Have you ever heard of biofilms? They are slimy, glue-like membranes that are produced by microbes, like bacteria and fungi, in order to colonize surfaces. They can grow on animal and plant tissues, and even inside the human body on medical devices such as catheters, heart valves, or artificial hips. Biofilms protect microbes from the … Continue reading Researchers turn biofilms against themselves
Corn is grown not only for food, it is also an important renewable energy source. Renewable biofuels can come with hidden economic and environmental issues, and the question of whether corn is better utilized as food or as a biofuel has persisted since ethanol came into use. For the first time, researchers at the University … Continue reading Eating corn is better than burning it
How did music begin? Did our early ancestors first start by beating things together to create rhythm, or use their voices to sing? What types of instruments did they use? Has music always been important in human society, and if so, why? These are some of the questions explored in a recent Hypothesis and Theory … Continue reading Why does music exist? Bonding, says one researcher
Many different theories exist as to why the shape of bird eggs varies so much across species, and now, new research yields evidence that variable egg shape is driven by unique flight adaptations. The results counter theories suggesting that life history or nesting habitat are egg shape’s key drivers. Ideas about egg shape have been … Continue reading Egg shapes tied to bird flight adaptations
You may not have heard of optical coherence tomography, or OCT. But if you've visited an ophthalmologist recently, chances are your eye came within an inch or two of a scanning device employing the technology. Tens of thousands of these devices are in place in doctors' offices, where they're widely used to check for eye … Continue reading Repurposing OCTs for more powerful imaging
Antibiotics were the wonder drug of the 20th century, but persistent use and over-prescription have opened the door that has allowed bacteria to evolve resistance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than two million people in the United States develop bacterial infections that are resistant to multiple antibiotics every year. Previous … Continue reading Antibiotic teamwork takes the fight to resistant bacteria
A subpopulation of immune cells that normally fend off pathogens can turn against the host during certain infections, a new study publishing on June 20 in the open access journal PLOS Biology reveals. The researchers led by Dr. Mansour Haeryfar at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Canada, in collaboration with researchers from … Continue reading Immune cell reaction can be disease causing
The recent measles outbreak in Minnesota -- by June, new cases of the disease in that state surpassed nationwide totals for all of 2016 -- has been a sobering reminder of how highly concentrated populations of vaccination skeptics can elevate an entire community's risk of infection. Around the edges of every headline-grabbing outbreak, there's a … Continue reading Scientists map out the vaccination debate
An international team led by the University of Chicago's Institute for Molecular Engineering has discovered how to manipulate a weird quantum interface between light and matter in silicon carbide along wavelengths used in telecommunications. The work advances the possibility of applying quantum mechanical principles to existing optical fiber networks for secure communications and geographically distributed … Continue reading Tapping quantum potential in fiber optic networks
In the world of electronics, where the quest is always for smaller and faster units with infinite battery life, topological insulators (TI) have tantalizing potential. In a paper published in "Science Advances," Jing Shi, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Riverside, and colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and … Continue reading Picture this: infinite battery life
