Japanese macaques on Yakushima Island, where monkeys in the 1980s experienced stress-related dental issues Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden/naturepl.com Monkeys on a Japanese island experienced a severe loss of tooth enamel during the 1980s, which researchers believe was caused by the stress of culling programmes and the destruction of their habitat. The condition would have been extremely painful […]
A patch of spectre tiles. Some tiles are considered odd (shaded) and even (not shaded) based on their orientation https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/spectre/ Mathematicians solved a decades-long mystery earlier this year when they discovered a shape that can cover a surface completely without ever creating a repeating pattern. But the breakthrough had come with a caveat – both […]
The helicopter was flying high through the night sky with its door slightly ajar. Johannes Eser and Matthew Rodencal were in the back controlling a laser pointing out through the gap. They aimed towards a balloon 35 kilometres above them and fired. It sounds like a scene from a spy movie, but Eser and Rodencal, […]
There are thousands of small pieces of junk orbiting Earth (as well as thousands of satellites) Shutterstock/Dima Zel Sensors based on the quantum behaviour of tiny crystals could detect pieces of space debris hurtling towards satellites. The US government estimates that there are around half a million pieces of debris between 1 and 10 centimetres […]
Model of bacteriophage T4, which the gene therapy-advancing virus is based on Venigalla B. Rao; Victor Padilla-Sanchez, Andrei Fokine, and Jingen Zhu A modified bacteria-killing virus, known as a phage, can deliver far more DNA to human cells than is possible with existing techniques. This capacity could lead to major advances in cell and gene […]
Levens Park ring cairn in Cumbria, UK, where the plague bacterium was found in a Bronze Age woman’s tooth Ian Hodkinson The bacterium that causes the plague first arrived in Britain at least 4000 years ago, DNA evidence from ancient people has revealed. Yersinia pestis is best known for its role in the Black Death, […]
The coronavirus has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes, but vaccines help to keep mothers and babies safe Source link
Despite the obvious caveats, physicists are right to use fluids and other physical analogues to search for fresh insights about extreme cosmic phenomena, from black holes to the big bang Source link
Soprano pipistrelles migrate long distances Wildchromes/Alamy Migratory bats use a magnetic sense to navigate long distances, calibrating their internal compass based on the position of the setting sun each evening. Many animals may use Earth’s magnetic field either to orient themselves or to navigate, including turtles, birds and possibly even humans. Until now, there has been […]
In multiple sclerosis, autoantibodies mistakenly attack nerve cells Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library A distinct group of antibodies appear in blood samples of some people with multiple sclerosis years before they experience symptoms. The antibodies could help diagnose people with the condition sooner, allowing them to begin treatment earlier. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder […]