Smriti Mallapaty

1 month ago | nature.com | Smriti Mallapaty

Neuroscientists have observed for the first time how structures deep in the brain are activated when the brain becomes aware of its own thoughts, known as conscious perception1. The brain is constantly bombarded with sights, sounds and other stimuli, but people are only ever aware of a sliver of the world around them — the taste of a piece of chocolate or the sound of someone’s voice, for example.

1 month ago | nature.com | Smriti Mallapaty

Researchers have discovered a new antibiotic molecule that targets a broad range of disease-causing bacteria — even strains resistant to commercial drugs — and is not toxic to human cells1. The molecule was found in soil samples collected from a laboratory technician’s garden. The discovery shows that “there is terrifically interesting stuff hiding in plain sight”, says Kim Lewis, a microbiologist at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, who was not involved in the research.

1 month ago | nature.com | Smriti Mallapaty

A paralysed man can stand on his own after receiving an injection of neural stem cells to treat his spinal cord injury. The Japanese man was one of four individuals in a first-of-its-kind trial that used reprogrammed stem cells to treat people who are fully paralysed. Another man can now move his arms and legs following the treatment, but the two others did not show substantial improvements. The trial was run by Hideyuki Okano, a stem-cell scientist at Keio University in Tokyo, and his colleagues.

1 month ago | nature.com | Smriti Mallapaty

What are the implications of allowing artificial intelligence (AI) to make critical decisions about life and death in combat? That’s a question that Nicholas Evans, a social scientist at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, was hoping his research could answer — until funding for his grants was cut by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) this month.

1 month ago | nature.com | Smriti Mallapaty

The onslaught of US spending cuts is prompting drastic action by universities across the United States. Academic institutions are responding to the administration of US President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting campaign with hiring freezes, travel restrictions and moratoria on pay raises. At least one US university has shed staff, and other campuses are contemplating lay-offs and furloughs. The number of schools and programmes known to have restricted graduate-student admissions continues to rise.