A device that can bestow invisibility to an object by “cloaking” it from visual light is closer to reality. After being the first to demonstrate the feasibility of such a device by constructing a prototype in 2006, a team of Duke University engineers has produced a new type of cloaking device, which is significantly more [...]
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Scientists find link between genetic defect on chromosome 15 and epilepsy. A subset of patients with epilepsy lack a certain part of this chromosome. The loss of small chromosomal segments, called microdeletions by geneticists, has previously not been connected with common disorders.
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In the rogues’ gallery of microscopic infectious agents, the prion is the toughest hombre in town. Warped pathogens that lack both DNA and RNA, prions are believed to cause such fatal brain ailments as chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and moose, mad cow disease in cattle, scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. [...]
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One of the major challenges in modern vaccinology is to engineer vectors that are highly infectious, yet don’t cause illness. Now scientists have unveiled what may prove a winning strategy in the fight against infant bacterial pneumonia.
Chickens kept in litter-based housing systems, including free-range chickens, are more prone to disease than chickens kept in cages, according to a new study.
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The brain is in a constant struggle between learning new experiences and remembering old experiences, PLoS Biology reports. Most social interactions require the rapid exchange of new and old information. Normal conversation requires that while listening to the new information, we are already retrieving information for a reply. Yet, some memory theories assume that these [...]
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Scientists has achieved the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. This discovery indicates the planet is either biologically or geologically active. If microscopic Martian life is producing the methane, it likely resides far below the surface where it is warm enough for liquid water to exist.
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In a study of how sensory neurons in the microscopic worm C. elegans process smell, researchers have discovered the first evidence that a chemical in the environment changes gene expression within a sensory organ in its own specific way. The investigators also report that in contrast to previous studies showing that Pumilio proteins suppress gene [...]
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Using nanoscale “test tubes” researchers have demonstrated how terahertz spectroscopy can reveal the dynamic behavior of biomolecules like amino acids and proteins in water, important data for understanding their complex molecular behavior.
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The largest ever prospective study into the major complications of epidurals and spinal anesthetics concludes that previous studies have over-estimated the risks of severe complications of these procedures. The study concludes that the estimated risk of permanent harm following a spinal anesthetic or epidural is lower than 1 in 20,000 and in many circumstances the [...]