Researchers have developed peptide-based hydrogels that mimic the aligned structure of muscle and nerve tissues, which could enable the development of functional lab-grown tissue ..read more

A new study of air pollution in U.S. homes reveals how much gas and propane stoves increase people's exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant linked to childhood asthma. Even in bedrooms far from kitchens, concentrations frequently exceed health limits while stoves are on and for hours after burners and ovens are turned off ..read more

The famous axiom 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' is part of Austrian psychologist Fritz Heider's social balance theory, introduced in the 1940s. Previous studies have tried to model social networks based in famous theory but results remained controversial. New model takes into account two key pieces simultaneously: Not everyone knows everyone else in a social network, and some people are friendlier than others. With those two constraints, large-scale social networks consistently align with social balance theory. Model has broad applications for exploring political polarization, neural net ..read more

A new study shows stony coral tissue loss disease is causing drastic changes in the Caribbean's population of corals, which is sure to disrupt the delicate balance of the ecosystem and threaten marine biodiversity and coastal economies ..read more

Activated T cells that carry a certain marker protein on their surface are controlled by natural killer (NK) cells, another cell type of the immune system. In this way, the body presumably curbs destructive immune reactions. Researchers have now discovered that NK cells can impair the effect of cancer therapies with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in this way. They could also be responsible for the rapid decline of therapeutic CAR-T cells. Interventions in this mechanism could potentially improve the efficacy of these cellular cancer immunotherapies ..read more

Land plants cover the surface of our planet and often tower over us. They form complex bodies with multiple organs that consist of a broad range of cell types. Developing this morphological complexity is underpinned by intricate networks of genes, whose coordinated action shapes plant bodies through various molecular mechanisms. All of these magnificent forms burst forth from a one-off evolutionary event: when plants conquered Earth's surface, known as plant terrestrialization ..read more

A new study finds people who have nature-based experiences report better well-being and lower psychological distress than those who do not. Birdwatching in particular yielded promising results, with higher gains in subjective well-being and more reduction in distress than more generic nature exposure, such as walks. Because birdwatching is an easily accessible activity, the results are encouraging for college students -- who are among those most likely to suffer from mental health problems ..read more

Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago ..read more

St. Jude found 156 potential targets for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T--cell immunotherapy. Explore the discovery's promise to improve cancer therapies ..read more

Scientists have discovered how glioblastoma evades the immune system by inducing pro-tumor macrophages via a glucose based epigenetic modification ..read more