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How do fruit flies grow their wings? Scientists discovered a surprising answer that could one day help diagnose and treat human genetic diseases.

A recent study using data from 1.2 million people has discovered several genes associated with an increased use of alcohol and tobacco.

A new platform ensures that web services adhere to users’ preferences on how their data are stored and shared in the cloud. In a paper being presented at this week’s USENIX Networked Systems Design and Implementation conference, the researchers behind the platform, called Riverbed, show how it forces data center servers to only use data in ways that users explicitly approve.

Scientists working in a range of disciplines joined forces to identify a new approach to combat African sleeping sickness. Their research revealed a promising strategy to develop a suitable agent. This novel concept could also be employed in the future rational design of drugs for the treatment of other diseases.

Researchers warn that--as the predictive power of genes tied to learning and educational outcomes increases and access to genetic data expands--researchers, educators, and policymakers must be cautious in how they use such data, interpret related findings, and, in the not-too-distant future, apply genetics-informed student interventions.

Scientists at Tokyo Tech, Ricoh co. and The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have developed an ultra-low-power atomic clock (ULPAC) for small satellites to enable future communication systems beyond 5G. The proposed device outperforms the current industry standards in various benchmarks, such as size, stability, and power consumption.

With their ability to treat a wide a variety of diseases, spherical nucleic acids are poised to revolutionize medicine. But before these digitally designed nanostructures can reach their full potential, researchers need to optimize their various components. A team has developed a direct route to optimize these particles, bringing them one step closer to becoming a viable treatment option for numerous diseases, including cancer.

Researchers have found a machine learning method that can predict the likelihood that a high-risk type of breast lesion is cancerous, potentially saving some women from unnecessary surgeries and overtreatment.

Rice University statistician Genevera Allen says scientists must keep questioning the accuracy and reproducibility of scientific discoveries made by machine-learning techniques until researchers develop new computational systems that can critique themselves.

Scientists want access to data collected by others for their research, but such access could also compromise personal privacy, even after removal of so-called personally identifiable data. Now, statisticians are developing synthetic networks that may increase the availability of some data while still protecting individual or institutional privacy.