Mature oak trees will increase their rate of photosynthesis by up to a third in response to the raised CO2 levels expected to be the world average by about 2050, new research shows. The results, published in Tree Physiology, are the first to emerge from a giant outdoor experiment, led by the University of Birmingham in which […]

The first look at a threatened rattlesnake species’ recent genetic history suggests that inbreeding necessitated by limited habitat may not be as detrimental as theory would predict it to be. In fact, scientists speculate that Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes may have pre-adapted to living in small, isolated populations – where the most dangerous genetic mutations that […]

A biochemist and molecular biologist, Julius’s work has focused on how our bodies sense heat, cold and chemical irritants, leading to new insights about the fundamental nature of pain and new targets for pain therapy. To understand how signals responsible for temperature and pain sensation are transmitted by neural circuits to the brain, Julius and his UCSF […]

Palaeobiologists have unearthed the earliest evidence yet of hippos in the UK. Excavations at Westbury Cave in Somerset, led by University of Leicester PhD student Neil Adams, uncovered a million-year-old hippo tooth which shows the animal roamed Britain much earlier than previously thought. In a new study published in the Journal of Quaternary Science and co-authored with […]

Depression among US adults persisted—and worsened—throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, the first-of-its-kind study found that 32.8% of US adults experienced elevated depressive symptoms in 2021, compared to 27.8% of adults […]

A team of researchers has developed a model to track the pathways and fate of plastic debris from land-based sources in the Mediterranean Sea. They show that plastic debris can be observed across the Mediterranean, from beaches and surface waters to seafloors, and estimate that around 3,760 metric tons of plastics are currently floating in […]

Patients with psoriasis have reported that glycerin, an inexpensive, harmless, slightly sweet liquid high on the list of ingredients in many skin lotions, is effective at combatting their psoriasis and now scientists have objective evidence to support their reports. They found that whether applied topically or ingested in drinking water, glycerin, or glycerol, helps calm […]

The development of drugs to treat cognitive problems in patients with mental illness may be a step closer after a team of researchers discovered that an existing drug – used to treat constipation – may be able to boost our ability to think more clearly. Severe psychiatric disorders can have a devastating impact on a […]

David Julius, a 1977 graduate of MIT, will share the 2021 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this morning in Stockholm. Julius, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco, shares the prize with Ardem Patapoutian, a professor at the Scripps Research Institute, for their discoveries […]

The 2021 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine has been shared by two US-based researchers whose work helps to explain our sense of touch and ability to perceive temperature. David Julius from the University of California, San Francisco, and Ardem Patapoutian of the Scripps Research institute in La Jolla, California, have been recognised by the […]