Anthropologists have long made the case that tool-making is one of the key behaviors that separated our human ancestors from other primates. A new paper, however, argues that it was not tool-making that set hominins apart — it was the miniaturization of tools.
A team of scientists in Japan has successfully coaxed activity from 28,000-year-old cells from a frozen mammoth implanted into mouse cells, but the woolly mammal is unlikely to be walking among us soon.
Alle typer af virksomheder i Danmark fra frisørsaloner til olieraffinaderier nyder godt af billig såkaldt processtrøm, der skal øge konkurrencedygtigheden. Særregel undtager dog firmaer, der sælger strøm til elbiler.
Low-risk patients undergoing a total hip replacement with a posterior approach can skip the standard hip precautions currently recommended for post-surgical recovery, according to a study conducted at Hospital for Special Surgery.
Women who get pregnant while using birth control may carry a gene that breaks down the hormones common in contraceptives, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are among 50 people—including 33 wealthy parents, college prep executives, a college administrator, two ACT/SAT administrators, and nine college coaches—charged Tuesday in what Department of Justice officials called the largest college cheating scam it has ever prosecuted. The FBI disclosed that parents spent up to $6.5 million to guarantee their child
A coast-to-coast FBI probe alleges that a network of celebrities, business executives, and other powerful figures is at the center of a massive bribery scheme to secure admission into some of the country's most elite colleges, according to court documents unsealed earlier today. Among the defendants are nearly three dozen parents whom federal prosecutors are charging with conspiracy and other cri
Climate change is often talked about in terms of averages—like the goal set by the Paris Agreement to limit the Earth's temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius. What such numbers fail to convey is that climate change will not only increase the world's average temperature, it will also intensify extreme heat waves that even now are harming people and wildlife, according to a recent review paper b
Nick Offerman teaches a video lesson for Big Think Edge called "Pursue Betterment, Not Perfection". Hear the actor, writer and woodworker's best advice for work, success and happiness in under 5 minutes. Subscribe to Big Think Edge before we launch on March 30 to get 20% off monthly and annual memberships. None How does actor, writer and woodworker Nick Offerman land roles, build boats, and write
Pain management after surgery is a vital part of patient care. Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery compared acetaminophen in the intravenous versus pill form as part of the overall pain management plan after hip replacement. They found that both forms worked equally well.
Opinion: Larry Sanger, the co-founder of Wikipedia and chief information officer of Everpedia, suggests how to spark a decentralized social media movement.
Climate change is often talked about in terms of averages, like the goal set by the Paris Agreement to limit the Earth's temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius. What such numbers fail to convey is that climate change will not only increase the world's average temperature, it will also intensify extreme heat waves that even now are causing harm. A recent review paper describes the potential impa
Facebook, already the leader in enabling you to share photos, videos and links, now wants to be a force in messaging, commerce, payments and just about everything else you do online.
Similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes have focused attention on an anti-stalling system used in the new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.
A major exhibition dedicated to the scientific genius of Leonardo da Vinci opens in Rome on Wednesday, part of festivities to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of the artist and inventor.
A persistent question among urban ecology researchers has been the long-term impact of urbanization on bird species biodiversity. Specifically, they wonder whether the portions of cities with higher diversity are simply exhibiting an "extinction debt—populations doomed to extinction but not yet disappeared—or if other factors such as range shifts or local environmental changes play a role in chang
A persistent question among urban ecology researchers has been the long-term impact of urbanization on bird species biodiversity. Specifically, they wonder whether the portions of cities with higher diversity are simply exhibiting an "extinction debt—populations doomed to extinction but not yet disappeared—or if other factors such as range shifts or local environmental changes play a role in chang
Brain Awareness Week just rolled into town—no, really. The BioBus, a New York City science lab on wheels, helped kick off this year's Brain Awareness Week with a day of brainy crafts, mind-benders, and maximum magnification courtesy of the lab's research-grade microscopes. Science enthusiasts get "hands-on" with human and sheep brains (center and bottom-right, respectively) in Manhattan's histori
Halo Drive An outrageous new concept called a "halo drive" could let spaceships of the future attain incredible speeds — by using lasers to steal energy from black holes. "It's kind of like a highway system where you have to pay a one-time toll," Columbia University researcher David Kipping told New Scientist of the halo drive. "Once you pay the fee, you can ride the highway system as long as you
Researchers theorized that adding adjuvant docetaxel, a cytotoxic chemotherapy drug, to the standard of care RT and long-term AS treatment could potentially improve overall survival and clinical outcomes for men with localized, high-risk prostate cancer.
University of Oklahoma neuroscientists have found a pathway in the brain where taste and pain intersect in a new study that originally was designed to look at the intersection of taste and food temperature. This study was the first time researchers have shown that taste and pain signals come together in the brain and use the same circuitry. OU neuroscientists received a five-year, $1.6 million Nat
Tunnel Vision SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Tuesday to announce that his other venture, the Boring Company, plans to complete a Las Vegas tunnel by the end of 2019. Looking forward to building a Boring Company tunnel in Vegas. Assuming to be operational by end of year! https://t.co/cSSO4SJ140 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 12, 2019 Vegas, Baby Futurism reported last week that the
Do you have to wait for more than 50% of the group to agree with a minority opinion before it can take over? It turns out, you need far less than that — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
A persistent question among urban ecology researchers has been the long-term impact of urbanization on bird species biodiversity. Specifically, they wonder whether the portions of cities with higher diversity are simply exhibiting an 'extinction debt' — populations doomed to extinction but not yet disappeared — or if other factors such as range shifts or local environmental changes play a role i
Do you have to wait for more than 50% of the group to agree with a minority opinion before it can take over? It turns out, you need far less than that — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Microsoft started talking up the Your Phone app that lets you share content and control some phone functions between your PC and smartphone last summer. Now that the app is available for users, …
A new tool to predict an individual's prognosis following a prostate cancer diagnosis could help prevent unnecessary treatment and related side effects, say researchers.
New research reveals that human threats — like hunting and land clearing — are extensive across thousands of species' habitats, severely limiting the area they can survive in.
New research suggests climate change makes it increasingly difficult for tree seedlings to regenerate following wildfires in low-elevation forests, which could contribute to abrupt forest loss.
Engineers have tightened security on the 'internet of body.' Now, the network you didn't know you had is only accessible by you and your devices, thanks to technology that keeps communication signals within the body itself.
Through a combination of biometric tracking, simulated modeling and medical imaging, researchers detail how hits to the side of the head cause concussion.
The Anger of Amy Klobuchar After Amy Klobuchar announced her bid for president, multiple media organizations reported that the senator from Minnesota had a history of mistreating her subordinates. Last week, Caitlin Flanagan wrote that the allegations have been met with "a kind of sexism." Klobuchar, she argued, has survived reports that a man never would: "It's shameful to humiliate and mistreat
Environment Freeway-to-table could be the next big food trend in California. February last year, Jessica Mundall came across a dead buck while driving. The animal had just been hit and killed by a semi truck, and was still "super fresh." She and…
He Said, She Said A new quantum physics experiment just lent evidence to a mind-boggling idea that was previously limited to the realm of theory, according to the MIT Technology Review — that under the right conditions, two people can observe the same event, see two different things happen, and both be correct. According to research shared to the preprint server arXiv on Tuesday, physicists from
Doing it the "right way" means substantial changes to the way we travel, generate power, and grow food to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That's an awful lot of work, though. A new study examines proposals to modify the atmosphere through a process called geoengineering. The post Altering the Atmosphere to Combat Climate Change Might Not Kill Us All: Study appeared first on ExtremeTech .
Mowing the grass at certain times of the year might help boost the monarch butterfly population. The findings of a new study, which appears in Biological Conservation , show that this kind of strategic grassland management benefits monarchs in two ways. First, monarchs lay more eggs on young milkweed—new growth after mowing. Milkweed is the sole food source for the butterflies in their larval sta
Technology Fox had a free-flying drone filming one of NASCAR's biggest races for the first time ever. It takes a lot of work to fly a drone over the Daytona 500 even before the craft ever leaves the ground.
When humans make certain types of mistakes, their pupils change size, according to new research. To study mistake making in humans, researchers performed an auditory test on 108 participants in a lab. Each participant listened to a series of 20 clicks, some in their left ear and some in their right, over the span of a single second. They then had to decide which ear received the most clicks. Each
Winter Blues A team of scientists and designers recently teamed up to create a tool that would show Australians what the climate is expected to be like in their cities in the year 2050 — and it led to a startling discovery. "In 30 years' time, winter as we know it will be non-existent," researcher Geoff Hinchliffe said in a press release — revealing yet another way climate change is poised to dra
Invisible-to-Visible Japanese automaker Nissan announced today it wants to beam "three-dimensional, augmented-reality avatars" into the cabin of its cars — and it's already racing ahead with some preliminary tests. In other words, you'll be able to interact with 3D, anime-style holograms of people inside your Nissan. "The companies will evaluate how the people inside the car and those represented
TORONTO —The day Justin Trudeau was sworn in as Canada's prime minister, he stood on Ottawa's Parliament Hill flanked by the 15 women and 15 men he'd appointed to his cabinet. A reporter asked him why he felt such a gender balance was important and Trudeau, pausing for only a beat, held his palms up to the sky as he replied , "Because it's 2015." It was a sound bite heard around the world. For Ca
Through a combination of biometric tracking, simulated modeling and medical imaging, researchers detail how hits to the side of the head cause concussion.
Youth living in the slums of Uganda who are infected with both HIV and sexually transmitted infections are more likely to engage in problem drinking, according to a study led by Georgia State University.
Purdue University engineers have tightened security on the 'internet of body.' Now, the network you didn't know you had is only accessible by you and your devices, thanks to technology that keeps communication signals within the body itself.
For decades, Peggy Sellars and her husband George have warily watched periodic floodwaters inundate the land around their home in the Mississippi Delta, but the dwelling always remained dry—until this year.
Anthropologists have long made the case that tool-making is one of the key behaviors that separated our human ancestors from other primates. A new article, however, argues that it was not tool-making that set hominins apart — it was the miniaturization of tools.
Addiction to prescription opioids has reached a crisis level in the United States. Now the drug is causing concern across the Atlantic. Researchers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden urge caution after discovering that prescriptions for the pain medication oxycodone have significantly increased during the last decade.
Researchers are investigating how having a stroke can disrupt the community of bacteria that lives in the gut. These bacteria — known collectively as the microbiome — can interact with the central nervous system and may influence stroke patients' recovery.
Microbiologists have discovered a new glycocin, a small antimicrobial peptide with a sugar group attached, which is produced by a thermophilic bacterium and is stable at relatively high temperatures. They also succeeded in transferring the genes required to produce this glycocin to an E. coli bacterium. This makes it easier to produce and investigate this compound, which could potentially be used
Last Thursday, a massive power outage struck across much of Venezuela, affecting huge parts of its infrastructure, from clean water and food storage to medical care, communications, and more. Amid a years-long economic crisis and building political crisis, the Venezuelan government and its opposition are blaming each other for the collapse of the power grid. Electricity has been slowly restored t
An Italian cargo ship sank about 330 kilometres (200 miles) off the western Atlantic coast of France on Tuesday after rescue vessels were unable to put out a fire that broke out late Sunday, officials said.
In late 2018, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft arrived at Bennu, the asteroid it will be studying and sampling over the next several years.
Health Smoking even one a day increases risk of SIDS twofold. As accidental deaths dropped out of the SIDS statistics, another factor became increasingly important: smoking.
Students of color who attend schools with a culture that emphasizes the value of diversity show better cardiovascular health than peers whose schools don't express such values, according to a new study. Specifically, students of color had better heart health at schools whose mission statements mention goals such as serving a diverse student body and appreciating diversity and cultural differences
The draft budget includes deep cuts for science funding, hacking more than $5.5 billion from the NIH's allotment, but historically Congress has not accepted the White House's proposals.
Protests at companies like Google and Microsoft have grabbed headlines, but an Air Force demo day last week hosted dozens of startups eager to work with the Pentagon.
In the final months of 2011, Brian White would occasionally hear a tap on his Stanford University office door. Waiting outside would be two younger mathematicians, Fernando Codá Marques and André Neves , always with the same rough question: Did White have a few minutes to help them understand some confusing part of an obscure, several-hundred-page doctoral dissertation written three decades earli
New University of Montana research suggests climate change makes it increasingly difficult for tree seedlings to regenerate following wildfires in low-elevation forests, which could contribute to abrupt forest loss.
OSIRIS-REx finds Bennu's rotation period is speeding up by about 1 second every 100 years, according to a new study the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters.
An imaging technique used to detect some forms of cancer can also help detect preeclampsia in pregnancy before it becomes a life-threatening condition, a new Tulane study says.
Columbia Engineering researchers have shown–for the first time–that they can use online neurofeedback to modify an individual's arousal state to improve performance in a demanding sensory motor task, such as flying a plane or driving in suboptimal conditions.
A new study maps the last vestiges of wild places where the world's threatened species can take refuge from the ravages of unregulated hunting, land clearing, and other industrial activities.
A new tool to predict an individual's prognosis following a prostate cancer diagnosis could help prevent unnecessary treatment and related side effects, say researchers at the University of Cambridge.
A new risk model, easily accessible on a web interface, can predict the survival of non-metastatic prostate cancer patients, as well as the effect of different treatment approaches on survival. The modeling approach, developed by David Thurtle of the University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues, is described this week in PLOS Medicine.
Planthopper bugs may be small, but they attract mates from afar by sending vibrational calls along plant stems and leaves using fast, rhythmic motions of their abdomen. In a new study publishing March 12 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, researchers at the University of Oxford show how a newly discovered 'snapping organ' enables courting bugs of both sexes to produce this shaking motion thr
New research publishing March 12 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology reveals that human threats — like hunting and land clearing — are extensive across thousands of species' habitats, severely limiting the area they can survive in.
Somewhere in the Midwest, a restaurant is frying foods with oil made from gene-edited soybeans. That's according to the company making the oil, which says it's the first commercial use of a gene-edited food in the U.S.
Somewhere in the Midwest, a restaurant is frying foods with oil made from gene-edited soybeans. That's according to the company making the oil, which says it's the first commercial use of a gene-edited food in the U.S.
US airlines are standing behind Boeing despite the wave of countries and carriers that have grounded the 737 MAX, but fear has gripped crews and passengers, and many are refusing to fly on the plane.
Printer ink, paint and arsenic found in some drugs sold to treat life-threatening illnesses Doctors have called for an urgent international effort to combat a "pandemic of bad drugs" that is thought to kill hundreds of thousands of people globally every year. A surge in counterfeit and poor quality medicines means that 250,000 children a year are thought to die after receiving shoddy or outright
Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir are less able to regenerate in the face of climate change, and some areas have already "crossed a critical climate threshold."
A new study maps the last vestiges of wild places where the world's threatened species can take refuge from the ravages of unregulated hunting, land clearing, and other industrial activities.
Planthopper bugs may be small, but they attract mates from afar by sending vibrational calls along plant stems and leaves using fast, rhythmic motions of their abdomen. In a new study publishing March 12 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, researchers at the University of Oxford show how a newly-discovered "snapping organ" enables courting bugs of both sexes to produce this shaking motion thr
A new study maps the last vestiges of wild places where the world's threatened species can take refuge from the ravages of unregulated hunting, land clearing, and other industrial activities.
Planthopper bugs may be small, but they attract mates from afar by sending vibrational calls along plant stems and leaves using fast, rhythmic motions of their abdomen. In a new study publishing March 12 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, researchers at the University of Oxford show how a newly-discovered "snapping organ" enables courting bugs of both sexes to produce this shaking motion thr
A team of scientists reports finding the first evidence that the human hippocampus is necessary for future planning. The findings link its long-established role in memory with our ability to use our knowledge to map out the future effects of our actions.
Eliminating ASCT2 selectively stops the growth of leukemia cells, while having limited effects on healthy blood cells and hematopoetic (blood-forming) stem cells.
Astrobatrachus kurichiyana lurks in leaf litter and is sole member of an ancient lineage An orange-bellied frog with a brown back, covered in tiny spots that resemble a starry sky, has been discovered in a mountain range in India, surprising researchers who said its ancestors branched off on the evolutionary tree from other members of the same frog family tens of millions of years ago. The frog,
A new study has demonstrated mathematically that algorithms based on deep neural networks can be applied to better understand the world of quantum physics, as well.
A new study has demonstrated mathematically that algorithms based on deep neural networks can be applied to better understand the world of quantum physics, as well.
Gimme Five NASA's current goal is to put humans on Mars sometime in the 2030s . But according to Ellen Stofan, former chief scientist of NASA, the agency could reach that milestone much sooner. "We could go in five if we really tried," she claimed in a recent interview — but that doesn't mean she thinks NASA should accelerate its timeline. Slow and Steady Stofan made her assertion during an inter
Counter to expectations, an apparent drop in dinosaur diversity at the end of the Cretaceous indicates there are many species yet to be found — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
When robots beat humans in contests for cash prizes, people consider themselves less competent and expend slightly less effort—and tend to dislike the robots, according to a new study. The study brought together behavioral economists and roboticists to explore, for the first time, how a robot's performance affects humans' behavior and reactions when they're competing against each other simultaneo
Firing a laser at a pair of black holes can produce more energy than you start with, letting you travel the galaxy without needing a large amount of fuel
Researchers have found two massive young stars nestled closer together than anything astronomers have seen so far. By studying PDS 27 and its companion, located about 8,000 light-years from Earth, astronomers hope to learn more about how stars like this form and evolve. Something like half the stars in our galaxy orbit in pairs, triplets or even quadruple star systems. And scientists suspect that
The president wants to cut spending at the National Institutes of Health and Environmental Protection Agency, but it is not clear whether Congress will go along — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Google's history with its communication services has been a bit of a mixed bag, to say the least. Google+ effectively failed after years of troubled operation, and Google Hangouts+ is far from …
Mozilla launched Firefox Send in beta quite a while back. It's a file-sharing service that allows users to share files with end-to-end encryption. The link to the file automatically …
If functionality of the brain's amygdala is impaired, illusory perceptions arise much faster and more pronounced. This was discovered by a team of researchers, who studied identical twins in whom both amygdalae are damaged. Further experiments with volunteers showed that this brain structure, which is widely known for its eminent role in fear processing, apparently provides effective protection ag
Heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is the number one cause of death worldwide. A new study shows that the risk of suffering a heat-induced heart attack has increased significantly in recent years. During the same period of time, no comparable changes in cold weather heart attack risks have been recorded.
Researchers have discovered a new potential contributor to age-related hearing loss, a finding that could help doctors identify people at risk and better treat the condition.
Researchers have devised a novel biosensor that can isolate and target leukemic stem cells. It can provide a prototype for precision oncology efforts to target patient-specific cells to fight the deadly disease.
With researchers suggesting that 'sitting is the new smoking,' sit-stand desks (SSD) have become a common tool to quell sedentary behavior in an office environment. As this furniture becomes ubiquitous, conflicting opinions have arisen on its effectiveness. Researchers gathered data from 53 studies and published a scoping review article detailing current information on the benefits of SSDs.
Whether revealing a perpetrator with DNA evidence, diagnosing a pathogen, classifying a paleontological discovery, or determining paternity, the duplication of nucleic acids (amplification) is indispensable. Scientists have now introduced a new, very simple, yet highly sensitive and reliable method that avoids the usual heating and cooling steps, as well as complicated instruments. The reagents ca
Over the past few months, seemingly all the pet- and animal-themed Instagram accounts I follow have begun interspersing their videos with pleas. "Join our bird-themed Discord community!" one posted. Another urged me to connect with a group of like-minded reptile lovers on Discord. A commenter touted a dog-lover Discord server. Discord is a real-time chat platform that was founded four years ago a
The NASA astronauts aren't nervous for their next trip to space. They've been in the job for almost two decades, and they served as military pilots before that. Together, they've spent nearly 1,400 hours in orbit above Earth. But they've never had a ride quite like this. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are training for their first flight on a new astronaut-transportation system built by SpaceX, and a
Whether revealing a perpetrator with DNA evidence, diagnosing a pathogen, classifying a paleontological discovery, or determining paternity, the duplication of nucleic acids (amplification) is indispensable. Scientists have now introduced a new, very simple, yet highly sensitive and reliable method that avoids the usual heating and cooling steps, as well as complicated instruments. The reagents ca
Gadgets A snapshot of the day's best bargains. PopSci is always on the lookout for today's best deals. Our lists will be updated throughout the day, so check back to see if stumbled upon any awesome new discounts.
When the Milky Way consumes another galaxy, tendrils of stellar streams survive the merger, containing clues about the universe's mysterious unseen matter
The lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase-1 (GCase) catalyzes the cleavage of a major glycolipid glucosylceramide into glucose and ceramide. The absence of fully functional GCase leads to the accumulation of its lipid substrates in lysosomes, causing Gaucher disease, an autosomal recessive disorder that displays profound genotype–phenotype nonconcordance. More than 250 disease-causing mutations…
Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI (NM-MRI) purports to detect the content of neuromelanin (NM), a product of dopamine metabolism that accumulates with age in dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra (SN). Interindividual variability in dopamine function may result in varying levels of NM accumulation in the SN; however, the ability of NM-MRI to…
The GABAergic system serves as a vital negative modulator in cognitive functions, such as learning and memory, while the mechanisms governing this inhibitory system remain to be elucidated. In Drosophila, the GABAergic anterior paired lateral (APL) neurons mediate a negative feedback essential for odor discrimination; however, their activity is suppressed…
Sensory neurons perceive environmental cues and are important of organismal survival. Peripheral sensory neurons interact intimately with glial cells. While the function of axonal ensheathment by glia is well studied, less is known about the functional significance of glial interaction with the somatodendritic compartment of neurons. Herein, we show that…
Aggression is controlled by the olfactory system in many animal species. In male mice, territorial and infant-directed aggression are tightly regulated by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), but how diverse subsets of sensory neurons convey pheromonal information to limbic centers is not yet known. Here, we employ genetic strategies to show…
G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling is crucial for many physiological processes. A signature of such pathways is high amplification, a concept originating from retinal rod phototransduction, whereby one photoactivated rhodopsin molecule (Rho*) was long reported to activate several hundred transducins (GT*s), each then activating a cGMP-phosphodiesterase catalytic subunit (GT*·PDE*). This..
Preclinical studies indicate that (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) is a putative fast-acting antidepressant candidate. Although inhibition of NMDA-type glutamate receptors (NMDARs) is one mechanism proposed to underlie ketamine's antidepressant and adverse effects, the potency of (2R,6R)-HNK to inhibit NMDARs has not been established. We used a multidisciplinary approach to determine the effects..
Urban residence is associated with a higher risk of some psychiatric disorders, but the underlying drivers remain unknown. There is increasing evidence that the level of exposure to natural environments impacts mental health, but few large-scale epidemiological studies have assessed the general existence and importance of such associations. Here, we…
Circadian dysfunction is a common attribute of many neurodegenerative diseases, most of which are associated with neuroinflammation. Circadian rhythm dysfunction has been associated with inflammation in the periphery, but the role of the core clock in neuroinflammation remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that Rev-erbα, a nuclear receptor and circadian…
A high-fat diet (HFD) causes obesity-associated morbidities involved in macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA). AMPK, the mediator of macroautophage, has been reported to be inactivated in HFD-caused renal injury. However, PAX2, the mediator for CMA, has not been reported in HFD-caused renal injury. Here we report that HFD-caused renal injury…
The transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) ion channel is essential for sensation of thermal and chemical pain. TRPV1 activation is accompanied by Ca2+-dependent desensitization; acute desensitization reflects rapid reduction in channel activity during stimulation, whereas tachyphylaxis denotes the diminution in TRPV1 responses to repetitive stimulation. Acute desensitization has been at
Floral development is one of the model systems for investigating the mechanisms underlying organogenesis in plants. Floral organ identity is controlled by the well-known ABC model, which has been generalized to many flowering plants. Here, we report a previously uncharacterized MYB-like gene, AGAMOUS-LIKE FLOWER (AGLF), involved in flower development in…
Floret fertility is a key determinant of the number of grains per inflorescence in cereals. During the evolution of wheat (Triticum sp.), floret fertility has increased, such that current bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars set three to five grains per spikelet. However, little is known regarding the genetic basis of…
The specific contents of human consciousness rely on the activity of specialized neurons in cerebral cortex. We hypothesized that the conscious experience of a specific visual motion axis is reflected in response amplitudes of direction-selective clusters in the human motion complex. Using submillimeter fMRI at ultrahigh field (7 T) we…
CHEMISTRY Correction for "Chiral intertwined spirals and magnetic transition dipole moments dictated by cylinder helicity," by Sota Sato, Asami Yoshii, Satsuki Takahashi, Seiichi Furumi, Masayuki Takeuchi, and Hiroyuki Isobe, which was first published November 27, 2017; 10.1073/pnas.1717524114 (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114:13097–13101). The authors wish to note the following:…
COMPUTER SCIENCES, SYSTEMS BIOLOGY Correction for "Ant-inspired density estimation via random walks," by Cameron Musco, Hsin-Hao Su, and Nancy A. Lynch, which was first published September 19, 2017; 10.1073/pnas.1706439114 (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114:10534–10541). The authors note that the original publication contains a technical error. The proof of Corollary…
NEUROSCIENCE Correction for "Mechanisms underlying contrast-dependent orientation selectivity in mouse V1," by Wei P. Dai, Douglas Zhou, David W. McLaughlin, and David Cai, which was first published October 18, 2018; 10.1073/pnas.1719044115 (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115:11619–11624). The authors note that several statements made in their Abstract, Significance Statement, and…
NEUROSCIENCE Correction for "Persistent metabolic youth in the aging female brain," by Manu S. Goyal, Tyler M. Blazey, Yi Su, Lars E. Couture, Tony J. Durbin, Randall J. Bateman, Tammie L.-S. Benzinger, John C. Morris, Marcus E. Raichle, and Andrei G. Vlassenko, which was first published February 4, 2019; 10.1073/pnas.1815917116…
Passive dynamics in snakes' slithering motion Shovel-nosed snake moves through force-sensitive rubber pegs. Image courtesy of Allison Carter (Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta). Limbless vertebrates such as snakes slither across sandy surfaces by pressing the curves of their sinuous trunks against transient piles of sand to propel themselves forward. However,…
We have read the article in PNAS by Mittal et al. (1) and would like to congratulate the authors on an excellent piece of work demonstrating spectroscopy's capability for accurately subtyping epithelial cells and the tumor-associated microenvironment. Herein, we would like to add some insight and to comment on how…
First, we thank Paraskevaidi et al. (1) for their kind comments and assessment of the potentially significant impact of our work (2). Their letter recognizes that our study could reduce the caseloads of pathologists/surgeons but that it may not directly benefit patients. Surgeons, pathologists, and technologists all strive to improve…
Recreating fine-resolution dating of an increase of dust and stable isotopes captured in two stalagmites in northern Iran, Carolin et al. (1) in PNAS argue for close coincidence and a causal link with the decline of the Akkadian Empire at ∼4.2 ka. The integration of high-resolution climate datasets with historical…
Jaffe et al. (1) present some of the many challenges faced in attempting to integrate climate science and archeological records. We accept that these challenges exist, and thank the authors for their comments. Our response to the four points made by Jaffe et al. (1) follows:i)Our study (2) provides evidence…
Group membership shapes how we interact with others. Individuals tend to conform more to ingroup members than to outgroup members (1, 2). In PNAS, Lin et al. (3) report an intergroup conformity neural network that tracked the social influence of ingroup over outgroup members. However, we question the researchers' interpretation…
Lund University atomic physicist Anne L'Huillier has been at the forefront of ultrafast laser science since its inception. In 1988, she collaborated on an experiment at the French Saclay Nuclear Research Centre with a solid-state, picosecond laser system that was one of the first to generate high-order harmonics in gases….
T lymphocyte checkpoint inhibition-based therapy represents the great therapeutic advance for cancer in the current decade. Beginning in 2012 with the initial presentation of a phase 3 trial in metastatic melanoma demonstrating the value of CTLA-4–directed therapy, every year has seen the expansion of this therapeutic modality in terms of…
The past decade has witnessed the emergence of a new X-ray light source technology that has been under development for some decades: the so-called self-amplified spontaneous emission-based free-electron laser (FEL). Such lasers provide pulses with durations from just below 1 fs (10−15 s) to over 100 fs and with energies…
The eukaryotic genome is far more than a simple DNA polymer that encodes the sequences of proteins. The genome, or the ensemble of DNA together with all its associated proteins, is an information-processing machine that helps regulate the transcription of the very genes encoded within the DNA. Chromosomes fold in…
The DNA genome must be completely duplicated with exquisite accuracy before a cell divides. The origin of replication (the place replication starts) is a single unique DNA sequence in a bacterial genome (1). By contrast, eukaryotic chromosomes have numerous initiation start sites, but these sites are not defined by a…
We study how confinement transforms the chaotic dynamics of bulk microtubule-based active nematics into regular spatiotemporal patterns. For weak confinements in disks, multiple continuously nucleating and annihilating topological defects self-organize into persistent circular flows of either handedness. Increasing confinement strength leads to the emergence of distinct dynamics, in which the…
Rapid, low-cost, species-specific diagnosis, based upon DNA testing, is becoming important in the treatment of patients with infectious diseases. Here, we demonstrate an innovation that uses origami to enable multiplexed, sensitive assays that rival polymerase chain reactions (PCR) laboratory assays and provide high-quality, fast precision diagnostics for malaria. The paper-based…
A varying oxygen environment is known to affect cellular function in disease as well as activity of various therapeutics. For transient structures, whether they are unconstrained therapeutic transplants, migrating cells during tumor metastasis, or cell populations induced by an immunological response, the role of oxygen in their fate and function…
Energy transfer in terms of excitation or charge is one of the most basic processes in nature, and understanding and controlling them is one of the major challenges of modern quantum chemistry. In this work, we highlight that these processes as well as other chemical properties can be drastically altered…
Cells dynamically adjust their protein translation profile to maintain homeostasis in changing environments. During nutrient stress, the kinase general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2) phosphorylates translation initiation factor eIF2α, initiating the integrated stress response (ISR). To examine the mechanism of GCN2 activation, we have reconstituted this process in vitro, using purified…
Gene expression is orchestrated at the structural level by nucleosome positioning, histone tail acetylation, and linker histone (LH) binding. Here, we integrate available data on nucleosome positioning, nucleosome-free regions (NFRs), acetylation islands, and LH binding sites to "fold" in silico the 55-kb HOXC gene cluster and investigate the role of…
Translation of environmental cues into cellular behavior is a necessary process in all forms of life. In bacteria, this process frequently involves two-component systems in which a sensor histidine kinase (HK) autophosphorylates in response to a stimulus before subsequently transferring the phosphoryl group to a response regulator that controls downstream…
Each genomic locus in a eukaryotic cell has a distinct average time of replication during S phase that depends on the spatial and temporal pattern of replication initiation events. Replication timing can affect genomic integrity because late replication is associated with an increased mutation rate. For most eukaryotes, the features…
WNT/β-catenin signaling is crucial to all stages of life. It controls early morphogenetic events in embryos, maintains stem cell niches in adults, and is dysregulated in many types of cancer. Despite its ubiquity, little is known about the dynamics of signal transduction or whether it varies across contexts. Here we…
In the inner ear sensory epithelia, stereociliary hair bundles atop sensory hair cells are mechanosensory apparatus with planar polarized structure and orientation. This is established during development by the concerted action of tissue-level, intercellular planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling and a hair cell-intrinsic, microtubule-mediated machinery. However, how various polarity signals…
Patterns of molecular coevolution can reveal structural and functional constraints within or among organic molecules. These patterns are better understood when considering the underlying evolutionary process, which enables us to disentangle the signal of the dependent evolution of sites (coevolution) from the effects of shared ancestry of genes. Conversely, disregarding…
Methanogenic archaea are major contributors to the global carbon cycle and were long thought to belong exclusively to the euryarchaeal phylum. Discovery of the methanogenesis gene cluster methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr) in the Bathyarchaeota, and thereafter the Verstraetearchaeota, led to a paradigm shift, pushing back the evolutionary origin of methanogenesis…
The phenotypic consequence of a given mutation can be influenced by the genetic background. For example, conditional gene essentiality occurs when the loss of function of a gene causes lethality in one genetic background but not another. Between two individual Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, S288c and Σ1278b, ∼1% of yeast genes…
Pyroptosis is an inflammatory form of programmed cell death following cellular damage or infection. It is a lytic process driven by gasdermin D-mediated cellular permeabilization and presumed osmotic forces thought to induce swelling and rupture. We found that pyroptotic cells do not spontaneously rupture in culture but lose mechanical resilience….
Infection by Helicobacter pylori is the primary cause of gastric adenocarcinoma. The most potent H. pylori virulence factor is cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA), which is translocated by a type 4 secretion system (T4SS) into gastric epithelial cells and activates oncogenic signaling pathways. The gene cagY encodes for a key component…
Although the early postural reconstructions of the Neandertals as incompletely erect were rejected half a century ago, recent studies of Neandertal vertebral remains have inferred a hypolordotic, flat lower back and spinal imbalance for them, including the La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 skeleton. These studies form part of a persistent trend to…
Isotope and archeological analyses of Paleolithic food webs have suggested that Neandertal subsistence relied mainly on the consumption of large herbivores. This conclusion was primarily based on elevated nitrogen isotope ratios in Neandertal bone collagen and has been significantly debated. This discussion relies on the observation that similar high nitrogen…
In 2003, neurologist Helen Mayberg decided to try a bold new surgical treatment for severely depressed patients. Imaging work by Mayberg and others implicated a brain region called area 25, or the subcallosal cingulate, as a signaling hub in depression. Successful treatment with antidepressants and other therapies had been linked…
Lactose permease is a paradigm for the major facilitator superfamily, the largest family of ion-coupled membrane transport proteins known at present. LacY carries out the coupled stoichiometric symport of a galactoside with an H+, using the free energy released from downhill translocation of H+ to drive accumulation of galactosides against…
Genes coding for small peptides have been frequently misannotated as long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) genes. Here we have demonstrated that one such transcript is translated into a 56-amino-acid-long peptide conserved in chordates, corroborating the work published while this manuscript was under review. The Mtln peptide could be detected in mitochondria…
Correlative light and electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-CLEM) combines information from the specific labeling of fluorescence cryo-microscopy (cryo-FM) with the high resolution in environmental context of electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). Exploiting super-resolution methods for cryo-FM is advantageous, as it enables the identification of rare events within the environmental background of cryo-EM at
Platelets mediate primary hemostasis, and recent work has emphasized platelet participation in immunity and inflammation. The function of the platelet-specific integrin αIIbβ3 as a fibrinogen receptor in hemostasis is well defined, but the roles of αIIbβ3 or integrin-associated proteins in nonhemostatic platelet functions are poorly understood. Here we show that…
Chemical systems with external control capability and self-recoverability are promising since they can avoid additional chemical or energy imposition during the working process. However, it remains challenging to employ such a nonequilibrium method for the engineering of optoelectronic function and for visualization. Here, we report a functional molecule that can…
Iron oxyhydroxide minerals, known to be chemically reactive and significant for elemental cycling, are thought to have been abundant in early-Earth seawater, sediments, and hydrothermal systems. In the anoxic Fe2+-rich early oceans, these minerals would have been only partially oxidized and thus redox-active, perhaps able to promote prebiotic chemical reactions….
Symbiotic nitrogen (N)-fixing trees supply significant N inputs to forest ecosystems, leading to increased soil fertility, forest growth, and carbon storage. Rapid growth and stoichiometric constraints of N fixers also create high demands for rock-derived nutrients such as phosphorus (P), while excess fixed N can generate acidity and accelerate leaching…
Despite being a fundamental electronic component for over 70 years, it is still possible to develop different transistor designs, including the addition of a diode-like Schottky source electrode to thin-film transistors. The discovery of a dependence of the source barrier height on the semiconductor thickness and derivation of an analytical…
Drawing parallels to the symmetry breaking of atomic orbitals used to explain the periodic table of chemical elements; here we introduce a periodic table of droplet motions, also based on symmetry breaking but guided by a recent droplet spectral theory. By this theory, higher droplet mode shapes are discovered and…
Synthetic, resorbable scaffolds for bone regeneration have potential to transform the clinical standard of care. Here, we demonstrate that functional graphenic materials (FGMs) could serve as an osteoinductive scaffold: recruiting native cells to the site of injury and promoting differentiation into bone cells. By invoking a Lewis acid-catalyzed Arbuzov reaction,…
Raindrop impact on infected plants can disperse micron-sized propagules of plant pathogens (e.g., spores of fungi). Little is known about the mechanism of how plant pathogens are liberated and transported due to raindrop impact. We used high-speed photography to observe thousands of dry-dispersed spores of the rust fungus Puccinia triticina…
Glacial−interglacial variations in CO2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C)…
Alternative models exist for the movement of large urban populations following the 15th-century CE abandonment of Angkor, Cambodia. One model emphasizes an urban diaspora following the implosion of state control in the capital related, in part, to hydroclimatic variability. An alternative model suggests a more complex picture and a gradual…
Chloroplast retrograde signaling networks are vital for chloroplast biogenesis, operation, and signaling, including excess light and drought stress signaling. To date, retrograde signaling has been considered in the context of land plant adaptation, but not regarding the origin and evolution of signaling cascades linking chloroplast function to stomatal regulation. We…
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes encode proteins that initiate adaptive immune responses through the presentation of foreign antigens to T cells. The high polymorphism found at these genes, thought to be promoted and maintained by pathogen-mediated selection, contrasts with the limited number of MHC loci found in most vertebrates. Although…
MHC-I epitope presentation to CD8+ T cells is directly dependent on peptide loading and selection during antigen processing. However, the exact molecular bases underlying peptide selection and binding by MHC-I remain largely unknown. Within the peptide-loading complex, the peptide editor tapasin is key to the selection of MHC-I–bound peptides. Here,…
Drugs that reverse epigenetic silencing, such as the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DNMTi) 5-azacytidine (AZA), have profound effects on transcription and tumor cell survival. AZA is an approved drug for myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia, and is under investigation for different solid malignant tumors. AZA treatment generates self, double-stranded RNA…
The shortest light pulses produced to date are of the order of a few tens of attoseconds, with central frequencies in the extreme UV range and bandwidths exceeding tens of electronvolts. They are often produced as a train of pulses separated by half the driving laser period, leading in the…
Observing and controlling molecular motion and in particular rotation are fundamental topics in physics and chemistry. To initiate ultrafast rotation, one needs a way to transfer a large angular momentum to the molecule. As a showcase, this was performed by hard X-ray C1s ionization of carbon monoxide accompanied by spinning…
Limbless animals like snakes inhabit most terrestrial environments, generating thrust to overcome drag on the elongate body via contacts with heterogeneities. The complex body postures of some snakes and the unknown physics of most terrestrial materials frustrates understanding of strategies for effective locomotion. As a result, little is known about…
Ca2+ leak via ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR2) can cause potentially fatal arrhythmias in a variety of heart diseases and has also been implicated in neurodegenerative and seizure disorders, making RyR2 an attractive therapeutic target for drug development. Here we synthesized and investigated the fungal natural product and known insect…
In an experiment carried out in early 2017, researchers from Rutgers University, Facebook, and the College of Charleston in South Carolina asked 18 volunteers to look at hundreds of images and rate them on characteristics such as "novelty," "complexity," and "structure." Some of the images showed paintings created by human…
Green water––rainfall over land that eventually flows back to the atmosphere as evapotranspiration––is the main source of water to produce food, feed, fiber, timber, and bioenergy. To understand how freshwater scarcity constrains production of these goods, we need to consider limits to the green water footprint (WFg), the green water…
Despite decades of development, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) still lack wide market acceptance in vehicles. To understand the expected trajectories of PEMFC attributes that influence adoption, we conducted an expert elicitation assessment of the current and expected future cost and performance of automotive PEMFCs. We elicited 39 experts'…
The changing global climate is producing increasingly unusual weather relative to preindustrial conditions. In an absolute sense, these changing conditions constitute direct evidence of anthropogenic climate change. However, human evaluation of weather as either normal or abnormal will also be influenced by a range of factors including expectations, memory limitations,…
Agriculture is widely recognized as critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have multiple, often conflicting yet poorly documented priorities on how agriculture could or should support achieving the SDGs. Here, we assess consensus and divergence in priorities for agricultural systems among research, policy,…
Daily briefing: The sold-out science-based board game about birds Daily briefing: The sold-out science-based board game about birds, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00847-x The surprise hit ornithology game, air pollution kills more people than smoking, Trump seeks big cuts to science funding.
Melinda Josie And I wrote those reasons on the ruled grid of an index card to preserve the moment, madam, when the panels of the hotel elevator closed, leaving just us. A sigh and a kiss did nicely, lady, but when the doors opened again, you were again nowhere near, and now the file card's lost too, with its logical numerical slate. I've misplaced this and that over the years, dear, but the thing
Two recent studies report discoveries of dust rings in the inner solar system: a dust ring at Mercury's orbit, and a group of never-before-detected asteroids co-orbiting with Venus, supplying the dust in Venus' orbit.
Findings from an international team of scientists show that twisted magnetic fields can evolve in only so many ways, with the plasma inside them following a general rule.
According to a group of mathematics researchers, the probability in the following decade of the sun causing a storm strong enough to affect electrical and communication infrastructures around the globe 'only' reaches 1.9 percent maximum. Nevertheless, the event would produce severe consequences and governments should be prepared, researchers warn.
Satisfaction of young people increases when they can identify with the region in which they live. The proximity of people who are emotionally important to them, however, is essential for creating a feeling of commitment.
Researchers found that seniors who consume more than two standard portions of mushrooms weekly may have 50 percent reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment.
Currently approved in Canada and Europe for adults with medication-resistant depression and seizures, trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) has been found to be an effective and safe means of treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), reports a new study.
Move Fast and Break Things The countless pictures of people that are used to train facial recognition artificial intelligence systems are often used without consent. Most notably, IBM downloaded and used almost 1 million pictures from public Flickr accounts without notifying the pictures' photographers or subjects, according to NBC News . "This is the dirty little secret of AI training sets," NYU
President wants Tesla-style tax credits gone, gone, gone. Trump can jawbone Congress, but it's the legislature that settles on and passes the budget. EV buyers, don't panic yet. The post Trump Wants EVs Tax Credit Gone. GM, Tesla Want It Expanded. appeared first on ExtremeTech .
DNA is thin enough to pass through plant cell walls, but it's not rigid enough to avoid getting stuck. If you attach it to a carbon nanotube needle, it can get inside with no problem. The post How Carbon Nanotubes Can Modify Plant DNA appeared first on ExtremeTech .
Det bliver næsten tre gange så dyrt som forventet at omlægge vand- og kloakledninger i Lyngby-Taarbæk Kommune for at gøre plads til den kommende letbane, lyder det fra det ansvarlige forsyningsselskab.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a novel 3D printer that uses patterns of visible and ultraviolet light to dictate which of two monomers are polymerized to form a solid material. Different patterns of light provide the spatial control necessary to yield multi-material parts.
In Nature Communications, researchers from Graz in Austria present initial approaches to how the spread of antibiotic resistances can be prevented in hospitals.
Padding Résumés A new website can write your résumé for you in just ten seconds — as long as you don't mind sending employers a document of totally-made-up information and just a touch of gibberish. The site, called " This résumé does not exist ," uses a neural network-based artificial intelligence system trained on information scraped from public job boards to create brand new résumés for made-u
Too Little Too Late In a statement posted late Monday night, American aerospace giant Boeing promised a software "enhancement" for its all of its Boeing 737 Max jets. That's notable because the 737 Max 8 has been involved in two recent crashes that have captured international attention: one in October operated by Indonesian airline Lion Air (Flight 610) which killed 189 and a second crash only fo
A new species of frog discovered on the forest floor in India's Western Ghat mountain range is the only member of an ancient lineage stretching back millions of years
UB aerospace engineer James Chen publishes a paper that extends classical kinetic theory into high-speed aerodynamics, including hypersonic speed, which begins at 3,836 mph or roughly five times the speed of sound. The new study and others by Chen in influential academic journals attempt to solve long-standing problems associated with high-speed aerodynamics.
Researchers in the WVU School of Medicine are investigating how having a stroke can disrupt the community of bacteria that lives in the gut. These bacteria — known collectively as the microbiome — can interact with the central nervous system and may influence stroke patients' recovery.
Addiction to prescription opioids has reached a crisis level in the United States. Now the drug is causing concern across the Atlantic. Researchers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden urge caution after discovering that prescriptions for the pain medication oxycodone have significantly increased during the last decade.
A global team of scientists have mapped the developmental pathway of a newborn's life for the first time. The research, published in Nature Communications, could transform our understanding of health and disease in babies.
GE Research and Feinstein Institute for Medical Research bioelectronic medicine teams have demonstrated potentially breakthrough noninvasive methods to regulate dysfunction in the body's metabolic or inflammatory control systems using ultrasound.
An international research team co-led by the University of British Columbia has pioneered a technique to get huge amounts of data from a tiny amount of newborn blood — less than a quarter teaspoon — allowing for the most comprehensive data analysis yet.
The first week of a newborn's life is a time of rapid biological change as the baby adapts to living outside the womb, suddenly exposed to new bacteria and viruses. Yet surprisingly little is known about these early changes. An international research study co-led by Boston Children's Hospital has pioneered a technique to get huge amounts of data from a tiny amount of newborn blood, creating the mo
Entering people who ride the bus instead of driving to work into a cash lottery motivated people in Durham, North Carolina to leave their car at home and try a greener commute. The idea was so effective, it landed a million-dollar prize from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Durham Mayor Steve Schewel says the whole project started with the need for more parking spots in the city. Ninety percent of downt
Science Turns out, I'm hip to a new trend. The age of artificial hip recipients is falling: In 2000, the average age was just over 66; in 2014, it was 64.9.
Coffee has huge importance to many smallholder farmers around the world. The success of a year's coffee crop can mean the difference between having enough cash in hand for buying food and watching your household go hungry. For many, it is the crucial component of their food security, even though coffee is not an edible crop.
A type of Takata air bag inflator once thought to be safe has now come under scrutiny after a crash and explosion in Maryland injured the driver of a Honda minivan.
Anthropologists have long made the case that tool-making is one of the key behaviors that separated our human ancestors from other primates. A new paper, however, argues that it was not tool-making that set hominins apart—it was the miniaturization of tools.
NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and caught a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Idai in the Mozambique Channel. The channel is located between the country of Mozambique on the African mainland and the island nation of Madagascar.
You might think that mowing fields wouldn't benefit monarch butterfly populations. New research from Michigan State University, however, shows that disturbances like mowing—at key times—might help boost the iconic butterfly's numbers.
You might think that mowing fields wouldn't benefit monarch butterfly populations. New research from Michigan State University, however, shows that disturbances like mowing—at key times—might help boost the iconic butterfly's numbers.
An investigation led by a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Radiology has found altered connectivity among brain regions that handle sensorimotor, emotional and cognitive signaling in patients with functional neurological disorder, a common condition involving neurologic symptoms that have no readily apparent physical cause.
University of Groningen microbiologists and their colleagues from Lithuania have discovered a new glycocin, a small antimicrobial peptide with a sugar group attached, which is produced by a thermophilic bacterium and is stable at relatively high temperatures. They also succeeded in transferring the genes required to produce this glycocin to an E. coli bacterium. This makes it easier to produce and
A new study published in Physical Review Letters by Prof. Shashua's computer science doctoral students at Hebrew University has demonstrated mathematically that algorithms based on deep neural networks can be applied to better understand the world of quantum physics, as well.
The first arm of a phase II clinical trial by a research team at Georgetown University Medical Center testing the use of nilotinib in patients with Parkinson's disease demonstrates precisely how the agent increases levels of dopamine in the brains of study participants.
First study to quantify economic trade-offs of shifting from conventional to shade-grown coffee production. Model suggests farmers can optimize coffee profits by converting one to two-thirds of their acreage to shade-grown.
Bob Woodward's Fear was a blockbuster. Michelle Obama's Becoming was the best-selling book of 2018. But as far as prepublication buzz goes, neither of them can match the expectations attached to the Mueller report. No one knows when Special Counsel Robert Mueller will file a concluding document with the attorney general, or when all or part of it will be made public, but that hasn't prevented a d
For-Profit OpenAI, the nonprofit artificial intelligence research organization founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman — and which Musk later quit — is now legally a for-profit company. The organization published a blog post on Monday announcing OpenAI LP, a new entity that it's calling a "capped-profit" company. The company will still focus on developing new technology instead of selling products, a
Eliminating ASCT2 selectively stops the growth of leukemia cells, while having limited effects on healthy blood cells and hematopoetic (blood-forming) stem cells.
Orthopedic surgeons at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) have developed a pain management pathway designed to reduce the use of opioid analgesics after joint replacement surgery.
The White House budget proposal for 2020 recommends increases to the domestic HIV programs at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration and Indian Health Services that will be essential to keeping the administration's promise of ending our nation's HIV epidemic in the next decade.
NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and caught a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Idai in the Mozambique Channel. The channel is located between the country of Mozambique on the African mainland and the island nation of Madagascar.
You might think that mowing fields wouldn't benefit monarch butterfly populations. New research from Michigan State University, however, shows that disturbances like mowing — at key times — might help boost the iconic butterfly's numbers.
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have created a hydrogel that could one day be made into a contact lens to more effectively treat corneal melting, a condition that is a significant cause for blindness world-wide.
A recent study by researchers at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Ghend, and Cardiff University found that the toxins used in agriculture to combat insect pests and fungi can be more dangerous than expected.
For patients contemplating spinal fusion surgery to alleviate pain, bone health is an important consideration. A study at Hospital for Special Surgery found that a CT scan of the lumbar spine prior to surgery indicated that a significant number of patients had low bone density that was previously undiagnosed.
Women Are From Mars NASA sees women playing a major role in the future of space exploration. During a recent appearance on a science and tech radio show, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine asserted that the next person on the Moon is "likely to be a women." And that's not all. According to Bridenstine, "It's also true that the first person on Mars is likely to be a woman" — though it's not yet cl
Despite a wave of countries grounding the Boeing aircraft involved in another deadly crash, US authorities on Tuesday said it would not make any decision until it has more evidence.
Studying time "is like holding a snowflake in your hands: gradually, as you study it, it melts between your fingers and vanishes." Image by Mobilos / Wikicommons Last April, in the famous Faraday Theatre at the Royal Institution in London, Carlo Rovelli gave an hour-long lecture on the nature of time. A red thread spanned the stage, a metaphor for the Italian theoretical physicist's subject. "Tim
Sending a weak alternating electrical current through electrodes attached to the scalp markedly improved depression symptoms in about 70 percent of participants in a small clinical study. The research lays the groundwork for larger research studies to use a specific kind of electrical brain stimulation called transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to treat people diagnosed with major
The nucleus is a treasure trove of biological information that keeps the cell—and thus living organisms—ticking. But many processes within the nucleus remain a mystery to scientists.
The nucleus is a treasure trove of biological information that keeps the cell—and thus living organisms—ticking. But many processes within the nucleus remain a mystery to scientists.
Super-sensitive telescope gets global governing body Super-sensitive telescope gets global governing body, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00841-3 CERN-like organization will oversee the construction and operations of the powerful Square Kilometre Array.
If a recent update is wreaking havoc on your computer, Windows 10 may automatically uninstall it, according to Microsoft support. A support note states some updates might be incompatible …
Amazon has officially acquired Eero, the three-year old mesh WiFi startup based in San Francisco. Like other mesh WiFi systems, Eero's routers can be placed throughout the home, …
A new species of frog discovered on the forest floor in Indias Western Ghat mountain range is the only member of an ancient lineage stretching back millions of years
Whether revealing a perpetrator with DNA evidence, diagnosing a pathogen, classifying a paleontological discovery, or determining paternity, the duplication of nucleic acids (amplification) is indispensable. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have now introduced a new, very simple, yet highly sensitive and reliable method that avoids the usual heating and cooling steps, as well as compli
För att hitta ett plagg som passar kanske du måste prova flera modeller och storlekar innan du känner dig någorlunda nöjd. Många kunder handlar på nätet. För att komma runt problemet blir det vanligare att beställa hem fler plagg än kunden tänkt sig köpa, för att sedan skicka tillbaka de som inte passar vilket i sin tur blir ett miljöproblem. Niina Hernández disputerade inom textil materialteknik
Just as dust gathers in corners and along bookshelves in our homes, dust piles up in space too. But when the dust settles in the solar system, it's often in rings. Several dust rings circle the Sun. The rings trace the orbits of planets, whose gravity tugs dust into place around the Sun, as it drifts by on its way to the center of the solar system.
Whether zipping through a star or a fusion device on Earth, the electrically charged particles that make up the fourth state of matter better known as plasma are bound to magnetic field lines like beads on a string. Unfortunately for plasma physicists who study this phenomenon, the magnetic field lines often lack simple shapes that equations can easily model. Often they twist and knot like pretzel
Whether revealing a perpetrator with DNA evidence, diagnosing a pathogen, classifying a paleontological discovery, or determining paternity, the duplication of nucleic acids (amplification) is indispensable. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have now introduced a new, very simple, yet highly sensitive and reliable method that avoids the usual heating and cooling steps, as well as compli
A team of scientists reports finding the first evidence that the human hippocampus is necessary for future planning. The findings link its long-established role in memory with our ability to use our knowledge to map out the future effects of our actions.
This innovation has been developed by researchers based in Brazil and the US. It not only halts the progression of heart failure but also improves the heart's capacity to pump blood.
The Cardiovascular Research Foundation is pleased to announce that the latest issue of Structural Heart: The Journal of the Heart Team features original research articles on readmissions after atrial septal defect (ASD) closure and socioeconomic disparities in access to the Watchman device in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Findings from an international team of scientists show that twisted magnetic fields can evolve in only so many ways, with the plasma inside them following a general rule.
Patients who live close to the hospital at which they have had a hip or knee replacement are much more likely to visit the emergency room for follow-up care of pain, inflammation and other complaints than those who live farther away, according to a new study.
Two recent studies report discoveries of dust rings in the inner solar system: a dust ring at Mercury's orbit, and a group of never-before-detected asteroids co-orbiting with Venus, supplying the dust in Venus' orbit.
Whether revealing a perpetrator with DNA evidence, diagnosing a pathogen, classifying a paleontological discovery, or determining paternity, the duplication of nucleic acids (amplification) is indispensable. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have now introduced a new, very simple, yet highly sensitive and reliable method that avoids the usual heating and cooling steps, as well as compli
With researchers suggesting that 'sitting is the new smoking,' sit-stand desks (SSD) have become a common tool to quell sedentary behavior in an office environment. As this furniture becomes ubiquitous, conflicting opinions have arisen on its effectiveness. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Tufts gathered data from 53 studies and published a scoping review article detailing current
New research released today provides guidance for physicians who treat patients with lung cancer. Three authors will present their findings in an online presscast today and during the plenary session Thursday, March 14, at the 2019 Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium.
This research letter reports on the follow-up of children for asthma whose mothers participated in a randomized clinical trial where they received high-dose vitamin D (2,400 IU/day) during the 24th week of pregnancy or placebo plus the recommended dose of 400 IU/day of vitamin D. Some evidence has suggested low vitamin D levels in utero may be associated with the risk of asthma in children.
The quality of diet for adults in midlife (average age 50) wasn't associated with later risk of dementia in a study that included adults followed for more than two decades. Other observational studies have suggested diet may be linked to cognitive health but those studies often had short follow-up periods that could not cover the long preclinical period before dementia diagnosis.
UNC School of Medicine scientists uncovered a possible reason why some breast cancers are so aggressive and difficult to treat: an enzyme called USP21 promotes proliferation of basal-like breast cancer and is upregulated in a significant percentage of patient tumors. It could become a drug target.
More than 30 years ago, scientists discovered that mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases are caused by prions. But in recent years, Nobel laureate Eric Kandel, M.D., demonstrated in mice that some prions are beneficial and serve important functions in the brain and body. And today, new Columbia research from Dr. Kandel describes how one such prion-like protein helps the brain keep fearful memorie
No Vaccines, No School A new law in Italy came into effect this week that makes it compulsory for every child in the country to receive a range of immunizations including measles, polio, chickenpox and mumps. Parents had up until March 10 to ensure their children were vaccinated — and, according to the BBC , schools are sending kids home if they don't have proof of vaccinations. Under Six Childre
The year is 2055, and climate change has fully set in. Months-long heat waves regularly kill infants and the elderly , and food shortages are testing governments on every continent. While the world is finally reducing its carbon emissions, the cuts are not fast enough, and scientists say Earth will keep rapidly warming for at least another century. To stave off a crisis, China and the United Stat
New research provides evidence for greater reliance on two-legged walking than the ancient fossil record had indicated before. Bipedalism is the oldest distinguishing feature between humans and our ape cousins. Among mammals, only humans and our ancestors perform this atypical balancing act. Researchers analyzed a 4.5 million-year-old fragmentary female skeleton of the human ancestor Ardipithecus
Tel Aviv University researchers have devised a novel biosensor that can isolate and target leukemic stem cells. It can provide a prototype for precision oncology efforts to target patient-specific cells to fight the deadly disease.
A Florida State University research team how a type of protein that is embedded in the inner nuclear membrane clears out of the system once it has served its purpose.
Researchers have discovered a new potential contributor to age-related hearing loss, a finding that could help doctors identify people at risk and better treat the condition.
This study has been published in the prestigious journal of Mayo Clinic Proceedings and is part of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid cohort, a representative cohort of the non-institutionalized population aged 60 years and older in Spain.
If functionality of the brain's amygdala is impaired, illusory perceptions arise much faster and more pronounced. This was discovered by a team of researchers led by the University of Bonn, who studied identical twins in whom both amygdalae are damaged. Further experiments with volunteers showed that this brain structure, which is widely known for its eminent role in fear processing, apparently pr
A team of scientists from VIB and KU Leuven has developed a machine learning algorithm that identifies children with juvenile arthritis with almost 90 percent accuracy from a simple blood test. The new findings, pave the way for the use of machine learning to improve diagnosis and to predict which juvenile arthritis patients may respond best to different treatment options.
A recent University of Cambridge spin-out company, Paragraf, has started producing graphene—a sheet of carbon just one atomic layer thick—at up to eight inches in diameter, large enough for commercial electronic devices.
Beatboxer Tom Thum has an orchestra in his mouth, but how does he make all those sounds? Get an up-close-and-personal look as laryngeal surgeon Matthew Broadhurst sticks a camera down Thum's throat while he creates a mind-boggling array of noises. This hilarious, somewhat stomach-churning talk and performance is not for the squeamish! (Contains graphic medical imagery)
The problems have affected Verizon users from New York to the southern tip of Florida, and appears mostly to involve mobile phone and internet service. Some have also reported landline issues.
Scientists are putting AI systems to a test. Researchers have developed a method to provided a glimpse into the diverse 'intelligence' spectrum observed in current AI systems, specifically analyzing these AI systems with a novel technology that allows automatized analysis and quantification.
A scientist is part of an international team that's used new 'big data' analysis to achieve a major advance in understanding neurological disorders such as Epilepsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
An analysis of a previous study has found more evidence to support giving the steroid betamethasone to pregnant women at risk of late-preterm delivery (between 34 and 36 weeks of gestation), according to new research. Hospital stays for infants whose mothers received the drug cost less on average, compared to stays for infants whose mothers did not take the drug.
Afdelingen for led- og bindevævssygdomme på AUH modtager Sundhedsstyrelsens uddannelsespris 2019. Opskriften på god uddannelseskultur er bl.a. at sætte tid af til uddannelseslægernes spørgsmål, mener uddannelsesansvarlige overlæge på afdelingen.
A James Cook University scientist is part of an international team that's used new 'big data' analysis to achieve a major advance in understanding neurological disorders such as Epilepsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
A James Cook University scientist is part of an international team that's used new 'big data' analysis to achieve a major advance in understanding neurological disorders such as Epilepsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
The US warned Tuesday it was considering a complaint at the World Trade Organization over "discriminatory" new taxes on American digital giants such as a Facebook and Google planned by France and other EU nations.
Hyenas that form strong coalitions gain social status, which can have lasting benefits over several generations, a new study shows. "The high-ranked animals clearly benefit from this system," says Eli Strauss, an integrative biologist at Michigan State University and lead author of the paper, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . "But low-ranked animals have a str
DIY Don't waste time switching between apps and accounts. Give your email productivity a boost by getting all your messages in the same place, whether you use Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS.
The information we've gathered showed us that warthogs can be used as disease sentinels, avoiding the need to resort to testing valuable or endangered animals.
A new study from the George Mason University Arts Research Center and published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts found a link between arts elective courses in music, dance, visual art and drama, and better grades in middle school. The study, led by Adam Winsler, professor of applied developmental psychology, followed a large and diverse sample of preschool children
Heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is the number one cause of death worldwide. A study published in the European Heart Journal by scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München and colleagues from a range of other Bavarian institutions shows that the risk of suffering a heat-induced heart attack has increased significantly in recent years. During the same period of time, no comparable changes in col
Satisfaction of young people increases when they can identify with the region in which they live. The proximity of people who are emotionally important to them, however, is essential for creating a feeling of commitment as scientists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) have now described in the journal 'Developmental Psychology'.
Anyone moving in a large crowd, absorbed in their phone and yet avoiding collisions, follows certain laws that they themselves create. The movement of individuals as a condition for the movement of masses is the subject of a recent study by Dr. Andrey Korbut from the Higher School of Economics.
According to a group of mathematics researchers, the probability in the following decade of the sun causing a storm strong enough to affect electrical and communication infrastructures around the globe 'only' reaches 1.9 percent maximum. Nevertheless, the event would produce severe consequences and governments should be prepared, researchers warn.
Scientists employed fMRI to record the brain activity of participants speaking with another human or with a robot. Their findings show that, when compared to a similar conversation with a robot, dialogue with a fellow human significantly increases activity in the amygdalae, basal ganglia, and hypothalamus. The first two of these brain structures are involved in cerebral reward circuits while the t
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) exhibiting outstanding efficiency, high power-per-weight, and excellent radiation resistance are considered to be the new-generation energy technology for space application. Now researchers report their attempt for the stability study of PSCs fixed on high-altitude balloon in near space. The device based on TiO2 mesoporous configuration with FA0.81MA0.10Cs0.04PbI2.55B
A James Cook University scientist is part of an international team that's used new 'big data' analysis to achieve a major advance in understanding neurological disorders such as Epilepsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
A major new study from the UC Davis Alzheimer's Center has uncovered dramatic differences in the brains of Hispanics with a dementia diagnosis compared with those of non-Hispanic whites and of African Americans.
Understanding how defects can affect ground-state properties, promote phase transitions, or enable entirely new functionalities in some strongly correlated oxides has become a subject of major interest in the field of design and discovery of novel functional materials. SrMnO3 (SMO) is a particularly interesting example, but better characterization is needed. MARVEL researchers have now a developed
A simple MRI method that measures iron content can provide a more comprehensive picture of the consequences of stroke-related damage to the brain, according to a new study. Researchers said the findings point to a role for MRI brain iron measurements in monitoring recovery from stroke.
Brain MRI without contrast agent is just as effective as the contrast-enhanced approach for monitoring disease progression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. The findings support the possibility that contrast enhancement can be omitted from routine follow-up scans.
Halvt så mange borgere i Ringsted bliver tilset i kommunen af vagtlægen i forhold til tidligere, viser nye tal. Byens borgmester kalder det en serviceforringelse, og PLO-formand vil lave ny aftale som løsning.
Regeringens nærhedsfond på seks mia. kr. er langt fra nok til at dække pres på sundhedsvæsenet fra et stigende brugere, viser analyse fra Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd.
From the archive From the archive, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00795-6 How Nature reported the lack of women engineers in the United Kingdom in 1969, and the use of charcoal in gas masks in 1919.
Explosive population growth, urbanization and a growing economy – the air over West Africa is exposed to a lot of stress. However, so far there is hardly meaningful information on the effects on health, weather and climate. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) coordinated the European-African consortium "DACCIWA", which has collected new data to investigate the causes and effects of air pol
Moon Unit Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is officially partnering with Japanese automotive giant Toyota to build a six-wheeled, self-driving vehicle to explore the surface of the Moon. Japan is hoping to launch the vehicle to the Moon as soon as 2029. Since there's no atmosphere, a ton of radiation, and harsh temperature conditions, JAXA argues that a space mobility vehicle is necess
Researchers from the National University of Singapore found that seniors who consume more than two standard portions of mushrooms weekly may have 50 percent reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment.
Currently approved in Canada and Europe for adults with medication-resistant depression and seizures, trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) has been found to be an effective and safe means of treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), reports a study published in the April 2019 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
A University of Tsukuba-led research team revealed that a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter of the MUC5B gene encoding a mucin 5B confers susceptibility to interstitial lung disease (ILD) in Japanese patients suffering from antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). Among AAV patients, those that have ILD were 11.6 times more likely to be heterozygous for this va
Researchers compared three types of infection control subsidies and found that under a limited budget, a dollar-for-dollar matching subsidy, in which policymakers match hospital spending for infection control measures, was the most effective at reducing the number of hospital-acquired infections.
Genetron Health Co. Ltd and National Cancer Center/ Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences published the promising results of their liver cancer early screening study using cell free DNA and protein biomarkers. This product for screening HCC in at-risk populations, will be further validated and then available for use.This methodology is expected to be applied in early screening of ot
Silicon transistors and the brain don't mix. At least not optimally. As scientists and companies are increasingly exploring ways to interface your brain with computers , fashioning new hardware that conforms to and compliments our biological wetware becomes increasingly important. To be fair, silicon transistors, when made into electrode arrays, can perform the basics: record neural signals, proc
With the season winding down, Parker sets a new ambitious goal for his crew. Stream Full Episodes of Gold Rush: https://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/gold-rush/ Subscribe to Discovery: http://bit.ly/SubscribeDiscovery Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldRush/ https://www.facebook.com/Discovery Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Gold_Rush https://twitter.com/Discovery We're on In
Scientists at the NOC have released a forward-looking review of how marine robotic capabilities can support the environmental monitoring needed for decommissioning oil and gas installations. This review shows how already-existing sensors and autonomous platforms could be used to assess all the types of marine environment encountered during decommissioning monitoring. The approach was tested and re
Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, global warming and violent storms: the effects of climate change are well documented. But a growing weather trend that has caused much concern is storm clustering – when three (sometimes more) hurricanes or typhoons group together in a short space of time, gathering strength and unleashing even greater devastation.
A new study from a team of leading scientists reports on the diverse ways that aquatic predators, such as sharks and alligators, can impact ecosystems and also benefit human society. The study shows how these important ecological processes and ecosystem services to society can break down or recover from population losses and recoveries of aquatic predators.
A new study from a team of leading scientists reports on the diverse ways that aquatic predators, such as sharks and alligators, can impact ecosystems and also benefit human society. The study shows how these important ecological processes and ecosystem services to society can break down or recover from population losses and recoveries of aquatic predators.
LGBT+ teachers who taught in schools during the late 1980s and 1990s remain scarred by the effects of Section 28 of the Local Government Act in England—a piece of legislation introduced in 1988 banning the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools—according to new research published in the journal Sex Education.
The starry dwarf frog is an expert hider. Plunging into leaf litter at the slightest disturbance, it has successfully evaded attention for millions of years — until now. The thumbnail-sized species, now named Astrobatrachus kurichiyana, was discovered in India's Western Ghats. It's the sole member of an ancient lineage, a long branch on the frog tree of life that researchers have classified as a
Widespread use of autonomous vehicles (AVs) could either massively increase or drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions depending, in large part, on public policy, according to new research.
Facing Justice A leader of one of the biggest cryptocurrency scams in history is now behind bars. On Wednesday, United States authorities arrested Konstantin Ignatov for his role as leader of OneCoin, a cryptocurrency the U.S. Department of Justice is calling a "multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme" — another sign that the days of crypto as the web's "Wild West" could be coming to a close. Sibling
Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at AER (Atmospheric and Environmental Research) and visiting scientist in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ernest Fraenkel, professor of biological engineering at MIT, have won first place in three out of four temperature forecasting categories in the Sub-Seasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo competition, hosted by the National Oc
Have you recently considered deleting your Facebook account, boycotting Amazon or trying to find an alternative to Google? You wouldn't be alone. The tech giants are invading our privacy, misusing our data, strangling economic growth and helping governments spy on us. Yet because these few companies own so many of the internet's key services, it seems there is little people can do to avoid having
Easy Does It If we want to prevent the worst effects of global climate change, we probably need to stop burning fossil fuels. But in the meantime, many look to technological solutions like geoengineering to lighten the load on the Earth. These plans, like flooding the atmosphere with a material that would reduce the amount of sunlight that reaches the planet, often come with side effects like cha
Scientists are putting AI systems to a test. Researchers from TU Berlin, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have developed a method to provided a glimpse into the diverse 'intelligence' spectrum observed in current AI systems, specifically analyzing these AI systems with a novel technology that allows automatized analysis and quantifica
The February 2017 series premiere of The Good Fight , the spin-off of CBS's Emmy-winning legal drama The Good Wife , was meant to usher in a season of triumph for both its characters and the country. Set to arrive on the heels of what left-leaning pundits assumed would be a historic 2016 presidential election, The Good Fight would follow the resolutely liberal Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski),
A new study reports on the diverse ways that aquatic predators, such as sharks and alligators, can impact ecosystems and also benefit human society. The study shows how these important ecological processes and ecosystem services to society can break down or recover from population losses and recoveries of aquatic predators.
Scientists have found a way of greatly improving the performance of LiCoO2 cathodes in Li-ion batteries by decorating them with BaTiO3 nanodots. Most importantly, they elucidated the mechanism behind the measured results, concluding that the BaTiO3 nanodots create a special interface through which Li ions can circulate easily, even at very high charge/discharge rates.
The UK's wild newt populations seem to be free from a flesh-eating lethal fungus known to be prevalent in privately-owned amphibians across Western Europe, a nationwide investigation has found.
The TMEM16 family of membrane proteins was hailed as representing the elusive calcium-activated chloride channels. However, the majority of the family members turned out to be scramblases, proteins that shuffle lipids between both sides of a lipid membrane, some also with non-selective ion conductance. A new study on proteins of the TMEM16 family shows what the structures of these proteins reveal
Mutations in the mitochondrial gene mt-ATP6, which encodes an essential part of the mitochondrial motor known as ATP synthase that generates cellular energy, are much more variable than previously thought. This prompts the need to develop more precise clinical tests that can better determine the course of treatment for patients affected by mitochondrial disorder.
Hundreds of years ago, when the number of animals roaming North America was much higher than it is today, decomposing animal carcasses may have played a substantial role in adding nutrients to the continent's rivers and streams. According to research from the University of Georgia River Basin Center, recently published in Food Webs, their contribution may have been great enough that current models
At the ripe old age of 30 and with half the globe using it, the World Wide Web is facing growing pains with issues like hate speech, privacy concerns and state-sponsored hacking, its creator says, trumpeting a call to make it better for humanity.
Hundreds of years ago, when the number of animals roaming North America was much higher than it is today, decomposing animal carcasses may have played a substantial role in adding nutrients to the continent's rivers and streams. According to research from the University of Georgia River Basin Center, recently published in Food Webs, their contribution may have been great enough that current models
Emotional exhaustion caused by role ambiguity and work-family conflicts can lead many entrepreneurs to leave or close their companies, even when the ventures are profitable, says a Ball State University researcher.
Researchers at the University of Michigan and City University of New York have recently proposed and experimentally validated a transparent, electronically tunable metasurface. This metasurface, presented in a paper published in Physical Review X, can rotate the polarization of an arbitrarily polarized incident wave without changing its axial ratio.
An Iowa State University biologist is sounding the alarm for the painted turtle, one of many reptiles for which climate change could prove particularly threatening.
Engineers descended into bunkers to test space batteries to destruction – through overheating, overcharging, short circuits and even by shooting them with bullets. The three-year test campaign is helping assess the risk of abandoned satellites exploding in orbit due to catastrophic battery reactions.
An Iowa State University biologist is sounding the alarm for the painted turtle, one of many reptiles for which climate change could prove particularly threatening.
Modern coal-fired power stations produce more ultrafine dust particles than road traffic and can even modify and redistribute rainfall patterns, a new 15-year international study shows. The study indicates filtration systems on modern coal-fired power stations are the biggest source of ultrafine particles and can have considerable impacts on climate in several ways.
A new study shows that growing grasses alongside blueberry plants corrects signs of iron deficiency, with associated improvements in berry quantity and quality. The effects are comparable to those seen following standard chemical treatment — providing a simpler, safer, cheaper and more sustainable strategy for blueberry farming on sub-optimal soils.
Engineers have created wearable technology to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. The team invented a liquid-metal-inclusion based triboelectric nanogenerator, called LMI-TENG.
A new study documents an unprecedented number of southern marine species moving northward into California and as far north as Oregon during the 2014-2016 marine heatwave. Of 67 rare, warm-water species sightings observed, 37 had never been documented so far north before.
Influenza type B, though generally less widespread than type A, poses a formidable threat for vulnerable populations like the elderly and the young. In the 2012-2013 flu season, for example, influenza type B caused the majority of deaths due to flu among children, according to data from the CDC. New findings suggest that an efficient way to boost the efficacy of vaccines against influenza type B m
LGBT+ teachers who taught in schools during the late 1980s and 1990s remain scarred by the effects of Section 28 of the Local Government Act in England — a piece of legislation introduced in 1988 banning the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools — according to new research published in the journal Sex Education.
A series of in vitro toxicology tests provide evidence that British American Tobacco's novel vaping product produces greatly reduced mutagenicity, cytotoxicity and effects on wound healing as compared to cigarette smoke.
Researchers from the IU School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry have developed a groundbreaking blood test that could help more accurately diagnose those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Widespread use of autonomous vehicles (AVs) could either massively increase or drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions depending, in large part, on public policy, according to new research from Princeton University.
An analysis of a previous study has found more evidence to support giving the steroid betamethasone to pregnant women at risk of late-preterm delivery (between 34 and 36 weeks of gestation), according to a network funded by the National Institutes of Health. Hospital stays for infants whose mothers received the drug cost less on average, compared to stays for infants whose mothers did not take the
Today researchers at Boston Children's Hospital announce encouraging Phase I results from a first-of-its-kind study – repairing ACL tears by helping the ligament regrow itself. The results will be presented at the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA)/American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) 2019 Specialty Day on March 16.
In a new paper co-authored by Blake Wiedenheft, the researchers explain how viruses make a molecular decoy that is used to subvert the CRISPR-Cas bacterial immune system.
A new study from a team of leading scientists reports on the diverse ways that aquatic predators, such as sharks and alligators, can impact ecosystems and also benefit human society. The study shows how these important ecological processes and ecosystem services to society can break down or recover from population losses and recoveries of aquatic predators.
The cytoskeleton is a structure that not only helps cells maintain their shape and internal organisation, but also enables them to perform functions like movement and migration to sites far from the place where they originated. Migration is an essential part of the spread of cancer cells to another organ or tissue (metastasis).
Sloths and guppies appear to have little in common – one is an arboreal mammal living in the slow lane, while the other is a tiny tropical fish with a frantic existence. Yet both could hold the key to better understanding a fundamental process of evolution.
The largest ever catalog of bacterial and archaeal microbes commonly populating the human body across worldwide populations has been assembled. This is the main result of a new study coordinated by Nicola Segata and Edoardo Pasolli of the Laboratory of Computational Metagenomics at the University of Trento, Italy. The work appeared online in the scientific journal "Cell".
Since most of the microbes in our gut are bacteria, they tend to hog much of the microbiome research limelight. But lurking amongst the bacteria are other microbes such as single-cell eukaryotes (SCE) and viruses, which have been largely ignored until now. Doctors and scientists have previously regarded Blastocystis, among the most common gut SCEs, as a harmless commensal organism, peacefully co-e
A new analysis of state taxation policies regarding wind energy in the West shows New Mexico is the lowest-cost state for wind farm development, followed by Montana, Colorado and Wyoming.
The cytoskeleton is a structure that not only helps cells maintain their shape and internal organisation, but also enables them to perform functions like movement and migration to sites far from the place where they originated. Migration is an essential part of the spread of cancer cells to another organ or tissue (metastasis).
Modern retailing is a highly competitive business with a large economic footprint. A key competitive advantage for retailers is the ability to identify and use the factors that provide customer satisfaction and loyalty when it comes to buying merchandise online or in-store.
A 3-D hologram projection of a coach, to support physical and mental wellbeing: over the last few months, DesignLab has been working on the design and hardware for a prototype HoloProjector for virtual coaches, together with researchers Hermie Hermens, Dennis Reidsma and programme manager Monique Tabak of the University of Twente. The software originates from project partners of the European Counc
Sloths and guppies appear to have little in common – one is an arboreal mammal living in the slow lane, while the other is a tiny tropical fish with a frantic existence. Yet both could hold the key to better understanding a fundamental process of evolution.
The largest ever catalog of bacterial and archaeal microbes commonly populating the human body across worldwide populations has been assembled. This is the main result of a new study coordinated by Nicola Segata and Edoardo Pasolli of the Laboratory of Computational Metagenomics at the University of Trento, Italy. The work appeared online in the scientific journal "Cell".
Since most of the microbes in our gut are bacteria, they tend to hog much of the microbiome research limelight. But lurking amongst the bacteria are other microbes such as single-cell eukaryotes (SCE) and viruses, which have been largely ignored until now. Doctors and scientists have previously regarded Blastocystis, among the most common gut SCEs, as a harmless commensal organism, peacefully co-e
How a biophysicist became a beacon of hope in the Middle East How a biophysicist became a beacon of hope in the Middle East, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00796-5 Zehra Sayers won a science-diplomacy award for her role in setting up the region's first synchrotron light source.
Three mathematicians and a physicist from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Mathematics Research Centre (CRM) and the Barcelona Graduate School of Mathematics (BGSMath) propose a mathematical model to make reliable estimations of the probability of geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity.
The International Space Station partners have endorsed plans to continue the development of the Gateway, an outpost around the moon that will act as a base to support both robots and astronauts exploring the lunar surface.
If fully electric regional passenger jets someday fly from Cleveland to Atlanta, aviation historians will likely point out that the first successful in-air test of the battery technology making it possible happened on a frozen Dayton-area airfield in early 2019.
To mitigate global warming by reducing emissions, wind is widely expected to become an alternative source of energy. Wind power generation uses the surface atmosphere, where movement blows the wind turbine to generate the power output. However, due to the turbulence in the near-surface layer, wind speeds show strong variation and disturbance characteristics, which creates instability for wind powe
Researchers have developed the first wearable probe that enhances the sense of touch by imaging and quantifying the stiffness and elasticity of biological tissue. The device is being developed to improve the surgical removal of breast cancer and might also be useful for brain and liver surgery and other types of cancer.
The loss of blood vessels in the retina could signal Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests. That means a quick eye exam might flag the disease before symptoms appear. In people with healthy brains, microscopic blood vessels form a dense web at the back of the eye inside the retina, as seen in 133 participants in a control group. In the eyes of 39 people with Alzheimer's disease, however, that
Robert Kraft, the New England Patriots' billionaire owner, recently made headlines when he was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution. The women involved were undocumented Chinese immigrants who were human trafficking victims at the Orchids of Asia spa in Jupiter, Florida.
The world's nations are nowhere near to meeting the global Paris Agreement's goals on climate change of holding global temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius compared to 19th-century averages, much less its more aspirational goal of holding temperatures to a 1.5°C rise.
Using NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, astronomers have spotted X-ray-emitting clumps being ejected with high velocities from the gamma-ray binary PSR B1259–63/LS 2883. The findings were presented in a paper published March 2 on arXiv.org, in which the authors also discuss possible explanations of this phenomenon.
With time running out for us to make deep reductions in greenhouse emissions, you may well be wondering what you personally can do to minimise your own greenhouse footprint.
Atomic physicists working on nuclear fusion research succeeded in computing the world's highest accuracy atomic data of neodymium ions which is used in analysis of the light from a binary neutron star merger. This research accelerates studies of a long-standing mystery about the cosmic origins of heavy elements.
The partnership between Spotify and Hulu is strengthening today with the announcement of lowered bundle pricing. Last year, the pair announced a discounted bundle that allowed you to receive …
Europe takes EVs and energy efficiently seriously. You would, too, paying $6.50 a gallon. At Geneva, EVs range from simple cars you borrow on the street to $2 million plug-in hypercar hybrids. The post 11 Best EVs and Plug-Ins of the 2018 Geneva Motor Show appeared first on ExtremeTech .
It could be the plot of an espionage-filled, war-time thriller, or the blow-by-blow of sparring judo masters. But instead it's a true story of molecular warfare between microbes, beginning when a virus latches into a bacterium and injects its DNA, the first step toward infection.
A pair of researchers, one with École Normale Supérieure, the other Laboratory for Studies of Radiation and Matter in Astrophysics and Atmospheres has found evidence that Jupiter's magnetic field could be causing a jet stream in Europa's underground ocean. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Christophe Gissinger and Ludovic Petitdemange describe their analysis of data from th
In January 2019, fires burned across a 100-kilometre length of the iconic Tjoritja National Park in the West MacDonnell Ranges, from Ormiston Gorge nearly to the edge of Alice Springs.
It could be the plot of an espionage-filled, war-time thriller, or the blow-by-blow of sparring judo masters. But instead it's a true story of molecular warfare between microbes, beginning when a virus latches into a bacterium and injects its DNA, the first step toward infection.
Organ-on-a-chip technology is being used to develop 3-D models that allow researchers in South Australia to investigate the impact of radiotherapy on the body's tissues.
A study claims that air pollution causes 9 million "extra" deaths worldwide each year, including 800,000 in Europe – which is double previous estimates
Kangaroo Island, less than 130 kilometres from Adelaide, is one of Australia's ecological jewels. Tourism Australia describes it as a "pristine wilderness", with cliffs, beaches, wetlands and dense bushland offering protection to native animals such as penguins, sea lions, pelicans, koalas and, of course, kangaroos.
It's uttered in hushed tones during mommy-and-me yoga classes and at Montessori-school drop-offs, discussed ad nauseam in breastfeeding support groups and on parenting message boards. It's called tongue tie, and it's everywhere. In online mom groups, it's blamed for all sorts of parenting woes. Baby isn't gaining weight, or won't take a bottle? Have you tried checking for ties? Kid won't nap? It
The fate of woodland caribou rest on a varied, immediate and intense response to reduce predation rates, according to a University of Alberta-led comprehensive review of population recovery measures.
Patricia Dowdy deemed not fit to practise over multiple misconduct charges One of Stephen Hawking's former nurses has been struck off after the Nursing and Midwifery Council ruled she "failed to provide the standards of good, professional care that we expect and Professor Hawking deserved". The NMC said Patricia Dowdy, 61, had faced multiple misconduct charges in relation to the care she was prov
The fate of woodland caribou rest on a varied, immediate and intense response to reduce predation rates, according to a University of Alberta-led comprehensive review of population recovery measures.
A team of researchers from the University of Montana, the University of Colorado and the U.S. Forest Service has found evidence that suggests low-elevation forests have difficult recoveries after forest fires due to climate change. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine trees in several parts of
The TMEM16 family of membrane proteins was hailed as representing the elusive calcium-activated chloride channels. However, the majority of the family members turned out to be scramblases, proteins that shuffle lipids between both sides of a lipid membrane, some also with non-selective ion conductance. In a new study on both mammalian and fungal proteins of the TMEM16 family, Cristina Paulino, hea
The TMEM16 family of membrane proteins was hailed as representing the elusive calcium-activated chloride channels. However, the majority of the family members turned out to be scramblases, proteins that shuffle lipids between both sides of a lipid membrane, some also with non-selective ion conductance. In a new study on both mammalian and fungal proteins of the TMEM16 family, Cristina Paulino, hea
Scientists at Tokyo Tech and Okayama University have greatly improved the performance of LiCoO2 cathodes in Li-ion batteries by decorating them with BaTiO3 nanodots. Most importantly, they elucidated the mechanism behind the measured results, concluding that the BaTiO3 nanodots create a special interface through which Li ions can circulate easily, even at very high charge/discharge rates.
An expedition to an isolated hill range located in Southern India along one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world led to the discovery of a new, ancient lineage of frog endemic to the area, according to a study published today in the journal PeerJ.
As the FDA looks for more information on e-cigarettes and e-juice flavors, a new Dartmouth study shows that adolescents and young adults cite appealing flavors as a main reason for using e-cigarettes, that they are more likely to turn to fruit- and candy-flavored cigarettes than adult smokers trying to quit who more commonly prefer tobacco flavors, and that the younger population are likely to use
The starry dwarf frog is an expert hider. Plunging into leaf litter at the slightest disturbance, it has successfully evaded attention for millions of years — until now. The thumbnail-sized species, now named Astrobatrachus kurichiyana, was discovered in India's Western Ghats. It's the sole member of an ancient lineage, a long branch on the frog tree of life that researchers have classified as a
Scientists say the rise in illnesses is due to a combination of government suppression of research, a lack of disease data and climate change — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Robot-aided rehabilitation represents a step forward for patients with walking difficulties. However, its high price, together with some adaptation and transfer problems, limit its use at present.
In the majority of studies, Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used according to a methodology based on the final evaluation of an already finished design. This article proposes a new approach of using LCA as an evaluation tool at the time of design, making environmental-impact reduction criteria part of the decision-making process in projects so that they affect the final outcome.
We are living through a period of unprecedented environmental breakdown which is increasingly being referred to as "the Anthropocene". As the term becomes more and more pervasive, I want to explain why, as a psychologist and a committed environmentalist, I think it is a highly problematic way of framing our predicament.
Since targeted protein degradation is such a hot topic these days, this paper (which adds to the results obtained by this one ) should get some interest. It's a report of a detailed look at the kinetic behavior of several bifunctional degraders – and there's a lot of kinetic behavior to look at. That's because you're looking at more than one potential binary complex (the bifunctional molecule wit
Researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a robotic limb with artificially intelligent control that learns how to walk by trying to walk. This may seem like a small thing, but it represents a fascinating trend in AI and robotics – shifting more and more to a bottom up rather than top down approach to programming. This recent advance is very incremental, but worth pointin
Health Its usually just air bubbles. People of all ages can experience crepitus, although it becomes more common with old age. So what causes crepitus?
How 2D semiconductors could extend Moore's law How 2D semiconductors could extend Moore's law, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00793-8 Incredibly thin transistors could deliver even more powerful computers if three research challenges can be solved, argue Ming-Yang Li and colleagues.
The starry dwarf frog is an expert hider. Plunging into leaf litter at the slightest disturbance, it has successfully evaded attention for millions of years—until now.
The starry dwarf frog is an expert hider. Plunging into leaf litter at the slightest disturbance, it has successfully evaded attention for millions of years—until now.
Nell Freudenberger, author, Lost and Wanted Elizabeth Bishop's lush and gorgeous sequel to the first English novel, the long narrative poem "Crusoe in England," shows colonialism turning on the colonizers. It's as devastating as it is funny: "I told myself / 'Pity should begin at home.' / So the more / pity I felt, the more I felt at home." Graham Roumieu Erin Lee Carr, author, All That You Leave
Scientists say the rise in illnesses is due to a combination of government suppression of research, a lack of disease data and climate change — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Amazon will stop forbidding third-party merchants who list on its e-commerce platform in the United States from selling the same products on other sites for lower prices, reports Axios. The …
Forestil dig at flytte stykke køkkenfilm fx A4 fra en flade til en anden, uden at det bliver hverken krøllet eller beskidt. Det er nærmest umuligt. Forestil dig så, at filmen kun var et enkelt atom tyk.
Københavns Kommunes Teknik- og Miljøforvaltning foreslår at nedlægge op til 30 parkeringspladser i indre by for at skabe plads til udlejningsløbehjul og -cykler.
Der er næsten lige så mange regler for affaldssortering, som der er kommuner i Danmark, viser ny kortlægning. Det skaber forvirring hos borgerne og får nu ministeren til at kræve strømlining.
Physicists at Saarland University have developed magnetic field sensors that are breaking sensitivity records and opening up a whole range of potential new applications, from non-contact measurements of the electrical activity in the human heart or brain to detecting ore deposits or archaeological remains deep underground. Professor Uwe Hartmann and his research team have developed a system that a
Extreme temperatures, both cold and hot, bring greater mortality risk to people living in China's rural communities than in urban areas, according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The disparity between urban and rural mortality risk was found across the entire population, but was greater for women than men, and for people over 65.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a form of ketamine for use in treatment-resistant depression. While there are unknowns, it is a welcome move, says Celia Morgan
With a price tag of up to €30,000 per kilogram, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Sometimes it even exceeds the price of gold. Its typical aroma is produced by the apocarotenoid Safranal. Saffron is harvested from the flowers of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), which blooms solely in autumn. In order to yield one kilogram of saffron, 150,000 to 200,000 flowers must be harvested
In their secUnity roadmap, 30 renowned European IT security experts of the BMBF-funded secUnity collaboration outlined how digital threats on the European level can be responded to more efficiently in the future. Among these experts also are researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Today, the secUnity scientists will present the roadmap in Brussels and hand it over officially to t
With a price tag of up to €30,000 per kilogram, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Sometimes it even exceeds the price of gold. Its typical aroma is produced by the apocarotenoid Safranal. Saffron is harvested from the flowers of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), which blooms solely in autumn. In order to yield one kilogram of saffron, 150,000 to 200,000 flowers must be harvested
A team of University of Maryland bioengineering researchers have developed a microscopy technique that could one day be used to improve LASIK and eliminate the "surgery" aspect of the procedure. Their findings were published today in Physical Review Letters.
A team of experts in atomic physics, nuclear fusion, and astronomy has computed high-accuracy atomic data for analyzing light from a kilonova, a birth place of heavy elements. They found that their new data set could predict kilonovae brightness with much better accuracy than before. This aids our understanding of the cosmic origins of heavy elements.
Volvo CE har etableret et af de første industrielle 5G-netværk i verden til at fjernstyre tunge entreprenørmaskiner. I Finland kører de første selvkørende biler også over lokale 5G-netværk.
The mouse in the video game The mouse in the video game, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00791-w What virtual-reality animal experiments are revealing about the brain.
It's the 30th anniversary of Tim Berners-Lee's notion of a "distributed hypertext system." Today's web employs the same technology but looks very different.
As outfits like Beta, Joby, and Kitty Hawk explore new kinds of aircraft with pivoting rotors, wings, and more, they must crack the complex problem of keeping heavier-than-air machines aloft.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg touts "reducing permanence" as a principle for his company's privacy-focused future, but it's hard to make things disappear from the internet.
I will do anything I can to avoid admitting I'm sick. I take a double dose of my usual allergy medication when my nose gets stuffy. I blame my building's dry heating system for my scratchy throat. I chalk up my lethargy and malaise to the fact that I spend roughly 14 hours a day on the internet. The one symptom I cannot ignore, however, is my dog's tiny head, resting on my leg during a portion of
Den 14 mars (3.14 med engelskt skrivsätt), firas Pi-dagen runtom i världen. En dag för att uppmärksamma matematikens betydelse – men också nöjet med den. För matematiken är inte bara en vetenskap som ligger till grund för det högteknologiska samhället, den är också en källa till glädje och skönhetsupplevelser. Men vad är det egentligen som gör matematik vacker? Det är något som Umeåforskarna Many
Vår planet befinner sig i ett ständigt bombardemang av kosmiska partiklar. Men ibland blir partikelflödet extra kraftigt när en solstorm sveper förbi. Solstormar består av högenergipartiklar som kastas ut från solen i samband med explosioner på stjärnans yta. De senaste 70 åren har forskare studerat dessa solstormar genom direkta observationer, vilket lett till förståelsen för hur solstormar kan
– Trots att studien omfattar en ganska liten grupp barn såg vi att några av dem uppfyllde alla kriterier för att diagnostiseras med det som kallas metabola syndromet. Det är ett samlingsnamn för olika riskfaktorer, som i kombination ytterligare ökar den sammanlagda risken att utveckla hjärt-kärlsjukdomar som diabetes typ 2 senare i livet, säger läkaren Emma Kjellberg, som lagt fram sin avhandling
I sidste uge kom det frem, at det annullerede udbud på en Digital Post-løsning betyder, at det offentlige må betale E-boks 43 millioner kroner for at holde løsningen kørende, indtil den nye løsning er klar. Nu oplyser Digitaliseringsstyrelsen, at annullationen kommer til at forsinke hele projekte…
A team of scientists in Japan has successfully coaxed activity from 28,000-year-old cells from a frozen mammoth implanted into mouse cells, but the woolly mammal is unlikely to be walking among us soon.
The UK's wild newt populations seem to be free from a flesh-eating lethal fungus known to be prevalent in privately-owned amphibians across Western Europe, a nationwide investigation has found.
The UK's wild newt populations seem to be free from a flesh-eating lethal fungus known to be prevalent in privately-owned amphibians across Western Europe, a nationwide investigation has found.
Advances in technology have enabled scientists to extract unprecedented amounts of ancient DNA from skeletons found at archaeological sites. Interpreting this evidence will require a deeper level of collaboration between archeologists, geneticists, indigenous communities, and museums holding skeletal remains.
Maternal smoking early in pregnancy is associated with increased risk of short stature and obesity in adult daughters Maternal smoking early in pregnancy is associated with increased risk of short stature and obesity in adult daughters, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39006-7 Maternal smoking early in pregnancy is associated with increased risk of short stature and obesity
Altered proteome of high-density lipoproteins from paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors Altered proteome of high-density lipoproteins from paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40906-x Altered proteome of high-density lipoproteins from paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors
Plasma engraved Bi 0.1 (Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 ) 0.9 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3−δ perovskite for highly active and durable oxygen evolution Plasma engraved Bi 0.1 (Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 ) 0.9 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3−δ perovskite for highly active and durable oxygen evolution, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40972-1 Plasma engraved Bi 0.1 (Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 ) 0.9 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3−δ perovskite for highly acti
PTMselect: optimization of protein modifications discovery by mass spectrometry PTMselect: optimization of protein modifications discovery by mass spectrometry, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40873-3 PTMselect: optimization of protein modifications discovery by mass spectrometry
A scavenger receptor B (CD36)-like protein is a potential mediator of intestinal heme absorption in the hematophagous ectoparasite Lepeophtheirus salmonis A scavenger receptor B (CD36)-like protein is a potential mediator of intestinal heme absorption in the hematophagous ectoparasite Lepeophtheirus salmonis , Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40590-x A scavenger receptor B
Waves in spatio-spectral and -temporal coherence of evolving ultra-intense twin beams Waves in spatio-spectral and -temporal coherence of evolving ultra-intense twin beams, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39482-x Waves in spatio-spectral and -temporal coherence of evolving ultra-intense twin beams
Measurement of Glomerular Filtration Rate using Quantitative SPECT/CT and Deep-learning-based Kidney Segmentation Measurement of Glomerular Filtration Rate using Quantitative SPECT/CT and Deep-learning-based Kidney Segmentation, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40710-7 Measurement of Glomerular Filtration Rate using Quantitative SPECT/CT and Deep-learning-based Kidney Segme
Scientists at Tokyo Tech and Okayama University found a way of greatly improving the performance of LiCoO2 cathodes in Li-ion batteries by decorating them with BaTiO3 nanodots. Most importantly, they elucidated the mechanism behind the measured results, concluding that the BaTiO3 nanodots create a special interface through which Li ions can circulate easily, even at very high charge/discharge rate
A UC Davis study documents an unprecedented number of southern marine species moving northward into California and as far north as Oregon during the 2014-2016 marine heatwave. Of 67 rare, warm-water species sightings observed, 37 had never been documented so far north before.
Air pollution could be causing double the number of extra deaths a year in Europe than has been estimated previously, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal.
Influenza type B, though generally less widespread than type A, poses a formidable threat for vulnerable populations like the elderly and the young. In the 2012-2013 flu season, for example, influenza type B caused the majority of deaths due to flu among children, according to data from the CDC. Findings published this week in mBio suggest that an efficient way to boost the efficacy of vaccines ag
Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares and the Universidad de Oviedo have discovered a new molecular mechanism involved in the premature development of atherosclerosis in mice with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.
The UK's wild newt populations seem to be free from a flesh-eating lethal fungus known to be prevalent in privately-owned amphibians across Western Europe, a nationwide investigation has found.
Dynamic emission Stokes shift and liquid-like dielectric solvation of band edge carriers in lead-halide perovskites Dynamic emission Stokes shift and liquid-like dielectric solvation of band edge carriers in lead-halide perovskites, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09057-5 Lead halide perovskites have unique electronic properties that depend on the crystal's anharmonicity.
Structural basis for assembly of vertical single β-barrel viruses Structural basis for assembly of vertical single β-barrel viruses, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08927-2 Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structures of two archaeal, halophilic, internal membrane-containing icosahedral viruses at 3.7 and 3.8 Å resolution, providing insights into the assembly process o
Label-free detection of conformational changes in switchable DNA nanostructures with microwave microfluidics Label-free detection of conformational changes in switchable DNA nanostructures with microwave microfluidics, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09017-z Methods to study conformational changes in biomolecules are limited in resolution and require labelling or other mod
Electrochemical conversion of methane to ethylene in a solid oxide electrolyzer Electrochemical conversion of methane to ethylene in a solid oxide electrolyzer, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09083-3 Conversion of methane into ethylene is important for chemical feedstocks, but is challenged by catalysts with low selectivity and performance degradation. Here the authors re
Quantifying protein dynamics and stability in a living organism Quantifying protein dynamics and stability in a living organism, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09088-y Studying protein kinetics and stability in living organisms is challenging and most studies are performed in cell culture. Here the authors combine meganuclease-mediated transformation and fluorescence-dete
Emerging roles of eraser enzymes in the dynamic control of protein ADP-ribosylation Emerging roles of eraser enzymes in the dynamic control of protein ADP-ribosylation, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08859-x ADP-ribose erasing enzymes are increasingly recognized as critical regulators of protein ADP-ribosylation dynamics in living systems. Here, the authors review recent
Parallel analysis of tri-molecular biosynthesis with cell identity and function in single cells Parallel analysis of tri-molecular biosynthesis with cell identity and function in single cells, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09128-7 Simultaneous quantification of DNA, RNA and protein at the single cell level has not yet been possible. Here the authors introduce a molecular
Live imaging of alveologenesis in precision-cut lung slices reveals dynamic epithelial cell behaviour Live imaging of alveologenesis in precision-cut lung slices reveals dynamic epithelial cell behaviour, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09067-3 The process of alveologenesis is incompletely understood, partly due to the lack of applicable real-time imaging methods. Here the
Dozens of species of sea slugs, jellyfish and other marine life from toastier southern waters migrated into the Northern California region over an unusually long two-year period of severe heatwaves, says a new scientific report.
German automaker Volkswagen said Tuesday it plans to ramp up its production of electric vehicles over the next ten years to 22 million and reduce its carbon footprint over vehicle life cycles by 30 percent.
Dozens of species of sea slugs, jellyfish and other marine life from toastier southern waters migrated into the Northern California region over an unusually long two-year period of severe heatwaves, says a new scientific report.
Same tea, different mug. Biomolecules, an MDPI journal, has retracted a 2018 paper by on the salubrious effects of tea because the authors had previously published the same article in a Chinese-language journal. The paper, "Evaluation of anti-obesity activity, acute toxicity, and subacute toxicity of probiotic dark tea," came from researchers in China and one … Continue reading When a paper duplic
Scientists, help keep coal in the ground Scientists, help keep coal in the ground, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00826-2 Scientists, help keep coal in the ground
"Work on problems you most enjoy" — Munk's legacy "Work on problems you most enjoy" — Munk's legacy, Published online: 12 March 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00827-1 "Work on problems you most enjoy" — Munk's legacy
Not being able to pay your bills has the functional equivalent of lowering your IQ by 13 points. Many Americans have scarcity mindsets because of their inability to pay their bills. In a scarcity mindset, your functional bandwidth decreases — it influences you to be less generous and less reasonable. The opposite of a mindset of scarcity is a mindset of abundance, which is what many entrepreneurs
When it was announced on Monday that Milwaukee, Wisconsin, would host next year's Democratic National Convention, I wondered how long it would take for someone to point out that the city was once run by Socialists. As it turns out, just minutes. "No city in America has stronger ties to socialism than Milwaukee," declared the executive director of Wisconsin's GOP. "And with the rise of Bernie Sand
This story contains light spoilers about Captain Marvel . In one of several climactic fight scenes in Captain Marvel , the titular character meets, and soon enough battles, a group of powerful baddies. The skirmish they engage in is predictably familiar within pretty much any Marvel film—a long-awaited reckoning, a violent dance rendered in fists and twirls and blood—until, that is, the opening l
The Republic of Fiji is perhaps best known as an earthly paradise, dotted with luxury beach resorts catering to the global elite. Yet Fijian history has a dark side to it. Since the colonial era, Fijian society has been divided between the country's indigenous population, which is itself fragmented by status hierarchies, and Fijians of Indian origin, most of whom are the descendants of impoverish
Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg published his latest manifesto: a public memo titled " A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking ." There's growing demand for "privacy-focused communications," he wrote. So while classic Facebook isn't going away, he sees an opportunity to build a simpler platform "focused on privacy first." What follows is masterfully subtle misdirection. "I understa
I was looking at "This person does not exist" and reading the paper that follows it. For those who doesn't know it the site demos at GAN that generates realistic portraits. https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/ In the intro to the paper there is something interesting: " ProGAN generates high-quality images but, as in most models, its ability to control specific features of the generated image is ve
Extracting and processing materials, fuel and food contributes as much as half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, the UN said Tuesday, as experts gathered in Kenya to find ways to rein in exploding global consumption.
Carmakers Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors announced the creation of a joint board Tuesday, as they seek to plot a future for their alliance after the downfall of former boss Carlos Ghosn.
A British-led scientific mission to document changes taking place beneath the Indian Ocean has broadcast its first live, television-quality video transmission from a two-person submersible.
Mammoth German carmaker Volkswagen reported Thursday growing profits and revenues in 2018, beating analysts' forecasts despite enormous charges linked to its "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal and headwinds from tough new pollution tests.
It's now known rather famously, in Donald Trump's Twitter feed at least, as the "walk"—the president cutting short his summit in Vietnam with Kim Jong Un because, per a wisdom that fast took root back in Washington, no nuclear deal was better than a bad one. Since the standoff in late February, however, the reasons Trump walked and where he's headed on North Korea have remained obscure. In a clas
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was the third leading cause of 'health loss due to disease' in the United States behind ischemic heart disease and low back/neck pain in 2016.Bystander interventions, such as CPR and AED application, significantly reduce death and disability due to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
A new study shows that growing grasses alongside blueberry plants corrects signs of iron deficiency, with associated improvements in berry quantity and quality. The effects are comparable to those seen following standard chemical treatment — providing a simpler, safer, cheaper and more sustainable strategy for blueberry farming on sub-optimal soils.
PLUS. Under en gåtur med hunden udtænkte Klaus Koren en plan for en kemisk sensor, der uforstyrret skal måle på ammoniakindhold i spildevand eller bassiner med fiskeopdræt.
Research in the past several years has shown that children can outgrow a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), once considered a lifelong condition. In a new study, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have found that the vast majority of such children still have difficulties that require therapeutic and educational support. The study was published
Physicists have long suspected that quantum mechanics allows two observers to experience different, conflicting realities. Now they've performed the first experiment that proves it.