Science

Genetically altered brain cells in mice can be controlled with ultrasound

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A new technique called sonogenetics uses ultrasound to switch on and off genetically altered brain cells. It has been successfully tested in mice, and could be a future tool for treating brain conditions such as Parkinson’s or epilepsy in humans Health 9 February 2022 By Clare Wilson Neurons (magenta) in a mouse brain Salk Institute … Read more

Breast cancer: DNA repair genes may be linked to racial disparity in mortality

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Differences in how DNA repair genes are expressed as a result of environmental impacts may help to explain why Black women in the US have a higher mortality from breast cancer than white women Health 9 February 2022 By Jason Arunn Murugesu Expression of DNA repair genes in some Black women may be linked to … Read more

Covid-19 news: NHS backlog could grow by millions over next two years

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By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong and Alex Wilkins Nurses help a patient help walk again after recovering from covid-19, King’s College Hospital, London KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 11am on 9 February … Read more

Nuclear fusion: Record-breaking experiment suggests we really could build artificial suns

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The Joint European Torus has sustained a super-hot plasma for 5 seconds, producing 59 megajoules of energy and suggesting that larger experiments could produce more power than is put in Technology 9 February 2022 By Adam Vaughan A white hot river of heat winds around the bottom of a doughnut-shaped machine before the searing light … Read more

We Desperately Need to Modernize Climate Change Emissions Tracking

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At the latest COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, young people from around the world were loudly protesting from the sidelines to hold their elders to task for the catastrophic climate mess Generation Z stands to inherit. Government leaders made pledges that would not only not limit global warming to 1.5 degrees but would instead mean … Read more

What’s next for Biden’s research agenda after science adviser’s fall from grace? | Science

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An axiom of politics is that the higher you rise, the harder you can fall. This week, Eric Lander, the first White House science adviser to be elevated to the president’s Cabinet, learned that firsthand. Lander, a prominent geneticist who has a close relationship with President Joe Biden, resigned from his position less than 1 … Read more

A Beijing think tank offered a frank review of China’s technological weaknesses. Then the report disappeared | Science

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A prominent Peking University think tank posted a surprisingly frank assessment of China’s technological strengths and weaknesses on 30 January—and took it down less than 1 week later. The report, titled China-US Strategic Competition in Technology: Analysis and Prospects in Mandarin, warns China has more to lose than the United States if technological cooperation between … Read more