Biology
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History
History: Rene Dubos finds life in the earth
He was also a pioneering environmentalist.
In 1939, scientist/philosopher Rene Dubos discovered gramicidin, an agent that inhibits the growth of certain types o...
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Conversation
COVID-19: Behaviour and herd immunity
We can learn from the Spanish flu pandemic.
Amid the carnage of the First World War, a flu epidemic took hold in the front-line trenches and subsequently spread ...
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A simple song but listening to it is complex
Lyrics and melody separate once they enter the brain.
Appreciating a good song, it turns out, is very much a whole-brain business, with research revealing specific regions...
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Learning issues linked to brain connectivity
New research suggests it’s about ‘hubs’, not specific brain regions.
Different learning difficulties do not, as previously thought, correspond to specific regions of the brain, new Briti...
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Bacterial infection linked to bowel cancer
Researchers use organoids to detect mutational signature.
A toxin produced by bacteria found in some probiotics – over-the-counter supplements used to treat conditions includi...
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Two schizophrenia types discovered
Brain scans reveal differences in grey matter volume.
An international research team has discovered there are two distinct neuroanatomical subtypes of schizophrenia. Afte...
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A tale of two arches
Scientists learn more about why our feet bend like they do.
Think of your foot as a slice of pizza. Not all the time: just while we consider how and why it does was it does. ...
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Brain and arteries, working together
The supply blood to areas of heightened neural activity.
The brain is a demanding beast. It consumes about a fifth of the body’s energy but cannot store any, so it needs cons...
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West African gene shared with ancient man
Genome analysis suggests ‘ghost’ hominin interbred.
Human prehistory is littered with tales of ancient trysts between the ancestors of modern-day people and populations ...
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Reversing the reproductive clock
Finding offers hope to women struggling to conceive.
Australian researchers have lifted fertility rates in older female mice with small doses of a metabolic compound that...
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Big potential in mini-gut organoid
Researchers explore treatment for an unpleasant condition.
This is a mini-gut organoid generated in a laboratory from human stem cells. It has helped US researchers simulate l...
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A deep dive into the genomes of cancer
Study helps unravel the complexities of cause and effect.
The largest ever study of cancer genetics, involving more than 1300 researchers across four continents, has catalogue...