Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed the next step in microbial fuel cells (MFCs): a battery activated by spit that can be used in extreme conditions where normal batteries don’t function.

New research at Columbia University Medical Center has revealed how special molecules help the tongue communicate with the brain to identify the correct taste. Using this knowledge, scientists were able rewire the taste-system of mice to perceive sweet stimuli as bitter tastes, and vice versa. The discovery provides new insights into how the tongue keeps its sense of taste organized despite the rapid turnover of the cells in its taste buds.

Two 160 million-year-old mammal fossils discovered in China show that the forerunners of mammals in the Jurassic Period evolved to glide and live in trees. With long limbs, long hand and foot fingers and wing-like membranes for tree-to-tree gliding, Maiopatagium furculiferum and Vilevolodon diplomylos are the oldest known gliders in the long history of early mammals.

In saliva, scientists have found hints that a “ghost” species of archaic humans may have contributed genetic material to ancestors of people living in Sub-Saharan Africa today.

Some individuals struggle to make healthy decisions about their drinking in risky situations. Technology can help. Researchers are finding ways by which digital interventions can help people make smarter drinking decisions, leading to reduced alcohol-related injuries and illness. These findings shared at the 40th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in Denver recently.

Electrical engineers are creating a wearable sensor to help people manage their alcohol intake.