Frontier research

The moon's lack of tectonic activity preserves its oldest rocks. Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY

25 February 2019

How scientists are piecing together the history of the moon

In the solar system’s early days, a first Earth is thought to have been pulverised by a planet that scientists call Theia. We don’t know what it was made of or where it came from, only that it may have been the size of Mars. The powerful collision destroyed both planets so completely that scientists can only guess what they were like.

An ant has the navigation skills to cover hundreds of metres in a single day and still find its way home. Melophorus Bagoti ant. Image Credit - Antoine Wystrach

frontier research | science in society

20 February 2019

Studying ant cooperation is revealing how brains work together

As a child, you almost certainly at one stage spent hours watching ants move about from their nest. Maybe you dropped a piece of food and watched as a group of ants came and picked it up, carrying it home in an impressive display of cooperation.

New findings suggest that if the moon formed after a giant impact after water had had been received, it should have gotten a share of that water. The question is - where did it go? Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY

space | frontier research

19 February 2019

The moon’s water: where did it come from – and where did it all go?

Fragments of moon rock brought back from the lunar surface by astronauts on the Apollo space missions are providing new insights about where our planet’s life-giving water came from.

Elephants might hold secrets for how humans can fight cancer and slow down ageing. Image credit - Virpi Lummaa

health | frontier research

14 February 2019

Elephant genes suppress tumours. Could studying this help us prevent cancer?

The genetics and ageing rate of elephants could hold clues to helping us find better ways to fight cancer and lead healthier, longer lives.

Fear due to a traumatic situation usually becomes generalised. For example, being mugged in a dark alley could cause a person to start fearing dark, narrow passages. Image Credit - Flickr/Franck Michel

health | frontier research

13 February 2019

Heartbeats and memory suppression – the new tools for controlling fear

Most of us feel afraid when faced with a threat or danger, but people with phobias and anxiety feel overwhelming levels of fear in situations that are relatively harmless. Scientists want to moderate this response by using drugs to wipe out scary memories or by harnessing the power of heartbeats to improve therapy.

Infrared glasses would give firefighters heightened visual perception to locate people trapped in a blaze. Image Credit - Amplify project

frontier research

11 February 2019

Pushing the bounds of vision could reveal hidden worlds

Nature is complex – often too complex for humans to see. But squint-controlled glasses that let people see 3D thermal images and a camera that can capture the inner workings of high-speed chemical reactions are helping to push the limits of human perception.

Chicks' in-built preference for face-like shapes has led to a simple test to detect autistic spectrum disorder in babies. Image Credit - Flickr/Alex Starr,CC BY-SA 2.0

health | frontier research

28 January 2019

Chick-inspired autism test for newborn babies to help early intervention

Giorgio Vallortigara didn’t set out to develop software that could detect whether babies have autism. A neuroscience professor at the University of Trento in Italy, his areas of expertise include animal cognition – he’s into the brains of honeybees, zebrafish and newly-hatched chicks.

Pinpointing how accents change and influence each other can tell us how languages form. Image Credit - Eric Bridiers, for U.S. Mission. CC BY-ND 2.0

science in society | frontier research

21 January 2019

Why do people discriminate against speakers with foreign accents?

Listening to someone speaking with a foreign accent makes human brains work harder which can lead to unintentional discrimination against people communicating in languages other than their own, new research suggests. But exposure to foreign accents can also change the way people speak, and over time, the ensuing accents can become new languages.

Prof. Luke O’Neill says that it could offer new treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Image credit - Professor Luke O’Neill

interview | health | frontier research

09 January 2019

Understanding immune system switches will spark new drugs

Identifying the chemical switches that turn different parts of our immune system on and off is opening up new avenues for treating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis – and potential new uses for discarded drugs, according to Professor Luke O’Neill, an immunologist at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Diagnosing dyslexia before children start to read would be the 'holy grail' for researchers. Image credit - Jay Inslee, CC BY-ND 2.0

health | frontier research

08 January 2019

Noise and motion links to dyslexia pave way for early diagnosis

Most children are able to learn language almost effortlessly. But for those with communication disorders such as dyslexia, mastering their native tongue can be a challenge. Researchers are exploring how links with noise, language and motion could help diagnose problems earlier and pave the way for better treatment.