New technology for enzyme design
Scientists at the University of Würzburg have chemically modified the enzyme levansucrase using a new method. The enzyme can now produce sugar polymers that...
Multiple metals – and possible signs of water – found in unique exoplanet
An international team of researchers has identified 'fingerprints' of multiple metals in one of the least dense exoplanets ever found.
The team, from the University...
Scientists develop material that could regenerate dental enamel
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed a new way to grow mineralised materials which could regenerate hard tissues such as dental...
An artificial nerve system gives prosthetic devices and robots a sense of touch
Stanford and Seoul National University researchers have developed an artificial sensory nerve system that can activate the twitch reflex in a cockroach and identify...
Earliest ever evidence of lead pollution found in the Balkans – from 3600 BC
Sometime around 3600 BC, people in the Balkan peninsula reached a major milestone: their mining and metal smelting created enough pollution for us to...
Meet NOTCH2NL, the human-specific genes that may have given us our big brains
The evolution of larger brains in the last 3 million years played an important role in our ability as a species to think, problem-solve,...
Italy’s oldest olive oil discovered in peculiar pot
Olive oil is a staple of Italian cuisine. It's been that way for thousands of years. And new chemical analysis conducted on ancient pottery...