The Chinese government has placed the city of Wuhan under quarantine in an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly, pneumonia-like virus called 2019-nCoV. According to a Chinese news bulletin , all passenger transportation out of the city has been temporarily suspended. That means that the city's 11 million residents, hundreds of whom have fallen ill and at least nine of whom have died from the
Fully vaccinating children reduces the risk of hospitalization associated with influenza by 54%, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan, the Clalit Research Institute, and Ben-Gurion University in Israel.
Scientists have found evidence to support long-standing anecdotes that stress causes hair graying. Researchers found that in mice, the type of nerve involved in the fight-or-flight response causes permanent damage to the pigment-regenerating stem cells in the hair follicle. The findings advance knowledge of how stress impacts the body, and are a first step toward blocking its negative effects.
Fifty years ago, scientists hit upon what they thought could be the next rocket fuel. Carboranes—molecules composed of boron, carbon and hydrogen atoms clustered together in three-dimensional shapes—were seen as the possible basis for next-generation propellants due to their ability to release massive amounts of energy when burned.
A new model can predict the early mechanical behaviors and origins of an earthquake in multiple types of rock, researchers report. The model provides new insights into unobservable phenomena that take place miles beneath the Earth's surface under incredible pressures and temperatures, and could help researchers better predict earthquakes—or even, at least theoretically, attempt to stop them. "Ear
Genomic information from four children who lived thousands of years ago in what is now Cameroon could shed light on the spread of the Bantu languages and on the history of present-day African populations.
The waters of Puget Sound support many species, including mussels, salmon and killer whales. But researchers know that runoff from land in the urbanized areas might contain chemicals that could harm these creatures, even if it's not always clear which chemicals are the most harmful.
Diving 200 feet under the ocean surface to conduct scientific research can lead to some interesting places. For University of Texas at Austin Professor Bayani Cardenas, it placed him in the middle of a champagne-like environment of bubbling carbon dioxide with off-the-chart readings of the greenhouse gas.
International body to meet again on Thursday to discuss 'evolving and complex situation' as China reports 17 deaths Visual guide: where has coronavirus spread? Have you encountered any precautionary measures? The World Health Organization has stepped back from declaring the growing viral pneumonia outbreak in China to be a public health emergency of international concern, saying its expert commit
Visual surveys alone cannot sufficiently detect the Brown Treesnake (BTS), which was introduced to the island of Guam around the time of WWII and has contributed to significant biodiversity loss. Researchers coupled visual surveys with radio telemetry to form a powerful method of detecting the BTS. Their work will improve detection efforts and rapid response should the snake arrive on nearby snake
Hydrologists diving off the coast of the Philippines have discovered volcanic seeps with some of the highest natural levels of C02 ever recorded. The scientists were working in Verde Island Passage, one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world and is home to thriving coral reefs.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering have proposed a system that would use currently underutilized resources in an existing wireless channel to create extra opportunities for lag-free connections. The process, which wouldn't require any additional hardware or wireless spectrum resources, could alleviate traffic backups on networks with many wireless connectio
Policies and new technologies have reduced emissions of precursor gases that lead to ozone air pollution, but despite those improvements, the amount of ozone that plants are taking in has not followed the same trend, according to Florida State University researchers.
When the Earth was born, it was a mess. Meteors and lightning storms likely bombarded the planet's surface where nothing except lifeless chemicals could survive. How life formed in this chemical mayhem is a mystery billions of years old. Now, a new study offers evidence that the first building blocks may have matched their environment, starting out messier than previously thought.
When the Earth was born, it was a mess. Meteors and lightning storms likely bombarded the planet's surface where nothing except lifeless chemicals could survive. How life formed in this chemical mayhem is a mystery billions of years old. Now, a new study offers evidence that the first building blocks may have matched their environment, starting out messier than previously thought.
Anthropologists at the University of Toronto (U of T) have confirmed the existence more than 10,000 years ago of a hunting camp in what is now northeastern Lebanon—one that straddles the period marking the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural settlements at the onset of the last stone age.
It has been 30 years since the end of the Cold War, yet on average, Americans still perceive that the odds of a nuclear weapon detonating on U.S. soil is as likely as a coin toss, according to new research.
An airman monitors an 800 acre controlled burn in June 2015 at Beale Air Force Base, California meant to renew cattle grazing land and control vegetation growth. (Airman Preston Cherry/) Decades of fire suppression combined with the warmer and drier conditions of climate change have left California ripe for catastrophic blazes . While 2019 saw relatively few acres burned compared to the previous
The American Revolution had scarcely been over a month when, in a farewell letter to the Continental Army, General George Washington admitted something startling: The war of independence wasn't necessarily a good thing. At least, it wasn't yet. "It is yet to be decided," he wrote, "whether the Revolution must ultimately be considered as a blessing or a curse." His audience had just spent eight ye
Fifty years ago, scientists hit upon what they thought could be the next rocket fuel. Carboranes — molecules composed of boron, carbon and hydrogen atoms clustered together in three-dimensional shapes — were seen as the possible basis for next-generation propellants due to their ability to release massive amounts of energy when burned.
Emerging viral infections — from bird flu to Ebola to Zika infections — pose major threats to global public health, and understanding their origins can help investigators design defensive strategies against future outbreaks. A new study provides important insights on the potential origins of the most recent outbreak of viral pneumonia in China, which started in the middle of December and now is
Certain types of domesticated wheat have complicated origins, with genetic contributions from wild and cultivated wheat populations on opposite sides of the Fertile Crescent.
Animal carcasses play an important role in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Scientists have published these findings in PLOS ONE. Carcasses not only provide food for carrion-eating animals. Their nutrients also increase the growth of surrounding plants, which attracts many herbivorous insects and their predators. The researchers recommend relaxing regulations governing the disposal of anima
New study is the first to use machine learning to project migration patterns resulting from sea-level rise. Researchers found the impact of rising oceans will ripple across the country, beyond coastal areas at risk of flooding, as affected people move inland. Popular relocation choices will include land-locked cities such as Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Las Vegas. The model also predicts s
Star Wars Japan is following the United States' lead and creating a military unit dedicated to space. On Monday, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced during a policy speech that Japan will establish its own space defense unit to protect its orbital assets, according to the Associated Press . Mission Control The Space Domain Mission Unit will launch in April and will be a part of Japan's Air Self-D
En grupp brittiska forskare har tagit fram en ny metod som de anser har "enorm potential" till att kunna behandla alla typer av cancer, rapporterar BBC.
A group of scientists has uncovered a previously unknown way that our genes are made into reality. Rather than directions going one-way from DNA to RNA to proteins, the latest study shows that RNA itself modulates how DNA is transcribed–using a chemical process that is increasingly apparent to be vital to biology. The discovery has significant implications for our understanding of human disease a
Using a new 'non-targeted' approach, UW and UW Tacoma researchers screened samples from multiple regions of Puget Sound to look for potentially harmful compounds that might be present.
A new Tel Aviv University study reveals that only 2 writers penned landmark inscriptions on an 8th-century BCE Samarian ostraca. The discovery illuminates the bureaucratic apparatus of an ancient kingdom of Israel.
Fifty years ago, scientists hit upon what they thought could be the next rocket fuel. Carboranes — molecules composed of boron, carbon and hydrogen atoms clustered together in three-dimensional shapes — were seen as the possible basis for next-generation propellants due to their ability to release massive amounts of energy when burned.
Police have long relied on the unique whorls, loops or arches encoded in fingerprints to identify suspects. However, they have no way to tell how long ago those prints were left behind — information that could be crucial to a case. A preliminary new study suggests that could change. Researchers report that they could link compounds contained in fingerprints with their age.
The 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence, which startled nearby California residents over the 4 July holiday with magnitude 6.4 and magnitude 7.1 earthquakes, included 34,091 earthquakes overall, detailed in a high-resolution catalog created for the sequence.
Researchers have formulated a new recipe that can prevent weaknesses in modern-day armor. By adding a tiny amount of the element silicon to boron carbide, a material commonly used for making body armor, they discovered that bullet-resistant gear could be made substantially more resilient to high-speed impacts.
Cavities, or dental caries, are the most widespread non-communicable disease globally, according to the World Health Organization. Having a cavity drilled and filled at the dentist's office can be painful, but untreated caries could lead to worse pain, tooth loss, infection, and even illness or death. Now, researchers report a bioactive peptide that coats tooth surfaces, helping prevent new caviti
Foxtail millet is an annual grass grown widely as a cereal crop in parts of India, China and Southeast Asia. Milling the grain removes the hard outer layer, or bran, from the rest of the seed. Now, researchers have identified a protein in this bran that can help stave off atherosclerosis in mice genetically prone to the disease.
Medicines made from coiled protein fragments could provide a new handle on hard-to-treat diseases like cancer, but they are difficult to design. But a new technique could change that.
Radioactive Recycling To make use of the radioactive waste from nuclear plants, University of Bristol scientists have an unusual plan: turn it into diamonds that can be used as long-lasting batteries. The resulting diamond batteries would remain stable and give off a weak electrical current for an extremely long time, according to Popular Mechanics , making them a potential gamechanger to power m
A bizarre plot involving the richest man in the world, his mistress, and the successor to the Saudi Arabian throne is currently unfolding — and it may shine new light on the savage murder of a political journalist. The story begins — more or less — in January 2019, when the National Enquirer published text messages and intimate photos sent between Amazon owner Jeff Bezos and his mistress, former
Anthropologists at the University of Toronto have confirmed the existence more than 10,000 years ago of a hunting camp in the mountains along the modern-day border between Lebanon and Syria — one that straddles the period marking the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural settlements at the onset of the last stone age. Analysis of decades-old data collected from Nachcha
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00163-9 Calving events at Thwaites Glacier, which is shedding vast amounts of ice, are detected from up to 1,600 kilometres away.
Cross-linked polymers are structures where large molecular chains are linked together, allowing exceptional mechanical properties and chemical resistance to the final product. However, their modification is not easy. Now, scientists develop a method that allows the fusion of different polymers together easily, allowing the precise tuning of the properties of the final material by selecting appropr
Many drugs are derived from natural products. But before natural products can be exploited, chemists must first determine their structure and stereochemistry. This can be a major challenge, particularly when the molecules cannot be crystallized and contain only few hydrogen atoms. A new NMR-based method now simplifies the analysis and produces more accurate results.
A new technology increases the energy efficiency of quantum dot light emitting diodes for screens by emitting high-intensity light in one direction, researchers report. By minimizing the scattering losses of light inside the diodes, they emit a larger proportion of the light generated towards the viewer. Quantum dot light emitting diode (QLED) screens have been on the market for a few years now.
The White House's messaging throughout the impeachment process has been wildly inconsistent on nearly every count save one: Democrats are trying to overturn the 2016 election . Other ideas have come and gone. President Donald Trump has insisted that he wasn't pressuring foreign countries to intervene, and then done so again publicly . He has flip-flopped on what kind of trial he wants in the Sena
Researchers have managed to grow atomically thin films of molybdenum disulfide spanning up to several tens of square centimeters. Thus, the noticeable remnant polarization value and a good switching endurance were obtained directly in contact with MoS2 film, allowing to conclude the possibility of the memory MoS2-based FeFET concept realization.
Overcoming HIV latency — induction of HIV in CD4+ T cells that lay dormant throughout the body – is a major step toward creating a cure for HIV. For the first time, scientists have shown that a new approach can expose latent HIV to attack in two different animal model systems with little or no toxicity.
Many drugs are derived from natural products. But before natural products can be exploited, chemists must first determine their structure and stereochemistry. This can be a major challenge, particularly when the molecules cannot be crystallized and contain only few hydrogen atoms. A new NMR-based method now simplifies the analysis and produces more accurate results.
For decades, there's been a widespread assumption among people with an interest in sports-related injury that youth football players are more vulnerable to concussion and other head injuries than their older, bigger counterparts.
Cultural differences play a pivotal role in how people in different parts of the world perceive when it is acceptable to sacrifice one person to save a larger group, new research has shown.
The Hendrick Motorsports Track Attack Camaro and Chevrolet SS vehicles. (Hendrick Motorsports/) For less than the price of a Porsche 911 GT3 , you can buy a stock car just like the ones that hammer around Nascar ovals—and then take it to the track yourself. That's the promise of the Hendrick Track Attack Camaro and Chevrolet SS track day cars, which promise to put you into a driver's seat that is
Winter conditions at the summit of Mount Zao, a volcano standing between Japan's Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures, can conjure up "creatures" of snow and ice, built up over tree trunks and branches. Windblown ice is covered by snow in repeated cycles, building hulking shapes on the mountain slopes. These famous Juhyo , or "snow monsters," attract visitors to Mount Zao from the end of January throu
"personally i believe wanting bangs is almost never about wanting bangs and if u want bangs u should go to therapy first," the writer Allie Wach tweeted in February 2018. This personal belief was retweeted 15,000 times and received hundreds of replies. They were mostly from women tagging a friend, without explanation, to come see this truth universally known but slightly-less-frequently acknowled
An immune-boosting skin cream applied directly to mosquito bites stopped viral infections in mice. If approved for human use, it could help prevent mosquito-borne viruses like Zika
A synthetic tube filled with a growth protein can span the gap between severed nerves, helping them to regenerate and restore gripping abilities in macaques
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is the most significant infectious disease affecting sea turtle populations worldwide. FB leads to tumors on the turtles' eyes, flippers and internal organs and is widespread in warmer climates like Florida. A large-scale study evaluated tumor score, removal and regrowth in rehabilitating green sea turtles with FP in the southeastern US from 2009 to 2017, and found that 75
Fires started by people have steadily increased in recent decades, sparking a major shift in U.S. wildfire norms, according to a new study. The research found human-caused wildfires are more frequent, smaller, less hot and occur over longer seasons than fires started by lightning.
Animal pollinators support the production of three-quarters of the world's food crops, and many flowers produce nectar to reward the pollinators. A new study using bumblebees has found that the sweetest nectar is not necessarily the best: too much sugar slows down the bees. The results will inform breeding efforts to make crops more attractive to pollinators, boosting yields to feed our growing gl
Cross-linked polymers are structures where large molecular chains are linked together, allowing exceptional mechanical properties and chemical resistance to the final product. However, their modification is not easy. Now, scientists develop a method that allows the fusion of different polymers together easily, allowing the precise tuning of the properties of the final material by selecting appropr
When the Earth was born, it was a mess. Meteors and lightning storms likely bombarded the planet's surface where nothing except lifeless chemicals could survive. How life formed in this chemical mayhem is a mystery billions of years old. Now, a new study offers evidence that the first building blocks may have matched their environment, starting out messier than previously thought.
New research shows that, millions of times each day, investors in the US stock market see different prices at the same moment — and that these differing prices cost investors at least $2 billion dollars each year.
New study is the first to use machine learning to project migration patterns resulting from sea-level rise. Researchers found the impact of rising oceans will ripple across the country, beyond coastal areas at risk of flooding, as affected people move inland. Popular relocation choices will include land-locked cities such as Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Las Vegas. The model also predicts s
A team of scientists has created a biodegradable, synthetic conduit that repairs large gaps in injured nerves, which supported recovery and accelerated neuronal healing in a macaque model.
An effort to thwart viral diseases like hepatitis or the common cold led to a new collaboration and a novel class of cancer drugs that appears effective in mice.
Allowing the carcasses of dead deer to remain in the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve has a positive effect on biodiversity in the area. In the short term carcasses attract many more insects and other arthropods. In the long term, plant growth increases. Plants located near animal carcasses became five times bigger than usual, leading to a surge in the number of plant-eating invertebrates on the
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a technique in which p-boronophenylalanine (BPA) is transferred to cancer cells, and the boron in it undergoes nuclear fission reaction upon irradiation of thermal neutrons, releasing high energy particles that kill the cells. Scientists at Tokyo Tech, Kyoto University, and Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM) improved upon current BNCT by combining BPA
Researchers from Dresden and Osaka present the first fully integrated flexible electronics made of magnetic sensors and organic circuits which opens the path towards the development of electronic skin.
According to a new study led by Steeve Bonneville from the Université libre de Bruxelles, the first mushrooms were already present on Earth between 715 and 810 million years ago, 300 million years earlier than the scientific community had believed until now. The results, published in Science Advances, also suggest that mushrooms could have been important partners for the first plants that colonize
Animal carcasses play an important role in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the University of Groningen have published these findings in PLOS ONE. Carcasses not only provide food for carrion-eating animals. Their nutrients also increase the growth of surrounding plants, which attracts many herbivorous insects
Kyoto University researchers develop a device that parks individual molecular motors on nano scale platforms and found that two types of 'kinesin' possess different properties of coordination. In kinesin-1, neither the number nor spacing of the molecules change the transport velocity of microtubules, while kinesin-14 decreased transport velocity as the number of motors on a filament increased, but
A skin cream used to treat warts and skin cancer could help protect people against viral diseases such as Zika and dengue, according to new research from the University of Leeds.
University of Pittsburgh researchers have created a biodegradable nerve guide — a polymer tube — filled with growth-promoting protein that can regenerate long sections of damaged nerves, without the need for transplanting stem cells or a donor nerve.
Certain types of domesticated wheat have complicated origins, with genetic contributions from wild and cultivated wheat populations on opposite sides of the Fertile Crescent. Terence Brown and colleagues at the University of Manchester report these findings in a new paper published Jan. 22, 2020, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
During the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, Italy was home to complex networks of metalwork exchange, according to a study published Jan. 22, 2020, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Andrea Dolfini of Newcastle University (UK), and Gilberto Artioli and Ivana Angelini of the University of Padova (Italy).
Over her lifetime, the average female scientific researcher at a New Zealand university earns about NZ$400,000 less than her male counterparts, and less than half of this disparity can be explained by research performance and age. Ann Brower and Alex James of the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, present these findings in PLOS ONE on Jan. 22, 2020.
The same nerves involved in the fight-or-flight response can cause permanent damage to the cells responsible for producing hair color in mice, scientists have found.
Insecticides have become significantly more toxic—over 120-fold in some Midwestern states—to honey bees when ingested, according to a new study. Rising neonicotinoid seed treatments applied to corn and soy in US agricultural landscapes during the past 20 years are the primary driver of the change, the researchers found. The study is the first to characterize the geographic patterns of insecticide
"I didn't even think fencing was in my future," says Keeth Smart in the short documentary Stay Close . "I was just holding my breath for [my sister] to make the Olympic team." As children, Keeth and his sister, Erinn, trained at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, a scholarship program named after the first black fencer to win an Olympic medal. Based in Manhattan, the foundation teaches the sport to
A central goal of precision medicine is to predict disease outcomes and design treatments based on multidimensional information from afflicted cells and tissues. Cell morphology is an emergent readout of the molecular underpinnings of a cell's functions and, thus, can be used as a method to define the functional state of an individual cell. We measured 216 features derived from cell and nucleus m
Lysine acetyltransferase 6A (KAT6A) and its paralog KAT6B form stoichiometric complexes with bromodomain- and PHD finger-containing protein 1 (BRPF1) for acetylation of histone H3 at lysine 23 (H3K23). We report that these complexes also catalyze H3K23 propionylation in vitro and in vivo. Immunofluorescence microscopy and ATAC-See revealed the association of this modification with active chromati
Smart drug design for antibody and nanomaterial-based therapies allows optimization of drug efficacy and more efficient early-stage preclinical trials. The ideal drug must display maximum efficacy at target tissue sites, with transport from tissue vasculature to the cellular environment being critical. Biological simulations, when coupled with in vitro approaches, can predict this exposure in a r
Dysregulated physical stresses are generated during tumorigenesis that affect the surrounding compliant tissues including adipocytes. However, the effect of physical stressors on the behavior of adipocytes and their cross-talk with tumor cells remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that compression of cells, resulting from various types of physical stresses, can induce dedifferentiation of adipocyt
The degeneration of cholinergic neurons is a prominent feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In animal models of injury and aging, nerve growth factor (NGF) enhances cholinergic cell survival and function, contributing to improved memory. In the presence of AD pathology, however, NGF-related therapeutics have yet to fulfill their regenerative potential. We propose that stimulating the TrkA recepto
Kinesin is a motor protein that plays important roles in a variety of cellular functions. In vivo, multiple kinesin molecules are bound to cargo and work as a team to produce larger forces or higher speeds than a single kinesin. However, the coordination of kinesins remains poorly understood because of the experimental difficulty in controlling the number and arrangement of kinesins, which are co
Precambrian fossils of fungi are sparse, and the knowledge of their early evolution and the role they played in the colonization of land surface are limited. Here, we report the discovery of fungi fossils in a 810 to 715 million year old dolomitic shale from the Mbuji-Mayi Supergroup, Democratic Republic of Congo. Syngenetically preserved in a transitional, subaerially exposed paleoenvironment, t
Extreme pathophysiological stressors induce expansion of otherwise infrequent leukocyte populations. Here, we found a previously unidentified CD11b + Gr-1 + myeloid cell population that expresses stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1) induced upon experimental infection with Staphylococcus aureus . Although CD11b + Gr-1 + Sca-1 + cells have impaired migratory capacity and superoxide anion–producing activity
The coexistence of cultural identities and their interaction is a fundamental topic of social sciences that is not easily addressed in prehistory. Differences in mortuary treatment can help approach this issue. Here, we present a multi-isotope study to track both diet and mobility through the life histories of 32 broadly coeval Late Neolithic individuals interred in caves and in megalithic graves
Earth's atmospheric composition during the Archean eon of 4 to 2.5 billion years ago has few constraints. However, the geochemistry of recently discovered iron-rich micrometeorites from 2.7 billion–year–old limestones could serve as a proxy for ancient gas concentrations. When micrometeorites entered the atmosphere, they melted and preserved a record of atmospheric interaction. We model the motio
Fault slip behavior during episodic tremor and slow slip (ETS) events, which occur at the deep extension of subduction zone megathrust faults, is believed to be related to cyclic fluid processes that necessitate fluctuations in pore-fluid pressures. In most subduction zones, a layer of anomalously low seismic wave velocities [low-velocity layer (LVL)] is observed in the vicinity of ETS and sugges
MicroRNAs, a class of transcripts involved in the regulation of gene expression, are emerging as promising disease-specific biomarkers accessible from tissues or bodily fluids. However, their accurate quantification from biological samples remains challenging. We report a sensitive and quantitative microRNA detection method using an isothermal amplification chemistry adapted to a droplet digital
Artificial electronic skins (e-skins) comprise an integrated matrix of flexible devices arranged on a soft, reconfigurable surface. These sensors must perceive physical interaction spaces between external objects and robots or humans. Among various types of sensors, flexible magnetic sensors and the matrix configuration are preferable for such position sensing. However, sensor matrices must effic
Poor transport of neuropharmaceutics through central nervous system (CNS) barriers limits the development of effective treatments for CNS disorders. We present the facile synthesis of a novel neuroinflammation-targeting polyethylene glycol–based dendrimer (PEGOL-60) using an efficient click chemistry approach. PEGOL-60 reduces synthetic burden by achieving high hydroxyl surface density at low gen
Disassembly of intercellular junctions is a hallmark of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, how the junctions disassemble remains largely unknown. Here, we report that E3 ubiquitin ligase Smurf1 targets p120-catenin, a core component of adherens junction (AJ) complex, for monoubiquitination during transforming growth factor β (TGFβ)–induced EMT, thereby leading to AJ dissociation. U
In the current clinical boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), p -boronophenylalanine (BPA) has been the most powerful drug owing to its ability to accumulate selectively within cancers through cancer-related amino acid transporters including LAT1. However, the therapeutic success of BPA has been sometimes compromised by its unfavorable efflux from cytosol due to their antiport mechanism. Here, we
When Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast in 2017, displaced residents flocked inland, trying to rebuild their lives in the disaster's aftermath. Within decades, the same thing could happen at a much larger scale due to rising sea levels, says a new study led by USC Computer Science Assistant Professor Bistra Dilkina.
Imagine standing in the grocery store, looking at a pile of bananas. On your side of the pile, the manager has posted yesterday's newspaper flyer, showing bananas at 62¢ per pound—so that's what you pay at the register. But on the other side of the pile, there's an up-to-the-minute screen showing that the price of bananas has now dropped to 48¢ per pound—so that's what the guy over there pays. Exa
Over her lifetime, the average female scientific researcher at a New Zealand university earns about NZ$400,000 less than her male counterparts, and less than half of this disparity can be explained by research performance and age. Ann Brower and Alex James of the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, present these findings in PLOS ONE on January 22, 2020.
Certain types of domesticated wheat have complicated origins, with genetic contributions from wild and cultivated wheat populations on opposite sides of the Fertile Crescent. Terence Brown and colleagues at the University of Manchester report these findings in a new paper published January 22, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
During the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, Italy was home to complex networks of metalwork exchange, according to a study published January 22, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Andrea Dolfini of Newcastle University (UK), and Gilberto Artioli and Ivana Angelini of the University of Padova (Italy).
Allowing the carcasses of dead deer to remain in the Oostvaardersplassen Nature Reserve has a positive effect on biodiversity in the area. Not only do the carcasses attract many more insects and other arthropods in the short term, but also in the long term, due to increased plant growth. Plants located near animal carcasses became five times bigger than usual, leading to a surge in the number of p
According to a new study led by Steeve Bonneville from the Université libre de Bruxelles, the first mushrooms evolved on Earth between 715 and 810 million years ago, 300 million years earlier than the scientific community had believed until now. The results, published in Science Advances, also suggest that mushrooms could have been important partners for the first plants that colonized the contine
Body movement, from the muscles in your arms to the neurons transporting those signals to your brain, relies on a massive collection of proteins called molecular motors.
Emerging viral infections — from bird flu to Ebola to Zika infections — pose major threats to global public health, and understanding their origins can help investigators design defensive strategies against future outbreaks. A new study published in the Journal of Medical Virology provides important insights on the potential origins of the most recent outbreak of viral pneumonia in China, which
Fifty years ago, scientists hit upon what they thought could be the next rocket fuel. Carboranes — molecules composed of boron, carbon and hydrogen atoms clustered together in three-dimensional shapes — were seen as the possible basis for next-generation propellants due to their ability to release massive amounts of energy when burned.
Certain types of domesticated wheat have complicated origins, with genetic contributions from wild and cultivated wheat populations on opposite sides of the Fertile Crescent. Terence Brown and colleagues at the University of Manchester report these findings in a new paper published January 22, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
Allowing the carcasses of dead deer to remain in the Oostvaardersplassen Nature Reserve has a positive effect on biodiversity in the area. Not only do the carcasses attract many more insects and other arthropods in the short term, but also in the long term, due to increased plant growth. Plants located near animal carcasses became five times bigger than usual, leading to a surge in the number of p
According to a new study led by Steeve Bonneville from the Université libre de Bruxelles, the first mushrooms evolved on Earth between 715 and 810 million years ago, 300 million years earlier than the scientific community had believed until now. The results, published in Science Advances, also suggest that mushrooms could have been important partners for the first plants that colonized the contine
If you indulge in truffles, or porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, you have enjoyed a product of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Forming symbiotic relationships with plants—including pine, birch, oak and willow tree species—these fungi have existed for millions of years, their sprawling filaments supporting ecosystems throughout their reach.
If you indulge in truffles, or porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, you have enjoyed a product of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Forming symbiotic relationships with plants—including pine, birch, oak and willow tree species—these fungi have existed for millions of years, their sprawling filaments supporting ecosystems throughout their reach.
It has been 30 years since the end of the Cold War, yet, on average, Americans still perceive that the odds of a nuclear weapon detonating on U.S. soil is as likely as a coin toss, according to new research from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Scientists studying an ancient impact crater in the Australian Outback have finally managed to date the structure, and "ancient" is a bit of an understatement. The Yarrabubba crater was formed by an impact some 2.2 billion years ago, making it the oldest known impact crater on Earth . This date also suggests that the Yarrabubba impact may have helped Earth claw its way out of a global ice age. Th
A University of Liverpool research paper, published in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, provides details of the approaches needed to help build rapport with victims of crime during interviews.
It has been 30 years since the end of the Cold War, yet on average, Americans still perceive that the odds of a nuclear weapon detonating on U.S. soil is as likely as a coin toss, according to new research from Stevens Institute of Technology.
A University of Liverpool research paper, published in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, provides details of the approaches needed to help build rapport with victims of crime during interviews.
New findings from University of Exeter researchers reveal how bacterial immune systems can be harmful for their hosts and explain why they are not found in many bacteria.
The planarian flatworm is a simple animal with a mighty and highly unusual ability: it can regenerate itself from nearly every imaginable injury, including decapitation. These tiny worms can regrow any missing cell or tissue—muscle, neurons, epidermis, eyes, even a new brain.
New findings from University of Exeter researchers reveal how bacterial immune systems can be harmful for their hosts and explain why they are not found in many bacteria.
The planarian flatworm is a simple animal with a mighty and highly unusual ability: it can regenerate itself from nearly every imaginable injury, including decapitation. These tiny worms can regrow any missing cell or tissue—muscle, neurons, epidermis, eyes, even a new brain.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1905-9 A global study of river deltas shows a net increase in delta area by about 54 km2 yr−1 over the past 30 years, in part due to deforestation-induced sediment delivery increase.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00010-x HIV-1 can evade the immune system by hiding out in a dormant form. Two studies describe interventions that can effectively reactivate the latent virus in animals, potentially rendering it vulnerable to immune-mediated death.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1904-x A synthetic approach is described, for efficiently converting non-van der Waals solids into two-dimensional van der Waals transition-metal chalcogenide layers with specific phases, enabling the high-throughput production of monolayers.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1946-0 The interleukin-15 superagonist N-803, combined with the depletion of CD8+ lymphocytes, induced a robust and persistent reactivation of the virus in vivo in both antiretroviral-therapy-treated SIV-infected macaques and HIV-infected humanized mice.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1934-4 The topoisomerase Top2 and the chromatin-binding protein Hmo1 maintain under-wound and over-wound DNA at different regions within a gene and thereby modulate the topology of genes.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00096-3 The activity of calcium channels in the heart increases during what is called the fight-or-flight response. An investigation into the 50-year-old mystery of how this occurs has captured a previously overlooked suspect.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1944-2 Structural studies on the yeast transcription coactivator complex SAGA (Spt–Ada–Gcn5–acetyltransferase) provide insights into the mechanism of initiation of regulated transcription by this multiprotein complex, which is conserved among eukaryotes.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1951-3 Activation of the non-canonical NF-κB signalling pathway by AZD5582 results in the induction of HIV and SIV RNA expression in the blood and tissues of antiretroviral-therapy-treated humanized mice and rhesus macaques.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1928-2 An inorganic chemical approach to biomolecular design is used to generate 'cages' that can simultaneously promote symmetry and multiple modes of protein interactions.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00094-5 Two-dimensional materials have potential uses in flexible electronics, biosensors and water purification. A method for producing air-stable 2D materials on an industrial scale, now reported, is a key step in bringing them to market.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1935-3 Stress induces hair greying in mice through depletion of melanocyte stem cells, which is mediated by the activation of sympathetic nerves rather than through immune attack or adrenal stress hormones.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00047-y A model has been devised that quantitatively describes how the shape of a river delta is affected by sediments, tides and waves. It reveals that the area of delta land is increasing globally, as a result of human activities upstream.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1947-z An in vivo approach to identify proteins whose enrichment near cardiac CaV1.2 channels changes upon β-adrenergic stimulation finds the G protein Rad, which is phosphorylated by protein kinase A, thereby relieving channel inhibition by Rad and causing an increased Ca2+ current.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1930-8 ABBV-744, a selective inhibitor of the BD2 domains of BET family proteins, is effective against prostate cancer in mouse xenograft models, with lower toxicities than the dual-bromodomain BET inhibitor ABBV-075.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1926-4 Redox-switchable chelation is demonstrated for a carborane cluster molecule, leading to controlled chemical or electrochemical capture and release of uranyl in monophasic or biphasic model solvent systems.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5 Structural studies on the yeast transcription coactivator complex SAGA (Spt–Ada–Gcn5–acetyltransferase) provide insights into the mechanism of initiation of regulated transcription by this multiprotein complex, which is conserved among eukaryotes.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-03949-8 Signalling from the sympathetic nervous system of mice when subjected to stress leads to the depletion of a stem-cell population in their hair follicles. This discovery sheds light on why stress turns hair prematurely grey.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00168-4 Hear the latest science news, brought to you by Nick Howe and Benjamin Thompson.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00104-6 Papers are getting more rigorous, but progress is slower than some researchers would like.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1929-1 Genome-wide ancestry profiles of four individuals, dating to 8,000 and 3,000 years before present, from the archaeological site of Shum Laka (Cameroon) shed light on the deep population history of sub-Saharan Africa.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-1936-2 CRISPR–Cas systems cannot eliminate temperate bacteriophages from bacterial populations and—in this context—the systems impose immunopathological costs on the host, creating selective pressures that may explain their patchy distribution in bacteria.
A group of researchers wondered whether the traditional method of using high quantities of very finely ground coffee would indeed produce a primo beverage. Here's some tiresome news for coffee-enthusiasts everywhere: Your morning cup of joe might not be as invigorating as you thought. The conventional coffee-brewing technique—grinding large amounts of beans as finely as possible—may actually deli
DNA from four skeletons found in Cameroon has revealed a mystery branch of early modern humans, suggesting we may need to rethink our species' family tree
A review of two-factor authentication methods, which involve websites sending confirmation texts to your phone, has found that millions of people may risk having their online accounts hacked
According to ancient lore, Genghis Khan instructed his horsemen to wear silk vests underneath their armor to better protect themselves against an onslaught of arrows during battle. Since the time of Khan, body armor has significantly evolved—silk has given way to ultra-hard materials that act like impenetrable walls against most ammunition. However, even this armor can fail, particularly if it is
The 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence, which startled nearby California residents over the 4 July holiday with magnitude 6.4 and magnitude 7.1 earthquakes, included 34,091 earthquakes overall, detailed in a high-resolution catalog created for the sequence.
It is estimated that around 114,000 people disappeared throughout Spain during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship. Unfortunately, eight decades on, only a small percentage of these people have been found or identified, with around 9,000 victims from 700 mass graves (of which it is thought there are approximately 2,000) being recovered in the last fifteen years. As time goes by and t
A team developed a new geochemical model that reveals that carbon dioxide (CO2) from within Enceladus, an ocean-harboring moon of Saturn, may be controlled by chemical reactions at its seafloor. Studying the plume of gases and frozen sea spray released through cracks in the moon's icy surface suggests an interior more complex than previously thought.
Scientists have discovered Earth's oldest asteroid strike occurred at Yarrabubba, in outback Western Australia, and coincided with the end of a global deep freeze known as a Snowball Earth. The research used isotopic analysis of minerals to calculate the precise age of the Yarrabubba crater for the first time, putting it at 2.229 billion years old — making it 200 million years older than the next
Despite their reputation as blood-suckers, mosquitoes actually spent most of their time drinking nectar from flowers. Scientists have identified the chemical cues in flowers that stimulate mosquitoes' sense of smell and draw them in. Their findings show how cues from flowers can stimulate the mosquito brain as much as a warm-blooded host — information that could help develop less toxic repellents
A research team has identified a new function of a gene called huntingtin, a mutation of which underlies the progressive neurodegenerative disorder known as Huntington's Disease. Using genetic mouse models, they have discovered that neurons in the striatum, a brain area involved in controlling movement, require the huntingtin gene for regulating the body's movements, maintaining cell health during
Variable blood pressure readings could be an overlooked early warning sign of heart disease, researchers report. In their new analysis, the researchers found that wide swings in blood pressure readings among young adults associate with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease by middle age. The finding suggests that the current practice of averaging blood pressure readings to determine whether med
Scientists at Google and the Janelia Research Campus in Virginia just published an incredibly-detailed 3D connectome — a map of neural connections — for a fruit fly, including a mind-boggling 20 million synapses connecting 25,000 neurons. According to the researchers, it's the largest synaptic-level connectome ever to be reconstructed. Scientists are already using the groundbreaking map to study
It is estimated that around 114,000 people disappeared throughout Spain during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship. Unfortunately, eight decades on, only a small percentage of these people have been found or identified, with around 9,000 victims from 700 mass graves (of which it is thought there are approximately 2,000) being recovered in the last fifteen years. As time goes by and t
The planarian flatworm is a simple animal with a mighty ability: it can regenerate itself from nearly every imaginable injury, including decapitation. Scientists have studied these worms for decades to better understand fundamental principles of natural regeneration and repair. One mechanism that is yet unknown is how organisms like these control the proportional scaling of tissue during regenerat
New findings from University of Exeter researchers reveal how bacterial immune systems can be harmful for their hosts and explain why they are not found in many bacteria.
In a range of experiments, scientists have reactivated resting immune cells that were latently infected with HIV or its monkey relative, SIV, in cells in the bloodstream and a variety of tissues in animals. As a result, the cells started making copies of the viruses, which could potentially be neutralized by anti-HIV drugs and the immune system. This advance, published today in two papers in Natur
Partnering with scientists at Harvard, a group of Brazilians affiliated with the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases (CRID), supported by FAPESP, described the mechanisms that cause hair color loss in extreme situations.
Overcoming HIV latency — induction of HIV in CD4+ T cells that lay dormant throughout the body – is a major step toward creating a cure for HIV. For the first time, scientists at UNC-Chapel Hill, Emory University, and Qura Therapeutics — a partnership between UNC and ViiV Healthcare — have shown that a new approach can expose latent HIV to attack in two different animal model systems with littl
Harvard scientists have found evidence to support long-standing anecdotes that stress causes hair graying. Researchers found that in mice, the type of nerve involved in the fight-or-flight response causes permanent damage to the pigment-regenerating stem cells in the hair follicle. The findings advance knowledge of how stress impacts the body, and are a first step toward blocking its negative effe
An international team led by Harvard Medical School scientists has produced the first genome-wide ancient human DNA sequences from west and central Africa.
Candida auris is capable of forming high burden biofilms, which may help explain why this fungal pathogen is spreading in hospitals worldwide, according to a study published this week in mSphere, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The research also establishes a new model to investigate the spread of this emerging fungal pathogen that causes invasive infections and is
For more than half a century, January meant prime fishing season for Pang Bin. He took his wooden boat out into Cambodia's largest lake, his catches and their sales sustaining his family for much of the year.
Your choice of clothing could affect the behavioral habits of wildlife around you, according to a study conducted by a team of researchers, including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
Cavities, or dental caries, are the most widespread non-communicable disease globally, according to the World Health Organization. Having a cavity drilled and filled at the dentist's office can be painful, but untreated caries could lead to worse pain, tooth loss, infection, and even illness or death. Now, researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report a bioactive peptide that coats toot
Your choice of clothing could affect the behavioral habits of wildlife around you, according to a study conducted by a team of researchers, including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
Since 1880, the Earth's temperature has risen by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit and is predicted to continue rising, according to the NASA Global Climate Change website. Scientists are actively seeking to understand this change and its effect on Earth's ecosystems and residents.
Cavities, or dental caries, are the most widespread non-communicable disease globally, according to the World Health Organization. Having a cavity drilled and filled at the dentist's office can be painful, but untreated caries could lead to worse pain, tooth loss, infection, and even illness or death. Now, researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report a bioactive peptide that coats toot
Police have long relied on the unique whorls, loops or arches encoded in fingerprints to identify suspects. However, they have no way to tell how long ago those prints were left behind—information that could be crucial to a case. A preliminary new study in ACS' Analytical Chemistry suggests that could change. Researchers report that they could link compounds contained in fingerprints with their ag
Scientists involved in the Borexino collaboration have presented new results for the measurement of neutrinos originating from the interior of the Earth. The elusive "ghost particles" rarely interact with matter, making their detection difficult. With this update, the researchers have now been able to access 53 events—almost twice as many as in the previous analysis of the data from the Borexino d
Many companies work hard to present an environmentally responsible public image. But how well do these claims stack up? In a new study led by the University of Göttingen, researchers investigated the claims regarding sustainability, including conservation and fair-pay, as presented by the French Michelin Group. The researchers then compared these claims with the effects described by local people i
Ocean currents are essential for the global distribution of heat and thus also for climate on earth. For example, oxygen is transferred into the deep sea through the formation of new deep water around Antarctica. Weddell Sea sourced Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) normally spreads northwards into the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. However, during the peak of the last two ice ages, the supply of d
Beijing has responded faster to the new threat than it did with SARS, but it still silences and punishes those who veer from the official line, with potentially damaging consequences.
Federal disease agency director Anthony Fauci discusses the novel pathogen that has, so far, sickened hundreds in Asia and one person in the U.S. — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
The Borexino collaboration has presented new results for the measurement of neutrinos originating from the interior of the Earth. With this update, the researchers have now been able to access 53 events — almost twice as many as in the previous analysis of the data from the Borexino detector, which is located 1,400 meters below the Earth's surface. The results provide an exclusive insight into pr
Scientists warn that global climate change is likely to unlock dangerous new microbes, as well as threaten humans' ability to regulate body temperature.
A study has shown few differences in the profiles of genes that influence cognition between people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and the general population. This surprising finding could provide new insights into therapies designed to improve cognition.
Researchers have identified blood-based biomarkers associated with both delirium duration and severity in critically ill patients. This finding opens the door to easy, early identification of individuals at risk for longer delirium duration and higher delirium severity and could potentially lead to new treatments of this brain failure for which drugs have been shown to be largely ineffective.
Researchers have discovered a method to control biomolecular machines over a wide temperature range using deep-sea osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This finding could open a new dimension in the application of artificial machines fabricated from biomolecular motors and other proteins.
If you have just had knee, shoulder or hip surgery, you may want to take anti-inflammatories in the morning or at noon, but not at night. A new study shows, for the first time, that circadian clock genes are involved in healing from surgery. Indeed, the researchers demonstrated that anti-inflammatory medications are most effective in promoting post-operative healing and recovery when taken during
Host cells infected with giant viruses behave in a unique manner. To gain deeper insight into the infection mechanism of giant viruses, scientists developed a specialized algorithm that can track the movement of host cells. This method could also be used to study any other type of cells, such as cancer cells, neurons, and immune cells, serving as an efficient tool in the field of cell biology.
Federal disease agency director Anthony Fauci discusses the novel pathogen that has, so far, sickened hundreds in Asia and one person in the U.S. — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Beijing has responded faster to the new threat than it did with SARS, but it still silences and punishes those who veer from the official line, with potentially damaging consequences.
Researchers of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) in collaboration with colleagues from the Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and a number of German scientific organizations, calculated previously unexplored effects in atoms. The results were published in the Physical Review A, highlighted as an Editor's Choice article.
Applying bound states in the continuum (BICs) in photonic integrated circuits enables low-loss light guidance and routing in low-refractive-index waveguides on high-refractive-index substrates. Here, we demonstrate high-quality integrated lithium niobate microcavities with circulating BICs and further acousto-optically modulate these BICs by surface acoustic waves. The acousto-optic coupling is we
Experts' interest in utilizing gene editing for breeding crops has seen revolutionary growth. Meanwhile, people's awareness of food safety has also been increasing. To understand the attitudinal difference among experts and public towards gene-edited crops, a team of Japanese researchers, led by Dr. Naoko Kato-Nitta, a research scientist at the Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research and Th
Researchers have discovered a method to control biomolecular machines over a wide temperature range using deep-sea osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This finding could open a new dimension in the application of artificial machines fabricated from biomolecular motors and other proteins.
Experts' interest in utilizing gene editing for breeding crops has seen revolutionary growth. Meanwhile, people's awareness of food safety has also been increasing. To understand the attitudinal difference among experts and public towards gene-edited crops, a team of Japanese researchers, led by Dr. Naoko Kato-Nitta, a research scientist at the Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research and Th
Fight-or-flight response nerves pump out hormone that wipes out pigmentation cells Lord Byron put it down to sudden fears, which took their toll on men at night. For Wordsworth it was shocks of passion that swiftly turned hair white. But while hair cannot lose its colour in an instant – at least not without help from a bottle of bleach – scientists at Harvard University have shown how stress can,
Candida auris is capable of forming high burden biofilms, which may help explain why this fungal pathogen is spreading in hospitals worldwide, according to a study published this week in mSphere, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The research also establishes a new model to investigate the spread of this emerging fungal pathogen that causes invasive infections and is
An international team led by Harvard Medical School scientists has produced the first genome-wide ancient human DNA sequences from west and central Africa.
Candida auris is capable of forming high burden biofilms, which may help explain why this fungal pathogen is spreading in hospitals worldwide, according to a study published this week in mSphere, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The research also establishes a new model to investigate the spread of this emerging fungal pathogen that causes invasive infections and is
Both simple and advanced computed tomography (CT) were effective in accurately predicting which stroke patients would benefit from endovascular thrombectomy to remove a large cerebral clot, but together they were even better, reported researchers at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston. Results were published in the Annals of Neurology.
The key of the extraordinary functionality of ribonucleic acid, better known as RNA, is a highly flexible and dynamic structure. Yet, the experimental characterisation of its different configurations is rather complex. A study conducted by SISSA and published on Nucleic Acids Research combines experimental data and molecular dynamics simulations to reconstruct the different dominant and minority s
Chelsea Heveran, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, is the lead author of a new study showing that certain bacteria can be used to create an easily recyclable, concrete-like substance.
Researchers at Texas A&M University have formulated a new recipe that can prevent weaknesses in modern-day armor. By adding a tiny amount of the element silicon to boron carbide, a material commonly used for making body armor, they discovered that bullet-resistant gear could be made substantially more resilient to high-speed impacts.
Ozone-eating chemicals are also potent greenhouse gases, accounting for up to half of the Arctic's temperature rise — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Land Sharks Four newly-discovered species of shark are capable of trotting around on land, using four fins as stubby legs. They're the most recently-evolved types of sharks known to science, according to CNET . And while they still live in the water, using their fins to crawl across coral reefs, they can briefly wriggle across dry land to migrate from one tide pool to another. Safe For Now This m
During an interview with CNBC's Joe Kernen at the World Economic Forum, United States President Donald Trump couldn't say enough nice things about billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk — though the praise was less than eloquent. "You have to give him credit. I spoke to him very recently, and he's also doing the rockets," Trump told Kernen . "He likes rockets. And he does good at rockets, too, by the
The 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence, which startled nearby California residents over the 4 July holiday with magnitude 6.4 and magnitude 7.1 earthquakes, included 34,091 earthquakes overall, detailed in a high-resolution catalog created for the sequence.
A study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics finds that patients who celebrate the end of cancer treatment by ringing a bell report more distressful memories of treatment than those who finish without ringing a bell.
Contrary to long-held beliefs, humans did not make major changes to the landscape prior to European colonization, according to new research. These new insights into the past could help to inform how landscapes are managed in the future.
Did the chicks of dinosaurs from the group oviraptorid hatch from their eggs at the same time? This question can be answered by the length and arrangement of the embryo's bones, which provide information about the stage of development. But how do you look inside fossilized dinosaur eggs?
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00169-3 Turing's Princeton degree, Order of the British Empire medal and other personal items have been recovered. Plus: the chemists policing Earth's atmosphere for rogue pollution, and the Wuhan virus has been seen in the United States.
Days after finishing Cheer , Netflix's popular new docuseries about a cheerleading team's pursuit of its 14th national championship in 19 years, two scenes keep replaying in my head. In one, an athlete named TT arrives to practice with a back injury sustained at an event with a club cheerleading team, and Navarro College's head cheerleading coach, Monica Aldama, forces him to practice, punishing
Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified blood-based biomarkers associated with both delirium duration and severity in critically ill patients. This finding opens the door to easy, early identification of individuals at risk for longer delirium duration and higher delirium severity and could potentially lead to new treatments of this brain failure
A study funded by the Veterans Administration and directed by researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has shown few differences in the profiles of genes that influence cognition between people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and the general population. This surprising finding could provide new insights into therapies designed to improve cognition. The study was publis
Researchers have developed a new type of smart contact lenses that can prevent dry eyes. The self-moisturizing system maintains a layer of fluid between the contact lens and the eye using a novel mechanism.
Cells in the body don't always play nicely together. Could co-opting their competitive nature help to unlock cutting-edge therapies? — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Biography of a policy metric Bård Lahn performs a sweeping literature review to present the history of our notion of a "global carbon budget" and how this number has come to encapsulate a massive amount of scientific research into a useful, easily grasped tool in our policy skill set. A history of the global carbon budget is open access, free to read, worth your time. Wildfire and climate change
The default "rest mode" of our brains is often taken over by a "threat mode" setting because of our stressful, "on-the-go" lifestyles. When we are chronically in threat mode, this leaves us with less capacity for compassion. Showing compassion or acting kind to others can actually change your physiology, taking you out of threat mode and putting you back into your natural "rest and digest" mode.
As the pneumonia-like virus 2019-nCoV spreads outward from China to nearby countries and now the U.S. , the Chinese government is reportedly trying to seize control of the narrative around the disease as much as possible. That includes carefully crafting its own messages and statements — and also censoring social media posts and news articles about the virus, according to The New York Times . So
You just want your same old laptop… only new. (Wavebreakmedia via Deposit Photos/) Opening the box of a brand-new laptop is quite an experience. You admire the clean, unscratched surface, open up the perfectly smooth hinge, and turn it on… only to realize you have to spend all day setting it up before you can really use it. Once upon a time, I loved setting up a new computer from scratch—beli
The formation of deep water, which is an important component of the climate system, takes place in only a few parts of the ocean: In the subpolar North Atlantic and in a few places in the Southern Hemisphere. There, the so-called Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is formed. While today AABW is circulating northwards into the other ocean basins, results of a new study show, that this was different unde
Researchers have developed a new type of smart contact lenses that can prevent dry eyes. The self-moisturizing system maintains a layer of fluid between the contact lens and the eye using a novel mechanism.
Researchers are challenging common espresso wisdom, finding that fewer coffee beans, ground more coarsely, are the key to a drink that is cheaper to make, more consistent from shot to shot, and just as strong.
Mammals sweat to regulate body temperature, and researchers are exploring whether our phones could do the same. The authors present a coating for electronics that releases water vapor to dissipate heat from running devices — a new thermal management method that could prevent electronics from overheating and keep them cooler compared to existing strategies.
Engineered defects in ferroelectric materials provides key to improved polariaztion stability, a significant step forward for domain-wall nanoelectronics in data storage. Researchers achieved stability greater than one year (a 2000% improvement).
Researchers have found that nearly one fifth of all spider families are associated with saltwater or freshwater aquatic habitats. Their findings address the common misconception that all spiders dwell on land, and reveal surprising evolutionary pathways of this group from a land-based existence back to a water-based existence.
Organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been around for over forty years. The most widely used form is based on thiols, bound to a metal surface. However, exposure of these monolayers to air will lead to breakdown within a single day. Scientists have now created SAMs using buckyballs functionalized with 'tails' of ethylene glycol. These have all the properties of thiol SAMs but remain chemic
The correct assembly of plant genomes can be hampered by a large amount of repetitive sequences. Researchers have developed a bioinformatics tool for the automatic detection of repetitive genome regions, based on the identification of k-mers (nucleotide sequences of a pre-determined length).
The BIOMICs Research Team at the UPV/EHU have published the results of analyses which have enabled the genetic identification of 525 human remains recovered from different mass graves dating from the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship. The team is continuously optimising identification techniques, comparing samples with those taken from presumed relatives. In their ten years of expe
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) recently published 'Viewpoint' articles by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine professors who warn that global climate change is likely to unlock dangerous new microbes, as well as threaten humans' ability to regulate body temperature.
Researchers of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) in collaboration with colleagues from the Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and a number of German scientific organizations, calculated previously unexplored effects in atoms. The results were published in the PHYSICAL REVIEW A, highlighted as an Editor's Choice article.
New research from the University of East Anglia (UK) reveals the impact of smell loss. As many as one in 20 people live without smell. But until now there has been little research into the range of emotional and practical impacts it causes. The new study finds that almost every aspect of life is disrupted – from everyday concerns about personal hygiene to a loss of sexual intimacy and the break-do
Wide swings in blood pressure readings among young adults are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease by middle age, a new analysis led by Duke Health researchers shows.
Cells in the body don't always play nicely together. Could co-opting their competitive nature help to unlock cutting-edge therapies? — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
There's a new sheriff in town: the Kia Telluride midsize SUV, loaded with standard safety tech and driver assists, room for seven or eight, gifted with a smooth ride and the ability to pull to tow a 5,000-pound trailer. This is an amazing vehicle. The Kia Telluride and its fraternal twin Hyundai Palisade are poised to upend the status quo among the larger midsize mainstream SUVs, as well as chall
Three maps illustrating the fight against the deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan, China Authorities in China are battling to contain an outbreak of a deadly coronavirus, which has spread throughout the country and beyond its borders. Latest official figures put the number of cases in China at more than 470 and 17 people have died, all of them in the central province of Hubei where the illness was fir
Organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been around for over forty years. The most widely used form is based on thiols, bound to a metal surface. However, exposure of these monolayers to air will lead to breakdown within a single day. Scientists have now created SAMs using buckyballs functionalized with 'tails' of ethylene glycol. These have all the properties of thiol SAMs but remain chemic
College-sports fans have generally become desensitized to the cognitive dissonances of the NCAA's amateurism policies. The rules, which prevent the payment of cash or other "extra benefits" to student athletes or their families, are necessary to retain the purity of amateur competition, according to the association. Without such restrictions, supporters argue, NCAA sports would devolve into just
Progress in research and technology is giving rise to an optimistic future for compensation and restoration of low vision, according to research in a special issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, published by IOS Press. Seven studies explore different aspects of vision loss after damage to the retina, optic nerve or brain due to diseases such as glaucoma or optic neuropathy. Remarkable
Your choice of clothing could affect the behavioral habits of wildlife around you, according to a study conducted by a team of researchers, including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
With 48 drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2019 was another highly productive year for the pharmaceutical industry. The new medicines include treatments for various cancers, sickle cell disease, migraines and postpartum depression. However, the steady flow of drugs could be masking troubling signs about the health of the industry, according to Chemical & Engineering News
Cavities, or dental caries, are the most widespread non-communicable disease globally, according to the World Health Organization. Having a cavity drilled and filled at the dentist's office can be painful, but untreated caries could lead to worse pain, tooth loss, infection, and even illness or death. Now, researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report a bioactive peptide that coats toot
Predicting a major transition, such as climate change, is extremely difficult, but the probabilistic framework developed by the authors is the first step in identifying the path between a shift in two environmental states.
Lil Nuke Rolls-Royce doesn't just manufacture luxurious cars — it's also involved in futuristic projects ranging from electric planes to laser weapon systems . Now, the company is eyeing two sites for tiny nuclear power stations it calls "small modular reactors," Popular Mechanics reports , in Wales and northern England — a program the UK government committed to funding in July 2019. Mega What Th
New research has found that environmental efforts aimed at eliminating deforestation from oil palm production have the potential to benefit vulnerable tropical mammals.
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00166-6 Researchers are racing to find out more about the epidemiology and DNA of the coronavirus spreading in Asia and beyond.
Baristas normally aim to grind coffee finely to maximise surface area and extract the most coffee compounds, but a mathematical analysis has found that coarse grounds are better as they reduce clogging
Police have long relied on the unique whorls, loops or arches encoded in fingerprints to identify suspects. However, they have no way to tell how long ago those prints were left behind — information that could be crucial to a case. A preliminary new study in ACS' Analytical Chemistry suggests that could change. Researchers report that they could link compounds contained in fingerprints with their
Almost 40% of women experience symptoms of depression during perimenopause, yet it often goes undetected and untreated because many healthcare providers aren't screening for it and aren't prepared with treatment options. A new study analyzed screening practices by women's healthcare providers and their management of depression during perimenopause. Study results are published online in Menopause,
The Borexino collaboration has presented new results for the measurement of neutrinos originating from the interior of the Earth. With this update, the researchers have now been able to access 53 events — almost twice as many as in the previous analysis of the data from the Borexino detector, which is located 1,400 meters below the Earth's surface. The results provide an exclusive insight into pr
Did the chicks of dinosaurs from the group oviraptorid hatch from their eggs at the same time? This question can be answered by the length and arrangement of the embryo's bones, which provide information about the stage of development. But how do you look inside fossilized dinosaur eggs? Paleontologists from the University of Bonn used the neutron source of the Technical University of Munich at th
Mathematicians, physicists and materials experts might not spring to mind as the first people to consult about whether you are brewing your coffee right.But a team of such researchers including Dr. Jamie Foster, a mathematician at the University of Portsmouth, are challenging common espresso wisdom.
Espresso delivers a desired jolt of caffeine but getting a consistent good-taste is difficult. New research is offering a roadmap to reproducibility and a potential savings of $3.1 million a day for coffee shops across the United States.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have revealed a new principle of organization which explains how locomotion is coordinated in vertebrates akin to an engine with three gears. The results are published in the scientific journal Neuron.
A first-of-its-kind clinical trial involving more than 600 children in Kenya and Tanzania, in which community members were trained to deliver mental health treatment, showed improvement in participants' trauma-related symptoms up to a year after receiving therapy.
Results of a new epidemiological analysis of more than 108,000 women observed a lower risk of early menopause among women who had at least one pregnancy lasting at least six months and among those who had breastfed their infants. Further, risk was lowest among those who breastfed exclusively. The work is by first author and Ph.D. student Christine Langton, with her advisor Elizabeth Bertone-Johnso
Mathematicians, physicists, and materials experts might not spring to mind as the first people to consult about whether you are brewing your coffee right. But a team of such researchers from around the globenare challenging common espresso wisdom, finding that fewer coffee beans, ground more coarsely, are the key to a drink that is cheaper to make, more consistent from shot to shot, and just as st
Mammals sweat to regulate body temperature, and researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China are exploring whether our phones could do the same. In a study published Jan. 22 in the journal Joule, the authors present a coating for electronics that releases water vapor to dissipate heat from running devices — a new thermal management method that could prevent electronics from overheating
Scarlett Howard teaches math to honeybees. She began with a few hives on a concrete balcony at RMIT University in Melbourne, when she was a doctoral candidate in zoology. Today, at the University of Toulouse, where she is a postdoctoral fellow, her lessons take place in a small field with approximately 50 hives. It might seem a little strange — bees are insects, after all; what do they know about
New astronomy research from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) suggests giant planets could form around small stars much faster than previously thought.
Really old craters like the above Yarrabubba crater in Western Australia are rare because Earth's surface is constantly being reshaped by plate tectonics and erosion. The Yarrabubba crater is an oddity as far as meteorite-created Earth cavities go. Located in the outback of Western Australia, the 43 mile-wide hole is almost unnoticeable. It's extremely flat, save for a small hill in the center, c
Mathematicians, physicists, and materials experts might not spring to mind as the first people to consult about whether you are brewing your coffee right. But a team of such researchers from around the globe—the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Switzerland—are challenging common espresso wisdom, finding that fewer coffee beans, ground more coarsely, are the key to a drink
Mammals sweat to regulate body temperature, and researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China are exploring whether our phones could do the same. In a study published January 22 in the journal Joule, the authors present a coating for electronics that releases water vapor to dissipate heat from running devices—a new thermal management method that could prevent electronics from overheating
Companies work hard to present an environmentally responsible image. How well do these claims stack up? Researchers from Göttingen University investigated claims regarding sustainability, conservation and fair pay, as presented by the French Michelin Group. Researchers then compared these claims with effects described by local people. Villagers' reports indicated that land-ownership, ecosystems an
The formation of deep water, which is an important component of the climate system, takes place in only a few parts of the ocean: In the subpolar North Atlantic and in a few places in the Southern Hemisphere. There, the so-called Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is formed. While today AABW is circulating northwards into the other ocean basins, results of a new study show, that this was different unde
There's no shortage of resources to help people change their health behaviors — but far too often, these resources aren't accessible in underserved communities, says physician Priscilla Pemu. Enter "culturally congruent coaching," a program Pemu and her team developed to help patients with chronic diseases monitor their health with the assistance of a coach from their community. Learn more about
It's all in the grind, say mathematicians who turned to equations to solve mystery What's the secret of the perfect espresso? It's a question that has long troubled cafe owners around the world, but now mathematicians say they have worked out the formula for achieving the perfect brew – and it all comes down to the daily grind. "There is a common experience, particularly for people making coffee
New research has found preparing land for palm oil plantations and the growth of young plants causes significantly more damage to the environment, emitting double the amount of greenhouse gases than mature plantations.
A Southwest Research Institute team developed a new geochemical model that reveals that carbon dioxide (CO2) from within Enceladus, an ocean-harboring moon of Saturn, may be controlled by chemical reactions at its seafloor. Studying the plume of gases and frozen sea spray released through cracks in the moon's icy surface suggests an interior more complex than previously thought.
Permafrost, the perennially frozen subsoil in Earth's northernmost regions, has been collecting and storing plant and animal matter since long before the last Ice Age. The decomposition of some of this organic matter naturally releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere year-round, where it is absorbed by plant growth during the warmer months.
Bosättningslagen skulle hjälpa nyanlända att komma in i det svenska samhället, men har i praktiken bidragit till att skapa osäkerhet och att rycka upp både enskilda personer och hela familjer ur sina nya sammanhang. Den slutsatsen drar chalmersforskarna Kristina Grange och Nils Björling i en ny rapport. Forskarna har ur ett rättviseperspektiv undersökt hur tre västsvenska kommuner tillämpat Bosät
Fully vaccinating children reduces the risk of hospitalization associated with influenza by 54%, a new study shows. In Israel, as in the United States, government guidelines recommend that children 8 or younger who have never received a vaccination, or who have only received one dose of flu vaccine, should receive two doses of vaccine. Children vaccinated according to government guidelines have m
Researchers have discovered a method to control biomolecular machines over a wide temperature range using deep-sea osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This finding could open a new dimension in the application of artificial machines fabricated from biomolecular motors and other proteins.
An international team of researchers from ITMO University, the Australian National University, and Korea University have experimentally trapped an electromagnetic wave in a gallium arsenide nanoresonator a few hundred nanometers in size for a record-breaking time. Earlier attempts to trap light for such a long time have only been successful with much larger resonators. In addition, the researchers
Caused by a herpesvirus, fibropapillomatosis (FP) is the most significant infectious disease affecting sea turtle populations worldwide. It is widespread in warmer climates like Florida, where almost 70 percent of sea turtles in a population have FP in some places; it has been documented in the Caribbean, South America, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and beyond. The disease leads to the formation of tu
Caused by a herpesvirus, fibropapillomatosis (FP) is the most significant infectious disease affecting sea turtle populations worldwide. It is widespread in warmer climates like Florida, where almost 70 percent of sea turtles in a population have FP in some places; it has been documented in the Caribbean, South America, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and beyond. The disease leads to the formation of tu
Experts fear latest strain of virus from Wuhan may spread across world It is a novel coronavirus – that is to say, a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals – possibly seafood. Many of those infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city. New a
An artificial intelligence tool—trained on roughly a million screening mammography images—can identify breast cancer with approximately 90% accuracy when combined with radiologist analysis, a new study finds. The study examined the ability of a type of artificial intelligence (AI), a machine learning computer program, to add value to the diagnoses a group of 14 radiologists reached as they review
Confused about whether or not you should lift on the same day as a run? You're not alone. Let's take a deep dive into the research and determine what to do — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
The intestinal commensal microbial community (or microbiota) is composed of several microorganisms that, among other functions, are beneficial for the protection against infectious agents. When the microbiota is altered many bacteria are lost, compromising the protective ability and enabling invasion by harmful bacteria. Antibiotics, despite being the best way to treat infections, can lead to chan
Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a new type of smart contact lenses that can prevent dry eyes. The self-moisturising system, which is described in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies, maintains a layer of fluid between the contact lens and the eye using a novel mechanism.
An International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) position paper reviews experimental and clinical evidence showing that hip bone strength estimated by bone mineral density (BMD) and/or finite element analysis (FEA) reflects the actual strength of the proximal femur. The paper 'Perspectives on the noninvasive evaluation of femoral strength in the assessment of hip fracture risk,' published in Osteopo
Researchers have identified several potentially useful breast cancer biomarkers that indicate the presence and risk of malignancy, according to new research published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
To understand the attitudinal difference among experts and public towards gene-edited crops, a team of Japanese researchers, led by Dr. Naoko Kato-Nitta, conducted a survey of perceptions of the Japanese experts and public to gene editing versus other emerging or conventional breeding techniques in Japan, where the production of genetically modified crops is strictly regulated and not readily acce
A Southwest Research Institute team developed a new geochemical model that reveals that carbon dioxide (CO2) from within Enceladus, an ocean-harboring moon of Saturn, may be controlled by chemical reactions at its seafloor. Studying the plume of gases and frozen sea spray released through cracks in the moon's icy surface suggests an interior more complex than previously thought.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) have developed a powerful tool that will streamline and accelerate the development of disease therapies, transforming a multi-year process into just a few days.
New pan-European research has found that proactive land management with agroforestry—mixing livestock and trees—reduces the risk of wildfires occurring in European Mediterranean areas.
The intestinal commensal microbial community (or microbiota) is composed of several microorganisms that, among other functions, are beneficial for the protection against infectious agents. When the microbiota is altered many bacteria are lost, compromising the protective ability and enabling invasion by harmful bacteria. Antibiotics, despite being the best way to treat infections, can lead to chan
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) have developed a powerful tool that will streamline and accelerate the development of disease therapies, transforming a multi-year process into just a few days.
From world hunger to nuclear weapons, Kansas State University distinguished professor Walter Dodds ranks the world's worst problems facing humanity in a new book by publisher Springer.
The British network behind the hit series has made millions by selling merch via a companion app. Its success hints at the future of the broadcasting business.
A remarkable combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and biology has produced the world's first "living robots." This week, a research team of roboticists and scientists published their recipe for making a new lifeform called xenobots from stem cells. The term "xeno" comes from the frog cells ( Xenopus laevis ) used to make them. One of the researchers described the creation as "neither a tra
Applying bound states in the continuum (BICs) in photonic integrated circuits enables low-loss light guidance and routing in low-refractive-index waveguides on high-refractive-index substrates. Here, we demonstrate high-quality integrated lithium niobate microcavities with circulating BICs and further acousto-optically modulate these BICs by surface acoustic waves. The acousto-optic coupling is we
A new study that incorporates datasets gathered from more than 100 sites by institutions including the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, suggests that decomposition of organic matter in permafrost soil is substantially larger than previously thought, demonstrating the significant impact that emissions from the permafrost soil could have on the greenhouse effect and globa
Advanced stage cancer diagnoses declined following health insurance expansion in Massachusetts, likely due to increased access to screening and diagnostic services that identified cancers earlier, according to new research led by health economists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The analysis specifically found the decline in colorectal cancers, the second-leading
'Our new approach will increase the understanding of the mechanisms and evolutionary origins of specific PPIs, and facilitate the rational design of specific inhibitors that can discriminate between structurally similar protein targets,' says Professor Niv Papo of BGU's Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Nege
A study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that when a mother experiences both gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, her child has a growth trajectory that leads to an increased risk of high childhood BMI over time.
"I've found a spiritual connection I never had. In that, I have experienced the power of being vulnerable." On Monday evening, in The New York Times , Harvey Weinstein did what he has been doing for decades: He explained the world from the perspective of Harvey Weinstein. This particular explanation came in the form of an email the accused rapist sent to the reporter Alan Feuer, for an article th
As unprecedented bushfires continue to ravage the country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government have been rightly criticized for their reluctance to talk about the underlying drivers of this crisis. Yet it's not hard to see why they might be dumbstruck.
The world has watched in sympathy as Australia has come to terms with the ravages of the worst bush fires on record. Communities have been devastated by this crisis, but many have shown incredible resilience in banding together to support one another through the harrowing experience. In New South Wales alone, for example, there are more than 70,000 unpaid rural fire service volunteers. And thousan
Children and young people have been deeply impacted by the current bushfire crisis. Schools have been destroyed and thousands of houses have burnt down. Hazardous air pollution is causing major public health concerns and the devastating impacts on animals and wildlife is leading to emotional distress.
Curtin University scientists have discovered Earth's oldest asteroid strike occurred at Yarrabubba, in outback Western Australia, and coincided with the end of a global deep freeze known as a Snowball Earth. The research, published in the leading journal Nature Communications, used isotopic analysis of minerals to calculate the precise age of the Yarrabubba crater for the first time, putting it at
Researchers studying the effects associated to the consumption of antibiotics discover a bacterium that has a super protective effect, able to reduce the risk of acquiring infections.
PLUS. Det skal ikke være op til den enkelte bygherre, om man vil bygge bæredygtigt, mener både SF, Alternativet og Enhedslisten, mens Radikale, DF og Venstre også er klar til at indføre obligatoriske krav, hvis byggebranchen er klar
Aliens Are Us A new book suggests that scientists take a closer look at a seemingly bizarre idea: that it's not extraterrestrials piloting UFOs , but time-traveling humans from the future. "We know we're here. We know humans exist. We know that we've had a long evolutionary history on this planet. And we know our technology is going to be more advanced in the future," author Michael Masters, a pr
This cosmic lightning storm is happening all around us. Somewhere in the earthly sky, there is a pulse that flashes and extinguishes in the next moment. These bursts, which must be measured with radio telescopes and last one thousandth of a second, are one of the greatest mysteries of astrophysics. Scientists doubt that militant aliens are fighting "Star Wars" in the vastness of space. But where d
As nanoelectronics encounters fundamental barriers, the spin of an electron, in addition to its charge, is being utilized to carry information in electronic devices. This calls for new characterization and detection methods of spin modes in complex magnetic structures. Present techniques measure either material properties on the nanometer length scale or on the picosecond time scale, however, both
Did the chicks of dinosaurs from the group oviraptorid hatch from their eggs at the same time? This question can be answered by the length and arrangement of the embryo's bones, which provide information about the stage of development. But how do you look inside fossilized dinosaur eggs? Paleontologists from the University of Bonn used the neutron source of the Technical University of Munich at th
High-temperature superconductors, materials that become superconducting at unusually high temperatures, are key components of a variety of technological tools, including MRI machines and particle accelerators. Recently, physicists have observed that the two families of known high-temperature superconductors—copper- and iron-based compounds—both exhibit a unique phenomenon in which electronic degre
In the Sahel of West Africa—which covers Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad—land degradation has led to migration towards less densely populated and more fertile areas. The land has been made less fertile by demographic pressure, fragmenting agricultural units and rainfall variability.
Bioengineers have shown great promise in creating complex multicellular kidney organoids (tiny, self-organized tissues) in the lab using pluripotent stem cells . They can further improve the procedure for different outcomes, including patterning and maturation of specific cell types, although such experiments are limited by standard tissue culture approaches. Now writing in Science Advances, Nick
Circadian clock genes have a lot to do with how we heal after surgery, a new study shows. The researchers demonstrated that anti-inflammatory medications are most effective in promoting postoperative healing and recovery when patients take them during the active periods of their biological clocks. The study also suggests that if patients take anti-inflammatories either in the afternoon or at nigh
Did the chicks of dinosaurs from the group oviraptorid hatch from their eggs at the same time? This question can be answered by the length and arrangement of the embryo's bones, which provide information about the stage of development. But how do you look inside fossilized dinosaur eggs? Paleontologists from the University of Bonn used the neutron source of the Technical University of Munich at th
Bioengineers have shown great promise in creating complex multicellular kidney organoids (tiny, self-organized tissues) in the lab using pluripotent stem cells . They can further improve the procedure for different outcomes, including patterning and maturation of specific cell types, although such experiments are limited by standard tissue culture approaches. Now writing in Science Advances, Nick
Fascinating Interpretation According to U.S. Senator Rand Paul, fears of climate change are overblown — but we should also venture out and drastically change the environments of other planets so humanity might settle them. Paul tweeted his bizarre stance on Sunday, after he attempted to roast Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her aggressive plans to fight climate change, a move which,
A blood test can predict if some women are likely to have their last period in the next year. It may be useful for those considering surgery for painful periods
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is the most significant infectious disease affecting sea turtle populations worldwide. FB leads to tumors on the turtles' eyes, flippers and internal organs and is widespread in warmer climates like Florida. A large-scale study evaluated tumor score, removal and regrowth in rehabilitating green sea turtles with FP in the southeastern US from 2009 to 2017, and found that 75
A group of experts led by Regina Rabinovich and Carlos Chaccour from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has published a roadmap to evaluate — and subsequently implement — ivermectin as a complementary vector control tool against malaria. The Ivermectin Roadmap, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, includes a foreword signed by Nobel laureate Willi
Blood tests could replace menstrual periods as a gauge for when a women is nearing menopause, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
The Florida Everglades evokes images of fanboats skimming over swamps, while alligators peer through the waters and clouds of insects hover just above. Described as a "river of grass" that stretches some 580,000 square miles across southern Florida, they encompass a wide range of ecosystems ranging from wetlands to tree islands to cattails.
A team of researchers from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Riga Technical University and Ben-Gurion University has created a mathematical model that can be used to predict boarding times for airplanes based on the boarding speed of individual passengers. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review E, the group describes using Lorentzian geometry to create their model, an
Let's talk Sarepta. And FDA approval, because you can't bring up that company without immediately starting a regulatory affairs argument. I was not happy when their initial exon-skipping therapy (Exondys, eteplirsen) for Duchenne muscular dystrophy was approved in 2016, because I thought that the efficacy data were simply not strong enough for such approval. Last summer, another exon-skipping app
They are revered throughout nature as chilling predators … now research shows crocodiles have not always been the cold-blooded creatures they are today.
A mathematician from RUDN University has found a new criterion for the regularity of generalized solutions of the equations of magnetic hydrodynamics for an incompressible fluid in three-dimensional space. The use of this criterion simplifies the search for solutions to such equations and can help metallurgists to model the behavior of molten metal, as well as astrophysicists to describe stellar p
Developing new medicines and understanding how they target specific organs often gives a crucial advantage in the fight against human diseases. An international team led by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Cellzome, a GSK company, has developed a technology to systematically identify drug targets in living animals. In their results, published in Nature Biotechnology on
Fusil and his goggles. (T&S Concepts/) When Thomas was a special forces dog handler in the gendarmerie —a French militarized police force—he found it worrisome when he lost sight of his canine, Fusil. The pooch was trained to follow a laser beam that allows the handler to point to objects or places that are far away, and to work at night or other low-light conditions. But when the dog went out of
Developing new medicines and understanding how they target specific organs often gives a crucial advantage in the fight against human diseases. An international team led by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Cellzome, a GSK company, has developed a technology to systematically identify drug targets in living animals. In their results, published in Nature Biotechnology on
A team of researchers from Yncréa Hauts-de-France and Université de Tours, has found that the ranging behavior of free-range chickens can impact their motor self-regulation. In their paper published in the journal Biology Letters, the group describes their study of free-range chicken personality and how it impacted their impulse control.
A team of researchers from Yncréa Hauts-de-France and Université de Tours, has found that the ranging behavior of free-range chickens can impact their motor self-regulation. In their paper published in the journal Biology Letters, the group describes their study of free-range chicken personality and how it impacted their impulse control.
Researchers have discovered a method to control biomolecular machines over a wide temperature range using deep-sea osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This finding could open a new dimension in the application of artificial machines fabricated from biomolecular motors and other proteins.
Small fish use light for active sensing to detect potential predators. The yellow black-faced triplefin (Tripterygion delaisi) can reflect downwelling sunlight sideways with its iris, illuminating its immediate surroundings. A team headed by Professor Nico Michiels from the Institute of Evolution and Ecology at the University of Tübingen has now shown that the fish actively reflects light to locat
Inbreeding in the global thoroughbred population has risen significantly over the last 45 years and if left unchecked may compromise the future sustainability of the breed, according to research published in Scientific Reports.
Researchers at the University of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new method to measure how photocurrents flow in a 2-D material—a result that could have implications for developing quantum sensors and next-generation electronics.
A University of York academic has co-authored a major report which advocates creating business models that are focused on benefiting society and the planet.
An international team of Russian, Australian and Korean researchers have experimentally trapped an electromagnetic wave in a gallium arsenide nanoresonator for a record-breaking time, over 200 periods of one wave oscillation. The trap has also been tested as a basis for a light frequency nanoconverter. The results were published in Science. Researchers anticipate drastically new opportunities for
Researchers have discovered a method to control biomolecular machines over a wide temperature range using deep-sea osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This finding could open a new dimension in the application of artificial machines fabricated from biomolecular motors and other proteins.
Small fish use light for active sensing to detect potential predators. The yellow black-faced triplefin (Tripterygion delaisi) can reflect downwelling sunlight sideways with its iris, illuminating its immediate surroundings. A team headed by Professor Nico Michiels from the Institute of Evolution and Ecology at the University of Tübingen has now shown that the fish actively reflects light to locat
Inbreeding in the global thoroughbred population has risen significantly over the last 45 years and if left unchecked may compromise the future sustainability of the breed, according to research published in Scientific Reports.
Researchers found that reducing sodium intake in adults with elevated blood pressure or hypertension decreased thirst, urine volume and blood pressure, but did not affect metabolic energy needs. These results support the traditional notion that decreasing sodium intake is critical to managing hypertension — disputing recent studies.
Increasingly extreme temperature, hydrology, or other meteorological phenomena are some of the most widely predicted impacts of climate change. This applies to Hungary as well, where rainfall is already limited (potential evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation throughout most of the country), and climate models predict a more unbalanced distribution of precipitation for the next decades to come.
Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a new type of smart contact lenses that can prevent dry eyes. The self-moisturizing system, which is described in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies, maintains a layer of fluid between the contact lens and the eye using a novel mechanism.
Proteins that contain metal, known as metalloproteins, play important roles in biology, regulating various pathways in the body, which often become targets for lifesaving drugs. While the amount of metal in such proteins is usually tiny, it is crucial to determining the function of these complex molecules.
People who are exposed to banks and other financial institutions as kids are more likely to be financially stable later in life, new research from CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business shows. People without that exposure can expect to face some serious costs.
A new grading system could pave the way for reusing Electric Vehicle Lithium Ion batteries for domestic and industrial use, researchers report. Once EV batteries have fulfilled their life-span for automotive applications, the manufacturer usually recycles them. Many automotive Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, however, have enough life left in them after scrapping the car for "second-life" uses. To
Many drugs are derived from natural products. But before natural products can be exploited, chemists must first determine their structure and stereochemistry. This can be a major challenge, particularly when the molecules cannot be crystallized and contain only few hydrogen atoms. A new NMR-based method, developed at the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), now simplifies
A new study shows that air pollutants from the smoke of fires from as far as Canada and the southeastern U.S. traveled hundreds of miles and several days to reach Connecticut and New York City, where it caused significant increases in pollution concentrations.
Cross-linked polymers are structures in which large molecular chains are linked together, conferring exceptional mechanical properties and chemical resistance to the final product. However, their modification is not easy. Now, scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a method that allows the fusion of different polymers together easily, allowing the precise tuning of the properti
Proteins that contain metal, known as metalloproteins, play important roles in biology, regulating various pathways in the body, which often become targets for lifesaving drugs. While the amount of metal in such proteins is usually tiny, it is crucial to determining the function of these complex molecules.
Et samarbejde mellem amerikanske General Motors og japanske Honda, har netop præsenteret et nyt køretøj helt uden pedaler og rat. Det er elektrisk, kan køre dag og nat og holde til 1,6 mio. km.
Urine is a goldmine of useful substances that can be captured and converted into products such as fertilizer. However, going 'green' with urine carries some potential risks. For instance, DNA released from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in urine could transfer resistance to other organisms at the site where the fertilizer is used. Now, research published in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology (
Foxtail millet is an annual grass grown widely as a cereal crop in parts of India, China and Southeast Asia. Milling the grain removes the hard outer layer, or bran, from the rest of the seed. Now, researchers have identified a protein in this bran that can help stave off atherosclerosis in mice genetically prone to the disease. They report their results in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Ch
A new study shows that air pollutants from the smoke of fires from as far as Canada and the southeastern US traveled hundreds of miles and several days to reach Connecticut and New York City, where it caused significant increases in pollution concentrations.
Air quality models have long failed to accurately predict atmospheric levels of secondary organic aerosol, which comprises a substantial fraction of the fine particulate matter in cities. But researchers have found a missing source of emissions that may explain roughly half of that SOA, closing much of the model-measurement gap.
Giving babies potentially allergenic foods early on may reduce the risk of allergies – but many parents don't as that conflicts with advice to breastfeed until six months
Barn och unga vistas allt mindre i naturmiljöer. Men elever som med egna sinnen får upptäcka och bekanta sig med träd och växter i en autentisk miljö utvecklar förståelse för biologisk mångfald och människans påverkan på miljön, visar en avhandling vid Göteborgs universitet. Margaretha Häggström, doktorand inom pedagogiskt arbete har bland annat studerat två skolklasser på låg- och mellanstadiet
Varannan svensk anser att de globala plattformsbolagens datainsamling av vad vi gör online utgör ett större hot mot den personliga integriteten än samhällets behov av datainsamling. Det visar resultatet av en landsomfattande undersökning. – Redan med boken 1984 förutspåddes och problematiserades samhällets övervakning av individen och kollektivet. Men när vi nu i dag lever med insamling av vår pe
Glutamat är den signalsubstans som finns i störst mängd i våra hjärnor, och påverkar en stort antal funktioner. Forskare har nu lyckats mäta exakta antalet molekyler glutamat i omlopp – när en signal överförs mellan två hjärnceller. Något som kan öka kunskapen om till exempel neurologiska sjukdomar, vårt minne och vår aptit. Det är forskare på Chalmers och Göteborgs universitet som gjort det som
With Oscar nominations out and the awards season drawing to a close, the moviemaking industry will descend on Park City, Utah, on January 23 for the Sundance Film Festival. Although the event is dominated by independent film rather than by studio heavyweights or middle-of-the-road awards contenders, it usually manages to set the tone for the year. Beyond producing surprise box-office hits, such a
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule survived a planned abort test on Sunday. (Jim Bridenstine/NASA/Twitter/) When the Falcon 9 rocket burst apart into a puff of flame and white smoke on Sunday, the Crew Dragon capsule soared unscathed above it. The explosion would have come as a setback during normal flight operations, but for this intentional safety test, events could not have played out more smoothl
Apps for relational organizing—which use personal connections to get out the vote—are the latest political tech arms race. So far, Democrats have the edge.
Foxtail millet is an annual grass grown widely as a cereal crop in parts of India, China and Southeast Asia. Milling the grain removes the hard outer layer, or bran, from the rest of the seed. Now, researchers have identified a protein in this bran that can help stave off atherosclerosis in mice genetically prone to the disease. They report their results in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Ch
Foxtail millet is an annual grass grown widely as a cereal crop in parts of India, China and Southeast Asia. Milling the grain removes the hard outer layer, or bran, from the rest of the seed. Now, researchers have identified a protein in this bran that can help stave off atherosclerosis in mice genetically prone to the disease. They report their results in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Ch
Professor Delbès, who specializes in reproductive toxicology, conducted a pilot study in collaboration with oncologists and fertility specialists from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) on a cohort of 13 patients, all survivors of pediatric leukemia and lymphoma. Their results, recently published in the journal Plos One, raise important questions about male fertility and the long-term qual
W ith much fanfare , The New York Times Magazine devoted an entire issue in August to what it called the 1619 Project. The project's aim, the magazine announced, was to reinterpret the entirety of American history. "Our democracy's founding ideals," its lead essay proclaimed, "were false when they were written." Our history as a nation rests on slavery and white supremacy, whose existence made a
The software company helped torpedo a facial recognition bill last year, though a state senator—who's also a Microsoft program manager—has a new bill in the works.
Tidligere har flyproducenten vurderet, at flyet kunne indfases fra januar i år. Men det synes urealistisk nu, lyder det i opdatering til flyselskaberne.
Flere og flere oplever at få deres profiler på sociale medier hacket. Hackerne bruger billeder og samtaler til at afpresse profilens ejer til at sende krænkende billeder. Ifølge Digitalt Ansvar skal politiet reagere hurtigere.
A new study finds that music and some other human phenomena have altered at a pace comparable to that of animals such as Darwin's finches — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
PLUS. Samlet fløj 3,5 procent færre svenskere i forhold til 2018. Samme udvikling er endnu ikke slået fast i Danmark, men der er begyndende tegn på opbrud.
A new study finds that music and some other human phenomena have altered at a pace comparable to that of animals such as Darwin's finches — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Den praktiserende læges honorering skal i endnu højere grad gøres differentieret og mindre ydelsesafhængig, end tilfældet er i dag. Sådan lyder en af de bærende pointer i regionernes oplæg til overenskomstforhandlingerne med PLO, der blev skudt i gang i denne uge.
Venus has one main problem, and that is too much co2 in its atmosphere which traps heat and creates unviable surface conditions. As we learn the techniques and necessary chemistry of co2 sequestration it will also teach us what we need to know to create a second Earth in Venus. submitted by /u/Memetic1 [link] [comments]
Mark Wilson / Getty Trace the careers of Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, both of whom joined Donald Trump's impeachment team last week, and you notice a similar arc. As young men, each rapidly ascended to the upper echelons of the legal profession. At age 28, Dershowitz became the youngest tenured professor in the history of Harvard Law School. At age 37, Starr was appointed to the Court of Appeal
Nature, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00110-8 These researchers tracked down mysterious sources of ozone-destroying chemicals in China and guard the planet against future illicit emissions.
Congress today has substantial and sweeping powers over Native nations and Native people, including the authority to abolish tribes and tribal reservations, and to expand or restrict tribal authority. These powers come from a series of Supreme Court decisions in the late 1800s and early 1900s that were based on racist views about American Indians—that Congress needed virtually unlimited authority
While it is good to recognize societal diversity, it is difficult to argue in favor of creating cultural accommodations to preserve and protect specific groups. Creating protections for people who belong to certain traditions can result in the creation of cultures that did not previously exist. The challenge would be to find a way to provide protections that are not too explicit while also being
Some Retraction Watch readers may recall that back in 2012, we called, in The Scientist, for the creation of a Transparency Index. Over the years, we've had occasional interest from others in that concept, and some good critiques, but we noted at the time that we did not have the bandwidth to create it ourselves. … Continue reading
Sundheds- og ældreminister Magnus Heunicke (S) opfordrer KL og regionerne til at mødes konstruktivt i forhandlinger. Han vil ikke sætte en dato på en politisk sundhedsaftale.
PLUS. Det nuværende fødevaresystem kan kun brødføde omkring 3,4 milliarder mennesker uden at tære på klodens miljømæssige kapital. Men det er muligt at omlægge den globale fødevareproduktion, så 10 milliarder mennesker kan få mad og drikke, uden at klima- og miljømæssig påvirkning af kloden.
Epidemics of related viruses, like SARS, killed hundreds. Now the World Health Organization must decide whether to declare another global health emergency.
Euroimmun founder Winfried Stöcker replies to criticism of his company's publications: "Dr. Elisabeth Bik's observations are not suitable to bring us into disrepute."
Det kan vara balansen mellan signalsubstanserna serotonin och dopamin i hjärnan som påverkar om en person utvecklar social fobi. Tidigare har forskning i huvudsak fokuserat på serotonin- eller dopaminsystemen var för sig. Nu kan forskare vid Uppsala universitet visa att det finns en koppling mellan signalsubstanserna. – Vi ser att det finns en annan balans mellan serotonin- och dopamintransport h
Flere nye tiltag skal sikre, at Folketinget ikke lige så let bliver ramt af cyberangreb. Det drejer sig blandt om, at partierne nu vil advare hinanden, hvis de bliver udsat for hacking eller it-kriminalitet.
Höftledsoperationer är vanliga och sker idag nästan enligt en löpande band-princip. Men i detta missas ofta det individuella behovet av smärtlindring. Ny avhandling visar att brist på individuellt anpassad smärtlindring riskerar att orsaka onödigt lidande.
Health team including doctor will meet those travelling from Wuhan as cases estimated at 4,000 Have you encountered any precautionary measures? People arriving at Heathrow airport from the Chinese city at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak will be met by health teams including a doctor, the government has announced, as UK infectious disease experts doubled their estimate of the likely number of
Researchers have created a new chemical tool for revealing how specific types of brain cell receptors function in the brain. It's an important step forward for studying Alzheimer's, epilepsy, stroke, and even Parkinson's disease.
Researchers have found how an antibiotic used to treat a debilitating gut infection stays put inside the body giving it time to effectively treat the problem, a discovery that will pave the way for the development of more effective antibiotic treatments to fight superbugs.
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14308-x Here, the authors present the results of a mother–child cohort randomized clinical trial of n-3 LCPUFA and vitamin D maternal supplementation, finding an association between supplement-induced microbiota changes in infant airways at age 1-month but not the infant fecal or maternal vaginal microbiome.
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-14232-9 Magnetic skyrmions are promising objects for future spintronic devices. However, a better understanding of their dynamics is required. Here, the authors show that in contrast to predictions the skyrmion Hall angle is independent of their diameter and motion is dominated by disorder and skyrmion-skyrmion inter
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-14268-x Characterization of light pulses is important in order to understand their interaction with matter. Here the authors demonstrate a nonlinear photoconductive sampling method to measure electric field wave-forms in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet spectral ranges.
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14393-y Learned conditioned fear associations can be weakened (extinction learning), but extinction is less effective if performed too soon after the original fear conditioning. Here, the authors show that persistent activation of CRF-expressing neurons in the central amygdala is involved in the early fear extinction
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14285-1 Multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) are important in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Here, the authors demonstrate that extracellular presence of the amino acid arginine is required for MGC formation and metabolism, suggesting a translational impact for strategies utilizing systemic arginine depletion in
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-14191-1 Resistance to primary treatments of invasive aspergillosis is growing. Here, the authors generate a knockout library for 484 transcription factors in Aspergillus fumigatus, and show that loss of the NCT complex leads to cross-resistance to all primary and some salvage therapeutics without affecting pathogenic
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14302-3 The Southern Ocean plays a key role in glacial-interglacial transitions and today, Weddell Sea derived Antarctic Bottom Water is one of the most important deep water masses. New records show that in contrast to today, no Weddell Sea water was exported during the last two glacial maxima, providing new insights
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 January 2020; doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14321-0 Selectively inhibiting N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) containing the GluN2C/2D subunits has been challenging. Here, using electrophysiology and X-ray crystallography, authors show that compounds UBP791 and UBP1700 show over 40- and 50-fold selectivity for GluN2C/2D compared to GluN2A.
When treating antibiotic-resistant infections, injecting patients with other people's excrement can be highly effective. Could it be the answer to dementia, anorexia and obesity too? The man and woman are wearing blue hospital gowns and clear face shields. Dr James Sones and Dr Indu Srinivasan are in a room in the Division of Digestive Diseases at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in J
While intensive care in hospitals has improved dramatically over the decades, there is now a broad recognition that survivors are not walking away unscarred. New research suggests that some patients might benefit from less sedation and more movement and exercise, starting early into their stay.
The editor, Philip Jacobson, who works for the environmental website Mongabay, was detained last month after attending a public meeting on Borneo island. He was traveling on a business visa.
PLUS. Danske GN har udviklet en følsom mikrofon, der fanger lyde og bevægelser hos ekstremsportsudøvere som paragliders og BMX-ryttere, selv i høj fart og hård vind.
After a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the most harmful damage is caused by secondary swelling of the brain compressed inside the skull. There is no treatment. In new research, scientists significantly reduced brain swelling and damage after a TBI by injecting nanoparticles into the bloodstream within two hours after the injury in a preclinical study. 'We believe this may provide the first real tre
https://www.ibiology.org/human-disease/obesity Dr. Stephen O'Rahilly provides a biomedical perspective of obesity, and evaluates which genes could potentially shift the balance towards obesity. Easy access to nutrients has contributed to the increase in obesity in the human population. But, what is obesity and why isn't everybody fat? Dr. Stephen O'Rahilly provides a biomedical perspective of obe
https://www.ibiology.org/human-disease/obesity Dr. Stephen O'Rahilly provides a biomedical perspective of obesity, and evaluates which genes could potentially shift the balance towards obesity. Easy access to nutrients has contributed to the increase in obesity in the human population. But, what is obesity and why isn't everybody fat? Dr. Stephen O'Rahilly provides a biomedical perspective of obe
More countries are carrying out health checks after the virus was detected outside China Countries in Asia and elsewhere are checking the body temperatures of arriving airline passengers and adopting precautionary quarantine procedures in response to a new coronavirus that has sickened nearly 300 people in China. Continue reading…
A senior health official warned that the annual Spring Festival holiday travel rush would complicate efforts to contain the outbreak, as the official death toll nearly doubled.
Southwest Research Institute is introducing Floodlight, a novel software tool that efficiently discovers the vast numbers of chemical components—previously known and unknown—present in the food, air, drugs and products we are exposed to every day. This cheminformatics machine learning tool integrates algorithms with analytical chemistry software to provide deep analysis of gas chromatography mass
Ahead of the European Commission's official launch of 'Europe's Beating Cancer Plan', The Health Policy Partnership and an expert-led steering committee met at the European Parliament in Brussels today to launch a new report, Radioligand therapy: realising the potential of targeted cancer care.
Political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years—more than in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or Germany—a phenomenon possibly due to increased racial division, the rise of partisan cable news and changes in the composition of the Democratic and Republican parties.
New research from Cass Business School has found that business sustainability strategies can succeed alongside mainstream competitive strategies when managers believe in them.
Footprints on an extinct Italian volcano suggest ancient humans were regular visitors, and the shapes of the tracks point to the identity of the trackmakers
Using a 22-year dataset of plant-caterpillar-parasitoid interactions collected within a patch of protected Costa Rican lowland Caribbean forest, scientists report declines in caterpillar and parasitoid diversity and density that are paralleled by losses in an important ecosystem service: biocontrol of herbivores by parasitoids.
Using a 22-year dataset of plant-caterpillar-parasitoid interactions collected within a patch of protected Costa Rican lowland Caribbean forest, scientists report declines in caterpillar and parasitoid diversity and density that are paralleled by losses in an important ecosystem service: biocontrol of herbivores by parasitoids.
Recycled and aged human urine can be used as a fertilizer with low risks of transferring antibiotic resistant DNA to the environment, according to new research from the University of Michigan.
As more and more large-scale human genome sequencing projects get completed, scientists have been able to trace with increasing confidence both the geographical movements and underlying genetic variation of human populations.
As more and more large-scale human genome sequencing projects get completed, scientists have been able to trace with increasing confidence both the geographical movements and underlying genetic variation of human populations.
In the Pacific Northwest, the range expansion of Barred Owls has contributed to a conservation crisis for Northern Spotted Owls, which are being displaced from their old-growth forest habitat. How will this interaction between species play out in the Sierra Nevada, where Barred Owls are just starting to move into the range of the California Spotted Owl? New research published in The Condor: Ornith
In the Pacific Northwest, the range expansion of Barred Owls has contributed to a conservation crisis for Northern Spotted Owls, which are being displaced from their old-growth forest habitat. How will this interaction between species play out in the Sierra Nevada, where Barred Owls are just starting to move into the range of the California Spotted Owl? New research published in The Condor: Ornith
Campaigners have argued for open access to scientific research since the dawn of the internet – so why is it taking so long? In December 2002, a Belfast teenager made world headlines after his father, Don Simms, won him the legal right to access an experimental drug. Jonathan Simms had been diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a cruel and fatal neurodegenerative condition that
Community-based wellness instructors can provide tailored wellness care to older adults, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. A randomized controlled trial assessing whether community self-management with wellness coaching could improve participants' overall wellbeing was the foundation to outline the components of a new model of community-based wellness
HONG KONG—Prior to his second-ever district-council meeting last week, Napo Wong, elected just a couple of months ago, chatted with constituents who voiced concern for protesters arrested during recent demonstrations here. The residents who remembered Hong Kong's wildly corrupt police force of decades ago worried about what might be happening to demonstrators once they were loaded onto vans or de
New research from Cass Business School has found that business sustainability strategies can succeed alongside mainstream competitive strategies when managers believe in them.
To better understand the broad demographic history of pre-Hispanic Mexico and to search for signatures of adaptive evolution, scientists have sequenced the complete protein-coding regions of the genome, or exomes, of 78 individuals from five different indigenous groups from Northern (Rara?muri or Tarahumara, and Huichol), Central (Nahua), South (Triqui, or TRQ) and Southeast (Maya, or MYA) Mexico.
A new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons found that non-medical cannabis use — including frequent or problematic use — is significantly more common in adults with pain than in those without pain.
Recycled and aged human urine can be used as a fertilizer with low risks of transferring antibiotic resistant DNA to the environment, according to new research from the University of Michigan.
In the Pacific Northwest, the range expansion of barred owls has contributed to a conservation crisis for northern spotted owls, which are being displaced from their habitat. How will this interaction play out in the Sierra Nevada, where barred owls are starting to move into the range of the California spotted owl? New research suggests that wildlife managers may still be able to head off similar
Despite a recent FDA awareness campaign about the hazards of vaping, promotional Instagram posts are 10,000-fold more prevalent than the FDA's #TheRealCost hashtag, shows a recent study. A deep learning analysis of vaping Instagram images further suggests that 70% contain devices and products that are popular among the youngest, beginner e-cigarette users.
Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, put under tighter supervision as death toll climbs to nine Seventeen people have now died from the mysterious Sars-like coronavirus, Chinese authorities said on Wednesday, as the government unveiled measures to rein in the spread of the disease and advised residents of Wuhan not to leave the city. The figure, announced by the provincial government of the cent
PLUS. Mindst tre gange siden 1992 er Aarhus Kommune blevet advaret om, at parkeringskælderen under Aarhus Rutebilstation burde undersøges grundigt. Alligevel fik kommunen ikke undersøgt kælderen ordentligt. Det må ikke kunne ske, erkender ejendomschef, der lover opstramninger
Myndigheder og virksomheder abonnerer i flæng på borgeres CPR-oplysninger uden noget åbenlyst formål. Og den praksis er umiddelbart ulovlig, vurderer en dansk advokat.
Prof Sandy Harrison tells the Liberal on his Facebook page that his misuse of her study should not go unchallenged A leading UK climate scientist has used the Facebook page of the MP Craig Kelly to correct his "blatant misrepresentation" of a study she co-authored on a 70,000-year history of bushfires in Australia. Kelly, a serial denier of climate change, has been using the 2011 study to claim r
A new study showing the 70km-wide Yarrabubba crater dates impact to 2.29bn years ago The world's oldest remaining asteroid crater is at a place called Yarrabubba, south-east of the town of Meekatharra in Western Australia. Our new study puts a precise age on the cataclysmic impact – showing Yarrabubba is the oldest known crater and dating it at the right time to trigger the end of an ancient glac
The impeachment trial of the century had barely begun when word came down that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had softened his initial plan to make the House managers and President Donald Trump's lawyers present their cases in marathon 12-hour sessions over four days. He'll allow the teams a more civilized eight hours over six days instead. And a good thing, too—if the first afternoon's d
Two of the world's richest humans, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were allegedly having a nice chat on WhatsApp in 2018 when the latter sent Bezos an infected file that exfiltrated data from the CEO's phone. That's according to a new report in The Guardian , which detailed the exchange according to anonymous sources. In the shadow of the new report, there is an
Scientists are racing to understand just how bad things could get with the outbreak of a pneumonia-like disease that first appeared in China and has now spread to the US.
Cross-linked polymers are structures where large molecular chains are linked together, allowing exceptional mechanical properties and chemical resistance to the final product. However, their modification is not easy. Now, scientists at Tokyo Tech develop a method that allows the fusion of different polymers together easily, allowing the precise tuning of the properties of the final material by sel
We read with great interest the recent paper of Zhou et al. (1) which describes a promising low-input protocol for measuring secreted RNA in blood. Zhou et al. (1) apply this technology to 96 samples of serum from cancer patients (28 with recurrence, 68 without) and 32 samples of serum…
We thank Drs. Hartl and Gao for pointing out the difference in read lengths between the cancer and normal samples (1). Indeed, Illumina discontinued their 50-base pair (bp) sequencing kits after we finished sequencing the cancer samples, forcing us to switch to 75-bp sequencing kits on the normal samples. The…
A study involving researchers from King's College London, has developed a predictive tool that can recognize adolescents who are at high or low risk of depression in young adulthood.
A new analysis of the clinical trials of HPV vaccines to prevent cervical cancer raises doubts about the vaccines' effectiveness. The analysis, published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, assessed 12 published Phase 2 and 3 randomized controlled efficacy trials of the HPV vaccines Cervarix and Gardasil.
We read with great interest the paper of Kawanishi et al. in PNAS (1). Humans lack a functional cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase (CMAH) controlling the synthesis of N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc). The possible role of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies—present in all human sera and resulting from diet-containing Neu5Gc—in the activation of endothelial cells…
Soulillou et al. (1) address our report (2) regarding intrinsic and extrinsic atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in mice with human-like loss of Cmah (cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase)––eliminating N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) production. While our findings may help explain the unusual human propensity for ASCVD, extrapolation from animal models to human
The main risk factor for stomach cancer, the third most common cause of cancer death worldwide, is infection with Helicobacter pylori bacterial strains that inject cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA). As the first described bacterial oncoprotein, CagA causes gastric epithelial cell transformation by promoting an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like phenotype that disrupts…
During invasion of host cells, Chlamydia pneumoniae secretes the effector protein CPn0678, which facilitates internalization of the pathogen by remodeling the target cell's plasma membrane and recruiting sorting nexin 9 (SNX9), a central multifunctional endocytic scaffold protein. We show here that the strongly amphipathic N-terminal helix of CPn0678 mediates binding…
De novo mutations (DNMs), or mutations that appear in an individual despite not being seen in their parents, are an important source of genetic variation whose impact is relevant to studies of human evolution, genetics, and disease. Utilizing high-coverage whole-genome sequencing data as part of the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine…
During natural fertilization, mammalian spermatozoa must pass through the zona pellucida before reaching the plasma membrane of the oocyte. It is assumed that this step involves partial lysis of the zona by sperm acrosomal enzymes, but there has been no unequivocal evidence to support this view. Here we present evidence…
Inhibitory interneurons comprise a fraction of the total neurons in the visual thalamus but are essential for sharpening receptive field properties and improving contrast-gain of retinogeniculate transmission. During early development, these interneurons undergo long-range migration from germinal zones, a process regulated by the innervation of the visual thalamus by retinal…
Specificity in transcriptional regulation is imparted by transcriptional activators that bind to specific DNA sequences from which they stimulate transcription. Specificity may be increased by slowing down the kinetics of regulation: by increasing the energy for dissociation of the activator–DNA complex or decreasing activator concentration. In general, higher dissociation energies…
Suspending self-propelled "pushers" in a liquid lowers its viscosity. We study how this phenomenon depends on system size in bacterial suspensions using bulk rheometry and particle-tracking rheoimaging. Above the critical bacterial volume fraction needed to decrease the viscosity to zero, ϕc≈0.75%, large-scale collective motion emerges in the quiescent state, and…
Faces attract the observer's attention toward objects and locations of interest for the other, thereby allowing the two agents to establish joint attention. Previous work has delineated a network of cortical "patches" in the macaque cortex, processing faces, eventually also extracting information on the other's gaze direction. Yet, the neural…
Regime shift modeling and management generally focus on tipping points, early warning indicators, and the prevention of abrupt shifts to undesirable states. Few studies assess the potential for restoring a deteriorating ecosystem that is on a transition pathway toward an undesirable state. During the transition, feedbacks that stabilize the new…
The three-dimensional (3D) crystal structures of the GAF3 domain of cyanobacteriochrome Slr1393 (Synechocystis PCC6803) carrying a phycocyanobilin chromophore could be solved in both 15-Z dark-adapted state, Pr, λmax = 649 nm, and 15-E photoproduct, Pg, λmax = 536 nm (resolution, 1.6 and 1.86 Å, respectively). The structural data allowed identifying…
Bacterial infections are frequently based on the binding of lectin-like adhesins to specific glycan determinants exposed on host cell receptors. These interactions confer species-specific recognition and tropism for particular host tissues and represent attractive antibacterial targets. However, the wide structural diversity of carbohydrates hampers the characterization of specific glycan determin
The accumulation of protein deposits in neurodegenerative diseases has been hypothesized to depend on a metastable subproteome vulnerable to aggregation. To investigate this phenomenon and the mechanisms that regulate it, we measured the solubility of the proteome in the mouse Neuro2a cell line under six different protein homeostasis stresses: 1)…
Tsetse-transmitted African trypanosomes must develop into mammalian-infectious metacyclic cells in the fly's salivary glands (SGs) before transmission to a new host. The molecular mechanisms that underlie this developmental process, known as metacyclogenesis, are poorly understood. Blocking the few metacyclic parasites deposited in saliva from further development in the mammal could…
Limited approaches exist for imaging and recording spectra of individual nanostructures in the midinfrared region. Here we use infrared photothermal heterodyne imaging (IR-PHI) to interrogate single, high aspect ratio Au nanowires (NWs). Spectra recorded between 2,800 and 4,000 cm−1 for 2.5–3.9-μm-long NWs reveal a series of resonances due to the…
As a leading effort to improve the welfare of smallholder farmers, several governments have led major reforms in improving market access for these farmers through online agricultural platforms. Leveraging collaboration with the state government of Karnataka, India, this paper provides an empirical assessment on the impact of such a reform—implementation…
Blebs and pseudopods can both power cell migration, with blebs often favored in tissues, where cells encounter increased mechanical resistance. To investigate how migrating cells detect and respond to mechanical forces, we used a "cell squasher" to apply uniaxial pressure to Dictyostelium cells chemotaxing under soft agarose. As little as…
Mitochondria have a characteristic ultrastructure with invaginations of the inner membrane called cristae that contain the protein complexes of the oxidative phosphorylation system. How this particular morphology of the respiratory membrane impacts energy conversion is currently unknown. One proposed role of cristae formation is to facilitate the establishment of local…
Diverse forms of cultivation have evolved across the tree of life. Efficient farming requires that the farmer deciphers and actively promotes conditions that increase crop yield. For plant cultivation, this can include evaluating tradeoffs among light, nutrients, and protection against herbivores. It is not understood if, or how, nonhuman farmers…