Collaborate Disseminate
In order to spread to other host trees, the parasitic mistletoe plant has very sticky seeds that cling to bird feathers, bark, and other materials. According to a recent study, the “glue” on those seeds could inspire new biomedical adhesives.Continue R… Continue reading Mistletoe glue could one day be used to seal wounds
A team led by Jeremy McCormack at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has found evidence that competition with great white sharks may have contributed to the extinction of the megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived.Continue Rea… Continue reading Competition with great whites may have led to megalodon extinction
It often feels like electronics will continue to get faster forever, but at some point the laws of physics will intervene to put a stop to that. Now scientists have calculated the ultimate speed limit – the point at which quantum mechanics prevents mic… Continue reading Scientists calculate absolute quantum speed limit for electronics
As mysterious as fast radio bursts (FRBs) are, they’re now so common that they’re at risk of becoming mundane. But a newly discovered signal deepens the mystery with a few oddities – it hails from an unexpected region of space, and its pulses are about… Continue reading Ultra-fast radio burst could usher in whole new class of space signals
The leading cause of miscarriage is that human eggs are surprisingly bad at managing the number of chromosomes in them. But now, researchers at the Max Planck Institute have identified a motor protein that helps this process function smoothly, leading … Continue reading Restoring a deficient “motor” protein could improve fertility success
In 1991, scientists working on a pioneering energy facility made a a momentous breakthrough, achieving the controlled release of nuclear fusion power for the first time. In 1997, the Joint European Torus (JET) tokamak reactor was then used to set an en… Continue reading Landmark experiments smash energy record for nuclear fusion
The DNA mutations that drive evolution are generally thought to be fairly random, but a new study suggests there’s some order to the chaos. Comparing the genomes of hundreds of plants grown in a lab, a team of scientists has found that mutations are fa… Continue reading Evolution study suggests DNA mutations are less random than we thought
Scientists looking into the biological mechanisms behind deteriorating bones have made a discovery that could help tackle age-related conditions like osteoporosis, by rejuvenating stem cells that are central to the process. The newly published study de… Continue reading Sodium acetate acts as a potential fountain of youth for aging bones
When leaping geckos crash head-first into vertical surfaces such as tree trunks, they’re able to hang onto that surface instead of bouncing off and falling to the ground. Scientists have discovered what allows them to do so, and copied the capability i… Continue reading New understanding of gecko landing process may lead to nimbler robots
The Wendelstein 7-X stellarator is an experimental nuclear fusion reactor designed to bring us closer to the prospect of clean, limitless energy, and since producing its first plasma in 2015 we’ve seen it take steady and significant steps toward that a… Continue reading Wendelstein 7-X fusion reactor on path to plasma twice as hot as the Sun