New quick, cheap blood test may detect cancer before symptoms appear

Researchers have developed a quick, cheap, and highly sensitive blood test to detect a telltale protein produced by cancer cells. The test can pick up a range of cancers before symptoms appear and could be key to early diagnosis of the disease.Continue… Continue reading New quick, cheap blood test may detect cancer before symptoms appear

Fruit flies found to move their retinas, instead of moving their eyes

Fruit flies differ from us in a great many ways, including the fact that they can’t move their eyes relative to the rest of their head. That’s not a problem, however, as new research shows that they move their retinas within their unmoving eyes instead… Continue reading Fruit flies found to move their retinas, instead of moving their eyes

Fatty acids on the skin explain why some people are “mosquito magnets”

If you’re one of the unlucky ones that seems to get ravaged by mosquitoes while others around you escape unscathed, a new study offers an explanation as to why. Scientists have examined what makes mosquitoes more attracted to some humans over others, a… Continue reading Fatty acids on the skin explain why some people are “mosquito magnets”

Algorithm-aided antibiotic hunt yields powerful new drug candidate

Algorithms have helped uncover a new antibiotic candidate that shows promise against some particularly nasty bugs, using a novel mode of attack that should be hard for them to develop resistance to. Most importantly it could unlock a whole new arsenal … Continue reading Algorithm-aided antibiotic hunt yields powerful new drug candidate

Global effort realizes first 100% complete sequence of human genome

An international team of scientists has published the first complete, gap-free sequence of the human genome. The new reference genome adds hundreds of millions of base pairs to earlier drafts, filling in some crucial gaps that will improve studies of d… Continue reading Global effort realizes first 100% complete sequence of human genome

Global effort realizes first 100% complete sequence of human genome

An international team of scientists has published the first complete, gap-free sequence of the human genome. The new reference genome adds hundreds of millions of base pairs to earlier drafts, filling in some crucial gaps that will improve studies of d… Continue reading Global effort realizes first 100% complete sequence of human genome

Science of smell: The first molecular images of odor receptors at work

Our sense of smell seems to be the most complicated, and as such it’s the least understood. To help shed some light on the system, researchers at Rockefeller University have taken the first cryo-electron microscope images of an olfactory receptor at wo… Continue reading Science of smell: The first molecular images of odor receptors at work

“Hybrid” brain cells found to recognize familiar faces faster

Functionally, human faces basically all look the same – and yet, our brains are extremely fast at recognizing the faces of people important to us. Now, a new study has identified a previously unknown population of brain cells that may be hybrids of sen… Continue reading “Hybrid” brain cells found to recognize familiar faces faster

First-of-its-kind study links brown fat with broad health benefits

A new study, the largest of its kind ever conducted in humans, has affirmed the link between the presence of brown fat and improved cardiac or metabolic health. The research validates the relatively new hypothesis suggesting the type of adipose tissue … Continue reading First-of-its-kind study links brown fat with broad health benefits

New evidence strengthens link between telomere length, aging and cancer

It’s long been thought that our cells stop dividing as we age as a natural preventative measure against cancer. Now a new study has found an intriguing piece of evidence supporting this hypothesis in genomes from several families that seem to be partic… Continue reading New evidence strengthens link between telomere length, aging and cancer