University of Alabama

Astronomers may have discovered a monster black hole that’s one of the closest to Earth known. With a mass equivalent to 12 Suns, the black hole was found to be quietly lurking “practically in our backyard,” according to the team.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a lung condition involving excessive scarring that affects patients’ breathing, and currently can’t be cured. But now, scientists have found a way to reverse the condition in mice, using a drug already available for other uses.

Although we may all get a dry mouth from time to time, for some people it can be an ongoing debilitating condition. There could be new hope for such folks, however, thanks to a recent accidental discovery.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel condition triggered by an overactive immune system. Now researchers have developed a new kind of immunotherapy for Crohn’s that delivers a “triple punch” by tweaking the responses of different immune cells.

For years research has detected a correlation between depression and risk of stroke. A new study is offering more evidence of the link, presenting data from a research project investigating whether race factors into the depression/stroke relationship.

A new study has strengthened ties between Parkinson's disease and the gut, identifying a type of overabundant pathogen in Parkinson’s disease patients that opens up new lines of enquiry in understanding the root causes of the condition.

Scientists are working on a new process to produce a pair of radioisotopes of the element scandium (Sc).

Growing meat in the lab from cultured cells is a promising technology, and now a team of food scientists has developed a new method for spinning starchy structures that could hold a steak together. Stranger still, this device is made of Lego.

Capable of swimming at speeds of up to 74 km/h (46 mph), the shortfin mako is the world's fastest species of shark. Scientists now have a new understanding of how it's able to reach such speeds, and they believe that their findings could be applied to improving human technology.

​We've already seen jewelry that sends out an alert when its wearer is attacked – but they still have to push a button on it to make that happen. What if they can't reach their jewelry? Well, that's where the Smart Jewelry Bracelet comes in.

With one eye on a future where brain-monitoring devices are more commonplace, scientists have carried out a study to find out whether these things can be hacked and the brainwaves interpreted to decipher a password, with the findings suggesting that it is in fact entirely possible. ​

Computer engineers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have developed a prototype that aims to keep the cloud local by wrapping it around the user, in the form of a microcomputer-embedded jacket.