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Yes, in limited experimental settings: researchers can vitrify (cool into a glass-like state without ice) whole organs with cryoprotectant chemicals, store them at about −150 °C, then rewarm them with a technique called nanowarming. Iron oxide nanoparticles infused in the organ heat it evenly when an electromagnetic field is applied, which helps avoid cracking from … Read more
Most phosphorus goes into fertilizer: over 95% of U.S.-mined phosphate rock becomes phosphoric acid for fertilizers and animal feed, and the rest mainly feeds industrial chemicals such as glyphosate.
A lobectomy is lung surgery that removes one or more lobes of a lung, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus. It is one of several lung operations, alongside a wedge resection, which removes only part of a lobe, and a pneumonectomy, which removes an entire lung; a common reason for it is … Read more
Yes, sometimes. According to NOAA, a bleached coral is not dead: bleaching happens when stress such as unusually warm water causes corals to expel the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that live in their tissues and supply most of their food, leaving them white. If the stress is not severe and conditions return to normal, corals can … Read more
Acrylamide is a chemical used mainly to make polyacrylamide and related polymers, which are used in producing paper, dyes, and plastics and in treating drinking water and wastewater. It also forms naturally in some starchy foods, such as potatoes, when they are cooked at high temperatures, and it is a component of tobacco smoke. According … Read more
Untreated PKU causes intellectual disability, seizures, developmental delay, behavioral problems, a musty body odor, light skin and hair, and eczema. Newborn screening and a low-phenylalanine diet now prevent most severe symptoms.
Cladophialophora bantiana is a rare, dark-pigmented (dematiaceous) mold that tends to infect the brain, usually causing brain abscesses. According to the CDC, infection carries a 60%–70% case-fatality rate even with aggressive treatment, and about half of patients have no prior immune-weakening condition. Its environmental source and how people become infected are still not fully understood. … Read more
Cats purr when content, but also when frightened, hurt, or sick, which suggests purring helps them self-soothe. The sound comes from the larynx at about 25 to 30 vibrations per second.
Yes. Perch belong to the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, in the order Perciformes and family Percidae. Their fins are supported by bony spines and rays, not fleshy lobes.
Bristol, England, recorded the highest ketamine level of any European city in the latest Europe-wide wastewater study. Its 2025 sampling week averaged 338.95 milligrams of ketamine per 1,000 people per day, more than double the next European city, Amsterdam (149.33 mg), followed by Berlin (132.23 mg). Bristol’s highest single day was a Saturday, at 551.57 … Read more