The human brain has billions of neurons. Working together, they enable higher-order brain functions such as cognition and complex behaviors. To study these higher-order brain functions, it is important to understand how neural activity is coordinated across various brain regions. Although techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are able to provide insights into brain [...]
Scientists at Scripps Research identified antibodies that protect against a host of lethal snake venoms. Scripps Research scientists have developed an antibody that can block the effects of lethal toxins in the venoms of a wide variety of snakes found throughout Africa, Asia and Australia. The antibody, which protected mice from the normally deadly [...]
The human brain could be far more powerful than we ever imagined, scientists have discovered. Researchers have identified cell messaging which have never been uncovered before, which suggests our brains are capable of more than previously realised. It’s all to do with the outer cortical cells, with the findings suggesting that single human neurons are remarkably powerful. The [...]
A study from the University of California, Davis, and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in Argentina reveals that the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza virus has evolved to transmit among birds and marine mammals, presenting a direct risk to wildlife conservation efforts. The study, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, is the first genomic characterization [...]
Atomic force microscopy, or AFM, is a widely used technique that can quantitatively map material surfaces in three dimensions, but its accuracy is limited by the size of the microscope's probe. A new AI technique overcomes this limitation and allows microscopes to resolve material features smaller than the probe's tip. The deep learning algorithm [...]
New technology using CRISPR to enhance the immune system’s ability to detect cancer cells has been created, potentially paving the way for innovative cancer treatment methods. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are an immune complex present on the surface of all cells in humans. MHC class I molecules are a prerequisite for [...]
A new study led by the University of Kansas might resolve a mystery in the “aging process” in species — or, how a species’ risk of going extinct changes after that species appears on the scene. For years, evolutionary biologists believed older species lacked any real advantage over younger ones in avoiding extinction — an idea known as “Red [...]
A decades-old mystery of how natural antimicrobial predatory bacteria are able to recognize and kill other bacteria may have been solved, according to new research. In a study published in Nature Microbiology, researchers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham have discovered how natural antimicrobial predatory bacteria, called Bdellovibrio bacterivorous, produce fiber-like proteins on their surface to [...]
Scientists are investigating whether an oral drug sprinkled with gold nanoparticles could one day treat neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis. The experimental medicine, called CNM-Au8, has now shown success in boosting the brain's metabolism in phase II clinical trials. Research on the safety and efficacy of the daily drug is still ongoing, [...]
Scientists are a step closer to unraveling the mysterious forces of the universe after working out how to measure gravity on a microscopic level. Experts have never fully understood how the force that was discovered by Isaac Newton works in the tiny quantum world. Even Einstein was baffled by quantum gravity and, in his [...]
