University of Virginia

Scientists are turning considerable attention to the role our genes might play in obesity, and a new study has offered up some new potential targets by identifying groups of genes that appear to both cause weight gain and prevent it.

Given that they're such good swimmers, the structure of fish is increasingly being copied in the design of underwater robots. Scientists have now discovered that by adjusting the stiffness of their tails, those bots can swim much more efficiently.

Researchers have discovered a population of natural barometers that monitor and maintain our blood pressure. The cellular sensors have for decades been presumed to be located in a certain type of cell in the kidney, but have only now been detected.

Microglia are immune cells that clean out unwanted debris in the brain and central nervous system, but it turns out they might help heal injured neurons too – a discovery that could pave the way for new treatments for epilepsy and other conditions.

An extraordinary new study has detailed the development of a nearly complete mouse embryo – with muscles, blood vessels and a tiny beating heart – grown in a lab dish out of stem cells, presenting the most sophisticated “embryo in a dish” created to date.

Researchers have identified a new molecule that manipulates the metabolic process so that the body burns more fuel than is actually necessary, reducing body fat in mice without requiring changes to their diet.

A new study has demonstrated the profound influence diet and gut bacteria have on the effectiveness and toxicity of drugs used in chemotherapy. The research concludes the complexity of drug, diet, and bacteria interactions in humans is “astronomical.”

American scientists have created a "Tunabot," that they claim can match the swimming speed of an actual tuna.

Researchers from the University of Virginia may have found a way to prevent infections. The team has uncovered how pathogenic E. coli senses its environment to stay stealthy until it reaches the right spot to kickstart an infection.

Limiting the expansion, and ultimate ubiquity, of the Internet of Things has been the cost, power and size of the enabling electronics – all things that have been addressed by a new fabrication method for tiny, thin-film electronic circuits​.

Engineers at the University of Virginia have come up with a way to make almost any device fitted with standard visible light LEDs able to communicate with other equipment with similar LEDs. This could reduce the use of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, and increase available bandwidth.

Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine have made a landmark discovery of vessels that connect the brain with the lymphatic system – something that wasn't previously thought to exist. The breakthrough has significant implications on the study of major neurological diseases.