Investigators have used some of the most advanced sequencing technology to peer into nasal polyps, gleaning new insights not only into this condition but also the severe form of inflammation that may lead to other disorders, such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic eczema.
In a set of recent experiments, scientists have tamed a damaging plasma instability in a way that could lead to the efficient and steady-state operation of ITER, the international tokamak experiment under construction in France to demonstrate the practicality of fusion power.
For the first time, physicists at CERN have observed a benchmark atomic energy transition in anithydrogen, a major step toward cooling and manipulating the basic form of antimatter. Antimatter, annihilated on impact with matter, is notoriously tricky to capture and work with. But its study is key to solving one of the great mysteries of the universe: why anti-matter, which should have existed in equal amounts to matter at the time of the Big Bang, has all but disappeared.
Use of e-cigarettes every day can nearly double the odds of a heart attack, according to a new analysis of a survey of nearly 70,000 people. The research also found that dual use of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes — the most common use pattern among e-cigarette users — appears to be more dangerous than using either product alone.
Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) doesn't directly cause cancer, but infection with this common herpes virus brings an increased risk of some cancers, including fast-growing lymphomas. This week in mSphere, researchers report on a new drug that works by targeting EBV-positive tumors.
Despite plants and vegetation being key to the Earth's ecosystem, little is known about the origin of their roots. However in new research, scientists describe a transitional root fossils from the earliest land ecosystem that sheds light on how roots have evolved.
There are a couple of key features that make a turtle a turtle: its shell, for one, but also its toothless beak. A newly-discovered fossil turtle that lived 228 million years ago is shedding light on how modern turtles developed these traits. It had a beak, but while its body was Frisbee-shaped, its wide ribs hadn't grown to form a shell like we see in turtles today.
A new study in ants demonstrates that living in groups leads to improved fitness. The researchers show that, in larger groups, ants take on specialized roles and colony stability increases.
Up until 40,000 years ago, at least two groups of hominins inhabited Eurasia — Neanderthals in the west and Denisovans in the east. Now, researchers have sequenced the genome of an ancient hominin individual from Siberia, and discovered that she had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father.
Scientists have identified the sensor protein responsible for hearing and balance. The findings put an end to a 40-year quest for the protein that converts sound and head movement into electrical signals that travel to the brain.