Science

Activated T cells that carry a certain marker protein on their surface are controlled by natural killer (NK) cells, another cell type of the immune system. In this way, the body presumably curbs destructive immune reactions. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University Medical Center Mannheim (UMM) now discovered that NK … Read more

Wild Orangutan Uses Herbal Medicine to Treat His Wound Researchers say this may be the first observation of a nonhuman animal purposefully treating a wound with a medicinal plant By Meghan Bartels The adult male orangutan Rakus was photographed with a facial wound on June 23, 2022 (left). Two days later he applied chewed leaves … Read more

Artist’s impression showing a fast radio burst travelling from a distant host galaxy to reach Earth ESO/M. Kornmesser One of the most puzzling phenomena in space may finally have an explanation. It might be caused by the interactions between a “dead” neutron star and a planet in tight orbit around it. The strange phenomenon in … Read more

A 54-year-old New Jersey woman has become the second living person to receive a genetically engineered pig kidney. The surgery, carried out at NYU Langone Health on April 12, also involved transplanting the pig’s thymus gland to help prevent rejection. The patient, Lisa Pisano, had a mechanical heart pump implanted days before getting the transplant. … Read more

When research tells us that our grandparents’ diets can affect our health decades later, it can be hard to shake the feeling that genetics spells out the trajectory of our wellbeing. But how much of our health is actually determined by our genes, and what effect does our lifestyle have, for better or worse? Can … Read more

Margarine and your heart — Science News, April 20, 1974 Hardening of the arteries­ causes 90 percent of all heart disease…. The medical community has encouraged people to eat foods with less cholesterol and with polyunsaturated fats rather than saturated fatty acids. Down with eggs and butter, up with polyunsaturated vegetable oils and margarine!… Now … Read more

Name: Hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) Where it lives: Lowland forests of West and Central Africa What it eats: Fruit — including figs, bananas, guavas and mangoes — and flies Why it’s awesome: These “megabats” are the largest in continental Africa. Hammer-headed bats are named after the males’ oddly elongated, boxy heads, which contain a large … Read more

The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, “weedier” organisms thrive — at least for now — according to a new study published today in Science Advances. Researchers say the drastic change in the region’s population of corals is … Read more

Introducing Science Quickly’s New Host, Rachel Feltman Stay tuned for a new era of Science Quickly. By Rachel Feltman Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific American Rachel Feltman: Hey there, Science Quickly fans. Some of you have probably been listening to this podcast from the very beginning, which is no small feat—this show is just about old enough … Read more

The Chang’e 6 lunar probe sits atop its rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China VCG via Getty Images The Chang’e 6 spacecraft is heading to the moon to bring back samples from its far side. The Chinese mission, which is due to blast off between 8.30am and 11.00am GMT from the Wenchang … Read more