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Frontier research

The peat fire in the field experiment in Dumai, South Sumatra, continued to burn after three days of torrential rain. Video/image credit - Yulianto Sulistyo Nugroho
interview | environment | frontier research | security
31 October 2019

In a picture: ‘Not enough people are aware of this monster’

Professor Guillermo Rein, a fire scientist, tells Horizon why smouldering peatland fires are so dangerous and why we know so little about them.

More than half of people with advanced Parkinson's disease experience freezing of gait, which can lead to falls. Image credit - Fernandoz Himinaicela/ pixabay
health | frontier research
29 October 2019

Parkinson’s disease: Stimulation of brain, feet may help people overcome freezing episodes

Paolo Sanvito would often freeze like a statue after entering a meeting room when he was working as a manager in a multinational company. Known as freezing of gait, it’s a disabling symptom of Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder that he suffers from.

Giving people graphical information can do more to correct misperceptions than text-based information, says Prof. Reifler. Image credit - Alice Vergueiro/Abraji
interview | social sciences | frontier research
22 October 2019

Why people’s misperceptions about climate change, vaccinations are so hard to shake

The most powerful source of misperceptions about important issues such as immigration and climate change are false beliefs rooted in people’s political or social preferences, but having people who question authority is also important for a society, according to Professor Jason Reifler, a political scientist at the University of Exeter, UK.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have had their antibiotic resistance reversed in Prof. Almqvist's lab. Image credit - Pixnio/ Janice Haney Carr, Jeff Hageman, M.H.S, USCDCP, licensed under CC0
health | frontier research
21 October 2019

Can we reverse antibiotic resistance?

In the battle against antibiotic resistance, some scientists are trying a new approach: re-sensitising bacteria to drugs they no longer respond to so that existing antibiotics can hit their target once more.

DNA or chromosome errors are found in 20% of women in their early 20s, say researchers. Image credit - ZEISS Microscopy, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
health | frontier research
15 October 2019

New findings about how a human egg matures may help prevent infertility and birth defects

Decoding how the human egg matures and how this process can go wrong could lead to ways of preventing genetic errors leading to infertility, birth defects or pregnancy loss.

Non-antibiotic drugs may also have a role to play in promoting antibiotic resistance, Dr Typas says. Image credit - Dr Nassos Typas
health | interview | frontier research
03 October 2019

Antibiotic resistance: How did we get here?

Finding ways to enlist the bacteria living in our bodies to defend against infections while better understanding their role in promoting antibiotic resistance are key to fighting this growing problem, says Dr Nassos Typas, a microbiologist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany.

It is believed that the composition of gut bacteria in newborn babies is a strong indicator of future health. Image credit - Pixabay/ blankita_ua, image under Pixabay license
health | frontier research
01 October 2019

Bacteria passed from mother to baby may play a role in later health

The bacteria and viruses a baby inherits from its mother play a crucial role in determining the child’s health in later life, according to research that could lead to new interventions to tackle conditions like obesity, allergies and colic.

Investigating less-studied neural structures is revealing insights which could explain dyslexia. Image credit: Pezibear/Pixabay, licensed under Pixabay licence
health | frontier research
30 September 2019

Better understanding sensory perception could help people with autism and dyslexia

Deciphering how the brain processes sight and hearing could have implications for how we understand and treat conditions such as dyslexia, autism and schizophrenia.

The science that made smartphones possible was done in the 1940s and 1950s. Image credit - Pixabay/ 7721622, licensed under Pixabay license
frontier research | policy
26 September 2019

Basic research to world-changing applications can take 6 months – or 50 years

All technology and innovation have a science base but to get there requires patience, as the journey from curiosity-driven basic research to a world-changing technology can take six months or 50 years, a panel of Nobel and Kavli prize laureates has said.

Robots can already take over some repetitive tasks from human workers, now research focuses on more interaction between the two. Image credit - KUKA Roboter GmbH, Bachmann, the image is in the public domain
ict | policy | frontier research
17 September 2019

Concerns linger over workplace robots, even as they deliver benefits

People harbour lingering fears about the impact of robots on their jobs and welfare, but machines in the workplace have produced benefits that researchers believe are likely to continue. But for that to happen, challenges such as earning workers’ trust and improving safety and human-robot interaction must be overcome.

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