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| Physicists watch as ultracold atoms form a crystal of quantum tornadoes Posted: 05 Jan 2022 02:41 PM PST Physicists have directly observed ultracold atoms forming 'quantum tornadoes' in a spinning fluid of ultracold atoms. The observations record a key crossover from classical to quantum behavior. |
| Findings open the way to more precise diagnoses and treatments of Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 05 Jan 2022 12:13 PM PST An international team has made a significant breakthrough in understanding why Alzheimer's disease progresses so rapidly in some people that they die within three years. The researchers found a link between strains of misshapen and fast-replicating tau protein and accelerated cognitive decline -- a critical result that illuminates the variations in Alzheimer's disease and could help lead to more precise diagnoses and targeted therapies. Such work could lead to changes in Alzheimer's care, possibly giving patients and families more accurate prognoses. |
| Engineered nanomaterial captures off-target cancer drug to prevent tissue damage Posted: 05 Jan 2022 12:13 PM PST Standard chemotherapies may efficiently kill cancer cells, but they also pose significant risks to healthy cells, resulting in secondary illness and a diminished quality of life for patients. To prevent the previously unavoidable damage, researchers have developed a new class of nanomaterials engineered to capture chemotherapy drugs before they interact with healthy tissue. |
| Engineers develop new software tool to aid material modeling research Posted: 05 Jan 2022 12:13 PM PST A new software tool can accelerate materials science research by cutting out tedious background research on material properties. Researchers recently debuted propSym, an open-source software on the programming platform MATLAB, to calculate the fundamental constants needed to describe the physical properties of solids, such as metals, ceramics or composites. |
| New research questions ‘whiff of oxygen’ in Earth’s early history Posted: 05 Jan 2022 12:13 PM PST A reexamination of Earth's famous 'whiff of oxygen' has the potential to rewrite early accounts of the planet's history by finding that atmospheric oxygen actually did not exist prior to the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE). |
| Modern humans developed a more effective protection against oxidative stress Posted: 05 Jan 2022 12:13 PM PST Very few proteins in the body have a change that makes them unique compared to the corresponding proteins in Neanderthals and apes. Researchers have now studied one such protein, glutathione reductase, which protects against oxidative stress. They show that the risk for inflammatory bowel disease and vascular disease is increased several times in people carrying the Neanderthal variant. |
| Timing of brain injury in pregnancy, birth may impact motor and language outcomes Posted: 05 Jan 2022 12:13 PM PST A new study that mapped the neural connections of newborns with two different kinds of brain injuries found the maps looked very different -- and were linked to significantly different developmental outcomes years later. |
| Division of labor among genetic switches Posted: 05 Jan 2022 11:00 AM PST Two X chromosomes are actually one too many. Female mammalian cells hence switch off one of them – but only when the cells start to specialize into tissues. A research team has now discovered how cells 'count' their chromosomes and at the same time sense which stage of development they are in. |
| Dairy farmers can adapt to climate change Posted: 05 Jan 2022 10:59 AM PST Dairy farmers in the Northeast -- facing a warming climate that exacerbates nutrient pollution but lengthens the growing season -- can reduce the environmental impact of their operations and maximize revenues by double cropping and injecting manure into the soil, rather than broadcasting it. |
| How a brain networks enables human conversation Posted: 05 Jan 2022 10:45 AM PST A new study has identified a brain circuit that is active while we plan our spoken replies during conversation. The work promises to guide the design of new therapies for the 7.5 million Americans who have trouble using their voices, say the study authors. |
| Immuno-CRISPR assay could help diagnose kidney transplant rejection early on Posted: 05 Jan 2022 10:45 AM PST Researchers have developed a CRISPR-based assay that can sensitively and non-invasively detect a biomarker of acute kidney rejection in urine. This could someday help diagnose rejection earlier and without a biopsy. |
| Single blood sample can detect women at risk of pre-eclampsia Posted: 05 Jan 2022 09:24 AM PST A study of pregnant women's blood RNA has found specific molecular profiles that identify women at risk of pre-eclampsia. These insights can identify complications before a woman experiences symptoms. |
| World’s fastest blade runner gets no competitive advantage from prostheses, study shows Posted: 05 Jan 2022 09:23 AM PST A new study provides the most comprehensive data ever collected from elite runners with bilateral leg amputations, including the world's fastest 400-meter sprinter, Blake Leeper. |
| How LPS prevents or promotes development of asthma and allergic disease by airborne allergens Posted: 05 Jan 2022 09:23 AM PST Many experiments show that exposure to LPS during exposure to environmental allergens protects against developing asthma or allergic disease. Yet other numerous experiments show that the presence of LPS during exposure to environmental allergens does the opposite -- it promotes the development of asthma and other allergic disease. Now researchers detail a series of mechanistic steps that reveal a surprising answer -- the key to LPS' promoting or preventing the allergic reaction lies in the allergen itself. |
| Toward a more inclusive definition of green infrastructure Posted: 05 Jan 2022 08:14 AM PST A new nationwide analysis of 122 plans from 20 US cities found that many plans fail to explicitly define green infrastructure. When they do, they tend to focus on stormwater management, favoring engineered facilities over parks and larger urban green spaces. The study is the first systematic review of the use and definition of the green infrastructure concept in US city plans. |
| Can we go from scarface to scarless? Posted: 05 Jan 2022 08:14 AM PST Researchers examined skin regeneration over two years in various body parts of the adult newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster. Their wounds were very quickly healed over several days without prolonged inflammation. Because of this rapid healing, granulation/dermal fibrosis, and therefore scarring, did not occur. The skin was able to fully regenerate. These findings provide evidence that this newt species may be an ideal model system to study and prevent scar formation in human skin. |
| Posted: 05 Jan 2022 08:14 AM PST A trial found that taking a much higher dose of vitamin D than recommended for five years did not affect total mortality or the incidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer in older men and women. |
| New research shows gene exchange between viruses and hosts drives evolution Posted: 05 Jan 2022 08:14 AM PST The first comprehensive analysis of viral horizontal gene transfer (HGT) illustrates the extent to which viruses pick up genes from their hosts to hone their infection process, while at the same time hosts also co-opt useful viral genes. |
| Superbug MRSA arose in hedgehogs long before clinical use of antibiotics Posted: 05 Jan 2022 08:14 AM PST Scientists have found evidence that a type of the antibiotic resistant superbug MRSA arose in nature long before the use of antibiotics in humans and livestock, which has traditionally been blamed for its emergence. Hedgehogs carry a fungus and a bacteria on their skin, and the two are locked in a battle for survival. The fungus secretes antibiotics to kill the bacteria, but in response the bacteria has evolved antibiotic resistance -- becoming Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Up to 60% of hedgehogs carry a type of MRSA called mecC-MRSA, which causes 1 in 200 of all MRSA infections in humans. Natural biological processes, not antibiotic use, drove the initial emergence of this superbug on hedgehogs around 200 years ago. |
| A novel compound might defeat multidrug-resistant bacteria common in hospitals Posted: 05 Jan 2022 08:13 AM PST Increasingly, hospitalized patients contract infections that evade current antibiotics including colistin, long used as a last treatment option. The discovery of a new colistin variant might make it possible to outmaneuver these pathogens. |
| The first topological acoustic transistor Posted: 05 Jan 2022 08:13 AM PST Researchers have designed and simulated the first topological acoustic transistors -- with sound waves instead of electrons -- and proposed a connection architecture to form a universal logic gate that can switch the flow of sound on and off. |
| Deforestation increases risk of flash flooding in fast-growing West African coastal cities Posted: 05 Jan 2022 07:32 AM PST Research has revealed frequent storm activity in coastal areas is a previously unrecognized way in which deforestation can increase flooding. The study found the frequency of thunderstorms in some fast-growing African coastal cities has doubled over the past 30 years, with much of this increase linked to the impact of deforestation on the local climate. |
| Earth isn’t 'super' because the sun had rings before planets Posted: 05 Jan 2022 07:32 AM PST Before the solar system had planets, the sun had rings -- bands of dust and gas similar to Saturn's rings -- that likely played a role in Earth's formation, according to a new study. |
| Adult epilepsy treatment reduces seizures in children Posted: 05 Jan 2022 07:32 AM PST A surgical treatment commonly used to reduce epileptic seizures in adults also is effective and safe for children, according to a new study. The study is one of the first to investigate responsive neurostimulation system (RNS)--a device similar to a pacemaker that sends electric charges to the heart, which delivers stimulation directly to the brain when needed to prevent seizures--in children. |
| Climate change could lead to power outages, higher power costs on west coast of US Posted: 05 Jan 2022 07:32 AM PST Two studies project the future of power supply and demand on the West Coast under different scenarios: one under climate change and another where power sources shift toward renewables and the climate follows historic trends. |
| Researchers urge: 'Prescribe aspirin based on benefit-to-risk not age' Posted: 05 Jan 2022 06:45 AM PST Recent guidelines have restricted aspirin use in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease to patients under 70, and more recent guidance to patients under 60. Yet, the risks of heart attacks and strokes increase markedly with age. Researchers urge that to do the most good for the most patients in primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes, health care providers should make individual clinical judgements about prescribing aspirin on a case-by-case basis and based on benefit-to-risk not age. They conducted an updated meta-analysis, which adds the results of the four recent trials to the previous comprehensive meta-analysis of six earlier major trials, and aspirin produced a statistically significant 13 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease with similar benefits at older ages in each of the individual trials. |
| New target may help protect bones as we age Posted: 05 Jan 2022 06:45 AM PST Drugs we take like prednisone can weaken our bones and so can aging, and scientists working to prevent both have some of the first evidence that the best target may not be the logical one. They are finding that in aging bone, the mineralocorticoid receptor, better known for its role in blood pressure regulation, is a key factor in bone health. |
| Suppressing the Auger recombination process in quantum dots Posted: 05 Jan 2022 06:45 AM PST Quantum Dot (QD) is a nanometer-sized semiconductor nanocrystal that has unique optical properties such as the ability to emit light in the range of optical frequencies depending on its size. QDs have already been applied to practical optoelectronic applications including light-emitting displays, solar cells, photodetectors, and lasers. |
| Ancient Maya lessons on surviving drought Posted: 05 Jan 2022 06:45 AM PST A new study casts doubt on drought as the driver of ancient Mayan civilization collapse. |
| System recognizes hand gestures to expand computer input on a keyboard Posted: 05 Jan 2022 06:44 AM PST Researchers are developing a new technology that uses hand gestures to carry out commands on computers. |
| How oral bacteria suppress protection against viral growth Posted: 05 Jan 2022 06:43 AM PST Researchers have discovered details of how proteins produced by oral epithelial cells protect humans against viruses entering the body through the mouth. They also found that oral bacteria can suppress the activity of these cells, increasing vulnerability to infection. |
| Study reveals more hostile conditions on Earth as life evolved Posted: 04 Jan 2022 04:25 PM PST During long portions of the past 2.4 billion years, the Earth may have been more 'inhospitable' to life than scientists previously thought, according to new computer simulations. Using a state-of-the-art climate model, researchers now believe the level of ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching the Earth's surface could have been underestimated, with UV levels being up to ten times higher. |
| Mass die-off of Magellanic penguins seen during 2019 heat wave Posted: 04 Jan 2022 01:34 PM PST In 2019, researchers witnessed the consequences of an extreme heat event at Punta Tombo in Argentina, one of the world's largest breeding colonies for Magellanic penguins. On Jan. 19, temperatures at the site spiked in the shade to 44 C, or 111.2 F, killing at least 354 penguins. Nearly three-quarters of the penguins that died were adults, many of which likely died of dehydration, based on postmortem analyses. |
| Plasma-based engineering creates contact-killing, antifouling, drug-release surfaces Posted: 04 Jan 2022 09:36 AM PST Conventional wet-chemistry methods used to create biocidal materials are complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Researchers present a tutorial in which they explore a promising alternative called plasma-enabled surface engineering. The technology relies on nonequilibrium plasma that produces chemical reactions to change the properties at the material surface. Reactions can be manipulated by adjusting electric power for surface activation, coating deposition, and surface nanostructuring of virtually any solid material. |
| Custom finger clip offers a new way to measure blood pressure, other vitals Posted: 04 Jan 2022 09:35 AM PST Monitoring a person's blood pressure on a regular basis can help health care professionals with early detection of various health problems such as high blood pressure, which has no warning signs or symptoms. However, many things can alter an accurate blood pressure reading, including a patient's nervousness about having their blood pressure taken at a doctor's office, otherwise known as 'white coat syndrome.' Now, researchers are customizing a commercial finger clip device to provide a rapid, noninvasive way for measuring and continually monitoring blood pressure. The device can also simultaneously measure four additional vital signs -- heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, body temperature and respiratory rate. |
| One autoimmune disease could lead to another Posted: 04 Jan 2022 09:35 AM PST Researchers have discovered that having one kind of autoimmune disease can lead to another. |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2022 09:06 AM PST Medical experts have developed a new pre-clinical gene therapy for a rare disorder, known as limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) 2B, that addresses the primary cellular deficit associated with this disease. Using a single injection of a low dose gene therapy vector, researchers restored the ability of injured muscle fibers to repair in a way that reduced muscle degeneration and enhanced the functioning of the diseased muscle. The treatment was safe, attenuated fibro-fatty muscle degeneration, and restored myofiber size and muscle strength, according to a new study. |
| How plants respond to heat stress Posted: 04 Jan 2022 09:06 AM PST Plants, like other organisms, can be severely affected by heat stress. To increase their chances of survival, they activate the heat shock response, a molecular pathway also employed by human and animal cells for stress protection. Researchers have now discovered that plant steroid hormones can promote this response in plants. |
| Sustainable silk material for biomedical, optical, food supply applications Posted: 04 Jan 2022 08:22 AM PST Researchers discuss the properties of silk and recent and future applications of the material. It has been used in drug delivery and is ideal for wearable and implantable health monitoring sensors. Silk is also useful in optics and electronics and more recently has come to the forefront of sustainability research. The use of silk coatings may also reduce food waste, which is a significant component of the global carbon footprint. |
| Can a goldfish drive a car on land? Posted: 04 Jan 2022 08:22 AM PST Are animals' innate navigational abilities universal or are they restricted to their home environments? Researchers designed a set of wheels under a goldfish tank with a camera system to record and translate the fish's movements into forward and back and side to side directions to the wheels. By doing so, they discovered that a goldfish's navigational ability supersedes its watery environs. |
| Resolving the black hole ‘fuzzball or wormhole’ debate Posted: 04 Jan 2022 08:22 AM PST Black holes really are giant fuzzballs, a new study says. The study attempts to put to rest the debate over Stephen Hawking's famous information paradox, the problem created by Hawking's conclusion that any data that enters a black hole can never leave. This conclusion accorded with the laws of thermodynamics, but opposed the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. |
| New route for regulating blood sugar levels independent of insulin Posted: 04 Jan 2022 08:22 AM PST The discovery of insulin 100 years ago opened a door that would lead to life and hope for millions of people with diabetes. Ever since then, insulin, produced in the pancreas, has been considered the primary means of treating conditions characterized by high blood sugar (glucose), such as diabetes. Now, scientists have discovered a second molecule, produced in fat tissue, that, like insulin, also potently and rapidly regulates blood glucose. Their finding could lead to the development of new therapies for treating diabetes, and also lays the foundation for promising new avenues in metabolism research. |
| First time genome editing made possible on cells lining blood vessel walls Posted: 04 Jan 2022 08:22 AM PST Researchers have developed a unique nanoparticle to deliver genome editing technology, including CRISPR/Cas9, to endothelial cells, which are cells that line blood vessel walls. This is the first time that vascular endothelial cells could be reached for genome editing, since the usual way to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 -- through a virus -- does not work for this cell type. |
| Babies born during pandemic's first year score slightly lower on a developmental screening test Posted: 04 Jan 2022 08:22 AM PST Babies born during the pandemic's first year -- even to moms who did not have COVID during pregnancy -- scored lower on a screening test of social and motor skills compared to pre-pandemic babies, according to a new study. |
| Solving the disappearance of bears and lions with ancient DNA Posted: 04 Jan 2022 07:26 AM PST Researchers suggest a change in climate is the likely cause of the mysterious disappearance of ancient lions and bears from parts of North America for a thousand years or more prior to the last Ice Age. |
| Revitalizing batteries by bringing 'dead' lithium back to life Posted: 04 Jan 2022 06:56 AM PST Scientists brought islands of "dead" lithium back to life by making them creep worms to reconnect with their electrodes in next-gen lithium metal batteries. This extended battery life by nearly 30%. |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2022 06:56 AM PST Scientists are calling for changes to healthcare policy following research which has shown for the first time the scale of the impact of a condition associated with benign tumors that can lead to type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Up to 10 per cent of adults have a benign tumor, or lump, known as an 'adrenal incidentaloma' in their adrenals -- glands situated on top of the kidneys which produce a variety of hormones. |
| New light shed on potentially damaging effects of standard heart attack treatment Posted: 04 Jan 2022 06:56 AM PST A new study is challenging standard treatment methods used to prevent muscle damage during heart attack. |
| Climate change, invasive species drive native trout declines Posted: 04 Jan 2022 06:56 AM PST Researchers have found that climate change drives native trout declines by reducing stream habitat and facilitating the expansion of invasive trout species. |
| Inverted order: The direction of your DNA may be as important as which parent it came from Posted: 04 Jan 2022 06:55 AM PST Researchers generated mice with a specific DNA sequence inverted to determine if orientation affects expression of a gene called H19. Expression can also be impacted if the surrounding DNA is altered by a process called methylation. Interestingly, methylation was only relevant when the inverted sequence was inherited from the father. When inherited from the mother, the inversion had the opposite effect on H19 expression, suggesting a more complex mechanism is at play. |
| Predator interactions chiefly determine where Prochlorococcus thrive Posted: 03 Jan 2022 02:22 PM PST Where the microbe Prochlorococcus lives is not determined primarily by temperature, as previously thought. A study finds a relationship with a shared predator actually sets the microbe's range. The findings could help scientists predict how Prochlorococcus populations will shift with climate change. |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2022 11:56 AM PST Why the sun's corona reaches temperatures of several million degrees Celsius is one of the great mysteries of solar physics. A 'hot' trail to explain this effect leads to a region of the solar atmosphere just below the corona, where sound waves and certain plasma waves travel at the same speed. In an experiment using the molten alkali metal rubidium and pulsed high magnetic fields, researchers have developed a laboratory model and experimentally confirmed the theoretically predicted behavior of these plasma waves. |
| Lymphoma cell metabolism may provide new cancer target Posted: 03 Jan 2022 11:56 AM PST Aggressive and relatively common lymphomas called diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) have a critical metabolic vulnerability that can be exploited to trick these cancers into starving themselves, according to a new study. |
| Choline during pregnancy impacts children’s sustained attention Posted: 03 Jan 2022 11:55 AM PST Seven-year-old children performed better on a challenging task requiring sustained attention if their mothers consumed twice the recommended amount of choline during their pregnancy, a new study has found. |
| When mom talks, are infants with ASD listening? Posted: 03 Jan 2022 11:55 AM PST Researchers pinpoint the regions of the brain and neural mechanisms responsible for normal or impaired development of a child's response to baby talk and why infants with autism do not typically respond well. |
| Anthropologists study the energetics of uniquely human subsistence strategies Posted: 03 Jan 2022 11:55 AM PST Among our closest living relatives -- the great apes -- we humans are unique: We have larger brains, reproduce more quickly and have longer life spans. These traits are obviously valuable, but the extra energy required to sustain them is quite significant. So how did we manage to afford them? |
| Gene involved in sense of smell could play a role in the spread of breast cancer to the brain Posted: 03 Jan 2022 11:54 AM PST An olfactory receptor typically associated with the sense of smell may also trigger breast cancer cells to metastasize through a signaling pathway to the brain, bones and lung. Future research could potentially lead to an inhibitor of OR5B21 to prevent cellular invasion and metastasis, thus prolonging the lives of breast cancer patients. |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2022 09:17 AM PST Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had significantly increased levels of oxidative stress and oxidant damage, and markedly reduced levels of glutathione, the most abundant physiological antioxidant, according to a new study. |
| Researchers develop a model of yeast nuclear pore complex Posted: 03 Jan 2022 09:17 AM PST Using rapid plunge freezing and cryo-EM (electron microscopy) with computational methods, researchers have produced a comprehensive model of the yeast NPC (nuclear pore complex) which reveals the interconnected architecture of its core scaffold. |
| New method to complete genetic data Posted: 03 Jan 2022 09:17 AM PST Genome sequencing is now much cheaper than it was, but still accounts for a large part of the costs in animal and plant breeding. One trick to reduce these costs is to sequence only a very small and randomly selected part of the genome and to complete the remaining gaps using mathematical and statistical techniques. Researchers have developed a new approach to do this. |
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