Long associated with decreased risk of cancer, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables – the family of plants that also includes cauliflower, cabbage, collard greens, Brussels sprouts and kale – contain a molecule that inactivates a gene known to play a role in …Continue reading
Plastic trash found in deepest-ever dive highlights marine pollution crisis
An American explorer has successfully dived to the deepest point on Earth at the bottom of Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench. At the bottom of the ocean, Victor Vescovo spotted marine life as well as something completely unexpected — litter in the form …Continue reading
Machine learning methods accurately predict Australian wheat yield months before harvest
Wheat is grown on more than half of Australia’s cropland and is a key export commodity. With so much riding on the crop, accurate yield forecasting is necessary to predict regional and global food security and commodity markets. A new study published …Continue reading
Researchers discover the Achilles’ heel of an aggressive brain cancer
Glioblastoma is the most prevalent and also the most lethal type of brain tumor in adults, with no curative treatment currently available. Glioblastomas cannot be surgically completely excised, as the tumour cells are adept at invading tissues and spreading around the brain. …Continue reading
Deep sea fish are able to see color in dark waters
Fish living up to 1,500 meters below the surface have developed surprisingly diverse vision that could help them determine predator from prey in the dimly-lit depths of their fish-eats-fish world. An international research team involving University of Queensland (UQ) scientists believes the …Continue reading
Global assessment finds only a third of the world’s longest rivers remain free-flowing
Just over a third (37%) of the world’s 246 longest rivers remain free-flowing, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature. Dams and reservoirs are drastically reducing the diverse benefits that healthy rivers provide to people and nature across …Continue reading
A moody gut often accompanies depression — new study helps explain why
For people with depression, gastrointestinal distress is a common additional burden, and a new study suggests that for some, the two conditions arise from the same glitch in neuron chemistry—low serotonin. The study, titled “Effects of Neuronal Serotonin and Slow-Release 5-HTP on …Continue reading
Coral cores reveal 400-year long El Niño record
Australian scientists have developed an innovative method using cores drilled from coral to produce a world first 400-year long seasonal record of El Niño events. El Niño is a complex weather patterns resulting from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. …Continue reading
Making needleless vaccines to protect children from infectious diseases
Millions of people are infected with hepatitis B every year. Hundreds of thousands die. And small children are particularly at risk. The World Health Organization’s data shows that nearly 257 million people are infected with hepatitis B. In 2015 alone, 887,000 deaths …Continue reading
Spinning black hole shots light-speed plasma jets into space
Astronomers have discovered jets of fast-moving material shooting out of V404 Cygni, a black hole nearly 8,000 light-years from Earth. The results of this research was published on April 29, 2019 in the scientific journal Nature. The jets are shooting out of …Continue reading