Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death. Patients with type 1 diabetes have their insulin secreting cells destroyed by the immune system and require daily insulin injections. Pancreatic islet transplantation is an effective treatment that can dramatically reduce daily doses or even eliminate dependence on external insulin. Insulin producing cells are injected into a recipient liver and after an adaptation period they start to produce sufficient hormone needed by diabetic patients.

Researchers have identified the requirements for the development of new types of extremely low power consumption electric devices by studying Cr-doped (Sb, Bi)₂Te₃ thin films. 

At extremely low temperatures, an electric current flows around the edge of the film without energy loss, and under no external magnetic field. This attractive phenomenon is due to the material's ferromagnetic properties but it has been unclear how the material gains this property until now.

The bacterium Bacillus cereus had so far been considered to be exclusively endospore-forming. In response to harsh conditions, the bacteria form protective endospores enabling them to remain dormant for extended periods, then they reactivate to become fully functioning bacteria when conditions are favorable again.

Nadine, a friendly human-like robot at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore will greet you back and shake your hand. Unlike conventional robots, the inventors say Nadine has her own personality, mood and emotions, and the next time you meet her, she will remember your name and your previous conversation with her.

She looks almost like a human being, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair. She smiles when greeting you, looks at you in the eye when talking, and can also shake hands with you. She can be happy or sad, depending on the conversation. Nadine is the doppelganger of its creator, Prof Nadia Thalmann, powered by intelligent software similar to Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana. 

Researchers say that the actions of individual farmers should be considered when studying and modelling strategies of pest control.

Research published in PLOS Computational Biology presents a model to understand the actions of humans and the dynamics of pest populations. The authors demonstrate this by using the example of the European corn borer, a moth whose larval phase is a major pest of maize.

Using game theory the researchers found that the farmers' perceptions of profit and loss, alongside communication networks between individuals, affects pest populations. A farmer's decision on whether to control a pest is usually based on the perceived threat of the pest and the guidance of commercial advisors.

DALLAS - Dec. 31, 2015 - Using a new gene-editing technique, a team of scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center stopped progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in young mice.

If efficiently and safely scaled up in DMD patients, this technique could lead to one of the first successful genome editing-based treatments for this fatal disease, researchers said.