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Researchers Robert Malenka and Boris Heifets at Stanford University have expressed the need for an in-depth study of the drug ecstasy, scientifically known as MDMA. According to the pair, the workings of the MDMA drug in humans have not been studied well. The drug is classified as Schedule -1, which indicates that it has a high abuse potential and has no accepted medical use. Read more about their research here.

Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, led by oceanographer Jules Jaffe, have developed a new type of underwater microscope that would enable researchers to study important biological processes in the natural settings. Read more about their new invention here.

A team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona, USA, have discovered an exoplanet, named HD 131399Ab, which has three stars. As a result, it likely experiences triple sunrises and sunsets each day, and constant light or darkness for certain periods of time. According to the astronomers, for half of the planet’s orbit, three stars are visible in the sky. Read more about their research here.

A team of researchers from the University of Buffalo have developed an E. coli based capsule, which according to them, can transport vaccines more efficiently than the currently available immunizations. While most people fear E. coli, the study’s co-lead author Blaine A. Pfeifer, PhD, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences says that “there are many strains of the bacteria, most of which are perfectly normal in the body, that have great potential to fight disease.” Read more about their research here.

When a mosquito bites a human, it leaves behind some of its saliva, leading to an inflammation that can help the virus it is carrying to infect the body. However, when the white blood cells – neutrophils and myeloid – attempt to stave off the infection, at times, they themselves get infected and inadvertently replicate the virus. Thus, a group of researchers at the University of Leeds studied how the inflamed and itchy sites of mosquito bites help viruses such as Zika or dengue to infect the victim’s body. Read more about their research here.

Bear cubs are at a high risk of losing their life to infanticidal male bears who may want to impregnate a female who has just borne cubs. To protect the cubs, female bears in Scandinavia seem to have found a unique way. Swedish researchers from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences found the presence of female grizzly bears and cubs near human settlements and they wanted to find out whether this was a way of shielding the cubs from the male counterparts. Read more about their research here.

How are the wings of butterflies so colorful and bright? While it is known that the wings have photonic crystals, which can reflect light of only a particular color, how they are arranged has been a mystery. To find out more about it, a group of physicists in UC San Diego used ptychography, an advanced imaging technique, and the Advanced Photon Source at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to take a closer look at the internal nanostructure of the tiny "scales" that make up the butterfly wing. Read more about their research here.

An international team of researchers has released the new World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness, which shows that the Milky Way is hidden from one third of humanity due to light pollution. Using high-resolution satellite data and precision sky brightness measurements, the team assessed the impact of light pollution on humans as well as wildlife. Read more about their research here.

Why are babies cute? A group of researchers at the University of Oxford have found the answer to this question. According to them, the appealing sight and smell of babies is a protective mechanism that ensures their survival at a time when they are completely dependent. Read more about their research here.

It is known that plastic waste has an adverse impact on marine life. But for the first time, researchers from Uppsala University have shown that microplastic particles i.e. plastic particles that are less than 5 mm in size change the behavior and development of larval fish. The researchers exposed larval perch to microplastic particles and discovered that their growth got stunted. Read more about their research here.