Biologists studying collectives of bacteria, or "biofilms," have discovered that these so-called simple organisms feature a robust capacity for memory.
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 27, 2020
0
995
Abnormal levels of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are linked to a variety of mental health disorders, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MIT researchers have now devised a way ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 13, 2020
0
1229
Scientists at Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School have revealed how, in the case of limb formation, the electrical patterns formed within an embryo initiate a cascade of molecular changes ...
Biotechnology
Oct 7, 2019
0
660
African mole rats are insensitive to many kinds of pain. As an international research team led by the MDC's Gary Lewin reports in Science, this characteristic has allowed mole rats to populate new habitats. Thanks to a genetic ...
Plants & Animals
May 30, 2019
1
243
People are great at detecting cold temperatures and also the cool sensation induced by natural substances like menthol, which is common in remedies used to soothe aching muscles. But it hasn't been entirely clear how we do ...
Biochemistry
Feb 7, 2019
0
75
Imagine having superhuman hearing. You're at a noisy, cocktail party and yet your ears can detect normally inaudible sounds made by your friends' muscles as they lean in to dish the latest gossip. But, unlike normal hearing, ...
Plants & Animals
May 30, 2018
4
72
Scientists at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences have discovered an entirely new class of ion channels. These channels let protons (H+ ions) into cells, are important in the inner ear for balance, and ...
Evolution
Jan 25, 2018
0
863
(Phys.org)—The market value for deuterated drugs has recently been estimated at over a billion dollars. Such drugs are simply molecules in which one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced with deuterium. While these kinds ...
Touch a hot stove, and your fingers will recoil in pain because your skin carries tiny temperature sensors that detect heat and send a message to your brain saying, "Ouch! That's hot! Let go!"
Biochemistry
Jan 18, 2016
0
1593
(Phys.org)—One of the mysteries in biology is how cells can selectively diffuse potassium across a membrane. Biological systems rely on a delicate balance between these potassium and sodium ion concentrations in the surrounding ...
