Last Week on ResearchBlogging.org

For the first time, researchers have transformed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into specialized bladder cells. Meanwhile the development of iPSCs from normal cells has been shown to depend on two proteins necessary for the induction of a glycolytic state. In order to make iPSCs, researchers have previously needed to collect significant amounts of skin, bone marrow, or blood from a donor, but researchers have demonstrated a new method that requires only a single drop of blood. In the future, you may be able to prick your finger, send a drop of blood to the lab, and have them grow a new bladder for you.

Paleontologists digging in the Dakotas have discovered "a giant crested bird-like dinosaur that the experts liken variously to an outsized cassowary, or a 'chicken from hell.'" The new genus of oviraptorosaur was named Anzu after a Mesopotamian bird-demon.

Mexico now beats the U.S. as the most obese country in the world; they also drink the most Coca-Cola. With Coke expanding aggressively in developing nations, chronically undernourished people are faced with too much of a good thing.

Among sex-changing fish, the largest females are known to replace dominant males in a pinch, but male-to-female transitions are much more rare. By studying a bunch of widowed male wrasses, researchers observed that the males would pair up with the next individual they encountered--whether male, female, or juvenile--and when two widowed males paired up, the smaller would become a female.

And finally, a study of stem cell therapy for Lou Gehrig's disease (or ALS) showed that the cells can be safely transplanted into the spinal cord and do not accelerate progression of the disease, providing a green light for further research.

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Solar cells made with bismuth vanadate achieve a surface area of 32 square meters per gram. This compound can be paired with cheap oxides to split water molecules (and make hydrogen) with record efficiency.
Short-term geoengineering could postpone global warming, only to have it happen more…

Scientists use a 'gene gun' to insert a gene from a flowering plant called rockcress into the cells of wheat seeds. The genetically modified wheat became more resistant to a fungus called take-all, which in real life can cause "a 40-60% reduction in wheat yields."
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Researchers observed tiny voids forming in silicon used for solar panels; these voids provide physical evidence of the Staebler-Wronski effect, "which reduces the solar cell efficiency by up to 15 percent within the first 1000 hours."
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Perovskite solar cells can not only emit light, they can also emit up to 70% of absorbed sunlight as lasers.
Critical signaling molecules can be used to convert stem cells to neural progenitor cells, increasing the yield of healthy motor neurons and decreasing the time required to grow them.…

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Thank you to all the writers and commentators who contributed to this network. Happy trails.
An archive of my work for ScienceBlogs exists here: 314vault.wordpress.com.
If I post anything else on the internet it will be at medium.com/@k4lk1/ or twitter.com/k4lk1.
In the meantime I'm getting out my…

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