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A team of US researchers has developed an AI algorithm that can spot clinically significant prostate cancer on MRI scans. The researchers say that the deep learning model could help radiologists to detect the cancer. They’ve published their findings in Radiology. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, with the […]

Scientists have isolated a chemical in mouse brains that mediates the decision to eat or exercise. The chemical orexin, which also mediates sleep, prompted mice to choose exercise over a snack more frequently. The Swiss researchers say that their findings could help to advance research in promoting exercise among humans. The team has published its […]

Scientists have figured out a way to measure soil moisture by detecting the vibrations of traffic noise travelling through the ground. The technique is called distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) and it is normally used to measure seismic waves during earthquakes. Seismological instruments have never been used to measure soil moisture at such a large scale […]

Fossils have provided more evidence that Greenland’s ice sheet is more transient than previously thought, raising concerns for sea-level rise. The fossilised organic matter, found at the bottom of an ice core, indicates that the centre of Greenland was ice-free at some point in the last million years. This suggests the ice sheet is “fragile”, […]

Nearly 5,000 years ago, ancient Egyptians revolutionised the way in which humans shape the world around them. A new paper published in the PLOS ONE journal explains that ancient Egyptians probably became the world’s first hydraulics engineers to do this. The research centres on the oldest of Egypt’s iconic pyramids: the funerary complex of King […]

A new species has been identified from a 514-million-year-old fossil found in China’s southern Yunnan province. Shishania aculeata is an ancient slug with a twist. Its fossils reveal that the world’s earliest molluscs were armoured creatures. Unlike the snails of today, however, these early molluscs didn’t have shells. Research published in the journal Science shows […]

A technology that dates back thousands of years could dramatically reduce the need for batteries and other renewable energy storage technologies, according to US researchers. Firebricks are heat-absorbing bricks which emerged in the early Bronze Age, around 4000-3000 BCE. They were first used to line kilns, and have since been used in furnaces. They are […]

Blowflies carry bird flu virus New research has identified a potential new transmission route for bird flu – blowflies of the genus Calliphora. Japanese scientists collected blowflies near a wild crane colony in Izumi city, Kagoshima Prefecture, during an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Of the 648 blowflies collected, 14 were found to be carrying […]

In the last few years, Australia has faced both flooding rains and some of the lowest rainfall on record. Now, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have the data that explains why rain in Australia has seemed so unpredictable. The researchers have shown that human-induced climate warming is driving increases in rainfall variability over 75% of the […]

A quantum state in a lab has produced something which is mathematically indistinguishable from a phenomenon only ever witnessed when black holes collide: gravitational waves. Gravitational waves were predicted by Einstein in 1916 as the “ripples” of space-time caused by massive cosmic events such as black hole collisions. It was not until 2015 before gravitational […]

A team of US and Korean researchers has developed a 3D-printing ink that makes easy-to-recycle structures without the need for any heat or light. The ink, made from a polymer, solidifies on contact with salt and dissolves back into re-usable ink on contact with fresh water. The researchers say their ink could be useful for […]

A fossil of a larva which lived more than half a billion years ago might shed light on the earliest ancestors of modern insects, spiders, crabs and centipedes. Named Youti yuanshi, the fossil is described in a new paper published in Nature. Y. yuanshi lived during the Cambrian period (539–485 million years ago). The 1-millimetre-long […]

Engineers have found a way to turn phosphorus from city wastewater into parts for lithium-ion batteries. The Chinese researchers say that their method could be used to supply 35% of the phosphorus demand for their national lithium-ion battery industry. They’ve published their findings in Engineering. Phosphorus is a common component in the cathodes of lithium-ion […]

In the Vestfold Hills of Antarctica, a few kilometres away from Australia’s southernmost research station, lies a lake filled with mysterious microorganisms. Named Deep Lake, the water is so salty that it stays liquid even though its temperature dips to -20°C in winter. This makes it an ideal breeding ground for archaea, the single-celled organisms […]

Newly discovered semiconductor nanocrystals could be used to develop highly efficient light-emitting devices and lasers. The nanocrystals are described in a new paper published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano. Nanocrystals are often used in devices such as lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These are mainstays of modern technology, so finding more efficient […]

As if immune cells weren’t already weird enough, researchers studying allergic responses in mice have spotted something completely unexpected: immune cells nestled inside each other like Matryoshka dolls. Lead researcher Tim Lämmermann, director of the Institute of Medical Biochemistry at the University of Münster, Germany, says the phenomenon was completely unexpected. “We could hardly believe […]

The Moon is covered in a barely-there layer of atoms known as an “exosphere.” These atoms, bound tenuously to the Moon by gravity, bounce around on the surface before either returning permanently to it or escaping to space. It is nothing compared to Earth’s 600km-thick, life-sustaining atmosphere. New analysis of lunar soil samples has finally […]

The extinction event at the end of the “Age of Dinosaurs” saw a rapid evolution of bird genomes, according to a new study. At the end of the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago, an asteroid crashed into Earth, triggering the mass extinction. Almost all animals weighing more than 25kg were wiped out. This included […]

After almost 800 years of peace and quiet, a new eruption period began on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula on 19 March 2021. Lava analysis reveals that magma pooled in the Earth’s crust before the eruptions began. The finding disproves the initial hypothesis that magma rose directly from the mantle and may be an important feature for […]

The so-called “Screaming Woman”, a 3,500-year-old mummified corpse from Egypt, has been “virtually dissected” to reveal how she got the expression which became her name. It was previously thought that her open mouth and presence of organs – normally removed during mummification – was the result of careless embalmers. But the new analysis, published in […]

While climate change remains the biggest threat, poor water quality continues to exacerbate its impact on the Great Barrier Reef, according to a new report. A body of 200 experts, using 4,000 publications’ worth of evidence, has collated the review on the water quality of the Great Barrier Reef. The review, called the 2022 Scientific […]

Thorns – technically termed prickles – are a common feature on many drastically different plants. So how have they evolved? The answer to this question is part of an evolutionary puzzle that has been perplexing biologists for decades. Now, thanks to a new study published in Science, researchers are one step closer to solving the […]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that affects motor neurons – the nerve cells which govern voluntary movement. Though exceedingly rare, some people undergo an “ALS reversal” in which they initially meet the diagnostic criteria for the disease but then experience a partial or full clinical recovery. Now, researchers have identified the genetic […]

New analysis of New Zealand fossils first uncovered in 1987 shows how penguin wings evolved. The wing fragments were found near the town of Duntroon on New Zealand’s South Island, nearly 1,000km southwest of the Auckland. The fossils come from a species called Pakudyptes hakataramea. It lived during the late Oligocene (34–23 million years ago). […]