Scientists unearth LSD binding mechanism

One of the most commonly known hallucinogens has actually gone misunderstood for quite some time now. Lysergic acid diethylamide, usually referred to as “LSD” or “acid”, is one of the most potent hallucinogens, and its effects can last for over 12 hours after the initial usage.

UTL lauded for its environmental efficiency

Trekking across campus to the Bloomberg Department of Physics or the Recreation Center, it is impossible to miss the iconic four-story-high Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories (UTL) building. Though you may have noticed its glazed-glass exterior and cells of students and staff alike conducting experiments, the UTL stands out this year for a different reason: its platinum certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Tech companies could be impacted by Trump’s ban

President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration prevents non-U.S. citizens in seven Middle Eastern countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen —  from setting foot in the United States.

Insecticides may alter our circadian rhythm

University at Buffalo biologists recently discovered that toxic chemicals commonly found in insecticides have the ability to change the way our biological clocks function. The researchers believe that they have uncovered the previously unknown mechanism by which insecticides put people at higher risk for metabolic diseases like diabetes.

Woman survives six days without lungs

It has been proven that humans can survive without appendices, gallbladder, spleen and even parts of their pancreas and liver, but the lung has always been considered an essential organ. That is, until thoracic surgeons at Toronto General Hospital of University Health Network, successfully resected the infected lungs of a dying woman.

Promising Alzheimer’s drug fails in large trial

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug called Solanezumab that previously showed promise in its ability to slow the memory deterioration observed in Alzheimer’s patients recently failed in clinical trials.

AI system with spatial recognition developed

One of the biggest obstacles in the study of artificial intelligence is the computer’s lack of basic understanding of how the world works.

Antidepressants increase risk of birth defects

Depression is becoming a more prevalent, and it has the tendency to occur especially more frequently during pregnancy. Depression during pregnancy is essentially a biological illness that acts similarly to any other kind of clinical depression by altering brain chemistry.

Sugar consumption increases health risks

Sugar comes in many different forms, including fructose, which is often found in fruit and fruit juices, and glucose, one of the simplest forms of sugar into which carbohydrates are broken down in the body.

Titanium implants tackle blood clots head-on

While medical implants such as stents, catheters and various forms of inserted tubing provide medical benefits to many patients, these implanted devices pose great issues to a vast array of those with them. More specifically implanted devices increase risks of blood clots and infections in patients who need them.

New group of stars discovered in our Milky Way

An astronomer from the Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) Astrophysics Research Institute has found a new group of stars within our Milky Way Galaxy. The implications of this discovery could be enormous, as this sheds light on the early stages of the formation of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Nylon fibers used to make artificial muscle

MIT mechanical engineers have developed an easy and cheap method of creating artificial muscle fibers.

DNA might make up only half of chromosomes

In a recent study published in the journal Molecular Cell, scientists discovered that DNA may make up only about half of the material found in chromosomes. In fact, up to 47 percent of a chromosome’s makeup may consist of a sheath, or a protective structure, surrounding DNA.

Supercapacitors may speed up charging

A world where your phone can be charged in seconds may not be out of reach.

Virtual reality technology helps view fetuses

Last year, the internet community was touched by a video of a blind mother-to-be crying happy tears as she traced her fingers over the 3-D printed ultrasound of her unborn son.

Multielectrode stimulation can treat paralysis

Imagine yourself sitting comfortably in a car, gazing through the window at the oak trees gradually coming into sight and then vanishing quickly in a blur as the wheels continue in its steady, rolling motion. A flash of light blinds your eyes momentarily, fear immediately disperses across your entire body. The airbag in front bursts out shortly, and a huge mass crashes into your door.

New truck can run on hydrogen fuel cells

The Nikola Motor Company is developing a Class 8 truck, the Nikola One, that comes equipped with hydrogen fuel cell technology. Class 8 trucks are more commonly known as 18-wheelers, or semi-trucks, and have traditionally used diesel fuel as a form of energy.

There is symmetry in economic and quantum uncertainty

The world of quantum mechanics is hardly the same world we inhabit on a daily basis. Reduced to its fundamentals, matter seems much less calculating than we expect.

It’s time for scientists to get out of the lab