Want to smooth out your wrinkles, erase scars and sunspots, and look years younger? Millions of Americans a year turn to lasers and prescription drugs to rejuvenate their skin, but exactly how that rejuvenation works has never been fully explained. Now, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that laser treatments and the drug retinoic acid share a common molecular pathway. Moreover, that pathway – which lets skin cells sense loose RNA molecules– is also turned up in mice when they regenerate hair follicles. Results are described in the June 26 issue of Nature Communications.

“Understanding the biology behind how ce...

Researchers presented a new strategy for extending sodium ion batteries’ cyclability using copper sulfide as the material. This strategy has led to high-performance conversion reactions and is expected to advance the commercialization of sodium ion batteries as they emerge as an alternative to lithium ion batteries.

Professor Jong Min Yuk’s team confirmed the stable sodium storage mechanism using copper sulfide, a superior electrode material that is pulverization-tolerant and induces capacity recovery. Their findings suggest that when employing copper sulfide, sodium ion batteries will have a lifetime of more than five years with one charge per a day...

Silica aerogel could warm the Martian surface similar to the way greenhouse gasses keep Earth warm. New research suggests that regions of the Martian surface could be made habitable with a material – silica aerogel – that mimics Earth’s atmospheric greenhouse effect. Through modeling and experiments, the researchers show that a 2- to 3-centimeter-thick shield of silica aerogel could transmit enough visible light for photosynthesis, block hazardous UV radiation, and raise temperatures underneath permanently above the melting point of water, all without the need for any internal heat source.

Carl Sagan was the first outside of the realm of science fiction to propose terraforming...

A study published by The BMJ today reports a possible association between higher consumption of sugary drinks and and an increased risk of cancer. While cautious interpretation is needed, the findings add to a growing body of evidence indicating that limiting sugary drink consumption, together with taxation and marketing restrictions, might contribute to a reduction in cancer cases.

The consumption of sugary drinks has increased worldwide during the last few decades and is convincingly associated with the risk of obesity, which in turn is recognised as a strong risk factor for many cancers. But research on sugary drinks and the risk of cancer is still limited.

So a t...