The program builds on previous research and uses a mathematical model to determine which letter the test subject was thinking about at the time of the scan. Researchers hope to refine this technology in the future in order to reconstruct memories or dreams.

Briton Peter Higgs (right) and Belgian ">François Englert (left) have won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, 'for something small that makes all the difference' – the Higgs boson.

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Lions are now critically endangered in West Africa. Although they once ranged continuously from Senegal to Nigeria, new research has revealed only around 250 adult lions survive in the region, and only one of the four isolated populations contains more than 50 individuals.

The genome of the 7,000-year-old hunter-gatherer has given scientists unprecedented insight into modern humans before the rise of farming, and overturns the popular image of light-skinned European hunter-gatherers. The DNA was taken from the wisdom tooth of the Mesolithic man and revealed he was probably lactose intolerant, had more difficulty digesting starchy foods than today's humans, and carried mutations that boost the immune system against nasty illnesses previously thought to only be introduced to humans by farm animals. ...

In a world’s first researchers have converted adult cells into stem cells that regenerated into different cell types of human skin and hair follicles. The follicles produced hair shaft and could be used for hair regeneration. Is this the end of baldness?

In a 12-week trial, a new drug for hepatitis C has reportedly cured 191 out of 208 patients.

For more information on viruses, visit: http://www.ppdictionary.com/viruses.htm

No pun intended, but nut allergies are getting more and more common. Now, new research suggests that by changing the protein structure of nuts, we may be able to create hypoallergenic nuts that even the severely allergic can eat. Which begs the question, would you risk eating these chemically modified nuts?

Source: http://news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2014/08/chemical-modification-could-make-nuts-safe-eat ...

A mind-blowing swarm of Velella velella - relatives of jellyfish - appeared off the coast of Washington state in the US last week, and researchers aren't entirely sure why.