A case of a man who appears to have experienced acute psychosis triggered by the UK's 2016 European Union referendum result has been described in a medical journal
University of Queensland research shows there is more at play than just a sinking feeling when you stumble during movement or trip in a hole in the ground.
A new study of more than 700,000 one to 19-year olds being treated for HIV infection suggests a ten-fold increase in the number of adolescents aged 15 to 19 receiving HIV treatment in South Africa, according to results published in The Lancet HIV journal.
Taking antidepressants while expecting a baby is linked to a heightened risk of developing diabetes that is specifically related to pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Political events can take a serious toll on mental health, a doctor has warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports, after treating a man with a brief episode of acute psychosis, triggered by the 2016 Referendum on Brexit — the process of the UK leaving the European Union (EU).
Lop (floppy) eared rabbits are more likely than erect ('up') eared breeds to have potentially painful ear and dental problems that may ultimately affect their ability to hear and eat properly, finds a small observational study published in Vet Record.
Comments or questions? Send us an email anytime. Were you forwarded this email? Sign yourself up here. We appreciate your continued support for our journalism. Today in Politics (MARK WILSON / WIN MCNAMEE / RICK WILKING / REUTERS / TIMQUO / SHUTTERSTOCK / MARIO TAMA / GETTY / ARSH RAZIUDDIN / THE ATLANTIC) A scandal-plagued president facing impeachment. A besieged administration. An angry public.
Lop (floppy) eared rabbits are more likely than erect ('up') eared breeds to have potentially painful ear and dental problems that may ultimately affect their ability to hear and eat properly, finds a small observational study published in Vet Record.
Lop (floppy) eared rabbits are more likely than erect ('up') eared breeds to have potentially painful ear and dental problems that may ultimately affect their ability to hear and eat properly, finds a small observational study published in Vet Record.
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to develop poor respiratory health based on lung function tests, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.
Spanish researchers in Valencia have identified specific fragments of genetic material that play a role in the development of respiratory failure and sepsis in pneumonia patients, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. The findings could enable doctors to test quickly for these biological markers when a patient is admitted to hospital with pneum
Taking a low dose of the antibiotic azithromycin for 6 months reduces symptoms for patients with the chronic lung condition primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. It is the first trial of its kind to demonstrate an effective therapy for PCD.
A third of patients with severe asthma are taking harmful doses of oral steroids, according to a study of several thousand people in The Netherlands, presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.
The private rocket company laid out a handful of groundbreaking plans over the weekend. (Credit: SpaceX) Elon Musk gave a barrage of updates on the future of SpaceX as he stood in front of the company's new Starship and original Falcon rockets on Saturday in Boca Chica, Texas. During the presentation, Musk touched on the details in Starship's design, the possibilities for the craft, and the timeli
Trevor McIntyre faces off against a male southern elephant seal. His job was to distract aggressive males with a broomstick while his colleagues checked on other seals or glued tracking devices to their heads. (Credit: Phathutshedzo M. Radzilani) (Inside Science) — The first time Paul Krausman jumped out of a helicopter and wrestled a deer to the ground was in 1978. Another researcher had shot a
The Hubble Space Telescope appears to float above Earth in this image taken by an Atlantis crewmember in 2009. (Credit: NASA) NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was launched into orbit on the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Thanks to its perch above most of Earth's turbulent atmosphere, the telescope's relatively modest 2.4-meter mirror has given us an unprecedented window on the unive
Shipping traffic accounts for a larger percentage of plastic trash in some parts of the oceans than scientists realized. (Credit: Stephane Bidouze) Rafts of garbage, assembled by currents that swirl trash together, clog our oceans. But how did that material wind up adrift in the first place? A new study takes a look at the refuse that washes up on a remote island in the South Atlantic and arrives
The studies researchers used to evaluate the evidence around red meat consumption's effects on overall health was based on observational studies rather than specific interventions, and is deemed as low quality. (Pixabay/) Most major dietary guidelines—including those in the United Kingdom, the United States, and those published by the World Cancer Research Fund—recommend that people reduce their
It could be a throwback to a mechanism that induces ovulation during sex, researchers propose, but not everyone thinks the results can be extrapolated to people.
Come on over; pull up a 'mock. (Esther Tuttle via Unsplash/) Swaying gently in a hammock sparks a joy that is hard to replicate by any other means. With your own outdoor lounge, you can get that feeling on any sunny, breezy day. Below, some of the best hammock options available—though really, any hammock is better than no hammock at all. Durable, comfortable cotton. (Amazon/) Take off your shoes
A group led by Makedonka Mitreva at Washington University in St. Louis has recently performed the largest comparative genomic analysis of fluke species to date, including Fp. Buski and Fa. Hepatica and Fa. gigantica. It has made the genomes of all three human-infecting flukes widely available for the scientific community, and provided a better understanding of their evolutionary history, diversity
We hope you're ready to go kayaking and then watch the kayaking again later. (GoPro/) This morning, GoPro announced a new camera called Max 360. Its flat, square body has a super-wide-angle lens on either side of the device, while a small screen occupies the bottom of the camera. Like so many dual-camera devices before it, the idea is that you can capture a spherical image that includes an entire
Suck it up. (The Creative Exchange via Unsplash/) A vacuum cleaner that's easy to haul out and move around your house will make cleaning way more enjoyable. A top-notch vacuum will last years and cost a pretty penny, so it's worth putting in the research to make sure you're buying something that'll fit your needs. Here are three we recommend. Probably the most fun to use. (Amazon/) Dyson's vacuum
Greta Thunberg is the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who recently criticized United Nations members for failing to do more on climate change. Since her speech and the global climate strikes last week, Austria's Green Party saw a surge in support, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saw a drop in support among young Canadians. Thunberg has received waves of criticism since her speec
Get the right level of toast. (Manki Kim via Unsplash/) Nobody will be able to convince me that there is a better midnight snack than PB and J on toast, and that late-night meal (which is also great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, elevenses, afternoon tea, and supper) absolutely requires bread heated to an even, golden crisp. That means I need a great toaster. If yours is so old it takes 15 minutes
It's the big question. And it's impossible not to ponder. (Popular Science/) Measured edge to edge, the universe as we know it stretches some 93 billion light-years across. That unfathomable expanse contains 2 trillion galaxies, each shining with millions of stars and dotted with more planets than you can imagine. Given all that real estate, it seems unlikely we're alone. Yet in all of human hist
A recent Chinese mission has revealed more about the South Pole Aitken basin Most space rocks that hurtle towards Earth burn up in the atmosphere. The moon's lack of atmosphere means it does not have the same protection, and consequently its surface is peppered with craters. The oldest and largest crater – a massive 2,000km across and 13km deep – sits at the far side of the moon. Known as the Sou
Cave Dweller In 2002, Song Jiang escaped from the Chinese prison camp where he was serving a sentence for trafficking women and children. After 17 years on the lam, Song is now back in custody — because the tiny cave where he'd been hiding out was spotted by a camera-equipped drone. Eye Spy On Friday, Yongshan police released a statement on the Chinese messenger app WeChat. In it, they noted that
According to a decade-long study by an international team of researchers, human CO2 emissions total 100 times more than the planet-warming effects of all volcanoes combined. The total amount emitted by volcanoes is only about 0.3 gigatons a year — a tiny fraction of the 37 gigatons humankind produced in 2018 alone. That means they're not nearly as big of a contributor to global emissions as some
A 10-minute escape and a reset for a tough day. (Jeshoots.com via Unsplash/) Virtual reality gear right now is like computers were in the 1970s: chunky, awkward, and limited in capabilities. But perhaps like the PC, VR will refine and redefine itself in the next couple of decades until it becomes as common as the smartphone. Want to get started? We've selected a few headsets both high-end and beg
In another sign that California condors are making a comeback in the wild three decades after nearing the brink of extinction, a condor chick left its nest and made its first attempt at flight in Utah's Zion National Park.
From a professional standpoint, Nathan Hoot, MD, Ph.D., understands the value of medical research that leads to new, groundbreaking drugs in the treatment of rare diseases. And as an emergency medicine physician, he's familiar with adjusting ventilators and managing patients' airways. But the magnitude of these matters also weigh on Hoot personally — as the father of a child with a rare genetic d
A paradox of food insecurity in wealthy countries is its association with excess weight. Now, a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco finds that young adults in the United States who are food insecure not only are slightly more likely to be obese, they are significantly more likely to suffer from disorders associated with high body mass index, as well as obstructive airway diseases like ast
Physicists have found a way to measure the elusive quantum phase of electrons. This enables a new, better view of important phenomena used in photosensors or photovoltaics.
Nuclear abnormalities such as nuclear blebs and micronuclei have devastating consequences for the genetic material and are associated with cancer or ageing. Scientists now revealed that the epigenetic enzyme MOF is crucial for the morphological integrity of the mammalian nucleus. Moreover, the study characterized the epigenetic landscape of nuclear abnormalities and discovered a formerly unknown e
Deafness in early childhood is known to lead to lasting changes in how sounds are processed in the brain, but new research published today shows that even mild-to-moderate levels of hearing loss in young children can lead to similar changes.
Whether we're searching for Waldo or our keys in a room of clutter, we tap into a part of the frontal region of the brain when performing visual, goal-related tasks. Some of us do it well, whereas for others it's a bit challenging. One researcher set out to investigate why, and what specifically this part of the brain, called the pre-supplementary motor area, does during searching.
A team of New Jersey stroke researchers has linked recovery of reading and language competence with cerebral blood flow in the left reading network. Their findings may contribute to new approaches to identifying and treating reading deficits after stroke.
People over 50 aren't quite ready to fully embrace telemedicine, virtual health visits with their doctors and other providers, a new national poll suggests. Of those surveyed, only 4% had had a video-based telehealth visit with a doctor via smartphone or computer in the past year. They had mixed reactions. Meanwhile, more than half of all those polled didn't even know if their health providers of
In another sign that California condors are making a comeback in the wild three decades after nearing the brink of extinction, a condor chick left its nest and made its first attempt at flight in Utah's Zion National Park.
Putting power and potential behind gender equity in health care isn't just common sense. It's critical to the future of health, safety, and independence for us all as we age, so says the American Geriatrics Society in a new position statement. The statement outlines strategic objectives that can help us achieve a simple truth: 'When women rise, we all rise.'
Sleep under the stars. (Yan Allegre via Unsplash/) When you're out adventuring, camping, or backpacking, a good night's rest can be the fine line between enjoying nature's splendors and counting the hours until you're back inside. A sleeping bag proven to keep its inhabitants warm and dry is key to a good time. It's important to note that not all sleeping bags are built to accommodate every trip
You ever commute on a skateboard? (Amazon/) A man named Louie Finkle (also known as Electric Louie) first filed a patent for electric skateboards in 1999, though they weren't commercially available until around 2005. If you haven't tried it before, skating with an electronic boost is next-level, unadulterated joy. An electric skateboard allows you to go way faster without any additional effort an
Study of 500K doses of 12 drugs led by Cincinnati Children's shows that hospitals provide medications according to staffing schedules rather than the ideal dosing times for their patients.
Being in a relationship might make a man more attractive to women. (Credit: Roman Seliutin/Shutterstock) Here's an option for men struggling to find female partners: Hire a professional wing woman for a night on the town. A beautiful, charismatic companion will help ease you into conversations with prospective dates. At least, that's the claim companies touting the service make. But there may be a
It may become possible to sense the handedness, or chirality, of single proteins, research suggests. That would be a boon for pharmaceutical companies that require drug purity. A molecule with the correct chirality can save a life, while the same molecule of the opposite chirality can be highly toxic. Chemists report in Science that bovine serum albumin (BSA), a standard-issue protein in nano-bio
'Our findings support the utility of cerebral perfusion as a biomarker for recovery after stroke,' said Dr. Boukrina, research scientist at the Center for Stroke Rehabilitation Research at Kessler Foundation, 'and indicate that early reperfusion of the left reading network is essential to reading performance. We also found that increased perfusion of the right reading network correlated with worse
Conservationist and TED Fellow Moreangels Mbizah studied the famous Cecil the lion until he was shot by a trophy hunter in 2015. She wonders how things could've gone differently, asking: "What if the community that lived next to Cecil was involved in protecting him?" In a quick talk, Mbizah shares the state of conservation in her home of Zimbabwe — and why she thinks that communities living with
Evidence from a new study in mouse models shows that increasing the level of functional 'good' cholesterol may help reverse atherosclerosis in diabetes.
Do you have weak forearms? Is your lack of forearm strength holding you back? The Get-Fit Guy answers a listener's question and gets to the bottom of this weakness — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
From walking the dog, to swimming in a river or landing on the moon, the forces and interactions we see and experience seem infinite. But they all stem from just four fundamental forces of nature, and even those might be parts of just one universal force.
This was supposed to be the year. After nearly a decade of planning, NASA astronauts would fly to space on launch systems built by a commercial company hired to do the job the space agency no longer could, not after the Space Shuttle program ended . For years, the United States had paid Russia to send its spacefarers to the International Space Station. Now the country would do it on its own again
Putting power and potential behind gender equity in health care isn't just common sense. It's critical to the future of health, safety, and independence for us all as we age, so says the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) in a new position statement released today, International Day of Older Persons. The statement outlines strategic objectives that can help us achieve a simple truth: 'When women ri
Getting better access to testing and proper primary care for individuals vulnerable to HIV could be as simple as a telephone call or email among health providers.
The human gut microbiome is the complex ecosystem of microorganisms that live in your digestive tract, and over the past 15 years scientists have discovered that this ecosystem plays a huge role in our overall health and wellbeing. However, unlike a lot of pseudoscientific blogs would have you believe, improving gut health is not as simple as drinking kefir and eating probiotic yogurt. That's bec
Gone Too Soon Back in January, China became the first country to grow a plant on the Moon — a single cotton seedling sprouted before dying in the harsh cold of the lunar night. But newly-released images reveal that the cotton plant fared a little bit better in its sealed-off biome than previously believed. The seedling grew two green leaves before it died, according to IEEE Spectrum , instead of
Researchers have evidence of another method that bacteria use to resist antibiotics. (Sirirat/Shutterstock/) Widespread antibiotic use is largely to blame for the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, which is currently one of the biggest threats to global health. Not only does antibiotic resistance already cause an estimated 700,000 deaths a year , it's also made numerous infections, inclu
The Scientist is bringing together a panel of experts to share their research, and to highlight the challenges and advantages in utilizing specific model organisms.
Kamran Khodakhah, a researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, describes the cerebellum's newly described role in addictive and social behaviors.
The 2020 Sony World Photography Awards are now taking entries, and the organizers were once again kind enough to share some of their early photos with us, gathered here. This year's competition has an expanded youth-competition schedule, a new overall environment category, and two new awards: the Latin America Professional Award, and the China National Student Award. Entries in the open competiti
Phone Home If aliens come to Earth, it won't be to destroy humans — it'll be to save us from the apocalypse. At least, that's one of the core beliefs shared by members of UFO Kaokala, a Thailand-based group highlighted in a fascinating new Vice story . Another eyebrow-raising belief espoused by the group, which has amassed thousands of online followers : that they can talk to aliens through a por
Researchers using the Green Bank Telescope recently discovered a star dubbed J0740+6620, a neutron star that's about as massive as they get. Neutron stars are unique, leftover cores of more massive stars. They're so dense that they're almost entirely composed of neutrons, which makes for some very strange physics. In J0740+6620's case, the astronomers were quite lucky: This star exhibited two phe
Mothers who have suffered from domestic violence are substantially less likely to follow recommended breastfeeding practices in low to middle-income countries, a new study shows.
Mothers exposed to intimate partner violence in low- and middle-income countries are less likely to initiate breastfeeding early and breastfeed exclusively in the first six months, according to a study published October 1 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Dr Rishi Caleyachetty of the University of Warwick in the UK, and colleagues.
This spring, Deb Fallows and I made a trip through Indiana for a series of events and meetings co-organized by New America Indianapolis and Indiana Humanities . We were in Muncie, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and the small northern-Indiana town of Angola. You can read some of our series of reports here from Fort Wayne , here from Muncie , and here from Angola , with links to others. While we were th
What happened to reliability? Kanye West admitted that "it's been a shaky-ass year" back in 2018 , and a jolty, quaking feeling of foundations faltering has continued to define popular hip-hop lately. Just this weekend, West blew off two separate release dates . This summer, Lil Nas X, a previously unfamous meme maker too young to drink, broke seemingly unbreakable chart records by donning countr
High levels of fructose in the diet inhibit the liver's ability to properly metabolize fat. This effect is specific to fructose. Indeed, equally high levels of glucose in the diet actually improve the fat-burning function of the liver.
A researcher has shown for the first time that the shape of a nanostructure has an effect on its ability to retain water. This has important ramifications for heat transfer, which is important when it comes to performance in small electronics.
Being in between living and non-living, viruses are, in general, strange. Among viruses, multipartite viruses are among the most peculiar — their genome is not packed into one, but many, particles. Multipartite viruses primarily infect plants rather than animals. A recent article uses mathematical and computational models to explain this observation.
On 22 December 2018, a flank of the Anak Krakatau plunged into the Sunda strait between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, triggering a tsunami that killed 430 people. An international research team has now shown that the volcano produced clear warning signals before its collapse. The researchers recommend to use their study to improve monitoring of volcanoes.
Chemists have fabricated for the first time plasmonic color-switchable films of silver nanoparticles. Until now, such color changing of nanoparticles was mainly achieved in liquids, limiting their potential for practical applications. The technology has a number of applications: product authentication, color displays, signage, sensors, and information encryption.
Researchers have found it can significantly boost an existing polymer's ability to selectively remove carbon dioxide out of gas mixtures by first submerging the material in liquid water.
Researchers have identified and confirmed the gene responsible for lutein esterification in bread wheat. The activity of this gene controls the timing of esterification in grain, which is related to storage and nutritional qualities of bread wheat and other grains.
Researchers have found it can significantly boost an existing polymer's ability to selectively remove carbon dioxide out of gas mixtures by first submerging the material in liquid water.
A hurricane packing a punch rarely witnessed in the mid-Atlantic Ocean is bearing down on the Azores Islands, placing emergency services on red alert for waves that could reach eight stories high, winds that could flatten homes and heavy rains that could turn into torrents on steep mountains.
The remnant low pressure area that was formerly known as tropical cyclone Narda is still generating rainfall as it moves toward the southwestern U.S. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite provided a look at the rainfall occurring on the eastern side of the system.
Researchers suspect that psilocybin — the psychedelic compound that puts the "magic" in magic mushrooms — could prove useful for treating a host of mental health problems, from depression to anorexia . If that proves to be the case, though, there's no easy way to mass produce the compound. Growing enough of the mushrooms that make it naturally would require significant space and time, while the s
Early phase clinical trial demonstrates that DNA (DNA-HIV-PT123) and protein (AIDSVAX® B/E) combination vaccine regimens induced high magnitude and long-lasting binding antibody responses and that more rapid potentially protective immune responses were observed when the vaccine regimens were co-administered.
With the United Nations recently concluding discussion of climate change and leaders returning to their countries to explore new solutions, newly-released public-private research from New York University and Columbia Business School proposes a new method for calculating carbon tax rates based on environmental, economic and social factors, including the costs the public pays for carbon usage such a
As our electronic devices get more sophisticated, they also generate more heat that must be released for maximum performance. Damena Agonafer, a mechanical engineer and materials scientist in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, is perfecting a way to dissipate the heat through a unique process involving tiny liquid drops on top of an array of micropillars.
New research highlights two factors that play a critical role in supporting reef fish populations and—ultimately—creating conditions that are more favorable for the growth of both coral reefs and seagrass.
The bulk of Typhoon Mitag's clouds and precipitation has been pushed north of its center, extending its reach over the East China Sea. Mitag was centered just off the coast of China's Zhejiang province when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead, but the bulk of the clouds were pushed north of center to the Korean Peninsula and southern Japan.
We have combined the faces of more than 500 Nobel laureates to visualize the average winner of the Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine, physics, and chemistry. Nobel-Face.jpg From left to right, the average faces for past Nobel winners in physiology or medicine, physics, and chemistry. Image credits: Generated by Yuen Yiu using the online tool Smoishele by Olaf Janssen Culture Tuesday, Octobe
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02920-x As lung injuries among e-cigarette users mount amid a youth vaping epidemic, the impact of new restrictions remains unclear.
The new observation that strains of V. cholerae can be expelled into the environment after being ingested by protozoa, and that these bacteria are then primed for colonization and infection in humans, could help explain why cholera is so persistent in aquatic environments. The disease-causing bacteria are protected in the protozoan gut and ejected into the environment in membrane-bound expelled fo
A new study suggests that transmission of a protozoan parasite from insects may also cause leishmaniasis-like symptoms in people. The parasite, however, does not respond to treatment with standard leishmaniasis drugs.
Scientists have found that global tuna catches have increased over 1,000 per cent in the past six decades, fueled by a massive expansion of industrial fisheries.
Two critical reviews examine the current status of biologic approaches for common shoulder and elbow problems. The authors discuss areas where the current evidence base is weak or controversial and recommend where further studies are required.
New research highlights two factors that play a critical role in supporting reef fish populations and – ultimately – creating conditions that are more favorable for the growth of both coral reefs and seagrass.
An environmentally benign gel-like fluid that helps common fire retardants last longer on vegetation could greatly reduce the incidence and severity of wildfires, researchers say. The materials retain their ability to prevent fires throughout the peak fire season, even after weathering that would sweep away conventional fire retardants. By stopping fires from starting, these kinds of treatments c
Busted Russian engineer Denis Baykov was fined 450,000 rubles ($6,880) on Friday for using the supercomputer at the top-secret nuclear lab at which he works to mine Bitcoin. The nuclear research center in an off-limits town called Sarov, where the former Soviet Union first managed to build nuclear weapons . The facility contains some of Russia's most powerful supercomputers, according to The Mosc
New research highlights two factors that play a critical role in supporting reef fish populations and—ultimately—creating conditions that are more favorable for the growth of both coral reefs and seagrass.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up skin, bone, tendons and other soft tissues. Its fibrous nature helps cells to move throughout the body, but until now, it wasn't clear how the length of fibers influences how cells move in groups.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up skin, bone, tendons and other soft tissues. Its fibrous nature helps cells to move throughout the body, but until now, it wasn't clear how the length of fibers influences how cells move in groups.
– Samtidigt som franska revolutionärer avskaffade genealogin som princip för samhällsordningen, upptäckte franska vetenskapsmän genealogin som princip för naturens ordning. Det är svårt att säga exakt hur dessa händelser hängde ihop, men sambandet vad gäller tid och plats är häpnadsväckande, säger Petter Hellström, som skrivit en avhandling släktträdens historia. Släktträd är idag självklara meta
Before the French Revolution, family trees were reserved for the feudal upper classes, who used them to consolidate their social status. While feudalism broke down and family trees lost their old roles, the trees gained new functions as scientific models.
An image from a video (at bottom) of Dennis Buehn guiding his aircraft through an aileron roll over the Nevada desert. (Rob Verger/) Flying in a silver airplane over the brown desert hills of Nevada, pilot Dennis Buehn prepared to roll us by pointing the plane's nose upwards above the horizon. I was strapped in behind him, in the only other seat in the 38-foot long plane, and felt a push backward
The remnant low pressure area that was formerly known as tropical cyclone Narda is still generating rainfall as it moves toward the southwestern US. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite provided a look at the rainfall occurring on the eastern side of the system.
The hard problem of consciousness, as coined by the philosopher David Chalmers, asks: Why must we be conscious? Given that the brain is an information processing engine, why does it need to feel like anything to be us? The problem of AI consciousness is equally complicated. We know humans are conscious, but when it comes to AI, the question is: Could the AIs that we humans develop be conscious be
A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found little correlation between red meat consumption and health problems. A number of organizations immediately contested the evidence, claiming it to be based on an irrelevant system of analysis. Beef and dairy production is one of the leading drivers of climate change, forcing humans to weigh personal health against the environment. None It is per
Echo! SpaceX CEO Elon Musk uploaded a video on Tuesday showing the cavernous, unfinished interior of the space company's gargantuan Starship prototype. Inside Starship cargo bay. Header tanks mounted in tip of nosecone to offset engine weight at rear. pic.twitter.com/EJSwqMCooA — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2019 Musk revealed the stainless steel monstrosity during a presentation at SpaceX's
A Washington University in St. Louis researcher has shown for the first time that the shape of a nanostructure has an effect on its ability to retain water. This has important ramifications for heat transfer, which is important when it comes to performance in small electronics.
Being in between living and non-living, viruses are, in general, strange. Among viruses, multipartite viruses are among the most peculiar — their genome is not packed into one, but many, particles. Multipartite viruses primarily infect plants rather than animals. A recent paper by researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) uses mathematical and computational models to explain thi
DJI is a staple in the drone market, but it seems that Skydio could pose a serious threat to the company with their latest drone, the Skydio 2, the successor to the Skydio R1 that comes in …
Could social media data predict your death? Social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook collect a staggering amount of data points from us, so much data that our social media activity can pretty accurately reveal things from gym habits to the state of our mental well-being. An article from last year covered a Facebook patent related to algorithms that can predict major life chang
Researchers Jacinta Watkins and Barry Pogson from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Energy Biology, Australian National University, together with others at ANU and their colleagues at the University of Adelaide, University of Sydney, and University of Toronto, designed their study to understand the esterification of lutein in wheat grain.
As the fall television season kicks into high gear, some of our favorite shows aren't doing a good job depicting issues of homelessness and housing insecurity, according to new research from American University's Center for Media & Social Impact CMSI).
Appearing in everything from sushi rolls to sandwiches, tuna are among the world's favourite fish. But are our current tuna fishing habits sustainable?
Hurricane Lorenzo was heading toward the Azores Islands when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided forecasters with an image of the storm. Satellite imagery revealed the large extent of the storm.
Researchers Jacinta Watkins and Barry Pogson from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Energy Biology, Australian National University, together with others at ANU and their colleagues at the University of Adelaide, University of Sydney, and University of Toronto, designed their study to understand the esterification of lutein in wheat grain.
New research suggests that patients with sepsis and septic lung injury could have a better chance of survival and recover more quickly when treated with vitamin C infusions. On average, the vitamin C group spent three fewer days in the ICU at day 28 and a week less in the hospital overall by day 60 than the placebo group.
People who live in rural counties in five states heavily affected by the opioid epidemic must drive longer distances to obtain methadone, a treatment for opioid addiction, compared to individuals from urban counties, say researchers. Their study suggests these long drive times in rural counties could be reduced by making methadone more accessible in primary care clinics.
Liquid and solid – most people are unaware that there can be states in between. Liquid crystals are representative of one such state. While the molecules in liquids swim around at random, neighboring molecules in liquid crystals are aligned as in regular crystal grids, but the material is still liquid.
According to Einstein, light consists of particles (photons) that transfer only quantized energy to the electron of the atom. If the photon's energy is sufficient, it knocks the electrons out of the atom. But what happens to the photon's momentum in this process? Physicists are now able to answer this question. To do so, they developed and constructed and new spectrometer with previously unattaina
Striking a power pose before an important meeting or interview is not going to boost your confidence or make you feel more powerful, says a researcher. A psychology professor reviewed nearly 40 studies on the topic and found not a single one supports the claims that power posing works.
For the first time ever, a professor has observed a crystallized iron product called hemozoin being made in mammals, with widespread implications for future research and treatment of blood disorders. Findings could be used to treat sickle cell disease and malaria patients, while opening up diverse research avenues across immunology, parasitology, neuroscience, microbiology, and even urology.
Researchers used survey data from nearly 26,000 respondents in their analysis, which marks one of the most detailed investigations ever into the well-being effects of being beside the sea. After taking other related factors into account, the study revealed that living in large towns and cities near to England's coastline is linked with better mental health for those in the lowest earning household
Immune therapy added to chemotherapy improves pathological complete response in patients with early triple negative breast cancer, according to new results from the KEYNOTE-522 trial. Interim results from the study, which is the first phase III trial of immunotherapy in early breast cancer, also indicated an improvement in event-free survival.
Patients with severe asthma which is not controlled with standard treatment — leaving them at risk of severe asthma attacks — could benefit from using a single inhaler combining three, instead of 2 therapies, according to two phase 3 randomized controlled trials with over 2,500 patients across 17 countries.
An international team of researchers has found it can significantly boost an existing polymer's ability to selectively remove carbon dioxide (CO2) out of gas mixtures by first submerging the material in liquid water.
A new study investigated the effectiveness of Seattle, WA's Democracy Voucher program in expanding participation from marginalized communities in a local election, where voters were each given four, twenty-five-dollar vouchers to assign to the local candidates of their choice. The results, lessons learned, and implications of this fascinating study are published in Election Law Journal.
The genetic material of each mammalian cell is safeguarded within the cell's nucleus. In healthy organisms, the usually round-shaped nucleus gets its stability from the nuclear envelope and the nuclear lamina. The latter is a network of proteins sandwiched between the inner nuclear envelope and the DNA, and largely shapes nuclear form.
Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect: in its most intuitive form, a single atom is irradiated with light. According to Einstein, light consists of particles (photons) that transfer only quantised energy to the electron of the atom. If the photon's energy is sufficient, it knocks the electrons out of the atom. But what happens to the photon's momentum in
A survey of over 600 senior academics, mid-tier researchers and postgraduate students in the physical, natural and social sciences has revealed that many feel they do not have the skills needed for successful collaborative research projects. Only 20 percent of participants said that they had accessed training on collaboration through their institution or externally. At the same time, collaborative
Liquid and solid—most people are unaware that there can be states in between. Liquid crystals are representative of one such state. While the molecules in liquids swim around at random, neighboring molecules in liquid crystals are aligned as in regular crystal grids, but the material is still liquid. Liquid crystals are thus an example of an intermediate state that is neither really solid nor real
The discovery that free electrons can move asymmetrically provides a deeper understanding of one of the basic processes in physics: the photoelectric effect. It was first described by Albert Einstein and explains how high frequency light releases electrons from a material. The results have been published in Physical Review Letters.
Appearing in everything from sushi rolls to sandwiches, tuna are among the world's favourite fish. But are our current tuna fishing habits sustainable?
The genetic material of each mammalian cell is safeguarded within the cell's nucleus. In healthy organisms, the usually round-shaped nucleus gets its stability from the nuclear envelope and the nuclear lamina. The latter is a network of proteins sandwiched between the inner nuclear envelope and the DNA, and largely shapes nuclear form.
The last time a president faced impeachment proceedings, I was aware of the events that precipitated them only from the snippets I overheard from news broadcasts on my parents' TV. From what I could gather, President Bill Clinton had done something bad, a lady named Monica Lewinsky was involved, and people were mad at both of them about it. I got some clarity on the matter one morning in my third
The bulk of Typhoon Mitag's clouds and precipitation has been pushed north of its center, extending its reach over the East China Sea. Mitag was centered just off the coast of China's Zhejiang province when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead, but the bulk of the clouds were pushed north of center to the Korean Peninsula and southern Japan.
Engineers from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University have shown that the length of collagen fibers has a roll to play in the ability of normal cells to become invasive.
Two critical reviews in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, published by Elsevier, examine the current status of biologic approaches for common shoulder and elbow problems. The authors discuss areas where the current evidence base is weak or controversial and recommend where further studies are required.
Newly released public-private research proposes a new method for calculating carbon tax rates based on environmental, economic and social factors, including the costs the public pays for carbon usage such as damage to agriculture, vulnerable coastal infrastructure, and risk to human health.
New research highlights two factors that play a critical role in supporting reef fish populations and – ultimately – creating conditions that are more favorable for the growth of both coral reefs and seagrass.
The American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have published an official clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of adults with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the ATS's Oct. 1 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02946-1 An easily transmitted piece of DNA cranks up the virulence of Klebsiella bacteria, a major cause of infections in hospitals.
Imagine if water vapor in your breath or surrounding your fingertips revealed invisible patterns on commercial products—smartphones, laptops, expensive liquor—that verified the products' authenticity and aided anticounterfeiting efforts.
Prebiotics are only able to help stabilise the intestinal flora of horses to a limited degree. Before they can reach the intestines, commercially available supplements partially break down in the animals' stomachs, which can lead to inflammation of the stomach lining. This was discovered by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of Veterinary Medicine Han
In her second collection, "Make It Scream, Make It Burn," the author of "The Empathy Exams" wages a journalistic battle between sentiment and detachment.
Prebiotics are only able to help stabilise the intestinal flora of horses to a limited degree. Before they can reach the intestines, commercially available supplements partially break down in the animals' stomachs, which can lead to inflammation of the stomach lining. This was discovered by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of Veterinary Medicine Han
Inspired by cephalopods, scientists developed an aquatic robot that mimics their form of propulsion. These high-speed, squidlike robots are made of smart materials, which make them hard to detect, while maintaining a low environmental footprint. Physicists used numerical simulations to illustrate the physical mechanisms and fluid mechanics of a squid's swimming method. By using this form of locomo
Researchers have reported the high-performance SnS thermoelectric crystals combining the desirable features of low-cost, earth-abundant materials and environmental friendliness. For the first time, they discovered the interplay of triple electronic bands leading to the high performance of thermoelectric SnS crystals, which is promoted by Se alloying. Furthermore, Se alloying plays a second importa
Language involves many different regions of the brain. Researchers have discovered previously hidden connections between brain layers during reading, in a neuroimaging study. The team used laminar Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (lfMRI) to investigate what happens when people read Dutch words like "zalm" (salmon) compared to pseudowords ("rorf"), revealing top-down influences on deep bra
Biologists blazing new approaches to studying Alzheimer's have made a major finding on combating inflammation linked to the disease. The researchers' discovery about the role of a protein called TOM-1 heralds a shift toward examining the molecular underpinnings of Alzheimer's processes.
Communicating with others is one of the biggest difficulties for autistic children. Asking for help, initiating social interaction and sharing their emotions become skills that require learning through exercises and therapy. Interventions based on games that require the use of technology have proved to facilitate motivation and learning processes in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Prebiotics are only able to help stabilize the intestinal flora of horses to a limited degree. Before they can reach the intestines, commercially available supplements partially break down in the animals' stomachs, which can lead to inflammation of the stomach lining.
In some forms of epilepsy, the function of certain "brake cells" in the brain is presumed to be disrupted. This may be one of the reasons why the electrical malfunction is able to spread from the point of origin across large parts of the brain. A current study points in this direction.
Treatments have been hard to pinpoint for a rare neurological disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth, in part because so many variations of the condition exist. So far, mutations on more than 90 genes have been positively linked to the disorder; a patient needs just one of those mutations for the disease to emerge. Scientists just moved a step closer to finding a possible root cause.
Humboldt and Bonpland's expedition is unique in the history of biological sciences, not only for the novel theoretical concepts it gave rise to, but also for the outstanding quality of the locality data recorded for thousands of plants. The inconsistencies that distort Humboldt's Tableau Physique (1) should not overshadow the…
Pricing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions involves making trade-offs between consumption today and unknown damages in the (distant) future. While decision making under risk and uncertainty is the forte of financial economics, important insights from pricing financial assets do not typically inform standard climate–economy models. Here, we introduce EZ-Climate, a simple recursive…
Plants are vulnerable to disease through pathogen manipulation of phytohormone levels, which otherwise regulate development, abiotic, and biotic responses. Here, we show that the wheat pathogen Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa elevates expression of the host gene encoding 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (TaNCED-5BS), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the…
Hospitals operate 24 h a day, and it is assumed that important clinical decisions occur continuously around the clock. However, many aspects of hospital operation occur at specific times of day, including medical team rounding and shift changes. It is unclear whether this impacts patient care, as no studies have…
Plasmodesmata (PD) are plant-specific membrane-lined channels that create cytoplasmic and membrane continuities between adjacent cells, thereby facilitating cell–cell communication and virus movement. Plant cells have evolved diverse mechanisms to regulate PD plasticity in response to numerous environmental stimuli. In particular, during defense against plant pathogens, the defense hormone, salicy
Climate change threatens global biodiversity by increasing extinction risk, yet few studies have uncovered a physiological basis of climate-driven species declines. Maintaining a stable body temperature is a fundamental requirement for homeothermic animals, and water is a vital resource that facilitates thermoregulation through evaporative cooling, especially in hot environments. Here,…
The gap between predicted brain age using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and chronological age may serve as a biomarker for early-stage neurodegeneration. However, owing to the lack of large longitudinal studies, it has been challenging to validate this link. We aimed to investigate the utility of such a gap as…
As the inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid–ergic (GABAergic) transmission has a pivotal role in the central nervous system (CNS) and defective forms of its synapses are associated with serious neurological disorders, numerous versions of caged GABA and, more recently, photoswitchable ligands have been developed to investigate such transmission. While the complementary nature…
Costimulation is required for optimal T cell activation, yet it is unclear whether poxviruses dedicatedly subvert costimulation during infection. Here, we report that the secreted M2 protein encoded by cowpox virus (CPXV) specifically interacts with human and murine B7.1 (CD80) and B7.2 (CD86). We also show that M2 competes with…
Two-dimensional van der Waals materials have rich and unique functional properties, but many are susceptible to corrosion under ambient conditions. Here we show that linear alkylamines n-CmH2m+1NH2, with m = 4 through 11, are highly effective in protecting the optoelectronic properties of these materials, such as black phosphorus (BP) and…
In macrolecithal species, cryopreservation of the oocyte and zygote is not possible due to the large size and quantity of lipid deposited within the egg. For birds, this signifies that cryopreserving and regenerating a species from frozen cellular material are currently technically unfeasible. Diploid primordial germ cells (PGCs) are a…
Insecticides allow control of agricultural pests and disease vectors and are vital for global food security and health. The evolution of resistance to insecticides, such as organophosphates (OPs), is a serious and growing concern. OP resistance often involves sequestration or hydrolysis of OPs by carboxylesterases. Inhibiting carboxylesterases could, therefore, restore…
As the flu season gets started, what can you do to protect yourself and stay healthy? The CDC recommends that people aged six months or older receive influenza vaccinations by late October, at the beginning of the season before the virus starts spreading, but getting a vaccination later can still be beneficial. About 40 million people contracted the flu last year, with hundreds of thousands hospi
It might not look like much, but there's a good amount of power in that little green board. (Jeremy S. Cook/) Roughly the size of a credit card, the Raspberry Pi single-board computer can be used as a media streaming device, an old-school-style gaming console, or even the "brains" of a robot. Setting one up can seem intimidating if you've never played around with one before, but it's a relatively
Giovanni Volpe, docent i fysik vid Göteborgs universitet, har fått anslag att designa att designa konstgjorda "organismerna". De ska kunna röra sig i en miljö och samtidigt analysera och navigera i den, till exempel känna av temperatur eller kemisk sammansättning. Naturen är förebild, till exempel fiskstim eller små mikroskopiska organismer som plankton och bakterier, de senare viktiga för havens
A new analysis of 1,000 Swedes uncovers a chromosome's worth of novel DNA sequences–much of them ancient–underscoring the need for a more diverse reference genome.
Researchers from HSE University and Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University (LUNN) have developed a new method for ensuring quality in automatic voice recording. Resistant to background noise of 10dB and higher, the new algorithm can operate in real-time, making it possible to use the software to collect voice biometrics for a wide variety of purposes. The article was published in the journal
Body representation in monkeys' brains Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). Image courtesy of Pixabay/RobbieRoss. A sense of ownership of one's own body is a central element of self-consciousness. The psychological and neurological mechanisms underlying this sense can be investigated through illusions, such as the rubber-hand illusion, in which a person perceives…
The article by Perakis and Pett-Ridge in PNAS (1) stimulated an interesting discussion (2) on the role of nitrogen-fixing alder in enhancing rock weathering and supply of rock-derived nutrients. The authors ascribe the accelerated rate of weathering to the generation of acidic conditions in the soil due to excess nitrogen…
In PNAS we report that the symbiotic nitrogen-fixing tree red alder (Alnus rubra) accesses more rock-derived nutrients than nonfixing trees (1). We further hypothesize that excess nitrogen fixation by alder, leading to high rates of nitrification and nitric acid generation in soil, could accelerate mineral weathering (1, 2). Krishna et…
We read with great interest the recent article by Kremer et al. showing that an envelope (ENV) protein encoded by human endogenous retrovirus type W (HERV-W) is present in myeloid cells in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions, as detected by mouse monoclonal antibody GN-mAB_03 (3B2H4) directed against HERV-W ENV (1). Furthermore,…
This Reply refers to the Letter by Ruprecht and Mayer titled "On the origin of a pathogenic HERV-W envelope protein present in multiple sclerosis lesions" (1). In their Letter, the authors confirm the specificity of the monoclonal antibody GN-MAb_03 (3B2H4) that we used to detect the pHERV-W ENV protein in…
In PNAS, Chang et al. (1) call attention to the function of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in mediating inside-out signaling regulating immune cell adhesion to the endothelium by elegantly studying the FAK–RAP1–RIAM–talin pathway for feedforward inside-out signaling through integrin described by Lagarrigue (2). Chang et al. solve the crystal structure…
The quality of the air in the United States has improved substantially (1). The risks, however, remain high for several populations, and there is still much to learn about the sources and impacts of air pollution. Increasing our understanding of the sources of environmental damage can help us design policies…
How do we come to experience our body as our own? When we look at our hands, for example, we immediately sense that they are part of our body. This experience of the limbs and other body parts being one's own is referred to as the sense of "body ownership"…
Peptidergic signaling is an ancient manner of intertissue communication in multicellular organisms. Even the early eukaryote Trichoplax, with its limited 6-tissue repertoire, uses peptides to communicate between its tissues (1). Humans use peptidergic communication not only to transfer signals between tissues, but also to employ peptide signals in brain and…
Genome mining of biosynthetic pathways streamlines discovery of secondary metabolites but can leave ambiguities in the predicted structures, which must be rectified experimentally. Through coupling the reactivity predicted by biosynthetic gene clusters with verified structures, the origin of the β-hydroxyaspartic acid diastereomers in siderophores is reported herein. Two functional subtypes…
Large initial condition ensembles of a climate model simulation provide many different realizations of internal variability noise superimposed on an externally forced signal. They have been used to estimate signal emergence time at individual grid points, but are rarely employed to identify global fingerprints of human influence. Here we analyze…
We present a machine learning-based method for tomographic reconstruction of dense layered objects, with range of projection angles limited to ±10○. Whereas previous approaches to phase tomography generally require 2 steps, first to retrieve phase projections from intensity projections and then to perform tomographic reconstruction on the retrieved phase projections,…
ANO1 (TMEM16A) is a Ca2+-activated Cl− channel that regulates diverse cellular functions including fluid secretion, neuronal excitability, and smooth muscle contraction. ANO1 is activated by elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ and modulated by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2]. Here, we describe a closely concerted experimental and computational study, including electrophysiology, mutagene
QacR, a multidrug-binding transcriptional repressor in pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, modulates the transcriptional level of the multidrug transporter gene, qacA, in response to engaging a set of diverse ligands. However, the structural basis that defines the variable induction level remains unknown. Here, we reveal that the conformational equilibrium between the…
Signal detection and integration by sensory proteins constitute the critical molecular events as living organisms respond to changes in a complex environment. Many sensory proteins adopt a modular architecture that integrates the perception of distinct chemical or physical signals and the generation of a biological response in the same protein…
The small cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, is a major agricultural pest of cruciferous crops and has been introduced to every continent except South America and Antarctica as a result of human activities. In an effort to reconstruct the near-global invasion history of P. rapae, we developed a citizen science…
Population genomic data has revealed patterns of genetic variation associated with adaptation in many taxa. Yet understanding the adaptive process that drives such patterns is challenging; it requires disentangling the ecological agents of selection, determining the relevant timescales over which evolution occurs, and elucidating the genetic architecture of adaptation. Doing…
Position effect variegation (PEV) in Drosophila results from new juxtapositions of euchromatic and heterochromatic chromosomal regions, and manifests as striking bimodal patterns of gene expression. The semirandom patterns of PEV, reflecting clonal relationships between cells, have been interpreted as gene-expression states that are set in development and thereafter maintained without…
Circadian variations of various aspects of the immune system have been described. However, the circadian control of T cells has been relatively unexplored. Here, we investigated the role of circadian clocks in regulating CD8 T cell response to antigen presentation by dendritic cells (DCs). The in vivo CD8 T cell…
The role of the host in development of persistent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is not well understood. A cohort of prospectively enrolled patients with persistent methicillin-resistant S. aureus bacteremia (PB) and resolving methicillin-resistant S. aureus bacteremia (RB) matched by sex, age, race, hemodialysis status, diabetes mellitus, and presence of…
Viral cancers show oncogene addiction to viral oncoproteins, which are required for survival and proliferation of the dedifferentiated cancer cell. Human Merkel cell carcinomas (MCCs) that harbor a clonally integrated Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) genome have low mutation burden and require viral T antigen expression for tumor growth. Here, we…
Recent studies have shown that RNA polymerase (RNAP) is organized into distinct clusters in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis cells. Spatially organized molecular components in prokaryotic systems imply compartmentalization without the use of membranes, which may offer insights into unique functions and regulations. It has been proposed that the formation…
Tumors utilize a number of effective strategies, including the programmed death 1/PD ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) axis, to evade immune-mediated control of their growth. PD-L1 expression is mainly induced by IFN receptor signaling or constitutively induced. Integrins are an abundantly expressed class of proteins which play multiple deleterious roles in cancer…
Despite accumulating evidence demonstrating the essential roles played by neuropeptides, it has proven challenging to use this information to develop therapeutic strategies. Peptidergic signaling can involve juxtacrine, paracrine, endocrine, and neuronal signaling, making it difficult to define physiologically important pathways. One of the final steps in the biosynthesis of many…
Attention is critical to high-level cognition, and attentional deficits are a hallmark of cognitive dysfunction. A key transmitter for attentional control is acetylcholine, but its cellular actions in attention-controlling areas remain poorly understood. Here we delineate how muscarinic and nicotinic receptors affect basic neuronal excitability and attentional control signals in…
Maternal infections during pregnancy are associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, although the precise mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Previously, we established a maternal immune activation (MIA) model using swine, which results in altered social behaviors of piglet offspring. These behavioral abnormalities occurred in the absence of microglia priming….
Action potential-induced vesicular exocytosis is considered exclusively Ca2+ dependent in Katz's Ca2+ hypothesis on synaptic transmission. This long-standing concept gets an exception following the discovery of Ca2+-independent but voltage-dependent secretion (CiVDS) and its molecular mechanisms in dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons. However, whether CiVDS presents only in sensory cells remains.
Nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by the endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is a critical determinant of vascular homeostasis. However, the real-time detection of intracellular NO—a free radical gas—has been difficult, and surrogate markers for eNOS activation are widely utilized. eNOS phosphorylation can be easily measured in cells by…
Two mechanisms have been proposed for the function of motor proteins: The power stroke and the Brownian ratchet. The former refers to generation of a large downhill free energy gradient over which the motor protein moves nearly irreversibly in making a step, whereas the latter refers to biasing or rectifying…
Chimpanzees and gorillas, when not inactive, engage primarily in short bursts of resistance physical activity (RPA), such as climbing and fighting, that creates pressure stress on the cardiovascular system. In contrast, to initially hunt and gather and later to farm, it is thought that preindustrial human survival was dependent on…
Late one night in October 2015, Andrew Wetzel was fretting. For 15 days, his cosmological models had been swirling virtual dark matter around cybernetic gas and dust and slowly generating a synthetic galaxy approximately the size of our own Milky Way, and Wetzel was about to receive the results. "I…
Chromosomal translocations of MLL1 (Mixed Lineage Leukemia 1) yield oncogenic chimeric proteins containing the N-terminal portion of MLL1 fused with distinct partners. The MLL1–AF10 fusion causes leukemia through recruiting the H3K79 histone methyltransferase DOT1L via AF10's octapeptide and leucine zipper (OM-LZ) motifs. Yet, the precise interaction sites in DOT1L, detailed…
MitoNEET is an outer mitochondrial membrane protein essential for sensing and regulation of iron and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis. It is a key player in multiple human maladies including diabetes, cancer, neurodegeneration, and Parkinson's diseases. In healthy cells, mitoNEET receives its clusters from the mitochondrion and transfers them to…
Cilia, the hair-like protrusions that beat at high frequencies to propel a cell or move fluid around are composed of radially bundled doublet microtubules. In this study, we present a near-atomic resolution map of the Tetrahymena doublet microtubule by cryoelectron microscopy. The map demonstrates that the network of microtubule inner…
Understanding chromatin organization and dynamics is important, since they crucially affect DNA functions. In this study, we investigate chromatin dynamics by statistically analyzing single-nucleosome movement in living human cells. Bimodal nature of the mean square displacement distribution of nucleosomes allows for a natural categorization of the nucleosomes as fast and…
Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), a membrane enzyme in the respiratory chain, catalyzes oxygen reduction by coupling electron and proton transfer through the enzyme with a proton pump across the membrane. In all crystals reported to date, bovine CcO exists as a dimer with the same intermonomer contacts, whereas CcOs and…
The cytoskeleton provides structural integrity to cells and serves as a key component in mechanotransduction. Tensins are thought to provide a force-bearing linkage between integrins and the actin cytoskeleton; yet, direct evidence of tensin's role in mechanotransduction is lacking. We here report that local force application to epithelial cells using…
Fatigue arising from cyclic straining is a key factor in the degradation of properties of engineered materials and structures. Fatigue can also induce damage and fracture in natural biomaterials, such as bone, and in synthetic biomaterials used in implant devices. However, the mechanisms by which mechanical fatigue leads to deterioration…
Pancreatic β cells store insulin within secretory granules which undergo exocytosis upon elevation of blood glucose levels. Crinophagy and autophagy are instead responsible to deliver damaged or old granules to acidic lysosomes for intracellular degradation. However, excessive consumption of insulin granules can impair β cell function and cause diabetes. Atp6ap2…
Secondary formamides are widely encountered in biology and exist as mixtures of both cis and trans isomers. Here, we assess hydrophilicity differences between isomeric formamides through direct competition experiments. Formamides bearing long aliphatic chains were sequestered in a water-soluble molecular container having a hydrophobic cavity with an end open to…
The circadian clock is an endogenous time-keeping system that is ubiquitous in animals and plants as well as some bacteria. In mammals, the clock regulates the sleep–wake cycle via 2 basic helix–loop–helix PER-ARNT-SIM (bHLH-PAS) domain proteins—CLOCK and BMAL1. There is emerging evidence to suggest that heme affects circadian control, through…
While climate change has already profoundly influenced biodiversity through local extinctions, range shifts, and altered interactions, its effects on the evolutionary history contained within sets of coexisting species—or phylogenetic community diversity—have yet to be documented. Phylogenetic community diversity may be a proxy for the diversity of functional strategies that can…
Analysis of commercial catches reveals a serial depletion of some oceanic fish stocks over time, resulting in fisheries focusing on increasingly smaller species closer to the base of the food chain. This effect, described as fishing down the marine food web, is observed when the trophic level of the catch…
A standard response of both policy makers and private citizens to hardships—from natural disasters to mass shootings—is to offer "thoughts and prayers." Critics argue that such gestures are meaningless and may obstruct structural reforms intended to mitigate catastrophes. In this study, we elicit the value of receiving thoughts and prayers…
Emissions of most pollutants that result in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) formation have been decreasing in the United States. However, this trend has not been uniform across all sectors or regions of the economy. We use integrated assessment models (IAMs) to compute marginal damages for PM2.5-related emissions for each county…
The integration of muscle cells with soft robotics in recent years has led to the development of biohybrid machines capable of untethered locomotion. A major frontier that currently remains unexplored is neuronal actuation and control of such muscle-powered biohybrid machines. As a step toward this goal, we present here a…
Global warming has been documented to threaten wild plants with strong selection pressures, but how plant populations respond genetically to the threats remains poorly understood. We characterized the genetic responses of 10 wild emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccoides Koern.; WEW) populations in Israel, sampling them in 1980 and again in 2008,…
Maintaining protein homeostasis is an essential requirement for cell and organismal viability. An elaborate regulatory system within cells, the protein homeostasis network, safeguards that proteins are correctly folded and functional. At the heart of this regulatory system lies a class of specialized protein quality control enzymes called chaperones that are…
Fine mapping and validation of genes causing β cell failure from susceptibility loci identified in type 2 diabetes genome-wide association studies (GWAS) poses a significant challenge. The VPS13C-C2CD4A-C2CD4B locus on chromosome 15 confers diabetes susceptibility in every ethnic group studied to date. However, the causative gene is unknown. FoxO1 is…
Cells have the remarkable ability to sense the mechanical stiffness of their surroundings. This has been studied extensively in the context of cells interacting with planar surfaces, a conceptually elegant model that also has application in biomaterial design. However, physiological interfaces are spatially complex, exhibiting topographical features that are described…
Ebola virus (EBOV) continues to pose significant threats to global public health, requiring ongoing development of multiple strategies for disease control. To date, numerous monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target the EBOV glycoprotein (GP) have demonstrated potent protective activity in animal disease models and are thus promising candidates for the control…
Upon cytosolic viral DNA stimulation, cGMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) catalyzes synthesis of 2′3′cGMP-AMP (cGAMP), which binds to the adaptor protein MITA (mediator of IRF3 activation, also called STING, stimulator of IFN genes) and induces innate antiviral response. How the activity of MITA/STING is regulated to avoid excessive innate immune response is…
T cell maintenance in chronic infection and cancer follows a hierarchical order. Short-lived effector CD8 T cells are constitutively replaced from a proliferation-competent Tcf1-expressing progenitor population. This occurs spontaneously at low levels and increases in magnitude upon blocking PD-1 signaling. We explore how CD4 T cell help controls transition and…
Infantile globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD, Krabbe disease) is a fatal demyelinating disorder caused by a deficiency in the lysosomal enzyme galactosylceramidase (GALC). GALC deficiency leads to the accumulation of the cytotoxic glycolipid, galactosylsphingosine (psychosine). Complementary evidence suggested that psychosine is synthesized via an anabolic pathway. Here, we show instead that…
A major determinant of pathogenicity in malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is the adhesion of parasite-infected erythrocytes to the vasculature or tissues of infected individuals. This occludes blood flow, leads to inflammation, and increases parasitemia by reducing spleen-mediated clearance of the parasite. This adhesion is mediated by PfEMP1, a multivariant…
Staphylococcus aureus small-colony variants (SCVs) are associated with unusually chronic and persistent infections despite active antibiotic treatment. The molecular basis for this clinically important phenomenon is poorly understood, hampered by the instability of the SCV phenotype. Here we investigated the genetic basis for an unstable S. aureus SCV that arose…
The sense of one's own body is a pillar of self-consciousness and could be investigated by inducing human illusions of artificial objects as part of the self. Here, we present a nonhuman primate version of a rubber-hand illusion that allowed us to determine its computational and neuronal mechanisms. We implemented…
To assess the biological value of environmental stimuli, animals' sensory systems must accurately decode both the identities and the intensities of these stimuli. While much is known about the mechanism by which sensory neurons detect the identities of stimuli, less is known about the mechanism that controls how sensory neurons…
We investigate SrIrO3/LaNiO3 superlattices in which we observe a full electron transfer at the interface from Ir to Ni, triggering a massive structural and electronic reconstruction. Through experimental characterization and first-principles calculations, we determine that a large crystal field splitting from the distorted interfacial IrO6 octahedra surprisingly dominates over the…
Analyses of thermal diffusivity data on complex insulators and on strongly correlated electron systems hosted in similar complex crystal structures suggest that quantum chaos is a good description for thermalization processes in these systems, particularly in the high-temperature regime where the many phonon bands and their interactions dominate the thermal…
Quantum materials are amenable to nonequilibrium manipulation with light, enabling modification and control of macroscopic properties. Light-based augmentation of superconductivity is particularly intriguing. Copper-oxide superconductors exhibit complex interplay between spin order, charge order, and superconductivity, offering the prospect of enhanced coherence by altering the balance between com
Advancements in designing complex models for atmospheric aerosol science and aerosol–cloud interactions rely vitally on accurately measuring the physicochemical properties of microscopic particles. Optical tweezers are a laboratory-based platform that can provide access to such measurements as they are able to isolate individual particles from an ensemble. The surprising ability…
The gut microbiome is an established regulator of aspects of host metabolism, such as glucose handling. Despite the known impacts of the gut microbiota on host glucose homeostasis, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The gut microbiome is also a potent mediator of gut-derived serotonin synthesis, and this peripheral source of…
The PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs) play a central role in repressing photomorphogenesis, and phosphorylation mediates the stability of PIF proteins. Although the kinases responsible for PIF phosphorylation have been extensively studied, the phosphatases that dephosphorylate PIFs remain largely unknown. Here, we report that seedlings with mutations in FyPP1 and FyPP3, 2…
Electrogenic proton pumps have been implicated in the generation of slow wave potentials (SWPs), damage-induced membrane depolarizations that activate the jasmonate (JA) defense pathway in leaves distal to wounds. However, no defined H+-ATPases have been shown to modulate these electrical signals. Pilot experiments revealed that the proton pump activator fusicoccin…
Anthocyanins are key pigments of plants, providing color to flowers, fruit, and foliage and helping to counter the harmful effects of environmental stresses. It is generally assumed that anthocyanin biosynthesis arose during the evolutionary transition of plants from aquatic to land environments. Liverworts, which may be the closest living relatives…
Despite decades of declining crime rates, longstanding tensions between police and the public continue to frustrate the formation of cooperative relationships necessary for the function of the police and the provision of public safety. In response, policy makers continue to promote community-oriented policing (COP) and its emphasis on positive, nonenforcement…
The expansion of machine learning to high-stakes application domains such as medicine, finance, and criminal justice, where making informed decisions requires clear understanding of the model, has increased the interest in interpretable machine learning. The widely used Classification and Regression Trees (CART) have played a major role in health sciences,…
Over the past several decades, environmental governance has made substantial progress in addressing environmental change, but emerging environmental problems require new innovations in law, policy, and governance. While expansive legal reform is unlikely to occur soon, there is untapped potential in existing laws to address environmental change, both by leveraging…
LETTER Correction for "Reply to Willig et al.: Long-term population trends in the Luquillo Rainforest," by Brad Lister and Andres Garcia, which was first published May 29, 2019; 10.1073/pnas.1904582116 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 12145–12146). The authors wish to note the following: "On page 12145, right column, first paragraph,…
EARTH, ATMOSPHERIC, AND PLANETARY SCIENCES Correction for "Deliberate enhancement of rainfall using desert plantations," by Oliver Branch and Volker Wulfmeyer, which was first published September 3, 2019; 10.1073/pnas.1904754116 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 18841–18847). The authors note that, due to a printer's error, the Acknowledgments section was not included…
The measurement by which the UK Government attaches a monetary value to saving a human life is invalid and should be overhauled, according to Professor of Risk Management at the University of Bristol, Philip Thomas.
When a deadly virus swept the U.S. in 2009, killing thousands of people, panic felt especially necessary. A variant of the influenza that spreads every year, the "swine flu" made headlines as new reports of deaths rolled in. Graphic, tragic tales of lives lost spread fear. Many Americans still remember that winter as particularly treacherous. But swine flu ultimately did no more damage in the cou
A month's worth of cool science stories summed up. Rigging Elections, Turning C02 Into Sugar, And Dinosaur Extinction Video of Rigging Elections, Turning C02 Into Sugar, And Dinosaur Extinction Earth Tuesday, October 1, 2019 – 12:30 Alistair Jennings, Contributor On this monthly roundup, Alistair Jennings from Inside Science sums up some of September's most interesting science: are social networ
Distracted Driving Hackers keep commandeering public television screens and electronic billboards to play porn videos. Late Saturday night, drivers in Michigan were shocked to see an electronic billboard next to I-75 North displaying a video featuring adult performers Xev Bellringer and Princess Leia. The next morning, New Zealand shoppers saw porn playing on the street-facing screens above sport
51 articles, 20 open access Situational awareness: "That ship has sailed." In a meeting of oil and gas executives this past summer, Mark Barron suggested energy companies accept that as a functional matter of politics anthropogenic climate change is fact and that their industry must deal with the reality of an under-40 US population seeing climate change as "an existential crisis that we need to
This is a re-post from The Science Breaker by Kaitlin Naughten Climate change is causing the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets to melt, which releases cold, fresh meltwater into the nearby ocean. This meltwater causes sea level rise, but a lesser-known side effect is the disruption of deep ocean currents and climate patterns worldwide. Our modelling study investigated these processes. You've pro
In a study published in Fisheries Research, scientists from the Sea Around Us initiative found that global tuna catches have increased over 1,000 per cent in the past six decades, fueled by a massive expansion of industrial fisheries.
Researchers have identified and confirmed the gene responsible for lutein esterification in bread wheat. The activity of this gene controls the timing of esterification in grain, which is related to storage and nutritional qualities of bread wheat and other grains.
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02950-5 Over the past few decades, the academy's investments have made it one of the world's richest. Could its financial autonomy be a model for others?
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02951-4 Wellcome is right to call out hyper-competitiveness in research and question the focus on excellence. But other funders must follow its move.
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02968-9 Teaching shouldn't be a hassle, how science made China a superpower and researchers report feeling pressured to cite unnecessary papers.
(via Pentagram) A former Yahoo software engineer pleaded guilty to hacking into thousands of accounts in search of private and personal records. Reyes …
Image: TiVo First leaked earlier this year, the TiVo Edge DVR is now official. As expected, it includes support for both the Dolby Vision and Atmos standards, which will benefit …
Early life stress from racial discrimination puts African Americans at greater risk for accelerated aging, a marker for premature development of serious health problems, and perhaps a shorter life expectancy, researchers report. For a new study in Health Psychology , Sierra Carter, an assistant professor of psychology at Georgia State University, used data based on questionnaires and blood sample
Thousands of products can be sustainably harvested from the forest, and indigenous peoples are crucial in helping us find them — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Scientists have measured how the super-plastic material ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, commercially known as Dyneema or Spectra, interacts when bolted to other materials. The research has established guidelines and failure maps for use of the material in joints with steel bolts. The research shows that while the material deforms at the joints, it's incredible difficult to actually break
Researchers have identified new genetic signals for the regulation of how infants grow. This may be a crucial step in the fight against growth-related diseases.
Scientists have gained a new understanding of how tiny, ultra-resilient invertebrates known as tardigrades, or 'water bears,' are protected in extreme conditions. Tardigrades are found in water environments around the world — including mountainous, deep sea and Antarctic environments. The researchers discovered that a tardigrade protein named Dsup binds to chromatin — DNA inside cells — and for
Jellyfish are animals that possess the unique ability to regenerate body parts. A team of scientists has now revealed the cellular mechanisms that give jellyfish these remarkable 'superpowers.'
Pregnant women exposed to higher levels of the commonly used chemical bisphenol A (BPA) are more likely to have children who suffer with wheezing and poorer lung function, according to new research.
Scientists have measured how the super-plastic material ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, commercially known as Dyneema or Spectra, interacts when bolted to other materials. The research has established guidelines and failure maps for use of the material in joints with steel bolts. The research shows that while the material deforms at the joints, it's incredible difficult to actually break
In the wake of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001 (9/11), researchers defined the 'traumatically bereaved' as those who experienced the loss of a mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, other family member, friend, and/or someone else after 9/11 happened. A new study reports that this disorder warrants separate clinical attention.
A team of evolutionary biologists have demonstrated that some limb muscles known to be present in many mammals but absent in the adult human are actually formed during early human development and then lost prior to birth. These findings offer insight into how our arms and legs evolved from our mammalian ancestors, and also help explain rare limb anomalies found in humans born with congenital malfo
What's she thinking? (Nature on PBS/) In the house of David Scheel, Heidi the octopus lies dreaming—potentially. A video has been making rounds on the internet showing Heidi asleep in her tank. Her mantle (the ball of muscle behind her eyes) expands and deflates, and you can practically hear her tiny cartoon snores. Each time the octopus twitches, her body pulses with a new array of colors and te
Biggest Blast Off On Saturday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk showed off his space company's latest prototype of its Starship spaceship. And now, SpaceX has published a new page of diagrams dedicated to the behemoth rocket, as well as the Super Heavy, the booster that will launch the Starship into orbit. The page comes with a detailed infographic outlining some of the outrageous specs of the company's reco
Thousands of products can be sustainably harvested from the forest, and indigenous peoples are crucial in helping us find them — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
N. K. Jemisin, the only author to win the prestigious Hugo Award for best science-fiction or fantasy novel three years in a row, partly credits fan fiction for her ability to draw in readers. Jemisin started writing fan fiction, in which authors imagine new stories based on preexisting fictional works, while in grad school for counseling. "I was miserable and lonely. I didn't have a lot of friend
The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 and the tsunamis it spawned may have washed a tropical fungus ashore, leading to a subsequent outbreak of often-fatal infections among people in coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest, according to a new article.
Two professors have found a strong relationship between students' grades and how much sleep they're getting. What time students go to bed and the consistency of their sleep habits also make a big difference. And no, getting a good night's sleep just before a big test is not good enough — it takes several nights in a row of good sleep to make a difference.
Freshwater fish are the most threatened vertebrate group, and species are disappearing faster than scientists can describe them. A new study shows that aquarium hobbyists can play an important role in freshwater fish conservation by filling in the gaps left by the scientific community and conservation organizations.
Researchers have identified a group of genetic variants related to the starting point of Parkinson's disease. These results, published in the journal Movement Disorders, will enable delimiting the research on new therapeutic targets, and could have implications in the diagnosis of the disease.
Regeringen følger rådet fra en arbejdsgruppe, der konkluderede, at ingen steder i Danmark egner sig til større raketopsendelser. Mindre raketopsendelser skal dog stadig være tilladte.
A team of scientists at Japan's National Defense Medical College have created artificial blood that could be used in any patient, regardless of their blood type, Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun reports . If it moves into human trials, the invention could prove extremely useful in cases when blood of a certain type isn't available. "It is difficult to stock a sufficient amount of blood for tr
A federal court is ruling that the Federal Communications Commission had the right to dump net-neutrality rules, but couldn't bar states like California from passing their own.
On paper, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk should be the best of friends. Years of collaboration and hard work are about to pave the way for the long-awaited return of launching humans into space from American soil — but instead of chumming it up, the duo are at each others' throats. The trouble started when Bridenstine released a statement on Friday — a day before Musk
A new study suggests that transmission of a protozoan parasite from insects may also cause leishmaniasis-like symptoms in people. The parasite, however, does not respond to treatment with standard leishmaniasis drugs. The research was conducted by scientists at the Federal Universities of Sergipe and São Carlos, the University of São Paulo, and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, all in Brazil, along wit
The new observation that strains of V. cholerae can be expelled into the environment after being ingested by protozoa, and that these bacteria are then primed for colonisation and infection in humans, could help explain why cholera is so persistent in aquatic environments. The disease-causing bacteria are protected in the protozoan gut and ejected into the environment in membrane-bound expelled fo
A new study investigated the effectiveness of Seattle, WA's Democracy Voucher program in expanding participation from marginalized communities in a local election, where voters were each given four, twenty-five-dollar vouchers to assign to the local candidates of their choice.
High levels of fructose in the diet inhibit the liver's ability to properly metabolize fat. This effect is specific to fructose. Indeed, equally high levels of glucose in the diet actually improve the fat-burning function of the liver.
Hurricane Lorenzo was heading toward the Azores Islands when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided forecasters with an image of the storm. Satellite imagery revealed the large extent of the storm.
Studies of diabetes rely on the ability of researchers to sort diseased cells from healthy cells. For years, researchers have noted that typical RNA sequencing analysis of these cells was poorly able to separate type 2 cells from non-diseased control cells. Researchers realized there must be a fundamental difference between diseased and healthy cells that had gone undiscovered. Now, researchers at
A new study by De, Agrawal, Morrone et al, challenges the common notion that airway in-flammation in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is secondary to asthma, even though the two disor-ders often coexist.
An international team of researchers has found it can significantly boost an existing polymer's ability to selectively remove carbon dioxide out of gas mixtures by first submerging the material in liquid water.
Children under 5 years of age in Africa are much more likely to die as a direct result of poor health linked to air pollution, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, increased family size, and environmental degradation, according to the first continent-wide investigation of its kind. An international team of researchers have analysed data to break down the correlation between increased child mortality,
Species have few good options when it comes to surviving climate change — they can genetically adapt to new conditions, shift their ranges, or both. But new research indicates that conflicts between species as they adapt and shift ranges could lead experts to underestimate extinctions, and underscores the importance of landscape connectivity.
Microscopic bacteria, which are present in all humans, cluster together and form communities in different parts of the body, such as the gut, lungs, nose and mouth. Now, for the first time, researchers have shown the extent to which these microbial communities are linked to each other across the body, and how these networks are associated with susceptibility to respiratory infections in babies.
A new study explores whether different facets of being a strong black woman, which researchers sometimes refer to as 'superwoman schema,' ultimately protect women from the negative health impacts of racial discrimination — or cause more harm.
When e-cigarettes hit the US market in 2007, they were promoted as a safer, healthier alternative to traditional, combustible cigarettes. The unintended consequence of vaping devices and e-cigarettes, however, is a new generation of vapers — teenagers — becoming addicted to nicotine. This study examines how schools influence e-cigarette use in adolescence, outlining various prevention strategies
Physicists have created a quantum material that can travel through a previously unexplored region marked by strange electronic properties. The journey is by an alloy of cerium palladium and aluminum.
This summer should have been a triumphant time for genealogy and forensics. It marked a year since a genealogist had helped law enforcement track down the man suspected of being the notorious Golden State Killer , and in the ensuing months genealogists had helped police identify suspects in more than 40 other cases. In June, such work led to its first conviction . In July, the first exoneration .
There's no elegant way to put this, but I'm in love with an online forum devoted to facial hair. Naturally, and like many other discussion boards, Beard Board is full of men—but the men here are kindhearted and supportive of one another. Cruelty is forbidden; generosity is encouraged. The site can feel like a haven, which is important, because while it's nominally about beards—growing them, groom
The department's inspector general said the agency, which is also under the umbrella of the Justice Department, authorized large increases in the production of painkillers even as drug-related deaths soared.
Internal Candor Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's plan to break up huge tech corporations has Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg suiting up for war. At an internal Q&A session with Facebook employees, Zuckerberg spoke candidly about issues facing the company. His concerns ranged from election security and TikTok to the possibility of a Warren presidency, according to two hours of leaked audio o
A team led by a chemist at the University of California, Riverside, has fabricated for the first time plasmonic color-switchable films of silver nanoparticles. Until now, such color changing of nanoparticles was mainly achieved in liquids, limiting their potential for practical applications. The technology has a number of applications: product authentication, color displays, signage, sensors, and
Deafness in early childhood is known to lead to lasting changes in how sounds are processed in the brain, but new research published today in eLife shows that even mild-to-moderate levels of hearing loss in young children can lead to similar changes.
Experts in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology, from many of the world's leading radiology, medical physics and imaging informatics groups, today published an aspirational statement to guide the development of AI in radiology. The multi-society statement focuses on three major areas: data, algorithms and practice.
Whether we're searching for Waldo or our keys in a room of clutter, we tap into a part of the frontal region of the brain when performing visual, goal-related tasks. Some of us do it well, whereas for others it's a bit challenging. One West Virginia University researcher set out to investigate why, and what specifically this part of the brain, called the pre-supplementary motor area, does during s
Nuclear abnormalities such as nuclear blebs and micronuclei have devastating consequences for the genetic material and are associated with cancer or ageing. Scientists from the MPI of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg (Germany) now revealed that the epigenetic enzyme MOF is crucial for the morphological integrity of the mammalian nucleus. Moreover, the study characterized the epigenetic la
Chemical engineers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich, Germany, have developed the first molecular motor that enables an eight-shaped movement.
On 22 December 2018, a flank of the Anak Krakatau plunged into the Sunda strait between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, triggering a tsunami that killed 430 people. An international research team has now shown that the volcano produced clear warning signals before its collapse. The researchers recommend to use their study to improve monitoring of volcanoes.
Inspired by cephalopods, scientists developed an aquatic robot that mimics their form of propulsion. These high-speed, squidlike robots are made of smart materials, which make them hard to detect, while maintaining a low environmental footprint. Physicists used numerical simulations to illustrate the physical mechanisms and fluid mechanics of a squid's swimming method. By using this form of locomo
Comparing drive times to the nearest opioid treatment programs in urban and rural counties in five US states with the highest county rates of opioid-related overdose deaths was the focus of this research letter. Methadone for treating opioid use can only be dispensed from certified treatment programs in the United States, of which there is a shortage in rural counties. This analysis included 489 c
This randomized clinical trial looked at whether high-dose vitamin C delivered intravenously could reduce organ failure, inflammation and vascular injury in patients with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a severe lung condition that is a common organ injury associated with sepsis. Previous research has suggested that intravenous vitamin C may lessen inflammation and vascular
People who live in rural counties in five states heavily affected by the opioid epidemic must drive longer distances to obtain methadone, a treatment for opioid addiction, compared to individuals from urban counties, say Yale researchers. Their study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), suggests these long drive times in rural counties could be reduced by making me
New research published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that patients with sepsis and septic lung injury could have a better chance of survival and recover more quickly when treated with vitamin C infusions. On average, the vitamin C group spent three fewer days in the ICU at day 28 and a week less in the hospital overall by day 60 than the placebo g
A new system uses video of a person walking to identify that person through walls using two WiFi transceivers. This novel video-WiFi cross-modal gait-based person identification system, which they refer to as XModal-ID (pronounced Cross-Modal-ID), could have a variety of applications, from surveillance and security to smart homes . For instance, consider a scenario in which law enforcement has a
Det er ikke med oppositionens gode vilje, at mere end halvdelen af støttepuljen til teknologineutrale udbud af sol og vind er skåret bort. Men regeringen har sikret sig opbakning fra sine støttepartier.
A president, his congressional opponents, foreign leaders, and the U.S. Supreme Court first tangled over executive privilege toward the end of George Washington's first term. They are almost certainly headed for a collision in 2019. In November 1794, John Jay, then the first chief justice and also President George Washington's special envoy, signed the "Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, be
Get a grip. (Andy Feliciotti via Unsplash/) Nobody's perfect. Blame it on Mercury in retrograde or your last margarita, but most folks have dropped their phones at one point or another. Sometimes we get lucky and our phones come away without a scratch, but other times the slip can set you back hundreds of bucks. For a gadget as important and expensive to replace as your smartphone, you'll want a
(via charlesdeluvio/Unsplash) Drivers face enough distractions on the road without adding 14 feet of pornography to the list. Police in Auburn Hills, …
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02940-7 Julia Prague investigates a book that draws on evolutionary theories to explore post-reproductive strategies in society.
Nature, Published online: 30 September 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02934-5 Dining-hall data suggest that a rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals.
Nearly two decades ago, a company called Interpeak created a network protocol that became an industry standard. It also had severe bugs that are only now coming to light.
Evolution is usually depicted as a consequence of the never-ending war between living things — a "Struggle for Existence amongst all organic beings," as Charles Darwin put it. The physical environment around those living things plays a part, but it's secondary to the intimate relationships that organisms have with one another. Whether talking about symbioses or the ongoing competitions between sp
According to Einstein, light consists of particles (photons) that transfer only quantised energy to the electron of the atom. If the photon's energy is sufficient, it knocks the electrons out of the atom. But what happens to the photon's momentum in this process? Physicists at Goethe University are now able to answer this question. To do so, they developed and constructed and new spectrometer with
Liquid and solid – most people are unaware that there can be states in between. Liquid crystals are representative of one such state. While the molecules in liquids swim around at random, neighboring molecules in liquid crystals are aligned as in regular crystal grids, but the material is still liquid.
For the first time ever, a UMD professor has observed a crystallized iron product called hemozoin being made in mammals, with widespread implications for future research and treatment of blood disorders. Findings could be used to treat sickle cell disease and malaria patients, while opening up diverse research avenues across immunology, parasitology, neuroscience, microbiology, and even urology.
The discovery that free electrons can move asymmetrically provides a deeper understanding of one of the basic processes in physics: the photoelectric effect. It was first described by Albert Einstein and explains how high frequency light releases electrons from a material. The results have been published in Physical Review Letters.
The measurement by which the UK Government attaches a monetary value to saving a human life is invalid and should be overhauled, according to Professor of Risk Management at the University of Bristol, Philip Thomas. In a new paper, published in the journal Measurement, Professor Thomas argues the UK Value of a Prevented Fatality or VPF is a flawed tool which considerably underestimates the value o
Striking a power pose before an important meeting or interview is not going to boost your confidence or make you feel more powerful, says an Iowa State University researcher. Marcus Credé, an associate professor of psychology, reviewed nearly 40 studies on the topic and found not a single one supports the claims that power posing works.
The average farmer in America makes less than 15 cents of every dollar on a product that you purchase at a store. They feed our communities, but farmers often cannot afford the very foods they grow. In this actionable talk, social entrepreneur Mohammad Modarres shows how to put your purchasing power into action to save local agriculture from collapse and transform the food industry from the bottom
On 22 December 2018, a flank of the Anak Krakatau volcano plunged into the Sunda strait between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, triggering a tsunami that killed 430 people. An international research team led by Thomas Walter of the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in Potsdam has now shown that the volcano produced clear warning signals before its collapse. This was the result
Researchers have enabled, for the first time, determining whether the person behind a wall is the same individual who appears in given video footage, using only a pair of WiFi transceivers outside.
A monthly, 40-minute phone call from a non-clinical professional may suppress or reverse the trajectory of depression so frequently experienced by family members caring for patients with dementia at home, according to a new study.
Insomnia is a driver of suicide, and particularly people with severe insomnia may safely benefit from taking a sedative to help address their sleep problems as it reduces their suicidal thoughts, investigators report.
Simply by moving tropical soils down a mountainside into warmer environments, a team has discovered that much more CO2 may be released due to increased microbial activity as soils warm.
Keep your phone full-up on a road trip. (Anton Murygin via Unsplash/) On average, Americans spend just under an hour driving every day. For many, a phone is key to avoiding traffic, catching up on podcasts, listening to playlists, and keeping in touch with family. For all that, your cell needs to stay charged. And, really, there's no reason a commuter can't use that time to charge other devices,
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced it would beef up security for its OneDrive file hosting service by offering a private files section secured by variety of authentication methods. …
WhatsApp could be following in Snapchat's footsteps with new self-destructing messages. Leaked images suggest the app is testing a new feature that lets you set an expiration time for chats.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Pandora has revamped its smartphone app to focus on personalization, leveraging the data from its Music Genome Project to serve up custom-curated …
People who received omega-3 fish oil supplements in randomized clinical trials had lower risks of heart attack and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) events compared with those who were given placebo.
Early life stress from racial discrimination puts African Americans at greater risk for accelerated aging, a marker for premature development of serious health problems and perhaps a shorter life expectancy, according to a new study.
Hälsoriskerna med mikroplaster verkar vara få. Hur ser du på rapportens resultat? – Det är bra att WHO svarar på den oro som finns vad gäller mikroplaster, speciellt eftersom man har hittat mikroplaster i både kranvatten och buteljerat vatten. Sedan kanske sättet WHO kommunicerar på är lite märkligt. Rapporten säger ungefär: baserat på det vi vet så är det inte farligt. Men vi vet inte så mycket
Human activity churns out up to 100 times more planet-warming carbon each year as all the volcanoes on Earth, says a decade-long study released Tuesday.
This Major League Baseball regular season has been, by virtually unanimous agreement , the Year of the Home Run. There were 6,776 hit across the majors this year, clearing the previous record by 671. Fourteen teams set new franchise marks for homers. Four of those—the Minnesota Twins, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, and the Houston Astros—bested the previous record total for any on
Physicists in Vienna have found a way to measure the elusive quantum phase of electrons. This enables a new, better view of important phenomena used in photosensors or photovoltaics.
Forsøg med immunterapibehandling til patienter med den uhelbredelige lungehindekræft mesoteliom peger på mulig behandlingsgevinst for nogle patientgrupper.
Imagine a velvety, soft material that is extremely light, but also strong enough to stop a bullet. This is close to a description of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a super-plastic material commercially known as Dyneema or Spectra, which is already taking over from the para-aramid fibrous material, Kevlar, in e.g. bullet-proof jackets.
Volcanoes, colliding and spreading continental and oceanic plates, and other phenomena re-studied with innovative high-tech tools, provide important fresh insights to Earth's innermost workings, scientists say.
Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have identified new genetic signals for the regulation of how infants grow. This may be a crucial step in the fight against growth-related diseases.
In some forms of epilepsy, the function of certain "brake cells" in the brain is presumed to be disrupted. This may be one of the reasons why the electrical malfunction is able to spread from the point of origin across large parts of the brain. A current study by the University of Bonn, in which researchers from Lisbon were also involved, points in this direction.
High value chemicals used to make pharmaceuticals could be made much cheaper and quicker thanks to a series of new catalysts made by scientists at the University of Warwick in collaboration with GoldenKeys High-Tech Co., Ltd. in China.
Prebiotics are only able to help stabilise the intestinal flora of horses to a limited degree. Before they can reach the intestines, commercially available supplements partially break down in the animals' stomachs, which can lead to inflammation of the stomach lining. This was discovered by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of Veterinary Medicine Han
Communicating with others is one of the biggest difficulties for autistic children. Asking for help, initiating social interaction and sharing their emotions become skills that require learning through exercises and therapy. Interventions based on games that require the use of technology have proved to facilitate motivation and learning processes in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
National Institutes of Health researchers, along with researchers at Siemens, have developed a high-performance, low magnetic-field MRI system that vastly improves image quality of the lungs and other internal structures of the human body. The new system is more compatible with interventional devices that could greatly enhance image-guided procedures that diagnose and treat disease, and the system
With a revolutionary new approach that analyzed just a few drops of blood, Northwestern Medicine scientists and international collaborators detected earlier and more accurately if diabetic patients had developed life-threatening vascular complications such as heart disease, atherosclerosis and kidney failure. It is the latest discovery in a new blood-testing technology that Northwestern scientists
Reporting on 10 years of Deep Carbon Observatory research, scientists say. Just two-tenths of 1% of Earth's total carbon is above surface; Human CO2 emissions are now 40 to 100 times greater than nature's; And a handful of events over Earth 4.5 billion year existence — immense magmatic eruptions and meteor impacts — have caused catastrophic volumes of carbon out-gassing, leading to a warmer atmo
PLUS. En automationsopgave for toiletsædeproducenten Pressalit endte som Egatecs første favntag med bin-picking – omend løsningen hverken var tilsigtet eller helt traditionel.
President Trump's forceful claims that he did nothing wrong in his conversation with Ukraine's head of state squares with his short-term political interests. But he's setting a perilous precedent for his children. That wrinkle struck me when I read a defense of Trump in National Review by the Republican political consultant Luke Thompson. In Thompson's telling, the government has a compelling int
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to "go to the mat" to fight a government attempt to break up the social media giant, according to a report Tuesday based on a leaked audio recording.
Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM have developed a new process that can bend sheets of glass to produce angular corners. Unlike conventional processes, this does not impair the optical properties of the glass. Bent glass looks destined to play a key role in future building design, and there are also potential applications in the fields of medical technology a
PARP-inhibitoren olaparib forsinkede sygdomsprogression blandt patienter med metastaserende prostatacancer med fire måneder i forhold til ny hormonel behandling, viser resultater fra PROfound-studiet.
Førstelinjebehandling med atezolizumab og platinbaseret kemoterapi giver to måneder mere uden sygdomsprogression, viser undersøgelse præsenteret på ESMO.
Researchers could accurately detect life-threatening vascular complications in type 2 diabetes patients by analyzing hydroxymethylated cytosines in freely circulating DNA.
University of California, Irvine biologists blazing new approaches to studying Alzheimer's have made a major finding on combating inflammation linked to the disease. The School of Biological Sciences researchers' discovery about the role of a protein called TOM-1 heralds a shift toward examining the molecular underpinnings of Alzheimer's processes. Their paper has just been published in Proceeding
Researchers from the National University of Singapore and Beihang University reported the high-performance SnS thermoelectric crystals combining the desirable features of low-cost, earth-abundant materials and environmental friendliness. For the first time, they discovered the interplay of triple electronic bands leading to the high performance of thermoelectric SnS crystals, which is promoted by
Language involves many different regions of the brain. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and the Donders Institute at Radboud University discovered previously hidden connections between brain layers during reading, in a neuroimaging study reported in PNAS. The team used laminar Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (lfMRI) to investigate what happens when people read
Facebook's plans to launch a digital currency, Libra, has sent shockwaves through the international finance world and may have sounded the starting gun on a digital currency race. The contestants have been preparing for a while, as has the financial sector, watching eagerly f r om the sidelines. Questions abound amongst the spectators. What should central banks around the world do about Libra? Is
A new toolkit goes beyond existing machine learning methods by measuring body posture in animals with high speed and accuracy. Developed by researchers from the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective behavior at the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, this deep learning toolkit, called DeepPoseKit, combines previous methods for pose estimation with state-of
Biodegradable tubes that turn into living blood vessels once implanted in the human body. In an imaginary, modern remake of Fantastic Voyage, Isaac Asimov would probably navigate his submersible through the folds of our cardiovascular system, to figure out how this process occurs. And, he would understand that, regardless of how perfect these tubes look in the lab, once implanted in the human body
Researchers of Valencia's Polytechnic University and international collaborators have established the epigenetic mechanism through which citrus fruit inhibits the flowering of citric fruit trees. This discovery is essential to understand alternate bearing, a phenomenon that affects a large number of the most prized citric fruit varieties and which globally accounts for annual losses of around €20
A new measurement protocol, developed at TU Wien (Vienna), makes it possible to measure the quantum phase of electrons—an important step for attosecond physics.
A new toolkit goes beyond existing machine learning methods by measuring body posture in animals with high speed and accuracy. Developed by researchers from the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective behavior at the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, this deep learning toolkit, called DeepPoseKit, combines previous methods for pose estimation with state-of
Biodegradable tubes that turn into living blood vessels once implanted in the human body. In an imaginary, modern remake of Fantastic Voyage, Isaac Asimov would probably navigate his submersible through the folds of our cardiovascular system, to figure out how this process occurs. And, he would understand that, regardless of how perfect these tubes look in the lab, once implanted in the human body
Researchers of Valencia's Polytechnic University and international collaborators have established the epigenetic mechanism through which citrus fruit inhibits the flowering of citric fruit trees. This discovery is essential to understand alternate bearing, a phenomenon that affects a large number of the most prized citric fruit varieties and which globally accounts for annual losses of around €20
Researchers in Sweden and the U.S. have devised a new method for studying individual cells in human tissue, which could lead to even earlier detection of diseases such as cancer and ALS. The method offers a 1,400-fold increase in spatial resolution.
High value chemicals used to make pharmaceuticals could be made much cheaper and quicker thanks to a series of new catalysts made by scientists at the University of Warwick in collaboration with GoldenKeys High-Tech Co., Ltd. in China.
Researchers in Sweden and the U.S. have devised a new method for studying individual cells in human tissue, which could lead to even earlier detection of diseases such as cancer and ALS. The method offers a 1,400-fold increase in spatial resolution.
Steven Carlip, a physicist at the University of California, has come up with a theory to explain why empty space seems to be filled with a huge amount of energy—it may be hidden by effects that are canceling it out at the Planck scale. He has published a paper describing his new theory in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Researchers have designed 3-D printed mesh-like structures that morph from flat layers into predetermined shapes, such as a human face, in response to changes in ambient temperature.
Saving money with a smart thermostat depends on a lot of factors, including the type of home you live in and your usage. (Dan LeFebvre via Unsplash/) The promise of smart home tech is based on convenience. Why get off the couch when you can automate your lights, TV, and other gadgets, or even turn them on with your voice? Smart thermostats go a step further, claiming they're not only convenient,
AMD has announced new incentive programs for gamers considering a Ryzen or Radeon solution. If you're in the market, you'll want to take advantage of these …
Scientists have measured how the super-plastic material ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, commercially known as Dyneema or Spectra, interacts when bolted to other materials. The research has established guidelines and failure maps for use of the material in joints with steel bolts. The research shows that while the material deforms at the joints, it's incredible difficult to actually break
An international team of astronomers with participation by researchers from DAWN, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen has discovered a protocluster of galaxies 13.0 billion light years away. This protocluster is the most distant protocluster ever found. The discovery suggests that a large structure such as a protocluster already existed at a time when the universe was only about 800 mil
Phylogenomic analysis shows that pathogen isolated in Brazilian hospital does not belong to the genus Leishmania. Researchers are investigating whether this species alone can cause severe disease or intensifies symptoms in co-infected patients.
Pregnant women exposed to higher levels of the commonly used chemical bisphenol A (BPA) are more likely to have children who suffer with wheezing and poorer lung function, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.
A new study finds positive and negative health effects for African American women who use a "Superwoman" persona to cope with the stress of discrimination. The Superwoman persona refers to the idea of feeling a need to be strong, self-sacrificing, and emotionless, says Yijie Wang, assistant professor of human development and family studies at Michigan State University. Wang and Amani Allen, assoc
New research suggests a person's reliance on his or her smartphone predicts greater loneliness and depressive symptoms, as opposed to the other way around.
Professor Karen-Lise Garm Spindler kunne glæde sig over, at et stort studie om kolerektalcancer, der vil kunne føre til mere præcis behandling, og som bakker op om dansk forsøg med cirkulerende tumor-DNA.
Overlæge Mansoor Raza Mirza kunne afrunde diskussionen af tre banebrydende studier om PARP-hæmmere til patienter med ovariecancer, der fører til ny standardbehandling i 1. linje. Han tror på, at det kan føre til, at patienter med ovariecancer på et tidspunkt vil blive raske.
Chemical engineers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich, Germany, have developed the first molecular motor that enables an eight-shaped movement.
Researchers are starting to gather real-time data on how waves and rising water affect bridges during hurricanes. Civil engineering professor Jennifer Bridge of the University of Florida and her students are investigating how best to provide early warning to communities when a bridge is in danger of failing due to storm damage. Monitoring coastal bridge health could also help engineers design mor
Union Busting A federal judge ruled on Friday that Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, violated federal labor laws by punishing or attempting to dissuade employees who wanted to organize a union. Administrative law judge Amita Baman Tracy issued a humiliating ruling forcing Tesla to stop impeding union organizers, hire back an employee who was fired over union-related activities, and read a notice clar
Sri Lanka announced harsher penalties in a bid to protect wild elephants on Tuesday, as investigators probed whether seven jumbos found poisoned over the weekend were killed by villagers.
Cell motility, the spontaneous movement of cells from one location to another, plays a fundamental role in many biological processes, including immune responses and metastasis. Recent physics studies have gathered new evidence suggesting that mammalian cells do not only crawl on solid substrates, including complex 3-D mediums of a tissues, but can also swim in fluids.
Sri Lanka announced harsher penalties in a bid to protect wild elephants on Tuesday, as investigators probed whether seven jumbos found poisoned over the weekend were killed by villagers.
Upgrading deep brain stimulation devices could help make them smarter and less intrusive. Doctors use deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat people with essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, and other conditions . A research team at the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center, is working to improve the technology. Along
To study the diet of ancient crocodiles, two researchers combined mathematical analyses of the animals' shapes, surveys of modern crocodiles' diet, modeling methods for reconstructing the diet of fossil groups, and forensic-style interpretations of damaged bones from the distant past.
Common herbs, including lavender, fennel and chamomile, have a long history of use as folk medicines used to lower blood pressure. In a new study, researchers explain the molecular mechanisms that make them work.
Last year, biologists discovered that bird populations in the Mojave Desert had crashed over the past 100 years. The biologists now have evidence that heat stress is a key cause. Simulations with a computerized 'virtual bird' suggest that with higher temperatures, birds need more water to keep cool. Larger insectivores or carnivores should be most affected, and small seed-eaters less so if drinkin
Communities across the United States and around the world, along salty bays to freshwater lakes, increasingly are grappling with the dangerous effects of microscopic algae that suddenly grow out of control in these waters. This dramatic growth may be triggered by storms, a glut of nutrients, rising temperatures and potentially other factors.
Fantastic shapes can be made using 3-D printing, but for many applications the material used needs to be much stronger than what is currently available. This is something that chemists in Eindhoven are working on: "The material used by the current generation of 3-D printers is similar to spaghetti. We're making spaghetti that sticks together like Velcro."
Communities across the United States and around the world, along salty bays to freshwater lakes, increasingly are grappling with the dangerous effects of microscopic algae that suddenly grow out of control in these waters. This dramatic growth may be triggered by storms, a glut of nutrients, rising temperatures and potentially other factors.
GoPro cameras were the only action cameras out there for a while, but that's definitely not the case today. There are a bunch of different competitors targeting the action market. In July, …
Online companies in the EU can no longer present internet users with a pre-checked box telling them cookies will be planted on their smartphone or computer if they don't deselect the option, …
Two months after visiting Manu National Park in the Peruvian Amazon for Prof. Alex Trillo's tropical terrestrial biology course, a group of Gettysburgians are now in shock.
Zoë Fisher and Katarina Koruza from the ESS Deuteration and Macromolecular Crystallization (DEMAX) Support lab and Lund University have been using vapor diffusion methods to grow large protein crystals for neutron techniques as part of SINE2020's Crystal Growth work package. However, as well as being able to grow crystals large enough for these techniques, they also want to make them deuterated. D
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02938-1 People can get a false sense of security from flimsy gauze, and linger too long outdoors in toxic air, argue Wei Huang and Lidia Morawska.
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02907-8 How Nature reported the mystery of where houseflies go during the winter in 1919, and a spectacular fossil find from 1969.
Egypt displayed a gilded ancient coffin from the first century B.C. on Tuesday, which New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art returned last week after U.S. investigators determined it to be a looted antiquity.
Indonesia has scrapped plans to ban tourists from an island home to komodo dragons and will instead limit visitor numbers and raise entry prices to create a "premium destination", officials said.
The Iranian government says that nearly 1,800 ancient artifacts have arrived in Iran as part of the return of thousands of antiquities loaned decades ago to the University of Chicago.
The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 and the tsunamis it spawned may have washed a tropical fungus ashore, leading to a subsequent outbreak of often-fatal infections among people in coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest, according to a paper co-authored by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the nonprofit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an af
Allowing coal ash to be spread on soil or stored in unlined pits and landfills will raise the risk that several toxic elements, including carcinogenic hexavalent chromium, could leach out of the coal ash and contaminate nearby water supplies across the U.S., according to preliminary findings from a new Duke University study.
Indonesia has scrapped plans to ban tourists from an island home to komodo dragons and will instead limit visitor numbers and raise entry prices to create a "premium destination", officials said.
The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 and the tsunamis it spawned may have washed a tropical fungus ashore, leading to a subsequent outbreak of often-fatal infections among people in coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest, according to a paper co-authored by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the nonprofit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an af
This new paper shows one reason why it's so tricky to calculate compound binding in an active site (which is what we'd want to do in order to do effective in silico virtual screening). The authors (a multicenter team from York, Demuris, Vernalis, and St. Jude) are looking at a virulence protein from H. influenzae called SiaP. It binds sialic acid, but it also binds a whole set of water molecules
The best programs teach kids language skills and focusing abilities through innovative, child-centered activities — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
De målrettede behandlinger, som hæmatologien beskæftiger sig med, byder på værdifuld fælles information på tværs af vidt forskellige kræftsygdomme, siger Aarhus-professoren Francesco d'Amore, der holdt oplæg på ESMO.
A groundbreaking study by a north Australian research team which identified a deadly bacterium responsible for killing saltwater crocodiles at a Top End Wildlife Park has recently been published in the journal, Microbial Genomics.
Single celled organisms in the environment are protecting pathogenic bacteria and priming them for human infection, an international team of researchers has discovered.
A Columbian College of Arts and Sciences professor is using cutting-edge imaging technology to decipher the inscriptions on fragments of broken pottery excavated more than 50 years ago in Jordan. The fragments, long thought to be lost, were recently rediscovered.
A groundbreaking study by a north Australian research team which identified a deadly bacterium responsible for killing saltwater crocodiles at a Top End Wildlife Park has recently been published in the journal, Microbial Genomics.
Single celled organisms in the environment are protecting pathogenic bacteria and priming them for human infection, an international team of researchers has discovered.
The United States is the world's leading soybean producer, and soybeans are used to produce biodiesel. The fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi causes Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) and is the major pathogen of soybean. Left uncontrolled, soybean rust could reduce crop yields by as much as 90 percent.
In response to local and global climate stressors, a type of bright red bacteria has proliferated on reefs worldwide often snuffing the life out of precious corals and changing the reef ecosystem.
The United States is the world's leading soybean producer, and soybeans are used to produce biodiesel. The fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi causes Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) and is the major pathogen of soybean. Left uncontrolled, soybean rust could reduce crop yields by as much as 90 percent.
In response to local and global climate stressors, a type of bright red bacteria has proliferated on reefs worldwide often snuffing the life out of precious corals and changing the reef ecosystem.
Typical routes for making per-deuterated molecules for neutron scattering use chemical methods that are unsuitable for molecules with sensitive functional groups, for example the use of metal catalysts, high temperature and high pressure. Therefore, Task 5.3 in SINE2020's Chemical Deuteration work package explored the use of enzyme catalysts that are efficient, very molecule specific and generate
Shielding plays an important role at neutron sources for both radiation safety and for minimizing background noise in neutron experiments. Shielding is regularly made from concrete, which contains hydrogen atoms that help to slow down neutrons.
Astronomers from Chile and Argentina report the detection of four new planetary nebulae (PN) candidates residing in galactic globular clusters (GCs). If confirmed, the discovery would double the number of known PNe in galactic GCs. The finding is presented in a paper published September 19 on the arXiv pre-print server.
The best programs teach kids language skills and focusing abilities through innovative, child-centered activities — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Scientists have come a step closer to understanding how we're able to understand spoken language so rapidly, and it involves a huge and complex set of computations in the brain.
Researchers have discovered that cowbirds conform to Bateman's Principle, despite investing no energy into parental care. Surprisingly, 75% of the cowbirds in the system were monogamous. Future research will expand upon these findings and broaden the understanding of how cowbirds might select the nests they parasitize, what role the males could play to assist the females, and why monogamy could be
Negative perception of a regulatory authority diminishes the honesty of those regulated. This is the conclusion of an experiment with EU-skeptic commercial fishermen and Brexit voters. The findings can help to assess the effectiveness of unmonitored EU fisheries regulations.
Researchers have shown for the first time the molecular mechanisms at work that cause cannabidiol, or CBD, to block the psychiatric side-effects caused by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis.
For the first time, prostate cancer has been treated based on the genetic makeup of the cancer, resulting in delayed disease progression, delayed time to pain progression, and potentially extending lives in patients with advanced, metastatic prostate cancer, reports a large phase 3 trial. This marks a significant advance for prostate cancer treatment, which has lagged behind other common cancers w
In the prospective TAILORx trial, 93% of women with hormone-sensitive, HER2-negative, axillary node-negative breast cancer and a high Recurrence Score 26-100 were estimated to be cancer-free at five years. This outcome was much better than expected with endocrine therapy alone. The finding adds to limited data on outcomes with a high RS of 26-100, treated with taxane and/or anthracycline-containin
Materia som dras in mot det svarta hålet samlas i en virvlande skiva, upphettad av den häftiga rörelsen. Visualiseringen bygger på beräkningar av hur skivan rör sig, och hur ljuset kröks utanför det svarta hålet. Strukturen av mörkare och ljusare band uppkommer på grund av magnetiska virvlar i kombination med att olika delar av skivan rör sig olika fort.
Researchers from the U.S., Russia, and China have bent the rules of classical chemistry and synthesized a "forbidden" compound of cerium and hydrogen—CeH9—which exhibits superconductivity at a relatively low pressure of 1 million atmospheres. The paper came out in Nature Communications.
A team of chemists at California Institute of Technology has totally synthesized perseanol using a 16-step process for the first time. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their process and how well it worked.
Researchers led by MIT Department of Physics Professor Pablo Jarillo-Herrero last year showed that rotating layers of hexagonally structured graphene at a particular "magic angle" could change the material's electronic properties from an insulating state to a superconducting state. Now researchers in the same group and their collaborators have demonstrated that in a different ultra-thin material t
As climate change continues, the rate at which Earth warms could increase in the future, according to new simulations. Researchers used a state-of-the-art climate model to successfully simulate—for the first time—the extreme warming of the Early Eocene Period, which scientists consider an analog for Earth's future climate. The researchers found that the rate of warming increased dramatically as c
New Zealand, Australia and Iceland could act as island refuges to save humanity from extinction in the event of a catastrophic global pandemic, researchers have found.
MCI (Mild cognitive impairment) är ett tidigt tecken på att minnet börjar försämras. Det kan till exempel visa sig genom att personen börjar glömma sådant man tidigare kommit ihåg eller får nedsatt koncentrationsförmåga. MCI – mild kognitiv svikt MCI (Mild cognitive impairment) är ett begrepp som har flera olika namn på svenska. Bland annat kallas MCI för mild kognitiv svikt eller lindrig kogniti
People who are self-employed in some of the lowest paid and most popular jobs are at the greatest risk of being displaced by artificial intelligence (AI), according to new research from the University at Buffalo School of Management.
noun. a system of social organization in which the reward-motivated behavior of its members is modified to serve the propagation of human influence and welfare of human beings, through the advancement of science, technology, and philosophy. submitted by /u/IcySteam [link] [comments]
The image of huge chunks of ice breaking away from glaciers and ice sheets, then floating out to sea in Earth's most remote places, may be the most iconic symbol of a warming planet. And while most people will never see these familiar phenomena up close, what's happening within some of the iciest settings still affects people and regions thousands of miles away.
Land use changes, nutrient depletion, and drought can make plant roots grow deeper into the soil. But scientists question how that growth affects carbon in the soil. Could more roots reaching deep soil layers result in more carbon being sequestered? Or will this root-driven mineral weathering unlock older carbon in deep soils? Combining advanced imaging techniques, scientists examined the impact o
Scientists have had a hard time agreeing on how many planets there are in the solar system. Most experts will tell you there are eight that we know of, but some people like NASA's Jim Bridenstine (and Jerry Smith) think Pluto should be among them . There's increasing evidence of another planet out there at the extreme edge of the solar system, but a new analysis suggests that may not be a planet
Var tionde bebis som föds behöver någon form av hjälp för att få igång andningen. Kommer inte andningen igång finns det risk att barnet får skador, exempelvis hjärnskador. Nu undersöker ett team på Skånes universitetssjukhus och Lunds universitet om skadorna minskar om man avvaktar med att klippa navelsträngen.
Jellyfish possess the ability to regenerate body parts. A team of Japanese scientists has now revealed the cellular mechanisms that give jellyfish these remarkable regenerative powers. Their findings were published on August 26, 2019 in PeerJ.
Freshwater fish are a highly diverse group representing nearly half of all fish species. Due to accelerating human activities, they are also the most threatened vertebrate group, and are disappearing faster than they can be described. Currently, half of all freshwater fish species are still not formally assessed by conservation organizations, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nat
At any moment in Delhi, India, a resident might start their car, releasing exhaust that floats into the atmosphere. In northwest India, a farmer might set fire to his field after the wheat harvest to clear it quickly, releasing smoke that'll be carried by the wind. A small family might burn wood to light their stove, releasing soot into the sky. Delhi, a city which boasts a population of over 28 m
Jellyfish possess the ability to regenerate body parts. A team of Japanese scientists has now revealed the cellular mechanisms that give jellyfish these remarkable regenerative powers. Their findings were published on August 26, 2019 in PeerJ.
Freshwater fish are a highly diverse group representing nearly half of all fish species. Due to accelerating human activities, they are also the most threatened vertebrate group, and are disappearing faster than they can be described. Currently, half of all freshwater fish species are still not formally assessed by conservation organizations, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nat
The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 and the tsunamis it spawned may have washed a tropical fungus ashore, leading to a subsequent outbreak of often-fatal infections among people in coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest, according to a paper co-authored by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the nonprofit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an af
A team of researchers in Europe has retracted a 2016 paper on how people with autism process social cues after finding an error in their analysis. The article, "Social Bayes: using Bayesian modeling to study autistic trait–related differences in social cognition," appeared in Biological Psychiatry, an Elsevier journal. The senior author of the paper is … Continue reading
This story contains spoilers for the first episode of Superstore 's fifth season. Unfair labor practices might not seem like obvious fodder for prime-time comedy, but NBC's Superstore has tangled with the subject often since its 2015 debut. The sitcom, set at a fictional mega-retailer called Cloud 9, ended its last season on a note that felt pointed by the show's usual standards. Eager to quash w
A new method of relaying information by transferring the state of electrons moves scientists one step closer to creating fully functional quantum computers. Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize technology, medicine, and science by providing faster and more efficient processors, sensors, and communication devices. But transferring information and correcting errors within a quantum
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02944-3 To combat bad behaviour, researchers must collectively create ways to take responsibility, says Virginia Valian.
Nature, Published online: 01 October 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02947-0 Organs-on-a-chip and other technologies are becoming reliable models for testing drug efficacy and toxicity.
NASA's Curiosity rover was cleaned but not fully sterilized, so it likely has thousands of bacterial spores on it. An astronaut would be even germier. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/) We may like to think of ourselves as independent agents, but our reliance on microbes to digest our food and fight off diseases makes us far from isolated. Foreign germs actually outnumber more familiar bits of our bodies l
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) results from exposure to traumatic events. Soldiers in war, for example, are at high risk of PTSD because of repeated exposure over time. But even a single event, like experiencing the attacks on 9/11, can cause PTSD. The prevalence in the US is about 8.7%. Symptoms include: "the development of characteristic symptoms, such as distressing memories or dreams a
Facing the scourge of a parasitic Asian mite, commercial beekeepers are trying to breed a resistant strain—but other threats loom — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Facing the scourge of a parasitic Asian mite, commercial beekeepers are trying to breed a resistant strain—but other threats loom — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
The moon's surface could act as a fishing net for extraterrestrial life, preserving the remains of organisms or even technology from beyond our solar system.
Like atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide, ground-level ozone is on the rise. But ozone, a noxious chemical byproduct of fossil fuel combustion, has received relatively little attention as a potential threat to corn agriculture.
In a proof-of-concept experiment, researchers say they have successfully used microscopic human-made particles to predict the severity of patients' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by measuring how quickly the particles move through mucus samples. The technique, say the researchers, could eventually help doctors deliver more effective treatments sooner.