University of Southern California

The potential for micro flying-robots in areas like search and rescue, agriculture and hazard detection is huge, but so are the hurdles. Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have been working on these problems with their Bee+, drawing inspiration from the insect world.

Researchers pondering the potential of compounds found in green tea and carrots to treat Alzheimer's have conducted a study with some promising results, with the engineered mice demonstrating unimpaired cognitive function following a carefully designed bout of treatment. ​​

A study has found a huge new potential source of carbon emissions: reservoirs of gases trapped at the seafloor, which could be released as the oceans warm up. And the team suggests that these gases belched up from the deep thousands of years ago and put an end to the last ice age.

​Although polio is now rarely heard of in First World countries, it still occurs in developing nations which lack facilities for refrigerating the vaccine. That may soon no longer be a problem, however, as scientists have developed a freeze-dried vaccine which can be stored at room temperature.

Neuroscience is stumped by what’s going on in the brain when we feel joy or sadness. In an effort to peek inside our moody minds, researchers have developed a technique to read brain signals and infer what mood a patient may be in, which could lead to new treatments for depression and anxiety.

If you feel like you’ve had some drawn-out breakups, think of the supercontinent of Pangaea, which took tens of millions of years to split up. Now a unique fossil skull might readjust the timeline, with a strange creature turning up on a different continent to its previously-discovered relatives.

​There may be new hope for people who are losing their hearing, thanks to research being conducted by scientists from the University of Southern California and Harvard University. They've developed a solution intended to stay put in the inner ear, where it will help repair cells.

How well are our anti-aging efforts paying off? A comprehensive new study from Yale University and the University of Southern California (USC) has found that Americans seem to be aging more slowly now than they were 20 years ago.

​Poachers typically hunt at night, which is why drone-mounted infrared cameras are being used to spot them. The problem is, it can be difficult to tell humans from animals in the videos. Scientists from USC are making the job easier, using artificial intelligence.

​Led by Dr. Denis Evseenko, scientists from the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine have developed a molecule that could be used to treat arthritis. If applied in the form of an injection at the affected joint, it might conceivably make joint replacement surgery unnecessary.

​A new study suggests that if you move to a community with a high rate of obesity, it could increase your own risk of becoming obese. Accounting for other factors that could result in obesity, such as genetics or environment, the research claims that obesity could be considered a “social contagion.”

Scientists have updated one of the most comprehensive databases of the planet’s temperature changes over time, taking into account records from a variety of sources and stretching back to the year 1 CE – and it's very damning evidence of human-induced climate change.