Occasionally I receive groups of messages from families with autistic members and I know the reason: they have read in the press exciting news about autism, a spectacular treatment, even a miracle cure. Unfortunately, if all that news were true we would have solved autism hundreds of times by now. So let’s start with the […]
Long-lost moon may have been cause of Uranus’ stark tilt Astronomers have long suspected that a series of giant impacts early in the planet’s formation flipped Uranus on its side, but new research suggests the planet’s 98-degree-tilt could have been caused by a long-lost moon. It is possible that the tilt was caused by the […]
Some materials have special universal properties protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. So-called topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their […]
Mostly, people think that an embryo can only (except in the case of parthenogenesis) result from the sum of sperm and an egg. However, two research teams, one in Israel and another multinational collaboration have recently reported producing a synthetic mouse embryo from stem cells which lasted enough to have a brain and a beating […]
Astronomers once believed the Sun revolved around the Earth. In the 19th century, scientists thought the shape of a person’s skull could reveal their mental strengths or weaknesses. And in the 20th century, many scientists fiercely opposed the idea that continents drift. All views that have since been completely overturned. So can we trust the […]
Climate change boosted hurricane rainfall Using the scientifically-accepted attribution technique they developed and shared earlier this year, a pair of researchers have released a subsequent study finding climate changes has led to at least 10% more rainfall during Hurricane Ian, which struck the US this week, than in a world without excess greenhouse gases trapping […]
A kinetic isotope effect (KIE) has been observed for the generation of hydrogen from the hydrolysis of a hydrosilane catalysed by a silyl-iridium(III) complex. This and other experimental evidence together with theoretical calculations have been used to demonstrate the participation of hydrogen quantum tunnelling in this catalytic process. KIE is a phenomenon associated with isotopically […]
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. This cancer is characterized by the rapid growth of immature myeloid precursors that occupy and alter the bone marrow (BM) niche where normal hematopoietic stems cells (HSCs) reside (the “niche” is the in vivo microenvironment where stem cells reside and receive […]
Long disregarded as a party drug, loved by hippies and alternative thinkers, LSD has been recently demonstrated to be much more than that, being useful as an anti-depressive and in therapy against PTSD and other traumas. Now, another “power” of LSD has been uncovered: it potentiates brain plasticity, thereby improving memory and other cognitive processes […]
Optimal workout timing may depend on gender Research on the relationship between exercise timing and gender indicates that women may see greater abdominal fat and blood pressure benefits with morning workouts, and evening exercise may help men burn more fat and better control their blood pressure. Working out in the evening also appeared to improve […]