Science and Technology

Researchers report impaired NK-cell function during long-duration space travel.

New science uncovers how an unlikely culprit, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) -- the bacterium commonly associated with chronic gum disease -- appears to drive Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology.

As coral species die off, they may be leaving a death spiral in their wake: Their absence could be sapping life from the corals that survive. In a new study, when isolated from other species, corals got weak, died off or grew in fragile structures. The study has shown it is possible to quantify positive effects of coral biodiversity and negative effects of its absence.

Scientists have discovered the relaxation dynamics of a zero-field state in skyrmions, a spinning magnetic phenomenon that has potential applications in data storage and spintronic devices.

Scientists find and test a promising drug that stops cancer by interfering with the cancer cells' metabolism and other circadian-related functions.

Researchers have assessed the link between food-related hardships and obesity. Using a national sample of adults across the United States, the researchers learned that individuals who are food insecure are at an increased risk of obesity. Study results also showed that the individuals who live in food deserts are at an elevated risk for obesity.

Most of Earth's life-essential elements probably arrived with the planetary collision that produced the moon. Petrologists now conclude Earth most likely received the bulk of its carbon, nitrogen and other life-essential volatile elements from a collision with a Mars-sized planet more than 4.4 billion years ago.

The light released from around the first massive black holes in the universe is so intense that it is able to reach telescopes across the entire expanse of the universe. Incredibly, the light from the most distant black holes (or quasars) has been traveling to us for more than 13 billion light years. However, we do not know how these monster black holes formed.

Using active genetics technology, biologists have developed the world's first CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to control genetic inheritance in a mammal. The achievement in mice lays the groundwork for further advances based on this technology, including biomedical research on human disease. Future animal models may be possible of complex human genetic diseases, like arthritis and cancer, which are not currently possible.

A new study shows that there is a very limited regeneration of cells in the brain of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings underline the importance of treating MS at an early stage of the disease progression, when the affected cells can repair the damage as they are not replaced by new ones.

Geologists demonstrate the reconstruction of the subduction of the Nazca Ocean plate, the remnants of which are currently found down to 1,500 kilometers, or about 900 miles, below the Earth's surface. Their results show that the formation of the Andean mountain range was more complicated than previous models suggested.

Fresh insights into the types of cells found in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis could help develop improved therapies, research has found. The study focused on cells in the brain that help to repair damage to nerve cells caused by the disease.

Water splitting, the process of harvesting solar energy to generate energy-dense fuels, could be simplified thanks to new research.

Scientists studying the relationship of telomeres to cancer made a surprising discovery: a cellular recycling process called autophagy -- generally thought of as a survival mechanism -- actually promotes the death of cells, thereby preventing cancer initiation.

Normal gut bacteria are instrumental in inducing an immune response in the presence of invading pathogens. However, exactly how commensal bacteria cause CX3CR1+ macrophages in the intestine to protrude their tentacle-like dendrites to capture antigens, triggering the immune response, was unclear. Now, a research team has shown that common bacterial metabolites pyruvate and lactate interact with the GPR31 receptor on CX3CR1+ cells, enhancing the immune response and protecting against gut pathogens.

A new study confirms the urgency to tackle climate change. While it's known that extreme weather events can affect the year-to-year variability in carbon uptake, and some researchers have suggested that there may be longer-term effects, this study is the first to actually quantify the effects through the 21st century and demonstrates that wetter-than-normal years do not compensate for losses in carbon uptake during dryer-than-normal years, caused by events such as droughts or heatwaves.

A new study establishes that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) face heightened risks of death, critical illness, and hospitalization if they develop the flu and demonstrates the beneficial effects of influenza vaccination. The report also reveals gaps in care that need to be addressed, including less-than-universal influenza vaccination in patients with COPD and failure to provide an antiviral medication in a timely manner once the patient is diagnosed with the flu.

In a bid to assist visually impaired people to easily determine denomination of currency notes, the Indian Institute of Technology at Ropar in Punjab

130-kg Microsat-R put together by a handful of DRDO laboratories.

Small infections can be fatal: Millions of people die each year from sepsis, an overreaction of the immune system. A new immune signaling molecule now provides the basis for potential new approaches in sepsis therapy.