Vapes (e-cigarettes) are small devices that let the user inhale a vapour instead of the smoke from burning tobacco. New rules on selling vapes have now come into force in the United Kingdom, and vending machines that sell them are now illegal. The UK Department of Health and Social Care says the new rules are […]
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Most people poisoned by snakebites live in poor, remote countryside without even basic clinics. For decades the official figures did not reflect reality, because more than half of the countries at risk do not record these cases. A new study reveals alarming numbers, far higher than international health records suggest. The study was led by […]
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Every day, scientific journals treat us to another discovery powered by artificial intelligence. Some of these discoveries make sense, but most seem unrealistic. This study, for example, puts the words artificial intelligence, diabetes and mobile phone side by side. It looks like a salad tossed together for the internet's algorithms. Researchers at Klick Labs carried […]
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Scientists keep warning about how much we pollute the environment. Besides chemicals and heavy metals, they warn about plastic, which does not break down or decompose. Plastic may seem to fall apart and disappear after a while, but in fact it turns into tiny microscopic particles that enter our bodies in worrying amounts through drinking […]
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Scientists at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have stored computer data on DNA molecules so stably that it could last practically for ever. Two years ago, scientists were already able to write information into a DNA molecule and read it back, and writing (making the DNA) and reading took very little time. But that fast method […]
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A light-emitting diode, or LED, is a light source made of semiconductor materials that gives off light when an electric current passes through it. The first blue LEDs were invented in the early 1990s. Japanese scientists Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano and Japanese-American Shuji Nakamura created a new, efficient and environmentally friendly light source, the […]
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Winter brings many skin problems, such as dry and itchy skin, that get in the way of daily life. Here are two problems most people suffer from, and what can be done to ease them. 1. Cold, itchy hands and feet in winter Many people develop inflamed skin on their fingers and toes, with bluish […]
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During the 2014 epidemic we spoke to Dr Mohammad Maher Kutlan, a specialist in preventive medicine and epidemiology, to learn more about Ebola. What is Ebola, and why is there so much concern about it? It is a sudden, acute and severe viral infection of the whole body, endemic in Africa, especially tropical Central and […]
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Anyone who has studied biology knows that mitochondria are the power plants of the cell. They form an almost independent system within it, with their own DNA and their own way of making proteins. That led scientists to say that mitochondria were once energy-producing bacteria that were swallowed by cells and put to work, which […]
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February 2014: a new study from Nagoya University in Japan has used blue-coloured compounds to starve hospital bacteria of iron. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common type of bacteria in hospitals. These bacteria live naturally on and in the human body without causing disease, but when a person's immunity drops because of another illness, they […]
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Ninth-grade students at a school in Denmark carried out an experiment that caught the attention of scientists around the world, and its results may make you think twice about filling your home with wireless devices. Five schoolgirls ran the experiment after noticing that sleeping with their mobile phones next to their heads made them less […]
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Researchers have found that footballers who head the ball often have brain abnormalities similar to those of people with concussion (mild traumatic brain injury). The study was published online in the journal Radiology. The researchers studied players of the world's most popular sport using advanced MRI. Heading is one of football's best-known moves, done by […]
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