A new study has discovered meteorites containing RNA sugar, ribose, and other bio-important sugars; the first direct evidence of bio-essential sugars’ delivery from space to the Earth. Source: Sugar delivered to Earth from space

Contrary to the long-held belief that plants in the natural world are always in competition, new research has found that in harsh environments mature plants help smaller ones — and thrive as a result. Source: Plants might be helping each… Read More ›

A global team of computer scientists, from Tsinghua and Beihang Universities in China, Harvard University in the US and IDC Herzliya in Israel, have developed ”Write-A-Video”, a new tool that generates videos from themed text. Using words and text editing,… Read More ›

The transition to electronic health records (EHRs) was supposed to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare for doctors and patients alike — but these technologies get an ‘F’ rating for usability from health care professionals, and may be contributing… Read More ›

UMD researchers developed a tool called Geneva (short for Genetic Evasion), which automatically learns to circumvent censorship. Tested in China, India and Kazakhstan, Geneva found dozens of ways to circumvent censorship by exploiting gaps in censors’ logic and finding bugs… Read More ›

Liver cancer deaths have increased by around 50% in the last decade and have tripled since records began, according to the latest calculations by Cancer Research UK. Source: Liver cancer deaths climb by around 50% in the last decade

The Truth Behind the Climate Pledges, a report by world-class scientists including former IPCC chair Sir Robert Watson, says almost three-fourths of 184 voluntary pledges made under the 2016 Paris agreement are inadequate to slow climate change. Only 36 of… Read More ›

According to researchers, including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, calling climate engineering a public good misrepresents the technical definition of a public good and doesn’t account for the potentially negative impacts of climate engineering. Source: Climate… Read More ›

陳教授的團隊進行實驗，比較小鼠感染不同細菌菌株和不同細菌劑量後的存活率。測試菌株分別是從病人身上分離出來的變棲克雷伯菌15WZ-82、典型的ST11耐碳青霉烯類抗生素的肺炎克雷伯菌14WZ-24、高毒性的ST11耐碳青霉烯類肺炎克雷伯菌（即是帶有15WZ-82毒力質粒的）14WZ-24-TC1、作為高毒力對照的HvKP4和HvKP1088，以及作為低毒力對照的FJ8。 從圖a（細菌劑量較高）可見，小鼠感染15WZ-82菌株120小時後死亡率達80%，感染HvKP4的小鼠則96小時後全部死亡，顯示變棲克雷伯菌15WZ-82的毒力雖然低於HvKP4，但遠高於典型的ST11耐碳青霉烯類肺炎克雷伯菌14WZ-24。 從圖b（%… Source: 陳教授的團隊進行實驗，比較小鼠感染不同細菌菌株和不同細菌劑量後的存活率。

The study examined the length of time between stopping work and dying among people in England and Wales born before 1951. It found that people in ‘unskilled’ occupations lived the longest after retiring, while professional workers — the other end… Read More ›

Cannabis flowers with the most mushroom-shaped hairs pack the biggest cannabinoid and fragrance punch, according to new research from the University of British Columbia. Source: The frostier the flower, the more potent the cannabis

At this point, the greatest danger of climate engineering may be how little is known about where countries stand on these potentially planet-altering technologies. Who is moving forward? Who is funding research? And who is being left out of the… Read More ›

Human medicines that act on important signal systems in the brain make fish bolder, shows a new study on three-spined sticklebacks by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden. The results reinforce that the signal substances serotonin and dopamine play important roles… Read More ›

A recent study finds that people are likely to blame robots for workplace accidents, but only if they believe the robots are autonomous. Source: Darn you, R2! When can we blame robots?

Associations between risk of suicide and medications widely used in the management of high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, heart failure and diabetes (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers) were examined in this observational study. Source: Examining risk of suicide… Read More ›

Researchers now have a better idea of why people who rely on partisan news outlets are more likely to believe falsehoods about political opponents. Source: How partisan hate leads people to believe falsehoods

When it comes to being willing to explore more efficient options to solving a problem, monkeys exhibit more cognitive flexibility than humans, according to a study by Georgia State University psychology researchers. Source: Monkeys outperform humans when it comes to… Read More ›

Statins have been reported to be beneficial for infections such as pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia. In the case of skin and soft tissue infections however, statin use is ironically associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, which is… Read More ›

A drug widely prescribed for a bladder condition for decades, now appears to be toxic to the retina, the light sensing tissue at the back of the eye that allows us to see. Source: More evidence linking common bladder medication… Read More ›

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research in Japan have developed a new system for keeping tissue viable for long-term study once transferred from an animal to a culture medium. The new system uses a microfluidic device that… Read More ›

A new study found multiple effects on soils from exposure to manure from cows administered antibiotics, including alteration of the soil microbiome and ecosystem functions, soil respiration and elemental cycling. Source: Researchers find multiple effects on soil from manure from… Read More ›

Donald Trump used Twitter effectively to promote his campaign, communicate policy goals and attack opponents as part of a systematic campaign ahead of the 2016 US Presidential elections — a new study reveals. Source: Trump tweets were systematic plan of… Read More ›