Intelligence has previously been linked with sperm quality, an idea that may now be confirmed, as scientists have found the male brain and testes have a number of similarities. A team of scientists, led by the University of Aveiro in Portugal, compared proteins from 33 tissue types and found testes and brains have more than 13,000 … Read more
Getting a good night’s sleep ‘clears the mind’ by removing potentially toxic proteins from the brain, study finds In the study, researchers examined fruit flies’ brain activity and behaviour The neurons that govern flies’ sleep cycles are surprisingly similar to our own During deep sleep, the flies repeatedly extended and retracted their snouts This pumping … Read more
A small, rainbow colored meteorite discovered in Costa Rica last year may be harboring the building blocks of life. The cosmic rock was once connected to washing machine-sized asteroid that fell to the Earth on April 23, 2019, scattering across two villages – La Palmera and Aguas Zarcas. The asteroid was a remnant of the … Read more
There are several ways in which animals can camouflage themselves against the surrounding environment. Countershading Countershading is a form of camouflage used by animals where one side of the animal is darker than another. Often, in the animal kingdom, an animal’s back (dorsal side) is dark while its underside (ventral side) is light. In 2017, … Read more
Why you should eat your beans, nuts and tofu: Eating a diet high in plant protein cuts the risk of death, study suggests Japanese researchers followed the diets of 70,696 people for 18 years Those who got more protein from plants than meat lived longer High plant protein diets were also linked to better overall … Read more
Blood test could diagnose concussion in just 15 minutes by picking up proteins released by dying brain cells Currently brain injuries like concussion have to be diagnosed using CT scans The new way of testing would allow people access to proper treatment sooner It successfully identified 64 per cent of people with brain injuries in … Read more
Antibodies from an unusual animal could help scientists develop a treatment against the novel coronavirus, a new study suggests. Researchers found two copies of an immune protein produced by llamas can create a new antibody that binds tightly to part of the surface of the new virus. This part, called a spike protein, is what … Read more
Injecting ‘decoy proteins’ into the body could stop the coronavirus infecting someone, according to scientists. The virus that causes COVID-19 is believed by scientists to enter the body through receptors on the surface of cells in the airways, known as ACE-2 receptors. These provide the gateway to the bloodstream and ‘facilitate’ infection with the bug, … Read more