A new study suggests that unrepaired DNA damage can increase the speed of aging. Every day, our bodies face a bombardment of UV rays, ozone, cigarette smoke, industrial chemicals and other hazards.

This exposure can lead to free-rad...

Scientists have used a compound made from a starch derivative and baking soda to help convert mechanical to electrical energy. The approach, developed by scientists at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Technology (DGIST), with colleagues in Korea and India, is cost-effective and biocompatible, and can help charge low-energy electronics like calculators and watches. The details were published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

“Triboelectric nanogenerators harvest mechanical energy and convert it into an electric current,” explains DGIST robotics engineer Hoe Joon Kim...

A new analysis of Venus’ surface shows evidence of tectonic motion in the form of crustal blocks that have jostled against each other like broken chunks of pack ice. The movement of these blocks could indicate that Venus is still geologically active and give scientists insight into both exoplanet tectonics and the earliest tectonic activity on Earth.

“We’ve identified a previously unrecognized pattern of tectonic deformation on Venus, one that is driven by interior motion just like on Earth,” sa...

Biologists at the Universities of Bath and Vienna have discovered 71 new ‘imprinted’ genes in the mouse genome, a finding that takes them a step closer to unravelling some of the mysteries of epigenetics — an area of science that describes how genes are switched on (and off) in different cells, at different stages in development and adulthood.

To understand the importance of imprinted genes to inherit...