Live Brain Cells Learn To Play Pong in Real Time
Human and mouse neurons living in a dish learned to play the video game Pong. Scientists reported the achievement on October 12 in the journal…
Cell Press News
Oscillating Immune Response: Explaining Viral Infection Paradox in People With Down Syndrome
New findings reveal why individuals with Down syndrome have less frequent, but more severe viral infections. People with Down syndrome have less-frequent viral infections. However,…
Artificial Superstrong Silkworm Silk Is 70% Stronger Than Spider Silk
Although spiders hold the market for the strongest silks, they are too aggressive and territorial to be farmed. Incorporating spider DNA into silkworms is the…
Surprising Research Findings on Big Breakfasts, Hunger, and Weight Loss
Front-loading calories early in the day reduces hunger but does not affect weight loss. In dieting, there’s the old saying that one should “breakfast like…
Characterizing Human Beings on a Molecular Level: People With Similar Faces Likely Have Similar DNA
A collection of photos of genetically unrelated lookalikes, along with DNA analysis, has revealed that strong facial similarity is linked with shared genetic variants. The…
Mental Fatigue Is No Illusion: Scientists Figure Out Why Thinking Hard Makes You Tired
It goes without saying that hard physical labor wears you out, but what about hard mental labor? Sitting around thinking hard for hours also makes…
As These Bacteria Eat, They Generate a Strange Molecule That Can Be Used To Make Jet Fuel
Aircraft are indispensable in the modern age for transporting people, delivering goods, and performing military operations, but the petroleum-based fuels that power them are in…
Meraxes Gigas: Giant New Carnivorous Dinosaur Discovered With Tiny Arms Like T. rex
Meraxes gigas — a new species of dinosaur has been discovered with disproportionally short arms just like T. rex called the Meraxes gigas. Tyrannosaurs (like…
Some Viruses Can Make You More Attractive to Mosquitoes
Dengue and Zika viruses make infected hosts smell more delicious to mosquitoes. New research shows that when humans and mice are infected with dengue or…
New Method To Pinpoint the Origin of Illegally Traded Chimpanzees
Using thousands of chimp fecal samples, researchers have created the first catalog of genomic diversity for endangered chimpanzees in the wild. This catalog allows them…
Skydiving Salamanders Parachute and Glide From the World’s Tallest Trees
“Wandering salamanders” live in some of the tallest trees in the world. They also are known to jump when disturbed. Now, scientists report in the…
Study Finds That Climate Change Will Negatively Impact Human Sleep Around the World
Most research looking at the impact of climate change on human life has focused on how extreme weather events affect economic and societal health outcomes…
CRISPR Gene Editing Now Possible in Cockroaches
According to a paper published in the journal Cell Reports Methods by Cell Press on May 16th, 2022, researchers devised a CRISPR-Cas9 technique to enable…
Batesian Mimicry: These Bats Scare Off Predators by Buzzing Like Hornets
In Batesian mimicry, a harmless species imitates a more dangerous one in an evolutionary “ruse” that protects the mimic from would-be predators. Now, researchers reporting…
Lunar Soil Can Be Used To Generate Oxygen and Fuel for Moon Astronauts
Soil on the moon contains active compounds that can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuels, according to a new study by scientists in China…
Not All Dietary Fibers Are Equal – Health Benefits of Dietary Fiber Vary
Researchers revealed in the journal Cell Host & Microbe on April 28th, 2022, that the health benefits of dietary fiber vary between individuals and may…
Older Men With High BMI Have More Sperm Cell Irregularities
According to a single-cell analysis of autopsied human testes, abnormalities associated with aging sperm cells may be exacerbated by elevated body mass index (BMI). The…
Male Spiders Catapult off Their Mates To Avoid Sexual Cannibalism [High-Speed Video]
These male spiders catapult at impressive speeds to flee their mates before they get eaten. After males of the orb-weaving spider Philoponella prominens mate with…