Archive: 2014

While previous gene therapies often made unpredictable changes in the cell’s genetic structure, these researchers showed an efficient method of disrupting a specific gene without making any other changes in DNA, removing unacceptable side-effects.

Unfortunately, this concept isn't new – several other groups have generated similar pigs

Presented by Leonora Bittleston The idea of a plant eating an animal is very strange. Scientists were ridiculed when they originally suggested plants could be carnivorous. But now we know that carnivory has actually evolved multiple times in plants, in…

3D printer making a small building. Image credit: Tiia Monto, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3D_printer2.jpg In recent years, 3D printing has drawn a lot of attention to itself with breakthroughs in various industrial applications.  Given the…

Should cannabis be legalized in the United States, and if so, under what conditions? Current research on medical consequences of cannabis use suggest that heavy use of cannabis can have longlasting effects on lung, cardiovascular and mental health, but…

Presented by Anjali Tripathi How many planets are there? What are they like? In this lecture, we will talk about the variety of planets that are found beyond the Solar System. These so-called exoplanets have been discovered near and far, throughout…

We’re still grappling with the astonishing 2010 discovery that Neanderthals had mated with modern humans [1]. Now two new studies published earlier this year [2, 3] have identified the Neanderthal contributions to our present-day genomes, and also…

There’s been a lot of buzz recently about cancer immunotherapy, including its selection as Science Magazine’s 2013 Breakthrough of the Year. Immunotherapy has introduced a new class of drugs that harness your immune system’s ability to fight off cancer…

"... several groups have previously demonstrated that circulating factors found in young mouse blood are capable of rejuvenating various organs in aged mice."

Presented by Chris Garris Did you know that the average human gut is home to over 100 trillion microorganisms? These numbers are not from a diseased state, but rather are representative of a normal, healthy human gut. Clearly, this suggests that the…