New Scientist
Type 2 diabetes treatment: Drug alters gut bacteria
The most successful treatment for type 2 diabetes may work by changing the makeup of gut bacteria. Metformin is commonly ...
It’s getting hot in here: Your cells reach 122 Fahrenheit when making energy
Our body temperature might not ever get much hotter than 37°C [98.6°F]. But it turns out that the insides of ...
Improving ‘worst’ environments in US could prevent 39 in every 100,000 cancer deaths, study claims
That’s according to the first study to address the impact of cumulative exposure to environmental hazards on cancer incidence in ...
‘Resurrected gene’ offers glimpse into Earth’s evolutionary past
A resurrected gene, brought back from the dead in the lab, is allowing molecular biologists to travel billions of years ...
‘Hunger hormone’ may also boost growth of brain cells
Could fasting boost your brainpower? A stomach hormone that stimulates appetite seems to promote the growth of new brain cells ...
‘Wouldn’t help much’: What would a ban on neonicotinoid insecticides do for bee health?
“Everyone knows insecticides can kill bees,” says honeybee biologist Francis Ratnieks at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. “The ...
Creative people perceive the world and process images differently
If you’re the kind of person who relishes adventure, you may literally see the world differently. People who are open ...
Unprotected sex with a new partner might affect vaginal health, microbiome
To find out if sexual activities could shape the vaginal microbiome and, potentially, women’s health, Lenka Vodstrcil at Melbourne Sexual ...
SHERLOCK gene tool can identify Zika in blood, help prepare for epidemics
A tool based on CRISPR has been shown to detect the Zika virus in blood, urine and saliva. It was ...
Video: CRISPR-created seedless tomatoes could eliminate need for bee pollination
Don’t like the seeds in tomatoes? You might be pleased to know that seedless ones have been created by gene editing ...
‘High quality diet’ likely source of primate brain growth — not social nature, study finds
In the past two million years, humans have experienced a massive increase in brain size, one not seen in any ...
No need for ‘young blood’? Old blood can be rejuvenated using stem cells
Young blood is being trialed as a treatment for conditions like Alzheimer’s...But these studies rely on young people donating their ...
‘Live vaccines’: Recoding bacteria’s genome could lead to more effective immunizations
[G]eneticists used a new technique to recode 5 per cent of the Salmonella bacterium’s genome, introducing a record number of engineered ...
Woman’s vision improved after first successful stem cell (iPS) treatment
A woman in her 80's has become the first person to be successfully treated with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells ...
Gentle touch: Premature babies’ brain development may benefit from physical contact
A gentle touch can make all the difference. Premature babies – who miss out on the sensory experiences of late ...
1 in 5 women with breast cancer could be helped by drugs targeting BRCA genes
Up to a fifth of women with breast cancer may benefit from drugs that are currently reserved for less common ...
Corn genetically engineered to neutralize toxic mold would be boon for health of poor women in Africa
It’s a silent killer lurking in common foods. A carcinogenic toxin made by [mold] kills thousands around the world and ...
Chinese scientists repair viable human embryos with CRISPR for first time
A team in China has corrected genetic mutations in at least some of the cells in three normal human embryos ...
Building synthetic life: Yeast experiments pave way for new drugs, treatments
The team that built the first synthetic yeast chromosome [in 2014] has now added five more chromosomes, totaling roughly a ...
When loud noises interrupt conversations, your brain fills in the blanks
Noise is everywhere, but that’s OK. Your brain can still keep track of a conversation in the face of revving ...
Vegetarian Neanderthals? Turns out they weren’t all meat eaters
Neanderthals living in prehistoric Belgium enjoyed their meat – but the Neanderthals who lived in what is now northern Spain ...
Neanderthals’ legacy genes: Some people taller, protect against schizophrenia
Neanderthals are still affecting what illnesses some people develop, how tall they are and how their immune systems work, despite ...
Golfing bumblebees? Amazing video of insect learning could spark artificial intelligence research
Bumblebees have learned to push a ball into a hole to get a reward, stretching what was thought possible for ...
Meditation may reduce anxiety, stress levels by altering brain’s white matter
Researchers believe they have created the world’s first mouse model of meditation by using light to trigger brain activity similar ...
Is there a metabolic on-off switch that could prevent chronic fatigue syndrome?
Evidence is mounting that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is caused by the body swapping to less efficient ways of generating ...
Cholesterol and heart disease risk could be lowered with a single injection
A one-off injection could one day lower your cholesterol levels for the rest of your life. People born with natural ...
Evolution of the mind: How termite colonies are models of the human brain
[Editor's note: Excerpts from an interview with Daniel Dennett, cognitive scientist and philosopher at Tufts University, who recently wrote From Bacteria ...
Two baby girls with leukemia ‘cured’ using gene-editing therapy
Two children treated with gene-edited cells to kill their cancers are both doing well more than a year later. The ...