Animals
Can Spider Silk Improve Hearing Aids?
Applying past discoveries to new applications, researchers are experimenting with the Stokes Model to find new ways of improving hearing aid technology by using thin materials like spider silk.
The Proof Is in the Prolactin: Hormone Plays a Role in Maternal Behavior of Mice
Mother's Day may be over, but at cSw, we're celebrating motherhood by looking at its scientific basis. Dr. Rosie Brown and her team of scientists have found that a hormone plays a key role in the maternal behavior of mice, and the proof is in the prolactin.
Killing Zika Virus Through T-cells
Using killer T-cells, a researcher takes a shot at eliminating the Zika virus and Dengue fever that plague her native country of Nepal.
Platypuses Making a Splash in Diabetes Research
The platypus is a comical, egg-laying mammal with some strange anatomy. Dr. Briony Forbes and her team at the University of Adelaide have discovered a hormone in platypus venom that may hold the key to a long-lasting diabetes treatment.
How Creepy-Crawly Maggots Could Someday Save Your Limb
Every 30 seconds, a lower limb is amputated somewhere in the world with 84% of these amputations caused by diabetic foot ulcers (DFU)s. To improve current treatment methods for DFUs, a team of researchers headed by Dr. Max Scott is genetically engineering maggots. These eat away at your skin to save your limbs!
Using Algae to Manufacture a Malaria Vaccine
Malaria is a deadly disease transmitted by mosquitoes carrying the plasmodium parasite. To prevent the parasite from infecting mosquitoes, researchers at the University of California- San Diego look to a special toxic substance. Despite its rarity, scientists have shown that algae can be used as a mini-factory to produce the substance in large quantities.
Constricting Diabetes Using Python Plasma
Burmese pythons and other similar reptiles can go many months between meals, longer than most other organisms. We know what you’re thinking -- how?
Using hormonal secretions that could give us insight into treating diabetes.
Alligator Pie: A Secret Recipe to Fight Infection?
“Alligator pie, alligator pie, If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die.” Sound far-fetched? Based on new research from George Mason University, this rhyme from Dennis Lee's children's book, "Alligator Pie," may not be so far from the truth. Learn how the American alligator is fighting infection, one peptide at a time.
Look Over Here! Owls Teach Us About Brain Processing
Did you know that your attention is controlled in two ways in your brain? An extreme of either method can lead to mental disorders, including ADHD & schizophrenia. Johns Hopkins University is examining brain activity in owls to shed light these disorders and our thought process in general.
The Farm-Animal Fix for Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C has no vaccine or cure. Current treatments are costly, inaccessible, and can lead to deadly side effects. Researchers may have just found the furry, farm-dwelling answer to this lack of options: alpacas.