Transforming skin cells into neurons for cell therapy.
Anne Trafton | MIT News Converting one type of cell to another — for example, a skin cell to a neuron — can be done through a process that requires the skin cell to be…
The oldest meteorite crater on Earth
We have discovered the oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth, in the very heart of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The crater formed more than 3.5 billion years ago, making it the…
Are our thoughts ‘real’?
Sam Baron, The University of Melbourne You can doubt just about anything. But there’s one thing you can know for sure: you are having thoughts right now. This idea came to characterise the…
Nanomaterial illuminates cancer cells
Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have developed a groundbreaking tool that boosts surgeons’ ability to detect and remove cancer cells during cryosurgery, a technique that uses extreme cold to target tumors. This…
Protein from tardigrades can help tolerate radiotherapy
Anne Trafton | MIT News About 60 percent of all cancer patients in the United States receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment. However, this radiation can have severe side effects that often end…
Strange radioactive anomaly discovered in the Pacific Ocean
Beryllium-10 (^10Be) is a rare isotope formed when cosmic rays interact with oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere. It reaches the surface through precipitation and gradually accumulates in ocean sediments. With a half-life…
When will nuclear fusion become a viable source of energy?
George R. Tynan, University of California, San Diego and Farhat Beg, University of California, San Diego The way scientists think about fusion changed forever in 2022, when what some called the experiment of…
Can we detect advanced civilizations through pollution?
The search for alien life is closely tied to the quest for habitable planets. Astronomers are focusing on exoplanets, looking for atmospheric chemicals that could indicate the presence of advanced civilizations. These substances,…
Filter captures and recycles aluminum from industrial waste
Jennifer Chu | MIT News Used in everything from soda cans and foil wrap to circuit boards and rocket boosters, aluminum is the second-most-produced metal in the world after steel. By the end of this…
Is there a fundamental logic to life?
The search for extraterrestrial life raises profound questions, and one of the most challenging is defining the nature of life itself. For over a century, biologists have understood that life on Earth is…