Laboratory methods behind the polio vaccine discovery In 1949, Harvard scientists established a few tissue culture tricks that not only allowed Jonas Salk to develop the polio vaccine, but also became standard practice when growing polio in the lab. His team was awarded a Nobel Prize.

September 24, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

People with complex-PTSD report less social support than those with PTSD Poor social support is a risk factor for PTSD, but it is unknown if poor social support is also a risk factor for Complex PTSD. This study found that those with CPTSD are less likely than PTSD to describe themselves as having a strong social support system.

September 3, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

A new model for predicting human population growth Scientists at University of Washington have attempted to improve upon previous population models developed by the United Nations and the Austrian Wittgenstein Centre by using different calculation techniques for two key factors - fertility and migration.

July 17, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

microgreens in dirt

Disease-causing bacteria can grow on hydroponic microgreen mats Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes are two bacteria that can make you sick when eating contaminated produce. It turns out, some microgreen grow mats might be a breeding ground for these bacteria.

July 2, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

Who figured out the structure of DNA? Watson and Crick pieced together decades of data to propose the double helix. Here's how they did it.

May 21, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

NASA’s TESS mission discovers a planet orbiting two suns When two stars orbit each other, it is called a binary star. In 2018, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite (TESS) mission found a planet orbiting one of these stars by detecting changes in light levels coming from the stars.

April 29, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

How would we know if COVID-19 came from a lab? A group of researchers gathered evidence from previous studies and, using what is known about the virus structure, made the case that the 2019 novel coronavirus was unlikely to have been intentionally engineered.

March 25, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

How long will it take to contain COVID-19? Some researchers used computer simulations to determine how good our public health efforts have to be in order to control the coronavirus pandemic within 3 months.

March 17, 2020 by Gina Misra Read More

How the body responds to synthetic THC product “Spice” Researchers performed the first study of the behavioral, physiological, cognitive, and subjective experiences caused by synthetic cannabis products in humans, showing that it is in fact more potent than THC.

April 21, 2019 by Gina Misra Read More

Hacking hydroponics to grow kidney-friendly vegetables Patients with kidney disease have to avoid potassium, so researchers in Italy grew microgreens in low-potassium fertilizer, potentially sparking an idea for a new food product.

March 13, 2019 by Gina Misra Read More