Southern Africa is home to the majority of the world’s remaining black and white rhinoceros populations, with 80% and 92%, respectively. However, climate change is rapidly affecting the region due to global warming, and its impact on these rhino populations has been largely unexplored until recently. A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts … Read more
Scientists have used human retinas grown in a petri dish to study how humans can see millions of colors, while dogs can only see a limited range of hues. They found that a molecule derived from vitamin A, called retinoic acid, plays a key role in determining whether a cone cell will sense red or … Read more
CRISPR is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows scientists to make precise changes in the DNA of living cells. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which are sequences of DNA that can be targeted by a special enzyme called Cas9. By using a guide RNA molecule that matches a specific region of … Read more
Introduction A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has challenged the long-held assumption that fingerprints from different fingers of the same person are unique and unmatchable. The tool, developed by researchers from Columbia University and the University at Buffalo, SUNY, can identify with high accuracy whether prints from different fingers come from one person by analyzing … Read more
Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal gynecological cancers, often diagnosed at an advanced stage when the cancer has already spread to other organs. Scientists have long suspected that ageing tissues may facilitate the metastasis of ovarian cancer, but the underlying mechanisms were not well understood. Now, a new study by researchers at the … Read more
Glaucoma is a serious eye condition that can lead to irreversible vision loss if not detected and treated early. It affects around 70 million people worldwide, but about half of them are unaware of their condition . Glaucoma is caused by a build-up of fluid in the front part of the eye, which increases the … Read more
Introduction Nipah virus is a deadly disease that can kill up to 75% of infected people. It is transmitted by fruit bats and can also spread from animals to humans or from person to person. There is no vaccine or treatment for Nipah virus, which poses a serious threat to public health in South-East Asia … Read more
Introduction Mars is a dry and dusty planet today, but its surface features suggest that it once had abundant liquid water. One of the most striking examples of this ancient water activity are the valley networks, which resemble river systems on Earth. These valleys have been considered as evidence of a warmer and wetter climate … Read more
Earth’s tilt, or obliquity, is the angle between its rotational axis and its orbital plane around the Sun. This tilt, which is currently about 23 degrees, influences the amount and distribution of sunlight that reaches different parts of the planet, creating the seasons and affecting the climate. The origin and variation of Earth’s tilt Earth’s … Read more
Astronomers have discovered a new Earth-sized exoplanet that is not only the closest of its kind to our solar system, but also the youngest. The planet, named HD 63433 d, orbits a Sun-like star in a system that is only 400 million years old, about 10 times younger than our own. A Lava Hemisphere HD … Read more