A new study in rats suggests that the natural antioxidant L-ergothioneine could alleviate the characteristics of pre-eclampsia. Pregnancy hypertension, or Pre-eclampsia, is a complex disorder of pregnancy. Treatment of elevated blood pressure can manage the condition in the mother, but in severe cases delivery is needed, which can present a major problem to the baby if it is born prematurely.

Now, research from the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at University College Cork (UCC), the INFANT Centre at UCC and the University of Liverpool, as well as The Novo Nordis...

In ancient Greek mythology, Icarus’ wax wings melted when he dared to fly too close to the sun. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have made artificial wings that are actually powered by the sun. The tiny wings, which can flap even faster than those of butterflies, could someday be used in robots or devices for solar energy harvesting, the researchers say.

Light-driven actuators – devices that convert light directly into mechanical work – have attracted attention because they are wireless and easy to control. However, to keep going, they usually require a high-intensity light source that can be turned on and off, or additional hardware...

A fireball in the sky, accompanied by a bang, amazed hundreds of eyewitnesses in northern Germany in mid-September last year. The reason for the spectacle was a meteoroid entering the Earth’s atmosphere and partially burning up. One day after the observations, a citizen in Flensburg found a stone weighing 24.5 grams and having a fresh black fusion crust on the lawn of his garden.

Dieter Heinlein, coordinator of the German part of the European Fireball Network at the German Aerospace Center in Augsburg, directly recognized the stone as a meteorite and delivered the rock to experts at the “Institut für Planetologie” at Münster University (Germany). Prof...

New University of Kentucky research shows that the immune system may target other remote areas of the brain to improve recovery after a stroke.

The study in mice, published in PNAS by researchers from UK’s College of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and University of Pennsylvania reveals that after a stroke, B cells migrate to remote regions of the brain that are known to generate new neuronal cells as well as regulate cognitive and motor functions.

B cells can produce neurotrophins that regulate the development and growth of neurons in the brain...