STEM News from Around The World

• 

  Increased risk of birth defects in babies after first-trimester exposure to lithium

  June 19, 2018

  Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found an elevated risk of major congenital malformations in fetuses after first-trimester exposure to lithium, in the largest study ever to examine the risk of [...]
• 

  New type of photosynthesis discovered

  June 18, 2018

  The discovery changes our understanding of the basic mechanism of photosynthesis and should rewrite the textbooks. It will also tailor the way we hunt for alien life and provide insights into how we could engineer [...]
• 

  “Useless” DNA changes the genitals you’re born with

  June 18, 2018

  Male mice grow ovaries instead of testes if they are missing a small region of DNA that doesn’t contain any genes — a finding that could help explain disorders of sex development in humans, at [...]
• 

  Ugandan wins Africa prize for bloodless malaria test

  June 18, 2018

  A Ugandan inventor has won a major prize for a device which tests for malaria without drawing blood. Brian Gitta, 24, won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for a device that detects tell-tale [...]
• 

  Gout in the elderly linked to higher risk of dementia

  June 18, 2018

  Gout is a very common condition. It is caused by deposits of crystals of a substance called uric acid (also known as urate) in the joints, which leads to inflammation. Periods of time when patients [...]
• 

  Psychedelic Drugs Can Repair Broken Neural Networks

  June 18, 2018

  Could psychedelic drugs one day play a part in the treatment of mental health conditions? The idea is getting less and less far-fetched, after scientists successfully used drugs including MDMA and LSD to repair neurons in animal tests and cultured [...]