Tag Archives: researchers

One of the problems with imaging living biological cells is that they don’t want to be held still. Or, more accurately, they don’t want to be held to a surface like a microscope slide. Prepping and fixing the cells changes them irrevocably, altering whatever a scientist was trying to observe. …

A team of researchers in Spain has successfully sequenced and analyzed the genome of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), the world’s most endangered feline and a unique example of a species on the brink of extinction. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus): a female lynx with two cubs. Image credit: Centre …

A team of researchers headed by Lund University’s Professor Dan Hammarlund has uncovered an exceptionally well-preserved Mesolithic site off the Baltic Sea coast at Haväng in south-eastern Sweden. They believe the location was a lagoon environment where ancient humans lived during parts of the year. 9,000 year-old antler pick axe; …

A multinational team of researchers has uncovered fossil proteins dating back 3.8 million years — a discovery that will enhance future understanding of ancient organisms. The team has identified fossil proteins in 3.8 million year-old ostrich eggshells. Image credit: Matthew Collins. Fragments of ancient ostrich eggshells are abundant in Africa, …

A new species of millipede, called Illacme tobini, has been discovered in a cave in Sequoia National Park, California. Illacme tobini. Scale bar – 1 mm. Image credit: P.E. Marek et al. The new species was identified and named by millipede taxonomist Dr. Paul Marek of Virginia Tech and his …

A new study published in the journal Cell Reports reveals that a protein called Piezo 1 is directly responsible for sensing touch. Knowledge about Piezo 1 could be relevant for designing better pain medications and exploring future therapies for blood disorders, hypertension and more. Piezo proteins transduce physical forces and …

Scientists have discovered a new type of photoreceptor protein that is about 50 times more efficient at capturing light than the rhodopsin, a protein that resides in cell membranes in the retina of the human eye. Caenorhabditis elegans. Image credit: Bob Goldstein / University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. …

Participating in yoga is relatively safe, but know your limits, say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) who conducted the first large-scale examination of yoga-related injuries. According to the study, participants aged 65 years and older have a greater rate of injury from practicing yoga when compared …

Regular use of cannabis over many years lowers levels of dopamine, a key chemical in the brain’s reward center, says an international team of researchers led by Imperial College London’s Professor Oliver Howes. Cannabis use in humans is associated with reduced dopamine in the striatum. PET studies have shown lower …

A group of researchers in the United Kingdom has identified a set of gene families whose sizes are positively associated with an expanded neocortex — the region of the brain that is involved in higher cognitive behaviors such as language and decision-making, providing new insights into neocortex evolution. An anatomical …