New Atlas

Science Audio available

Breakthrough forensic ID method can be applied to any strand of hair on the body

David Szondy June 23, 2019

Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Forensic Science Center and Michigan State University have established that it's possible to identify a person from a single hair taken from anywhere on the human body.

The LLNL team found that a single hair from anywhere on the human body can be ...

Science Audio available

Vets use fish skins as grafts, putting burned Rottweiler on road to recovery

Nick Lavars May 27, 2019

The collagen-rich properties of fish skin have seen it gain some serious utility as a tool for treating burns. Veterinarians have now used a new form of this approach to bring a severely burned Rottweiler back from the brink of death.

The team is set to present Stella's case at the Society of Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgery ...

Biology Audio available

Immune system discovery could lead to preventative drugs for allergies

Michael Irving February 17, 2019

Sometimes the immune system gets it wrong, targeting harmless proteins from things like nuts and triggering allergic reactions. Now, researchers have identified a mechanism that helps keep the immune system in check, potentially leading to drugs that prevent allergic reactions before they start.

A newly-discovered mechanism in the immune system could pave the way for preventative drugs for allergic ...

Health & Wellbeing

Experimental app lets iPhones monitor blood pressure

Ben Coxworth September 10, 2018

It was just last year that we heard about how scientists from Michigan State University had developed a smartphone case/app combo that could measure users' blood pressure. Now, they've created an app that does the job using nothing but an unadorned iPhone.

The blood pressure-reading app, as demonstrated on an iPhone X

Health & Wellbeing

Prototype phone case checks your blood pressure

Ben Coxworth March 9, 2018

Getting your blood pressure checked typically involves going to a clinic, and having a cuff applied to your arm. Thanks to technology being developed at Michigan State University, however, the process may soon be as simple as putting your finger on your smartphone case.

An easier way to monitor your blood pressure?

Health & Wellbeing

Dim light may be shrinking your brain

Ben Coxworth February 5, 2018

If you've opted to go for low "mood lighting" in your office, you might want to think again. According to a new study from Michigan State University, when rats are exposed to dim lighting for prolonged periods, their brain capacity diminishes. The same could likely be true for humans.

In lab rat tests, prolonged exposure to dim light caused the capacity of the hippocampus to ...

Environment

Tweaks to pesticide recipe could target pests and leave bees unharmed

Nick Lavars November 26, 2017

Pesticides generally take something of a shotgun approach to eliminating critters, but the problem is not all of them are bad news. Scientists have now discovered a way the recipe of these substances might be refined to better target the bad guys while leaving bees alone.

The development of pesticides that eliminate other pests but leave bees unharmed could help arrest the ...

Science

Machine learning speeds up forensic fingerprint matching

David Szondy August 16, 2017

Despite what we see on TV and in movies, analyzing and matching latent prints is a difficult business and still the province of experts. But now scientists from NIST and Michigan State University are using algorithms and machine learning as a way to automate the process and make it more efficient.

The new algorithm helps read smudged or incomplete fingerprints

Electronics

Paper-thin device turns a flag into a speaker

Michael Irving May 16, 2017

Back in December, researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) demonstrated their ferroelectret nanogenerator (FENG), a paper-thin device that can generate energy from motion. Now, they’ve added a new trick to FENG’s repertoire, turning it into a thin, flexible microphone and loudspeaker.

Using a ferroelectret nanogenerator (FENG), the researchers turned the flag on the right into a speaker

Biology

Can facial recognition software help bring endangered lemurs back from the brink?

Nick Lavars February 17, 2017

Conservationists work to save Madagascar's embattled lemur population have a new tool at their disposal, in the form of facial recognition software that can help identify individual lemurs and inform long-term conservation strategies.

The system correctly identified more than 100 individual lemurs at an accuracy of 98.7 percent