
Lab-Made Enzymes Could Chop Up the Virus That Causes COVID
Artificial enzymes could fight COVID and other tough diseases
Simon Makin is a freelance science journalist based in the UK. His work has appeared in New Scientist, The Economist, Scientific American, and Nature, among others. He covers the life sciences, and specializes in neuroscience, psychology and mental health. Follow Simon Makin on Twitter @SimonMakin Credit: Nick Higgins
Artificial enzymes could fight COVID and other tough diseases
An injection of a type of interferon drastically reduced the risk of severe COVID in a late-stage trial
Here’s how the psychedelic substance’s legal status has been shifting
A virologist explains what it takes for a virus to leap from an animal host into humans
Machine learning could find the viruses that are most likely to spill over from animals and cause future pandemics
The hormone GnRH may have potential for improving language, memory and other intellectual functions in people with Down syndrome, according to a pilot study
An open-source approach downsizes today’s clunking behemoths with permanent magnets and deep-learning algorithms
Freeze-dried genetic circuits could reveal the presence of SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, MRSA, and more
A project to map the motor cortex used the widest range of tools for probing brain cells ever deployed in a single, coordinated effort
Optogenetics could aid vision, blood glucose, and more
An experiment stimulates monkeys’ brain to generate shape perceptions
Suggestibility may explain why people “feel” vicarious pain or sensation in a fake hand
A novel technique turns brain cells into circuit components
If such a snooze button exists in humans, it could protect against strokes, heart attacks and trauma
Different species are helping answer different questions about COVID-19 in humans in order to develop vaccines and treatments
Cognitive-behavioral therapy improved both symptoms and markers of senescence in people with anxiety
Neurons in the hippocampus categorize what we experience into abstract, discrete events, such as taking a walk versus having lunch
Both of two essential brain networks that switch roles—one is on when the other is off—shut down in unresponsive individuals
A study in infants adds to the debate about whether we come into the world prepped for higher cognitive abilities such as face recognition
The novel coronavirus outbreak raises questions about how such pathogens evolve and what makes infections mild or severe
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