Blue-blooded and armored with 10 spindly legs, horseshoe crabs have perhaps always seemed a bit out of place. First thought to be closely related to crabs, lobsters and other crustaceans, in 1881 evolutionary biologist E. Ray Lankester placed them solidly in a group more similar to spiders and scorpions. Horseshoe crabs have since been thought…
Precision cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors have a previously unknown ability to boost the immune system, and could help many more patients benefit from immunotherapy, a new study reveals. Scientists found that PARP inhibitors sparked a powerful immune response when used against cancer cells with weaknesses in repairing their DNA. The study changes our understanding…
For geoscientists, looking at how minerals react in different conditions can provide a great deal of information about the characteristics of the materials that make up our world. In some cases, merely exposing minerals to water-based environments can yield interesting properties and results. In a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne…
A Cornell University team has found that the economic impact of the apple industry in New York State is 21 percent larger than traditional models suggest. Researchers used the apple industry as a case study to test a new — more precise — framework for economic impact analysis. Traditional economic impact analyses often rely on…
We can’t put the whole Milky Way on a scale, but astronomers have been able to come up with one of the most accurate measurements yet of our galaxy’s mass, using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Gaia satellite. The Milky Way weighs in at about 1.5 trillion solar masses (one solar…
As long as democracy has existed, there have been democracy skeptics — from Plato warning of mass rule to contemporary critics claiming authoritarian regimes can fast-track economic programs. But a new study co-authored by an MIT economist shows that when it comes to growth, democracy significantly increases development. Indeed, countries switching to democratic rule experience…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants the pharmaceutical industry to get away from making drugs using the traditional batch method and switch to a more modern process known as continuous manufacturing. The FDA put out a statement on Feb. 26 saying the continuous process allows manufacturers to more easily scale operations to meet demand…
There’s an entire world our eyes miss, hidden in the ranges of light wavelengths that human eyes can’t see. But infrared cameras can pick up the secret light emitted as plants photosynthesize, as cool stars burn and batteries get hot. They can see through smoke and fog and plastic. But infrared cameras are much more…
Bacteria, plants, insects, or even fish use antifreeze proteins to protect themselves from the cold. The proteins block the growth of ice crystals. In a new study, a German-Israeli research team has confirmed that these proteins also possess an unusual second property: at low temperatures, they can promote rather than inhibit the growth of ice…
Eighty-six percent of individuals who entered HIV care soon after diagnosis maintained viral suppression after 48 weeks during a clinical trial conducted at four National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs) across the United States. Participants in the clinical trial, called iENGAGE, achieved viral suppression in an average of just 63 days.…