Author: News
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Scientists shed new light on volcano formation
While studying the Earth’s layers deep beneath Bermuda’s sandy pink shores and turquoise tides, geologists found evidence of volcanic material rising from the mantle’s transition zone—a layer rich in water, crystals and melted rocks—suggesting the possibility of a third mechanism for volcano formation. Previously, volcanoes were thought to form through one of two mechanisms; either…
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New method allows scientists to watch an enzyme at work
A team at the University of Bonn, Germany, have developed a new method of ‘photographing’ enzymes at work in order to study the behaviour of the enzyme as it works. Enzymes are protein structures which help reactions to take place, they are often referred to as ‘chemical catalysts’ and they perform a wide array of…
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Five rules for antibiotics: Calling for a new paradigm in resistance management
The invention of penicillin, the first true antibiotic, in 1928 was a monumental day in the history of medicine. Over 90 years later, antibiotics are a common feature in all our lives. We get a bacterial infection, go to the doctor, get an antibiotic, and it clears up. Easy. However, today there is increasing concern…
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How ancient chewing gum could revolutionise archeology
We finally have a way to connect archeological findings with genetic studies, using ancient chewing gum. In a new study published in Communications Biology, researchers from Stockholm University have found a way to extract DNA from saliva preserved in ancient chewing gum. This innovative technique could provide a source of DNA in excavation sites with…
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The Event Horizon Telescope reveals the first ever direct image of a black hole
Over 100 years ago, in 1915, Albert Einstein developed his theory of general relativity. This was a mathematical framework which described the curvature of spacetime; how matter causes this curvature, and how this curvature affects the movement of matter and light. Just like bowling balls on a trampoline, massive objects curve the spacetime around them,…
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This tiny, brazilian frog may have harnessed the power of fluorescence to communicate with other animals
During the rainy season, from mid-October to March, a small, bright yellow frog prowls the floor of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. This is the pumpkin toadlet, and as it wanders, it emits a soft, buzzing mating call. The ritual is heart-felt, but a little wasted. In 2017, scientists discovered that the call vibrates at a…
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Bacteria may be travelling through the air to share DNA
A research group has discovered that bacteria in remote, isolated regions share some stretches of DNA and are suggesting that this is due to bacteria travelling through the air. Human understanding of how bacteria travels across the globe has changed a lot in recent decades. It was originally assumed that bacteria are transported on humans and…
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Life-saving imaging technology for baby hearts
Congenital heart diseases is a general term for a range of birth defects that affect the function of the heart. Congenital heart diseases affect up to eight in every 1,000 babies born in the UK and have no single, obvious cause. They can be caused by infections, some medicines and can even occasionally run in…
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The woman who can smell Parkinson’s disease
24 years ago, Joy Milne, a now 67 year old from Perth, noticed a strange and ‘different’ smell on her husband, Les Milne. She described it as a, ‘’tick musk smell. Very different’’, and at the time thought he wasn’t washing himself properly, which caused a bit of tension. Les was, however, to be diagnosed…
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A revolutionary discovery has shaken up our most basic assumptions about how viruses replicate.
There are some theories in biology which are widely accepted as truth. The refinement of our genomes through natural selection, for example, or the “central dogma” which dictates the multi-step processing of DNA instructions to functional protein. An example from virology is the basic understanding of how a virus – simply a selection of genes…