A compound that both inhibits the MRSA superbug and renders it more vulnerable to antibiotics has been discovered by scientists at the University of Bath in the UK led by Dr Maisem Laabei and Dr Ian Blagbrough.

The novel compound – a polyamine – seems to destroy Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium that causes (among other things) deadly Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, by disrupting the pathogen’s cell membrane.

The compound was tested in-vitro against 10 different antibiotic-resistant strains of S. aureus, including some that are known to be resistant to vancomycin – the final drug of choice given to patients fighting an MRSA infection...

Discarded electronic devices, such as cellphones, are a fast-growing source of waste. One way to mitigate the problem could be to use components that are made with renewable resources and that are easy to dispose of responsibly. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have created a prototype circuit board that is made of a sheet paper with fully integrated electrical components, and that can be burned or left to degrade.

Most small electronic devices contain circuit boards that are made from glass fibers, resins and metal wiring...

Ancient Mars may have had an environment capable of harboring an underground world teeming with microscopic organisms, French scientists reported Monday.

But if they existed, these simple life forms would have altered the atmosphere so profoundly that they triggered a Martian Ice Age and snuffed themselves out, the researchers concluded.

The findings provide a bleak view of the ways of the cosmos...

Computer security experts have developed a system capable of guessing computer and smartphone users’ passwords in seconds by analyzing the traces of heat their fingertips leave on keyboards and screens.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow developed the system, called ThermoSecure, to demonstrate how falling prices of thermal imaging cameras and rising access to machine learning are creating new risks for “thermal attacks.”

Thermal attacks can occur after users type their passcode on a computer keyboard, smartphone screen or ATM keypad before leaving the device unguarded...