Articles
Mapping freedom in academia
The ‘Mapping Funds’ project is creating maps based on collaborative and crowdsourced (public contribution) information as an active way to support the scientific activities and studies of at-risk scholars. These scholars are encountering constraints on their research activities due to the restrictive regimes they live and work in. The constraints include travel bans, deportations, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. The project […]
Discovering the metastasome A new way to understand cancer metastasis
Cancer treatment is improving all the time, but one area where progress has been slower is in the treatment of metastases, the secondary growths that break away from the initial tumour. Metastasis is responsible for 90% of cancer-related deaths – the development of new diagnostic and treatment methods is crucial. Professor Heike Allgayer of Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg, Germany, believes […]
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Ultrafast electron microscopy Reinventing femtosecond atomic-scale imaging
Transmission electron microscopy may have brought about some of the most cutting-edge research into materials physics, but the technique doesn’t come without its limitations. In his research, Dr Jinfeng Yang at Osaka University in Japan aims to further improve the capabilities of the most powerful microscopes ever made, by accelerating the pulsed beams of electrons they produce to relativistic speeds. Through several […]
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The serendipitous discovery of a new green chemistry method
Dr Petri Turhanen was working on a synthesis of a modified version of the biological molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP), when he discovered that the cation exchange resin he was using was unintentionally producing another molecule. Closer investigation revealed that the molecule had been iodinated, meaning an iodine atom had been added. This specific reaction is challenging to perform using current […]
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Exploring the origins of life with autocatalytic sets
How did we get here? This question has plagued philosophers, scientists and individuals alike for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Evolved species, such as humans, are incredibly complex systems, even down to the microscopic cellular level, and understanding our own origins of life and how our DNA came to be what we know today is a challenging question. The […]
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Untangling cross resistance patterns in the brown planthopper
Using long-term monitoring of insecticide susceptibilities
In many countries, rice is a staple crop within people’s diets. There are many insect pests to rice. Of these pests, one of the most devastating to crops is the brown planthopper. Recently, in Asia, the brown planthopper has become resistant to various pesticides, including the frequently used imidacloprid. Dr Tomohisa Fujii from Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center, NARO and […]
Shouldering the burden: A new approach to shoulder pain
The work of Professor Richard Page and Dr Stephen Gill, the Barwon Centre for Orthopaedic Research and Education (B-CORE), uses sophisticated and modern technologies to examine gene expression and molecular pathways in painful conditions of the shoulder, including frozen shoulder. Ultimately, they hope to improve quality of life and treatment outcomes for people of all ages suffering from musculoskeletal pain […]
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Spacial matters: Fostering a new community of planetary knowledge and expertise
Planetary science is the scientific study of how planetary systems are formed and how their components (planets, moons and gas systems) interact with one another. Planetary science can help us answer scientific and philosophical questions such as how our Solar System came into being, where life came from, and what are the necessary conditions for life to exist elsewhere. A […]
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Meningitis: The battle to defeat the disease
Meningitis and septicaemia are deadly diseases that strike without warning. Meningitis is the swelling of the meninges, which is the lining around the brain and spinal cord, caused mainly by bacteria entering the body. Septicaemia is blood poisoning caused by the same bacteria that can cause meningitis. Collectively, meningitis and neonatal sepsis are the second biggest infectious killers of children […]
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Sinus migraine: A costly blindspot in medical care
Sinus migraine is a frequently overlooked diagnosis and this oversight in clinical care has profound financial and other consequences: a leading misuse of oral antibiotics, inappropriate sinus surgery, and prolonged patient suffering and disability. Although lacking consensus on pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria and nomenclature, medical professionals need to know more about this alternative explanation for patients’ complaints of sinus pressure, pain, […]
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