Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed a holographic system that can transmit a series of 3D images in near-real-time. The monochromatic system is limited to a refresh rate of 0.5 frames/second but the developers say it is a precursor to full-blown holographic videoconferencing. Reporting the work in Nature, research leader Pierre-Alexandre Blanche (pictured) […]
The slow-working, broad-brush action of current antidepressants may become a thing of the past thanks to new research that has identified the specific serotonin receptor that is linked to anti-depressive and anti-anxiety behavior. Reporting their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Michigan scientists explain how a key receptor in […]
The dramatic effect that a little-known omega-3 fatty acid has on sperm may have important implications for treating male infertility, say University of Illinois (UI) scientists. “In our experiment, we used ‘knockout’ mice that lacked the gene responsible for an enzyme important in making docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]. In the absence of DHA, male mice are […]
The journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has this month published a new study by Cornell University researchers that provides evidence of a rainfall-related environmental trigger for autism among genetically vulnerable children. “This analysis is an important first step towards identifying a specific environmental trigger, or triggers, for autism,” said the study’s lead author […]
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that an active agent contained in “sacred mushrooms” can induce strikingly similar mystical experiences in different subjects; and the experiences seem to be descriptively identical to spontaneous epiphanies that people have reported for centuries. Preempting accusations of pseudoscience due to the nature and subject matter under investigation, the researchers […]
Valuable genetic research carried out in China often fails to reach the international scientific community, suggests a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine. Researcher Zhenglun Pan, of Shandong Provincial Hospital, China, and his international colleagues came to this conclusion after investigating the visibility of studies of thirteen gene-disease associations. Searching a Chinese medical database, […]
Researchers have traced social behavior traits, such as monogamy, to differences in the length of seemingly non-functional DNA, sometimes referred to as junk DNA. In the study, researchers at the Yerkes Primate Research Center and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience examined whether the junk DNA associated with the vasopressin receptor gene affected social behavior in […]
The discovery of microbial activity in 3.5 billion year old volcanic rocks is shedding new light on the antiquity of life, say University of Alberta researchers. “People have been looking for signs of early bacteria for the last 50 years,” said Dr. Karlis Muehlenbachs, an author of the paper from the University of Alberta. “A […]
NASA may come one step closer to faster, less expensive and more reliable access to space if the X-43A vehicle has its first successful test flight on March 27, according to a University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) researcher who helped design and analyze its propulsion system. Dr. Dave Riggins, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at […]
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Nanostructures, Materials, and Interfaces have demonstrated a technique that could one day allow electronic devices to assemble themselves automatically – giving semiconductor manufacturers a way to mass-produce “nanochips” that have circuit elements only a few molecules across, roughly ten times smaller […]
