Worries About Unusual Botulinum Toxin Prove Unfounded
A previously unknown form of botulinum toxin thought to be resistant to standard treatment raised public health concerns. Subsequent research has allayed those fears.
research
Behind The Scenes At The Lab That Fingerprints Microbiomes
Inside the lab, a lone technician sorts through new samples, snipping off swab heads intentionally fouled with fecal material. One head goes to cold storage and the other is processed for sequencing.
NIH Allows Restart Of MERS Research That Had Been Questioned
The National Institutes of Health has approved requests for waivers from a moratorium on experiments that aim to make the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome more infectious in mice.
Scientists Debate If It's OK To Make Viruses More Dangerous In The Lab
Researchers are struggling with how to balance the benefits and risks of genetic experiments that can give viruses new talents for causing infections.
A Crowd Of Scientists Finds A Better Way To Predict Seizures
The winners of an online competition identified electrical patterns in the brain that often precede a seizure. The victors included a mathematician and an engineer, but no doctor.
Scientists Often Skip A Simple Test That Could Verify Their Work
Scientists have published thousands of studies using immortal cell lines, but in many cases the cells in the experiments have been misidentified or contaminated. The problem could be avoided easily.
How Dogs Understand What We Say
Dogs pay close attention to the emotion in our voices, but what about the meaning of words? A clever experiment with 250 canines shows that dogs understand more of our speech than previously thought.
How Can Vultures Eat Rotten Roadkill And Survive?
Vultures consume toxic bacteria that would sicken or kill humans. Stouter immune systems, colonies of helpful microbes and potent stomach acid may help the carrion eaters gorge with abandon.
Sleep's Link To Learning And Memory Traced To Brain Chemistry
During sleep, the brain locks in existing memories and can even form new ones. Scientists say they are starting to understand how that happens. A midnight snack may interfere.
Keep Your Head Up: 'Text Neck' Takes A Toll On The Spine
Newly published research finds that common texting posture can put as much as 60 pounds of force on the cervical spine.