under the microscope

How much faith should you put into light therapy?

I am generally slow to come around on newfangled popular wellness fads, which include infrared/red light therapy. “In this study we present the up-to-dated evidence about the effects of PBMT, i.e., low-intensity laser therapy and red and/or infrared low-intensity light-emitting […]

under the microscope

Don’t throw away your printed books.

“Although the current results suggest that paper-based reading should be favoured over digital-based reading, it is unrealistic to recommend avoiding digital devices. Nevertheless, ignoring the evidence of a robust screen inferiority effect may mislead political and educational decisions, and even […]

under the microscope

Fish have a brain microbiome.

“Recently, a study published in Science Advances provided the strongest evidence yet that a brain microbiome can and does exist in healthy vertebrates — fish, specifically. Researchers at the University of New Mexico discovered communities of bacteria thriving in salmon […]

under the microscope

Real-time inflammation monitoring.

“A Chicago biomedical research hub backed by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, has produced its first published research — on discovering a way to monitor inflammation in real time using sensors implanted under the skin.” […]

under the microscope

Humans can pause embryonic development.

“Some mammal species have an ability known as embryonic diapause, in which the development of an embryo can be paused for weeks or even months, keeping the blastocyst from implanting in the uterus. This means the animal can wait out […]

under the microscope

Sensitive ceramics for soft robotics.

“Together with his team, Clemens is developing soft sensor materials based on ceramics. Such sensors can “feel” temperature, strain, pressure or humidity, for instance, which makes them interesting for use in medicine, but also in the field of soft robotics. […]

under the microscope

When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow.

“Surprisingly, the researchers also found that neurons respond not only to the biochemical signals of exercise but also to its physical impacts. The team observed that when neurons are repeatedly pulled back and forth, similarly to how muscles contract and […]

under the microscope

Watch water form out of thin air.

“For the first time ever, researchers have witnessed — in real time and at the molecular-scale — hydrogen and oxygen atoms merge to form tiny, nano-sized bubbles of water.” ~ learn more