InformerNow

What causes us to sleep? The answer may lie not only in our brains, but in their complex interplay with the micro-organisms spawned in our intestines. New research from Washington State University suggests a new paradigm in understanding sleep, demonstrating that a substance in the mesh-like walls of bacteria, known as peptidoglycan, is naturally present…

Ko Mochizuki of the University of Tokyo has discovered that Vincetoxicum nakaianum, a dogbane species native to Japan described for the first time by Mochizuki and his collaborators only a year ago, mimics the smell of ants attacked by spiders to attract flies that feed on such attacked insects, and in the process pollinate the…

Australian shark experts have tested four bite-resistant materials to assess their ability to reduce injuries and blood loss. While internal and crushing injuries may still occur, bite-resistant wetsuits can now be added to the ‘toolkit’ of measures available to reduce shark-bite risk and resulting injuries, say researchers from Flinders University’s Southern Shark Ecology Group. Shark…

Researchers at Hiroshima University have developed a realistic, highly sensitive method to detect the Unruh effect — a long-predicted phenomenon at the crossroads of relativity and quantum theory. Their novel approach opens new possibilities for exploring fundamental physics and for developing advanced technologies. The work was recently published in Physical Review Letters. The Fulling-Davies-Unruh effect,…