In 1928, the first patient to use the iron lung was an eight-year-old girl, suffering from respiratory paralysis as a result of poliomyelitis, or polio. Though she later died from cardiac failure, the device, an artificial respirator, had kept her breathing — and alive — for over five days.
The origin of life is perhaps the most tantalizing question in science. Was it catalyzed by a high-energy lightning strike to the right amalgam of molecules? Did it travel from deep space on an asteroid, only landing on our planet by an improbable collision?
Researchers from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) conceptualized a biomimetic fish that could swim alongside marine life. The robotic fish is classified as an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of observation, motion and communication.
Researchers at the University of Lincoln have discovered a new class of natural antibiotic drugs that is predicted to dramatically affect the battle against bacterial infections.
In 2003, a skeleton was discovered in the Atacama Desert in Chile. This skeleton, which has since been named “Ata” was tiny, about six inches long, with strange and dramatic deformities: a long skull pointed at the top, deep angular eye sockets and fewer ribs than normal. Some observers thought it looked alien.
Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have recently found two new techniques for tissue regeneration. One technique draws inspiration from naturally occurring proteins found in fetuses, while the other draws inspiration from soy plants.
A recent study conducted by a team of world-class psychologists and gynecologists at the School of Medicine have determined that previous research severely overestimated the prevalence of the female orgasm.
Plans for a new blue jay/human hybrid created by the University’s Recombinant Genetics Lab (RGL) were recently leaked online. The hybrid is intended to replace Jay the Blue Jay as the University’s official mascot. According to the leaked documents, it will be unveiled at this season’s homecoming lacrosse game and is projected to increase school spirit by 23 percent. The hybrid does not yet have a name and is referred to in the documents only as “Blue Jay Man.”
According to the World Health Organization, over 446 million people suffer from hearing loss worldwide. Cisplatin is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent used to treat patients with cancer, but one of the major side effects is irreversible hearing loss in up to 70 percent of patients who take the drug.
For the millions who live in the eastern half of the country, this winter has been especially extreme. While multiple blizzards over the past few months have led some to claim that these frequent storms provide counterevidence for global warming, ironically, new research has shown otherwise. A new study from Rutgers University has linked this extreme winter in the U.S. with warm conditions in the Arctic.
There is often the notion that DNA is a set of permanently stable biological sequences, but in reality, the genetic code is far more complex than most people think. DNA is under the constant influence of environmental factors and randomly arising mutations. Most recently, researchers at the Salk Institute discovered that DNA can also be directly modified by early life experiences.
In spring 2019, the James Webb Space Telescope will be launched into space from French Guiana to seek other sources of life outside the solar system. A group of scientists lead by Sarah Hörst, assistant professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Hopkins, has recently published its results on haze formation in simulated environments.
Just last month, Hopkins doctors identified two specific digestive bacteria — Bacteroides fragilis and Escherichia coli (E. coli) — that colon cancers trace back to. Cynthia Sears, who led the study as an infectious-disease specialist, said that it was surprising to find two different bacteria between a healthy colon and a precancerous polyp.
Evolutionarily death seems like a paradox. If we want the best chance to pass on our genes, why would we deteriorate and die? The current answer, coined “the evolutionary theories of aging,” offers an answer. As the years go by, our chances of passing on our genes decrease, and we become useless to evolution.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, led by Zhen Yan, professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, discovered a promising treatment method for the effects caused by autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A recent study done in collaboration with the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery and published in Forensic Anthropology stated that skeletal remains found on Nikumaroro Island in 1940 are likely to be the bones of Amelia Earhart.
According to the American Cancer Society, there is a predicted number of approximately 1.7 million new cancer cases and 600,000 cancer deaths in the United States for 2018. Year after year, researchers test out numerous strategies in the hopes of finding a cure for, and eventually conquering, many variations of cancer.
In recent times, it seems as if scientists are continually searching for treatments to cancer. Oftentimes, the ways to reduce risk or remedy the effects are primarily external, such as radiation to kill tumors. However, a new study might reveal an important internal player in the fight against skin cancer.
A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine described how immune cells can be used to improve tattoo removal procedures. The study was done at the Immunology Center of Marseille-Luminy in France and led by researchers Sandrine Henri and Bernard Malissen.
A newly published study from Harvard Medical School revealed that survival rates for heart attacks can sometimes increase when cardiologists are away from their patients at academic conferences.
