Imaging a living scaffold. Duke Today, July 7, 2020. Light-up proteins in the sheet-like matrix that encases tissues offer new toolkit for studying everything from kidney disease to aging.
From the lab, the first cartilage-mimicking gel that’s strong enough for knees
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From the lab, the first cartilage-mimicking gel that’s strong enough for knees. Duke Today, June 26, 2020. Cartilage provides a combination of cushiony-yet-strong that hydrogels haven’t been able to match, until now. Picked up by Futurity and New Atlas.
Artificial intelligence makes blurry faces look more than 60 times sharper
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Artificial intelligence makes blurry faces look more than 60 times sharper. Duke Today, June 12, 2020. Researchers have developed an AI tool that can turn blurry faces into eerily convincing computer-generated portraits, in finer detail than ever before. Picked up by Newsweek, Inverse, ZME Science, the Independent, and the Daily Mail.
Lights in the eyes for better disguise
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Lights in the eyes for better disguise. Duke Today, June 11, 2020. This hatchetfish hides from predators swimming in the shadowy depths below using a clever disguise. Glowing spots on its belly make it nearly invisible against the sunlit waters above. But the fish’s eyes point upward — How does it adjust its underside lights to blend in with the faint light filtering down from above if it can’t see its belly?
These students taught a computer to detect COVID-19 in lung scans
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These students taught a computer to detect COVID-19 in lung scans. Duke Today, May 31, 2020. A lot of illnesses can look like COVID-19 in a CT scan. Duke students built an AI tool to spot telltale signs of the virus and flag cases that swab tests miss.
Meet the Duke dean whose obsession with ‘Star Trek’ landed him a gig as their next science consultant
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Meet the Duke dean whose obsession with ‘Star Trek’ landed him a gig as their next science consultant. May 18, 2020. A Q&A with Dean of Natural Sciences Mohamed Noor about his new role.
How a male fly knows when to make a move on a mate
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How a male fly knows when to make a move on a mate. Duke Today, May 22, 2020. Male fruit flies dial their scent sensitivity up or down to court when conditions are right for mating — research that could point to new ways to treat sensory processing disorders in humans.
Malaria parasite ticks to its own internal clock
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Malaria parasite ticks to its own internal clock. Duke Today, May 14, 2020. Researchers have long known that all of the millions of malaria parasites within an infected person’s body move through their cell cycle at the same time. They multiply in sync inside red blood cells, then burst out in unison every few days. But how the parasites keep time was unclear. Now, a study finds that malaria has its own internal clock that causes thousands of genes to ramp up and down at regular intervals. Picked up by The Scientist, Cosmos Magazine, and Science News.
Stream pollution from mountaintop mining doesn’t stay put in the water
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Stream pollution from mountaintop mining doesn’t stay put in the water. Duke Today, April 6, 2020. Duke University researchers have found high levels of selenium in aquatic insects and the spiders that feed on them downstream from a major coal mining site in southern West Virginia.
To make ultra-black materials that won’t weigh things down, consider the butterfly
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To make ultra-black materials that won’t weigh things down, consider the butterfly. Duke Today, March 10, 2020. Some butterflies have ultra-black wings that rival the blackest materials made by humans, using wing scales that are only a fraction as thick. Now, researchers have figured out how they make ultra-thin substances that soak up all the light. Picked up by CNET and MSN.com.
Adolescent male chimps still need their mamas
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Adolescent male chimps still need their mamas. Duke Today, February 17, 2020. A chimpanzee mom’s continued presence through her son’s tween and teen years boosts his odds of survival later in life. Picked up by Futurity, ABC 14 News and the Daily Mail.
Cataloging all that creeps and slithers
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Cataloging all the creeps and slithers. Duke Today, January 29, 2020. In the past year, more than 40 volunteers have signed up to spend their free time looking for scaly or slimy creatures that most people avoid. They’re part of a data collection effort to take stock of the reptiles and amphibians that live in Duke Forest.
A new look at ancient handwriting
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A new look at ancient handwriting. 1100 Words on Duke Research, Jan. 23, 2020. Researchers have been analyzing the Old Hebrew script on 2,800-year-old pottery fragments from biblical times, with help from artificial intelligence.
Female chimps with powerful moms are less likely to leave home
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Female chimps with powerful moms are less likely to leave home. Duke Today, Jan. 20, 2020. Moving out of the family home isn’t just an adult milestone for humans — many wild animals do it too. Researchers find that female chimps with powerful moms are less likely to cut the apron strings. Picked up by Cosmos, BBC Science Focus Magazine, and the Daily Mail.
Male sparrows are less intimidated by the songs of aging rivals
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Male sparrows are less intimidated by the songs of aging rivals. Duke Today, Jan. 17, 2020. As they get up in years, male swamp sparrow songs don’t strike fear like they used to. The same singing that marks a male as “the guy to beat” at age two signals that he’s “obsolete” by age 10. Picked up by Audubon Magazine.
Scientist-sculptor Stephen Wainwright dies
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Scientist-sculptor Stephen Wainwright dies. Duke Today, Dec. 16, 2019.
Over more than 30 years at Duke, the discipline-straddling professor helped shape the field of biomechanics.
Why are giant pandas born so tiny?
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Why are giant pandas born so tiny? Duke Today, Dec. 13, 2019. Giant pandas are born tiny and helpless, but why has always been a mystery. New clues from bones put an old idea to the test. Picked up by Smithsonian Magazine andFuturity.
A.I. birdwatcher lets you see through the eyes of a machine
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This A.I. birdwatcher lets you ‘see’ through the eyes of a machine. Duke Today, October 31, 2019. It can take years of birdwatching experience to tell one species from the next. But using an artificial intelligence technique called deep learning, Duke University researchers have trained a computer to identify up to 200 species of birds from just a photo. This tool goes beyond giving the right answer to explain its thinking in a way that even someone who doesn’t know a penguin from a puffin can understand. Picked up by BBC Digital Planet and MIT Technology Review.
The making of a root
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The making of a root. Duke Today, Dec. 4, 2019. How plants harness ‘bad’ molecules for good ends.
ID verification, now for cancer
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ID verification, now for cancer. Duke Today, Nov. 22, 2019.
Tiny devices made of DNA could detect cancer with fewer false alarms
‘T-ray’ laser runs on laughing gas
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Scientists made a ‘T-ray’ laser runs on laughing gas. Duke Research blog, November 14, 2019. Terahertz laser finally arrives in practical, tunable form. Duke physicist worked on it over two decades.
How status sticks to genes
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How status sticks to genes. Duke Today, Oct. 15, 2019. Life at the bottom of the social ladder may have long-term health effects that even upward mobility can’t undo, according to new research in monkeys.
Duke cosmologist awarded prestigious Packard Fellowship
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Duke cosmologist awarded prestigious Packard Fellowship. Duke Today, Oct. 15, 2019. If you ask Duke assistant professor Dan Scolnic what amazes him about cosmology, he’ll say, it’s “really the only field in all of science where you could stand in front of people and say, ‘we understand 5% of what’s going on,’ and still think we’re kind of smart.”
A baboon mom’s history of hardship has lasting effects on her kids
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A baboon mom’s history of hardship has lasting effects on her kids. Duke Today, September 24, 2019. Baboons reveal how childhood wounds faced by one generation can take a toll on the next, and how close relationships with parents or other sources of support might help break the cycle. Picked up by UPI.
The little things
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The little things. Duke Research blog, Sept. 23, 2019. Meet a student photographer who combines up-close views of science and nature with the magic of light.