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Genetically engineered mutations in cows could pave the way for transplant patients to receive whole animal organs in the future. Image credit - Pexels/Kat Jayne, licensed under Pexels license
health
06 December 2019

Genetically engineered animals offer fresh hope to heart valve patients

Scientists have cloned a genetically engineered bull which they hope will help heart valve transplant patients lead better quality lives and benefit people with red meat allergies.

In the early Bronze Age, there was an infusion of a different genetic makeup in Europe whose origin ancient DNA experts are trying to explain. Image credit - geograph/David Dixon, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
health | frontier research
03 December 2019

How did the plague reshape Bronze Age Europe?

Europe changed dramatically during the Bronze Age, with huge population shifts generally ascribed to the rise of new metal technologies, trading and climate change. But scientists believe that there may have been another reason for this social upheaval – the plague, possibly transported by, or on the back of, newly domesticated horses.

Sir Peter was one of three winners of this year's Nobel prize in physiology or medicine. Image credit - Courtesy of Ludwig Cancer Research
interview | health | frontier research
02 December 2019

Nobel prize winner: Oxygen regulation discoveries are starting to lead to new anaemia, cancer drugs

Drugs that activate or block the body’s oxygen-sensing machinery to treat conditions such as anaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease and cancer are being made possible because we now understand the way that cells respond to oxygen deprivation, according to Sir Peter Ratcliffe, one of three winners of this year’s Nobel prize in physiology or medicine.

Peatlands occupy roughly 2% or 3% of the land’s surface but we don’t know how deep they go. Image credit - Marisa04/ Pixabay
environment
28 November 2019

Why bogs may be key to fighting climate change

There are, arguably, only two interesting facts about bogs. The first is that some people have a jolly good time swimming through them, notably at the World Bog Snorkelling Championships held each year in central Wales, UK. The second is that they could help save the world.

Transparent wood is created by stripping out lignin from wood and replacing it with a polymer. Image credit - WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
industry | frontier research | environment
26 November 2019

Transparent wood: the building material of the future?

When Timothée Boitouzet studied architecture in Japan, where buildings need to survive earthquakes, he realised the next smart material might be one that humans have used for thousands of years – wood.

Understanding if a hot Jupiter bleeds off its atmosphere can help explain how the atmospheres of all exoplanets change over time. Image credit - NASA/JPL-Caltech
space | frontier research
25 November 2019

Probing exoplanet atmospheres could reveal telltale signatures of life

It may be that life is lurking out there on other planets. But stuck here on Earth, how can we ever know for sure? A good place to start is by looking for the compounds on other worlds that are known to be the key ingredients of life as we know it.

When ultrasound waves from different emitters meet in mid-air, it creates the sensation of a solid object which could enhance people's videogaming experience. Image credit - Maurizio Pesce, licensed under CC BY 2.0 (brands blurred out)
ict
21 November 2019

Levitation, touch and sound – how you’ll be able to feel videogames in the future

Despite advances in both virtual and augmented reality technology in the last few years, there’s one area that remains neglected: touch. With your VR headset on, you might be able to explore the sights of a vast forest and hear birdsong all around you, but you won’t feel the dampness of the moss on a tree trunk or the squelch of leaves underfoot.

The way that a young exoplanet interacts with its star's disc of dust and gas determines the type of exoplanet that will ultimately form. Image credit - NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Berry
space | frontier research
18 November 2019

Zeroing in on baby exoplanets could reveal how they form

Twenty-four years ago, Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz discovered the first planet orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system – a milestone recognised by this year’s Nobel prize in physics. Today we know of thousands more ‘exoplanets’, and researchers are now trying to understand when and how they form.

Digital replicas of infrastructure such as oil platforms could help prevent accidents by spotting potential ruptures before they happen. Image credit - Akselos
industry | science in society | ict
15 November 2019

How digital ‘twins’ are guiding the future of maintenance and manufacturing

As our world becomes more digitalised and connected, we can actually make a virtual copy of it. And such replicas are now being used to improve real world scenarios, from making aircraft production more accurate to preventing oil spills.

Studies into consciousness could help explain why patients in vegetative states have varying levels of awareness. Image credit - Dr. Leon Kaufman. University Of California, San Francisco, licensed under CC0
health | frontier research
13 November 2019

Pinning down consciousness could improve mental health, brain disorder treatments

Consciousness – the awareness we have of our self and surroundings – is often referred to as ‘the hard problem’. It’s not easy to scientifically explain how a subjective experience, which is something intangible, can be created by the brain – a physical object. But understanding more about how consciousness works could help us find treatments when things go wrong.

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