Biology
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New microscope sets new standards
Researchers detect interactions between molecules.
Australian scientists have reported achieving new levels of resolution in single-molecule microscopy, allowing them t...
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ALVIN finds some interesting microbes
They gather at hot vents and eats ethane.
A German-led research team has discovered a microbe that eats ethane, the second most common component of natural gas...
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Turning skin cells into light-sensing eye cells
Study offers new path to modelling eye disease.
US researchers say they have discovered a technique for directly reprogramming skin cells into light-sensing rod phot...
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It’s the nose that makes sense of scents
Cells help the brain distinguish between competing odours.
Perfume makers have long known that certain smells can mask or enhance others. Now US researchers say they have uncov...
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Cells access data from genetic cotton reels
Geneticists address one of the riddles of DNA.
Australian geneticists have unravelled part of the mystery about how nature can usefully access genetic information i...
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Bacterial communities on your tongue
Imaging reveals what’s where and who’s doing what.
Bacteria on your tongue aren’t just hanging around. US researchers have discovered that they actually have a complex,...
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Diverse genomes shed new light on our history
Global gene sequencing effort tells of our evolutionary past.
Genomic sequencing of nearly 1000 people – from minority communities often overlooked by geneticists – has provided a...
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Linking scents to memories
Smell could be a valuable tool in memory-related mood disorders.
This image isn’t one of paint, it’s of pyramidal cells in a mouse prelimbic cortex (shown in blue) that were active d...
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Algorithm sniffs solution to problem of smell
Scientists seek to turn complex arguments into common scents.
Smell is a messy business. In 2004, American author Chandler Burr described at length just how complex the subject is...
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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...