New research reveals organized networks linking paper mills, intermediaries, and compromised academic journals Organized scientific fraud is becoming increasingly common, ranging from fabricated research to the buying and selling of authorship and citations, according to a new study from Northwestern University. The researchers conducted an in-depth examination of scientific misconduct by pairing large-scale analyses of [...]

Scientists can finally hear the brain’s quietest messages—unlocking the hidden code behind how neurons think, decide, and remember. Scientists have created a new protein that can capture the incoming chemical signals received by brain cells, not just the signals they send out. These incoming messages are carried by glutamate, a neurotransmitter that plays a central role [...]

A new study analyzing the immune response to COVID-19 in a Catalan cohort of health workers sheds light on an important question: does it matter whether a person was first infected or first vaccinated? According to the results, the order of the events does alter the outcome, at least when it comes to long-term [...]

As claims about conscious AI grow louder, a Cambridge philosopher argues that we lack the evidence to know whether machines can truly be conscious, let alone morally significant. A philosopher at the University of Cambridge says we currently have too little reliable evidence about what consciousness is to judge whether artificial intelligence has crossed that threshold. Because [...]

Using AI, researchers identified one tiny molecular interaction that viruses need to infect cells. Disrupting it stopped the virus before infection could begin. Washington State University scientists have uncovered a method to interfere with a key viral protein, stopping viruses from getting inside cells where they can cause disease. The discovery points toward a possible new [...]

A deadly, drug-resistant hospital fungus may finally have a weakness—and scientists think they’ve found it. Researchers have identified a genetic process that could open the door to new treatments for a dangerous fungal infection that has repeatedly forced hospital intensive care units to close. The discovery offers fresh hope against a pathogen that has [...]

Bird flu viruses present a significant risk to humans because they can continue replicating at temperatures higher than a typical fever. Fever is one of the body’s main tools for slowing or stopping viral infections, yet research led by the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow shows that avian flu strains can keep multiplying even [...]

Society has a lot to thank for nanoscience. From improved health monitoring to reducing the size of electronics, scientists’ ability to delve deeper and better understand chemistry at the nanoscale has opened up numerous untold benefits. Today, various nanotechnologies are continuing to shift from the lab to the market, creating what is set to [...]

Researchers discovered that in a rare kidney cancer, RNA builds droplet-like hubs that act as growth control centers inside tumor cells. By engineering a molecular switch to dissolve these hubs, they were able to halt cancer growth completely. In a city, coworking hubs bring people and ideas together. Inside cancer cells, something surprisingly similar takes shape, [...]