Cancer-killing cold virus

Robert asked me to look into this BBC reportage of the common cold virus being used to attack bladder cancer cells, and working out quite successfully. The BBC report doesn’t have that many details: apparently the virus has been tested before (successfully? it doesn’t say, but presumably so) on skin cancer, and in this particular … Continue reading →

NEAT RNA

It seems that researchers from the University of Alabama have made a really NEAT discovery (excuse me, I had to say it). In their investigations of noncoding RNAs in the brain, they’ve come across a particular RNA that seems to play a significant role in memory, and in the impairment of memory in ageing. To … Continue reading →

Poor little Pluto?

There are a lot of Pluto aficionados out there. I’m not a Pluto super-fan, but I still think of it as a planet — “My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets”, but only if Pluto counts! But there’s also a sort of general feeling that Pluto is small, boring, not worth noticing. That … Continue reading →

An easier way to amplify DNA

A team from Tokyo Tech have just published about a new, leak-free and easy to use method for amplifying DNA at 37°C! While the biologists who follow me are already getting excited, that might take some explaining for the laypeople, so here, let’s congregate in this corner to discuss DNA amplification. Comfy? Got your beverage … Continue reading →

Mutants are taking over

Nah, I’m not commenting on the X-Men. There’s been a little pulse of articles about a particular new study, with a couple getting a bit het up about the ubiquity of cancer the data suggests. Hold on, I’m not going to tell you the stats yet, because I think it’s causing a few unnecessary twinges … Continue reading →

You are what your microbes eat

It’s obvious that the phrase “you are what you eat” is true, but there’s also research which suggests your gut microbiota is really important in what you are as well — including in terms of what you might consider your personality. I’m an anxious person, which is probably no surprise to anyone who has ever … Continue reading →

Wireless charging

Today I was experimenting with my Pixel phone’s ability to charge wirelessly, and wondering how it worked. So here are the fruits of my research: the short answer is “electromagnetic induction”. The long answer is also electromagnetic induction, of course, but to get a bit more into the nitty-gritty of a pretty cool technology, you … Continue reading →