research

Bacteria has been spotted 'eating' chemotherapy drugs intended for treating cancerous tumors, potentially opening the door for more effective cancer treatments in the future. According to a new study, certain types of bacteria may exist in the vicinity of cancer cells, devouring the chemo drugs that would otherwise combat the cancerous tumors that result. This prevents adequate levels of these drugs from reaching the cancerous cells, resulting in a sort of chemo-resistant cancer.

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This week we're set to witness one real celestial event while another is said to be beginning to "end the world as we know it." Of course one of these events is real, while the other is complete nonsense. The first event begins today, and it has to do with the position of our Moon and three other planets within our Solar System. This event is a triple-occultation.

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Engineers from MIT have created a new 3D fabrication method that is able to generate a new type of drug carrying particle that could allow the delivery of medical vaccines that can deliver more than one dose. That means the potential for vaccines that people normally have to come in for a second dose, meaning another shot, could be delivered with a single injection.

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Back in January, we reported that a crew was going to spend 8 months living in isolation in a location that simulated the Mars environment. This isolation is a test ahead of future missions to Mars, where humans will spend large amounts of time in cramped quarters with a small group of other people. This crew is scheduled to exit their accommodations this upcoming Sunday.

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Researchers have detailed a new potential treatment option for diabetes and obesity, one that requires wearing a patch containing 'microneedles.' These micro-needles are exactly they sound like -- very small needles that pierce the skin to deliver medication to the patient. The patch was created by researchers with the University of North Carolina and Columbia University Medical Center.

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Believe the autonomous concept cars that have proliferated in recent years, and the exterior of your self-driving vehicle will rival the Jumbotron what with all the displays and screens it's covered in. Communicating exactly what a driverless vehicle is intending to do with other road-users and pedestrians is one of the ongoing headaches automakers and researchers are facing, with answers ranging from color-changing hubcaps to laser beams. It's a question that pushed Ford and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to borrow an old trick from Knight Rider, of all places.

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A 13-year journey ends this week as Cassini–Huygens crashes into the face of Saturn - and we get to see it all happen. At the end of this journey, NASA is celebrating with an E-Book called "The Saturn System : Through the Eyes of Cassini." This E-Book was made free this week, and from it we've got a few passages and big set of photos to share with you today. These are just a few of the 450,000 photos captured by Cassini on its journey from Earth to Saturn.

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The Viking warrior buried in the grave bj581 was female, according to DNA testing, revealing an instance in which a woman obtained a high status among the Vikings. This is at odds with the traditional image of Vikings, though the notion itself isn't new. The grave was excavated in the 19th century; the presence of weapons and shields in the grave, among other things, led many to assume the skeleton had belonged to a man despite its slender size.

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Painkiller addiction has reached epic proportions and this has spurred a search for suitable alternatives to opiates. We've seen some potential novel alternatives, such as sea snail venom and using VR to distract patients from pain. One new potential alternative comes in the form of a hallucinogenic drug call salvia and a synthetic version of it with painkilling properties.

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Archaeologists in Egypt have just made an exciting announcement: they've discovered a 3,500-year-old tomb containing the mummified remains of the royal goldsmith Amenemhat and his wife Amenhotep, as well as their two adult children. Egyptian authorities announced the discovery over the weekend, saying it was the result of five months of digging in the necropolis Draa Abul-Naga.

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Glue and other adhesives make life easier for everyone, and so it's no surprise that rudimentary forms of it can be traced back to ancient times. Whereas modern glue comes in many varieties for many purposes, ancient glues were made from natural substances, and the exact process that went into making the compounds isn't clear. A new study, however, may shed light on the answer.

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Researchers from the UK's Durham University and the US's Rice and North Carolina State universities have detailed a type of molecule that can kill off cancer cells by drilling directly into them. This drilling action is performed using rotors that spin between 2 and 3 million times a second, boring through the membrane of cells to bring about cellular death. The entire drilling action is made possible via ultraviolet light.

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