Overlap in genes suggests a potential new class of inborn errors of immunometabolism. Inherited diseases of metabolism and immunity have more in common than previously recognized, according to a new study published in the journal Science Immunology. The findings point to a new set of metabolic genes that are important for the function of immune system T cells, and they offer insights that could improve care for patients with these disorders.

The study examined genes that cause inborn errors of metabolism (disorders of the processes that cells use to convert food to energy) and inborn errors of immunity (disorders that...

Lithium-metal batteries could exhibit significantly higher energy densities than lithium-ion batteries, which are the primary battery technology on the market today. Yet lithium-metal cells also typically have significant limitations, the most notable of which is a short lifespan.

Researchers at University of Science and Technology of China and other institutes recently introduced a new electrolyte design that could be used to develop highly performing lithium-metal pouch cells with longer lifespans. This electrolyte, presented in a paper in Nature Energy, has a unique nanometer-scale solvation structure, with pairs of ions densely packed together into compact ion-pair aggregates (CIPA).

“The primary objectives of our recent work are to markedly accelerate the practical applicat...

Two University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists have discovered a new type of “whistler,” an electromagnetic wave that carries a substantial amount of lightning energy to the Earth’s magnetosphere.

The research is published today in Science Advances.

Vikas Sonwalkar, a professor emeritus, and Amani Reddy, an assistant professor, discovered the new type of wave. The wave carries lightning energy, which enters the ionosphere at low latitudes, to the magnetosphere. The energy is reflected upward by the ionosphere’s lower boundary, at about 55 miles altitude, in the opposite hemisphere.

It was previously believed, the authors write, ...

While everyone knows that a good night’s sleep restores energy, a new Cornell University study finds it resets another vital function: memory.

Learning or experiencing new things activates neurons in the hippocampus, a region of the brain vital for memory. Later, while we sleep, those same neurons repeat the same pattern of activity, which is how the brain consolidates those memories that are then stored in a large area called the cortex. But how is it that we can keep learning new things for a lifetime without using up all of our neurons?

A study, “A Hippocampal Circuit Mechanism to Balance Memory Reactivation During Sleep,” published in Science, finds at certain times during deep sleep, certain parts of the hippocampus go silent, allowing those...