New Atlas

Medical Audio available

Imaging innovation brings oral hepatitis B vaccine closer to reality

Rich Haridy May 5, 2019

A collaboration between physicists and immunologists has provided new insights into ways to optimize the efficacy of oral vaccines. The research is working towards an oral hepatitis B vaccine that is safer, cheaper and more easily administered than the current injectable alternative.

A new oral hepatitis B vaccine will not need refrigeration, allowing for cheap and easy transportation ...

Good Thinking

Product tags take a spotty approach to thwarting counterfeiters

Ben Coxworth February 7, 2019

It seems that the more technology progresses, the easier it becomes to produce convincing counterfeit goods. Scientists at the University of Copenhagen are fighting back, however, with product tags that they claim cannot be replicated – even by an item's legitimate manufacturer.

The tags consist of laser-printed QR codes, with random patterns of microparticles sprayed over top

Biology

Immune system found to tap into chaos theory to regulate itself

Michael Irving January 20, 2019

The immune system is incredibly complex, but most of us would probably assume that ideally it runs very precisely, like clockwork. However, a new study has found that a big dose of chaos is not just present but may be a necessary piece of the puzzle in helping the immune system regulate itself.

Researchers have found evidence that chaos theory – best known through the "butterfly effect" – plays ...

Science

World's oldest bread is over 14,000 years old and predates farming

Michael Irving July 16, 2018

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest direct evidence of bread ever found, dating back over 14,000 years. It predates farming, leading researchers to suggest that the realization that cereals can be cultivated might have helped humans transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture.

An archaeological site in Jordan, where traces of the oldest bread were found in the 14,400-year ...

Biology

How a "virus cocktail" can help wash away food poisoning

Michael Irving May 3, 2018

Food poisoning is no fun, and usually all you can do is just ride out the storm. But soon you might be able to chase a bad burger with a "virus cocktail" loaded with bacteria-hunting viruses (bacteriophages) that will kill off the invading E. coli without harming the beneficial bugs.

Drinking a "virus cocktail" loaded with bacteriophages could eventually help get rid of bad bacteria in ...

Biology

Seafaring people of Southeast Asia have evolved to dive deeper

Michael Irving April 22, 2018

Evolution is such a gradual process that it can be easy to think it’s not still happening. Now, researchers have discovered a striking example of natural selection at work in humans: a seafaring population of people with a mutation that allows them to dive deeper and hold their breath longer.

The Bajau people of Southeast Asia spend much of their time diving, and new research has ...

Health & Wellbeing

To shed pounds like an exercise freak, just ride your bike to work

Ben Coxworth November 1, 2017

We know how it is. You want to lose weight by working out, but there never seems to be time to do it. Well, a new study indicates that bicycle-commuting burns just as many calories as high-intensity exercise sessions, resulting in a similar amount of weight loss.

Bicycle commuters on the streets of Copenhagen

Electronics

Scientists take a backhanded approach to smartwatch interfaces

Ben Coxworth May 3, 2017

We've recently seen attempts at extending smartwatch user interfaces off of the screen, and onto the wearer's body. One of the latest, known as WatchSense, allows users to control a mobile device by moving the fingers of one hand on and above the back of the other.

The WatchSense prototype in use – in the final version, the depth sensor would be incorporated ...

Science

Honey bee brood – a good source of food?

Ben Coxworth November 28, 2016

Bee brood has a "nutty flavor with a crunchy texture when eaten cooked or dried," plus it rivals beef in protein quantity and quality. With that in mind, a University of Copenhagen study suggests that the harvesting of bee brood be pursued on a larger scale in order to address world hunger.

The harvesting of bee larvae could help feed the hungry

Environment

Atmospheric acidity almost back down to preindustrial levels

Michael Irving September 26, 2016

Forty years after legislation was introduced to combat air pollution, atmospheric acidity has now dropped back down to pre-1930 levels. This comes out of research which used a new technique to measure the pH balance of ice core samples from the Greenland ice sheet, and how it’s changed year to year.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen drill ice core samples from the Greenland ice sheet, before ...