Science Daily

Researchers have created a new type of wound dressing material using advanced polymers. This new dressing could enhance the healing process for burn patients and have potential applications for drug delivery in cancer treatment as well as in the cosmetic industry.

A new study brings together two schools of thought on the function of the neurotransmitter dopamine: one saying that dopamine provides a learning signal, the other saying that dopamine drives motivation.

Dreams have been considered a hallmark of human sleep for a long time. Latest findings, however, suggest that when pigeons sleep, they might experience visions of flight. Researchers studied brain activation patterns in sleeping pigeons, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The study revealed that similar to mammals, most of the brain is highly active during REM sleep. However, this wake-like state might come at a cost of reduced waste removal from the brain.

An international team of astronomers observed the second one of the two supermassive black holes circling each other in an active galaxy OJ 287.

Usually, catalytic reactions are analyzed by checking which chemicals go into a chemical reactor and which come out. But as it turns out, in order to properly understand and optimize catalysts, much more information is necessary. Scientists developed methods to watch catalytic reactions with micrometer resolution under the microscope -- and the process is much more complex than previously thought.

A research collaboration between Cornell and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems has found an efficient way to expand the collective behavior of swarming microrobots: Mixing different sizes of the micron-scale 'bots enables them to self-organize into diverse patterns that can be manipulated when a magnetic field is applied. The technique even allows the swarm to 'cage' passive objects and then expel them.

A study of the relationship between the growth rate of tropical trees and the frequency of genetic mutations they accumulate suggests that older, long-lived trees play a greater role in generating and maintaining genetic diversity than short-lived trees.

Burning coal doesn't only pollute the air. The resulting ash can leach toxic chemicals into the local environments where it's kept. New research shows that the toxicity of various ash stockpiles relies heavily on its nanoscale structures, which vary widely between sources. The results will help researchers predict which coal ash is most environmentally dangerous.

A team of experimental neurobiologists and theoretical biologists has managed to solve a mystery that has been baffling scientists for decades. They have been able to determine the nature of the electrical activity in the nervous system of insects that controls their flight. They report on a previously unknown function of electrical synapses employed by fruit flies during flight.

A research team recently invented a novel, wireless, skin-interfaced olfactory feedback system that can release various odours with miniaturized odor generators (OGs). The new technology integrates odors into virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) to provide a more immersive experience, with broad applications ranging from 4D movie watching and medical treatment to online teaching.

Researchers have developed one of the world's fastest cameras capable of detecting fluorescence from single molecules.

Research shows that the natural peptide, called drosocin, protects fruit flies from bacterial infections by binding to ribosomes in bacteria. Once bound, drosocin prevents the ribosome from making new proteins.

When it comes to supplying energy for space exploration and settlements, commonly available solar cells made of silicon or gallium arsenide are still too heavy to be feasibly transported by rocket. To address this challenge, a wide variety of lightweight alternatives are being explored, including solar cells made of a thin layer of molybdenum selenide, which fall into the broader category of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (2D TMDC) solar cells. Researchers propose a device design that can take the efficiencies of 2D TMDC devices from 5%, as has already been demonstrated, to 12%.

Researchers have demonstrated that a single dose of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) gene therapy can induce long-term contraception in the domestic cat, potentially providing a safe and effective alternative to surgical spaying.

Researchers have shown that defective myelin actively promotes disease-related changes in Alzheimer's disease.

Microscopic algae that corals need for survival harbor a common and possibly disease-causing virus in their genetic material.

Do whales increase the removal of carbon from the atmosphere? Despite some hope that this would be the case, a new study has found the amount of potential carbon capture by whales is too little to meaningfully alter the course of climate change. The team found the amount potentially sequestered by the whales was too minimal to make significant impact on the trajectory of climate change.

Researchers have trained a robotic 'chef' to watch and learn from cooking videos, and recreate the dish itself.

Night-time pollinators such as moths may visit just as many plants as bees, and should also be the focus of conservation and protection efforts, a new study suggests.

Diverting streams and rivers to irrigate crops or provide drinking water may significantly extend the time microplastics spend in river catchments before they flow into our oceans, a new study reveals.