses of ultrasound waves aimed at specific regions in the brains of macaque monkeys…
Venus’ Atmosphere Rotates Far Faster Than Its Surface Because of Thermal Tides
By tracking the thick clouds of Venus’ rapidly rotating atmosphere, researchers have gained new insight into the dynamic forces that drive atmospheric super-rotation — a…
There May Be a “Super-Earth” Orbiting the Nearest Star to the Sun
A low-mass planet candidate orbiting Proxima Centauri at a distance of 1.5 AU. An analysis of cyclical changes in the light spectrum emitted by Proxima…
Biology Textbooks May Be Wrong: Newly Discovered Driver of Plant Cell Growth Contradicts Current Theories
The shape and growth of plant cells may not rely on increased fluidic pressure, or turgor, inside the cell as previously believed. Rather, a new…
“Substantially Human” – Bioscientific Advancements Requires Determining Boundaries of What’s Human
Recent and rapid developments in the biosciences continually blur the lines between human beings and other living organisms, while straining the legal definitions of what…
First Image of a Black Hole Named Science’s 2019 Breakthrough of the Year
Honoring a feat that was once considered impossible, Science has named the Event Horizon Telescope’s image of a supermassive black hole as its 2019 Breakthrough…
High Above Storm Clouds, Lightning Powers Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Ultraviolet ‘Elves’
Using instruments onboard the International Space Station, researchers have observed millisecond pulses of gamma-rays produced by thunderstorms, clarifying the process by which these flashes are…
Illuminating Seafloor Seismology With Existing ‘Dark’ Fiber-Optic Cables and Distributed Acoustic Sensing
A new fault system on the seafloor was discovered off California’s coast by temporarily transforming a pre-existing underwater fiber optic cable into an array of…
Solar Spicules Launched by Magnetic Reconnection on Sun’s Surface
New observations of solar spicules, ubiquitous jet-like plasma features that punctuate the Sun’s atmosphere, suggest they are generated by the energy released as the two…
Precision Measurements of Gravity by Trapping Atoms in a Laser Beam – Could Test General Relativity and Fundamental Physics
Trapped atoms, suspended aloft on a lattice of laser light for as long as 20 seconds, allow for highly sensitive measurements of gravity, according to…
Faint Filaments of the Cosmic Web Revealed by Glowing Gas
Faintly glowing wisps of gas, excited by the intense light of surrounding star-forming galaxies, have given astronomers a rare glimpse of one of the Universe’s…
Global Climate Catastrophe If Nuclear War Between India and Pakistan
Rapidly expanding nuclear arsenals in Pakistan and India portend regional and global catastrophe. With ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan raising concerns about the possibility…