under the microscope

Life from non-life.

“Lee Cronin, a chemist at the University of Glasgow, has proposed intriguing ideas about creating life-like systems using inorganic materials, particularly metal-based structures. His research focuses on the idea of “chemistry-first” approaches to synthetic biology, where the goal is to […]

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. […]