Data mining digs up hidden clues to major California earthquake triggers : A powerful computational study of southern California seismic records has revealed detailed information about a plethora of previously undetected small earthquakes, giving a more precise picture about stress in the earth’s crust. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418145229.htm

Fish under threat release chemicals to warn others of danger : Fish warn each other about danger by releasing chemicals into the water as a signal, research has found. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418141739.htm

New immune pathway involved in resistance to parasite worms found in undercooked pork : Scientists have discovered that immune responses originally found to prevent fungal infections are also important in eliminating Trichinella spiralis, a round worm and the causative agent of Trichinosis. People acquire trichinellosis by consuming raw or undercooked meat infected with the …

Scientists advance creation of ‘artificial lymph node’ to fight cancer, other diseases : In a proof-of-principle study in mice, scientists report the creation of a specialized gel that acts like a lymph node to successfully activate and multiply cancer-fighting immune system T-cells. The work puts scientists a step closer, they say, to injecting …

Bioengineers program cells as digital signal processors : Synthetic biologists have added high-precision analog-to-digital signal processing to the genetic circuitry of living cells. The research dramatically expands the chemical, physical and environmental cues engineers can use to prompt programmed responses from engineered organisms. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418141554.htm

Antimicrobial paints have a blind spot : Researchers tested bacteria commonly found inside homes on samples of drywall coated with antimicrobial, synthetic latex paints. Within 24 hours, all bacteria died except for Bacillus timonensis, a spore-forming bacterium. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418141552.htm

Giant tortoises migrate unpredictably in the face of climate change : Researchers use GPS to track the timing and patterns of giant tortoise migration over multiple years. The tortoises often take the same migration routes over many years in order to find optimal food quality and temperatures. The timing of this …

Electric skyrmions charge ahead for next-generation data storage : A team of researchers has observed chirality for the first time in polar skyrmions, in a material with reversible electrical properties — a combination that could lead to more powerful data storage devices that continue to hold information, even after …

General anesthesia hijacks sleep circuitry to knock you out : Researchers have found that general anesthesia induces unconsciousness by hijacking the neural circuitry that makes us fall sleep. They traced this neural circuitry back to a cluster of cells at the base of the brain responsible for churning out hormones …

Hubble celebrates its 29th birthday with unrivaled view of the Southern Crab Nebula : This incredible image of the hourglass-shaped Southern Crab Nebula was taken to mark the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s 29th anniversary in space. The nebula, created by a binary star system, is one of the many objects that Hubble has demystified …