Category Archives: Research

Research Preview: Science Magazine – Sept. 6, 2024

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Science Magazine – September 5, 2024: The new issue features Memory Servews – Chickadees with better spatial memories have longer lives….

Indian knowledge

To distance its science education systems from centurieslong British colonialism, India is leaning into its history and traditions—but at what cost?

Learning from a climate disaster: The catastrophic floods in southern Brazil

The catastrophic floods that affected southern Brazil last May should serve as a warning to human societies that, despite the still widespread climate change skepticism or denial, mitigation and adaptation to cope with the ongoing climate crisis are urgently needed. The toll was 213 people killed or missing; 2.4 million people affected, including 600,000 displaced; and unprecedented losses in urban and rural infrastructure, including livestock.

Emotional contagion builds resilience

Mice that witness cage mates in distress withstand future negative emotions better

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Sept. 5, 2024

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Nature Magazine – September 4, 2024: The latest issue features ‘About Time’ – Ultra-precise nuclear clocks become a practical reality…

A familiar drug can repair a broken heart

An existing treatment for multiple sclerosis also prevents heart cell death and improves organ function, animal experiments show.

Bumblebees’ sense of smell can’t take the heat

Climate change could compromise the pollinators’ ability to detect flowers.

Natural acid makes super-sticky eco-friendly glue

Recyclable spray, patch and film adhesives work as well as existing petroleum-based products.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – August 30, 2024

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Science Magazine – August 29, 2024: The new issue features ‘Micronuclear Collapse’ – Mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species disrupt micronuclear envelopes…

Sinking seaweed

An ambitious strategy aims to cool the planet by dumping farmed seaweed on the sea floor. Will it work?

Hot days or heat waves: A split over how to count heat deaths

Focusing on temperature extremes can galvanize policy changes but risks undercounting

Ancient monument’s builders knew their science

Building a Spanish megalith required sophisticated physics, geometry, and geology

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – August 29, 2024

Volume 632 Issue 8027

Nature Magazine – August 28, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Space Omics’ – Biomedical atlas captures health effects of spaceflight…

Why record wildfires scorched Canada last year

Snows melted earlier than usual because of climate change, fuelling the unprecedented blazes.

These decoy ‘female’ fireflies lure males to their doom in a spider’s embrace

Certain spiders take advantage of the fact that a male firefly can flash even after being bitten and wrapped.

Gut microbes’ genomes are a trove of potential antibiotics

Newfound compound is as effective at treating infected skin wounds as is the antibiotic of last resort.

This unlucky star got mangled by a black hole — twice

Bursts of light hint that a star in a nearby galaxy was partially shredded in 2022 and 2024 and might be in for another round.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – August 22, 2024

Volume 632 Issue 8026

Nature Magazine – August 21, 2024: The latest issue featuresLonely Plants’ – Isolation in arid environments drives high levels of trait diversity…

The Amazon is relinquishing its carbon — for a surprising reason

Degradation of the Amazon’s tree canopy is the main culprit, although the complete clearance of portions of the forest contributes too.

Child with ultra-rare disease gets a treatment just for her

Therapy designed for one seems to have improved a young girl’s quality of life.

How to train your crocodile

Doctored toad carcasses teach crocs to avoid eating the toxin-producing cane toad.

Ideas: Scientific American Magazine – September 2024

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Scientific American (August 21, 2024)The September 2024 issue featuresWhat Was It Like To Be A Dinosaur? – New insights into their senses, perceptions and behaviors…

What Was It Like to Be a Dinosaur?

Illustration depicting a t-rex

New fossils and analytical tools provide unprecedented insights into dinosaur sensory perception by Amy M. Balanoff, Daniel T. Ksepka

Alone Tyrannosaurus rexsniffs the humid Cretaceous air, scenting a herd of Triceratops grazing beyond the tree line. As the predator scans the floodplain, its vision suddenly snaps into focus. A single Triceratops has broken off from the herd and wandered within striking distance. Standing motionless, the T. rex formulates a plan of attack, anticipating the precise angle at which it must intersect its target before the Triceratops can regain the safety of the herd. The afternoon silence is shattered as the predator crashes though the low branches at the edge of the forest in hot pursuit.

T. rex has hunted Triceratops in so many books, games and movies that the encounter has become a cliché. But did a scene like this one ever unfold in real life? Would T. rex identify its prey by vision or by smell? Would the Triceratops be warned by a loudly cracking branch or remain oblivious because it was unable to locate the source of the sound? Could T. rex plan its attack like a cat, or would it lash out indiscriminately like a shark?

What If We Never Find Dark Matter?

The inside of a plant facility with gray and yellow equipment

Dark matter has turned out to be more elusive than physicists had hoped by Tracy R. Slatyer, Tim M. P. Tait

Can Pulling Carbon from Thin Air Slow Climate Change?

Alec Luhn

The End of the Lab Rat?

Rachel Nuwer

New Painkiller Could Bring Relief to Millions—Without Addiction Risk

Marla Broadfoot

Can Space and Time Exist as Two Shapes at Once? Mind-Bending Experiments Aim to Find Out

Nick Huggett, Carlo Rovelli

Nature Medicine Journal – September 2024 Preview

Volume 30 Issue 8

Nature Medicine (August 19, 2024): The latest issue features…

Every baby deserves access to genetic screening

Genomics-based newborn screening has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, but new solutions are needed to ensure that the benefits are equitably available.

How mRNA is powering a personalized vaccine revolution

Dozens of clinical trials are testing new mRNA vaccines, using machine learning to identify antigens, and embracing new technologies such as self-amplifying RNA.

Women’s health is on the ballot in 2024

Politics affects women’s health, from abortion access to funding for health systems, and voters should choose their politicians accordingly.

Old Age: What We Can Learn From SuperAgers

Northwestern University (August 19, 2024): By studying older individuals with exceptional memories, the Northwestern SuperAging Program advances our understanding of the aging brain — and why some stay younger than their peers. 

Tamar Gefen, Molly Mather, Robert Vassar and many more at Feinberg’s Mesulam Center are on a mission to end Alzheimer’s disease and combat all forms of neurodegenerative disease.

To learn more, visit Northwestern Magazine: https://magazine.northwestern.edu/fea…

Preview: MIT Technology Review – September 2024

MIT Technology Review (August 17, 2024): The 125th Anniversary issue features ‘Greetings from the Future’ – Personalized AI, Genetically-Engineered Immunity and Digital Immortaility. We’ll see it all in the next century.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – August 16, 2024

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Science Magazine – August 15, 2024: The new issue features ‘Transmission Event’ – Digital contact tracing for Covid-19; What kind of asteroid killed the dinosaurs; Access to safe drinking water is far from universal; Lessons from nonhuman primates on speech evolution…