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A microbial compound in the gut leads to anxious behaviors in mice Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:12 AM PST A new study shows how a particular molecule, produced by gut bacteria, affects brain function and promotes anxiety-like behaviors in mice. |
New method for stimulating signaling to improve metabolic health and possibly treat obesity Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:12 AM PST Following up on a 2018 study that identified an epigenetic modifier known as histone deacetylase 11 (HDAC11) as a potential therapeutic target for treating obesity and diabetes, researchers have published new research that finds HDAC11 regulates G protein-coupled receptors. |
How galaxies can exist without dark matter Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:12 AM PST Astrophysicists report how, when tiny galaxies collide with bigger ones, the bigger galaxies can strip the smaller galaxies of their dark matter -- matter that we can't see directly, but which astrophysicists think must exist because, without its gravitational effects, they couldn't explain things like the motions of a galaxy's stars. |
'Math neurons' identified in the brain Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:12 AM PST The brain has neurons that fire specifically during certain mathematical operations. The findings indicate that some of the neurons detected are active exclusively during additions, while others are active during subtractions. They respond in the same manner whether the calculation instruction is written down as a word or a symbol. |
Decolonize research to save heritage threatened by climate change Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Climate change threatens to destroy invaluable heritage sites and traditions in marginalized countries -- but empowering local people is key to adaptation. Locally led research and more equitable research funding are needed to address the true potential loss and damage to heritage from climate change, researchers argue. |
DisCo: Boosting the efficiency of single-cell RNA sequencing Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Bioengineershave found a way to radically increase the efficiency of single-cell RNA-sequencing, a powerful tool that can 'read' the genetic profile of an individual cell. |
Cell groups push, rather than pull, themselves into place as organs form and cancers spread Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST A new study found in a living embryo that the back ends of moving cell groups push the group forward, with implications for how organs form and cancer spreads. |
Transient BP spikes coupled to learning in brain Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Minor everyday rises in blood pressure due to short-term stressors can be linked to a brain area that controls conscious and learned motor skills. This discovery paves the way for a chance to influence the rises in blood pressure and, in the long run, prevent hypertension. |
Mapping the quantum future with smart TV technology Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Scientists have created the first ever 2D map of the Overhauser field in organic LEDs, shedding light on the challenges we face in designing accurate quantum-based technologies. |
Quest for quantum materials through better measurement of quantum entanglement Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST A research team has developed a new algorithm to measure entanglement entropy, advancing the exploration of more comprehensive laws in quantum mechanics, a move closer towards actualization of application of quantum materials. |
'Amazing' nanoparticles from maize: A potent and economical anti-cancer therapeutic Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Nanomaterials have revolutionized the world of cancer therapy, and plant-derived nanoparticles have the added advantage of being cost-effective and easy to mass produce. Researchers have recently developed novel corn-derived bionanoparticles for targeting cancer cells directly, via an immune mechanism. The results are encouraging, and the technique has demonstrated efficacy in treating tumor-bearing laboratory mice. Moreover, no serious adverse effects have been reported in mice so far. |
Satellite imagery gives researchers timeline of when swine waste lagoons were built Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Researchers have developed an automated technique that uses satellite imagery to determine when swine waste lagoons were constructed, allowing researchers to determine the extent to which these facilities may have affected environmental quality. |
Disorder-engineered inorganic nanocrystals set a new efficiency record for ultrathin solar cells Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:17 AM PST Researchers report on a novel disorder-engineering technique for inorganic solar cells that achieves a record-breaking power conversion efficiency. |
Blood levels of common antiepileptic drugs drop during pregnancy, causing breakthrough seizures Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:17 AM PST Blood levels of many commonly used antiepileptic drugs drop dramatically with the onset of pregnancy, report researchers. |
DNA testing exposes tactics of international criminal networks trafficking elephant ivory Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:17 AM PST Scientists have used genetic testing of ivory shipments seized by law enforcement to uncover the international criminal networks behind ivory trafficking out of Africa. The genetic connections across shipments that they've uncovered exposes an even higher degree of organization among ivory smuggling networks than previously known. The article incorporates results from DNA testing of more than 4,000 African elephant tusks from 49 different ivory seizures made in 12 African nations over a 17-year period. |
Nuclear power may be the key to least-cost, zero-emission electricity systems Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:17 AM PST Nuclear power generation can play a crucial role in helping the world reach a key goal of zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, especially in countries with low wind resources, according to new work. |
Study reveals likely link between mitochondrial dysfunction and age-dependent cognitive disorders Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:58 AM PST Increased oxidative damage is linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Even though the pathophysiology of AD has been widely investigated, the likely relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and the disease remains largely unknown. A research team has now confirmed that AD progression is linked to oxidative brain damage, which impairs cognitive function in AD transgenic mice in an age-dependent manner. |
Fertility: A missing 'motor' causes our eggs to fail Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:58 AM PST Human eggs often contain the wrong number of chromosomes, leading to miscarriages and infertility. A research team has discovered that human eggs are missing an important protein, which acts as a molecular motor. This motor helps to stabilize the machinery that separates the chromosomes during cell division. The researchers' findings open up new avenues for therapeutic approaches that could reduce chromosome segregation errors in human eggs. Researchers essentially find a way to recapitulate spindle stability in human eggs. |
Study recommends six steps to improve our water quality Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:58 AM PST Nitrogen fertilizers are critical for growing crops to feed the world, yet when applied in excess can pollute our water for decades. A new study provides six steps to address nitrogen pollution and improve water quality. |
Helping the body overcome SARS-CoV-2 Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:57 AM PST Interferons are the host's first line of defense against infections. Different subtypes of these messenger substances have different effects. Researchers showed which subtypes are most effective against SARS-CoV-2. The researchers not only elucidated the principles underlying the host's defense mechanisms against the virus, but also presented potential alternative treatment options for high-risk patients in the early stages of an infection. |
Researchers find trove of proteins that may influence cystic fibrosis Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:57 AM PST Researchers have identified hundreds of new proteins that could play a role in cystic fibrosis, and which may shed light on why some patients respond better than others to current therapies. |
Cultivated and wild bananas in northern Viet Nam threatened by devastating fungal disease Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:57 AM PST For over 100 years, Fusarium, one of the most important fungal plant pathogens, has affected banana production worldwide. In Viet Nam, predictions on its impact are dramatic: an estimated loss in banana production area of up to 71% within the next 25 years. To find out what individual species are causing the Fusarium wilt among Vietnamese bananas, an international research team used DNA analyses and morphological characterization. |
A serendipitous finding lends new insight into how atopic dermatitis develops Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:56 AM PST New research reveals a mechanism behind the inflammation that is a feature of the common skin disease. |
Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:55 AM PST Within the next 30 years, a highly destructive Nankai Trough megathrust earthquake is predicted to hit southwest Japan. Understanding long-term slow slip events that occur along the plate interface between the subducting Philippine Sea plate and overriding Amurian plate under the Bungo Channel is essential for pinpointing when such an earthquake will happen. |
Posted: 12 Feb 2022 10:10 AM PST Bile duct cancer, also known as cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), is a rare cancer often diagnosed only at an advanced stage. A comprehensive analysis of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic aspects of over 2,200 patients in Europe now provides a valuable knowledge base for raising awareness and managing CCA to improve outcomes. |
Posted: 11 Feb 2022 01:13 PM PST A new study shows how two subsets of one type of immune cell -- the CD8 T cell -- develop to provide either short-term or long-term immune protection. The study focuses on one factor that guides that developmental bifurcation -- interleukin-2, or IL-2. |
Paris Climate Agreement goal still within reach, suggests new study Posted: 11 Feb 2022 01:13 PM PST A new study suggests some cautiously optimistic good news: The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement goal is still within reach, while apocalyptic, worst-case scenarios are no longer plausible. |
Exercise post-vaccine bumps up antibodies, new study finds Posted: 11 Feb 2022 01:13 PM PST A study found people who cycled on a stationary bike or took a brisk walk for an hour-and-a-half after getting a flu shot or COVID-19 jab produced more antibodies in the following four weeks compared to participants who sat or continued with their daily routine post-immunization. |
New clues in the brain linking pain and food Posted: 11 Feb 2022 01:13 PM PST Researchers may have found an explanation in a new study that suggests that circuitry in the brain responsible for motivation and pleasure is impacted when someone experiences pain. |
Study shows waning effectiveness of third dose of mRNA vaccines Posted: 11 Feb 2022 01:13 PM PST A new study shows that immunity against severe COVID-19 disease begins to wane 4 months after receipt of the third dose of an mRNA vaccine. Waning immunity was observed during both the Delta and Omicron variant waves in similar fashion to how mRNA vaccine effectiveness wanes after a second dose. Although protection decreased with time, a third dose was still highly effective at preventing severe illness with COVID-19. |
Diabetes, metabolic syndrome in mice treated with novel class of compounds Posted: 11 Feb 2022 01:12 PM PST Researchers have shown, in mice, that a new class of compounds they developed can improve several aspects of metabolic syndrome. Such conditions often lead to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. |
Researchers call for greater clarity over what constitutes ‘a mental health problem’ Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:27 AM PST A systematic review has uncovered a plethora of models used to understand mental health problems with ramifications for how people are assessed and supported. |
Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:27 AM PST Researchers describe the development of a user-centered virtual reality system using head-mounted display and hand-tracking technology to engage stroke survivors with spatial neglect in intensive, repetitive therapy. |
Endangered delicacy: Tropical sea cucumbers in trouble Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:27 AM PST Overharvest has put the Great Barrier Reef's tropical sea cucumber populations in peril, researchers have revealed, with strong demand for this delicacy from East and Southeast Asia. |
New species of marine plankton discovered, an overlooked source of nutrients in the oceans Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:27 AM PST A team of researchers has discovered two new and unusual species of diatoms in the waters off Hawai'i. The organisms were also found to fix nitrogen, a critical process that supports productivity in the nutrient-poor open ocean they inhabit. |
Robots that can check your blood pressure Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:27 AM PST Scientists are empowering small, humanoid-sensing robots to take a patient's blood pressure -- using only a simple touch. |
Writing is not present in all 'complex' societies, but it can signal inequality Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:27 AM PST For a long time, anthropologists believed that a written language was a hallmark of a society being complex or 'advanced.' A new study on precolonial Mesoamerican societies shows that you can have a society with a big population and a complex government without a writing system. However, societies with writing systems tended to be less egalitarian than ones without. |
Cellular tornadoes sculpt our organs Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST How are the different shapes of our organs and tissues generated? To answer this question, a team forced muscle cells to spontaneously reproduce simple shapes in vitro. By confining them on adhesion discs, the biochemists and physicists observed that the cells rapidly self-organize by aligning themselves in the same direction. A circular motion is created around a vortex -- called a topological defect -- which, by orienting the cells, allows them to join forces, deforming the cell monolayer into a protrusion, a structure commonly observed in embryo development. This cylindrical protrusion is maintained by the collective rotational forces of the cells, creating a tornado-like effect. The formation of these cellular tornadoes would therefore constitute a simple mechanism of spontaneous morphogenesis, dictated by the unique properties of multicellular assemblies. |
Solar and wind power are key to decarbonizing Switzerland Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST How can we reduce the carbon footprint of electricity consumption in Switzerland? The country relies on electricity imports from fossil fuel power plants, which are major emitters of greenhouse gases. |
7 to 9 percent of all European vascular plants are globally threatened, study finds Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Seven to nine percent of all vascular plant species occurring in Europe are globally threatened, according to a new study. Researchers combined Red Lists of endangered plant species in Europe with data on their global distribution. |
Electron conspiracy in a Japanese lattice pattern: Kagome metals baffle science Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Toward a new kind of superconductivity: In the past four years scientists have discovered metals whose crystal structure mimics that of a traditional Japanese woven bamboo pattern: kagome metals. The international research activity in this new direction of quantum materials has recently reached a new climax: an international team of physicists has discovered that the underlying kagome lattice structure induces the joint appearance of intricate quantum phenomena which can lead to an unprecedented type of superconductivity. |
Machine learning outperforms clinical experts in classifying hip fractures Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST A new machine learning process designed to identify and classify hip fractures has been shown to outperform human clinicians. Two convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were able to identify and classify hip fractures from X-rays with a 19% greater degree of accuracy and confidence than hospital-based clinicians. |
Colonic gene mapping gives insights into intestinal diseases Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Using a technique called spatial transcriptomics, researchers have analyzed the gene expression in the mouse colon and created a map showing where in the tissue individual genes are expressed. When they superimposed previously known human transcription data onto the map, the researchers gained new insights into inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). |
The secret hideouts of ovarian cancer revealed Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Researchers discovered how ovarian cancer hides from the body's immune system. The findings will help develop novel precision therapies for ovarian cancer, a common and aggressive cancer type. |
Distant galaxies and the true nature of dark matter Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST In conflict with the current prevailing theory used to describe the universe, a new study suggests the existence of a direct interaction between the elementary particles that make up the dark matter halo and those that make up ordinary matter. |
Chemotherapy or not? Physicists study gene expression tests Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Following surgery, patients with breast cancer are faced with the question of whether additional chemotherapy is necessary and really effective. It is important that these women do not receive too much treatment -- but not too little treatment either. Physicists modeled the gene expression tests and examined their usefulness on the basis of these models. |
Graphene spintronics: 1D contacts improve mobility in nano-scale devices Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Researchers may have cleared a significant hurdle on the path to quantum computing, demonstrating step-change improvements in the spin transport characteristics of nanoscale graphene-based electronic devices. |
Molecular mechanism of cerebral venous thrombosis discovered Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Cerebral venous thrombosis is a rare, often severe disease that has been brought to public attention by the COVID-19 pandemic. A research group has now succeeded for the first time in deciphering a molecular cause of this disease. This opens the way to new therapeutic approaches. |
Eye provides clues to insidious vascular disease Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Researchers have developed a method that could be used to diagnose atherosclerosis. Using self-learning software, they were able to identify vascular changes in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), often at an early stage. Although these early stages do not yet cause symptoms, they are nevertheless already associated with increased mortality. The algorithm used photos from an organ not normally associated with PAD: the eye. |
New computer vision system designed to analyse cells in microscopy videos Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:26 AM PST Researchers have developed a system based on computer vision techniques that allows automatic analysis of biomedical videos captured by microscopy in order to characterize and describe the behavior of the cells that appear in the images. |
How El Niño and drought affected the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:25 AM PST The oceanic phenomenon El Niño significantly affected the number of enslaved Africans transported from West Africa to the Americas between the mid-1600s and mid-1800s, according to a new study. The study bridges atmospheric science with African history, carrying lessons for a warming future. It found that, much like tree rings and corals, El Niño can be used as a proxy for historical rainfall and temperature patterns in West Africa. |
Strong and elastic, yet degradable: protein-based bioplastics Posted: 11 Feb 2022 07:20 AM PST More than eight million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year -- a serious danger for the environment and health. Biodegradable bioplastics could provide an alternative. A research team has now introduced a new method for the production of protein-based plastics that are easily processable, biodegradable, and biocompatible, as well as having favorable mechanical properties. |
Novel wearable armband helps users of prosthetic hands to ‘get a grip’ Posted: 11 Feb 2022 05:06 AM PST A new study could be a game changer for users of prosthetic hands who have long awaited advances in dexterity. Researchers examined if people could precisely control the grip forces applied to two different objects grasped simultaneously with a dexterous artificial hand. They designed a multichannel wearable soft robotic armband to convey artificial sensations of touch to the robotic hand users. Subjects were able to successfully grasp and transport two objects simultaneously with the dexterous artificial hand without breaking or dropping them, even when their vision of both objects was obstructed. The study is the first to show the feasibility of this complex simultaneous control task while integrating multiple channels of haptic/touch sensation feedback noninvasively. |
Smartphone app can vibrate a single drop of blood to determine how well it clots Posted: 11 Feb 2022 05:06 AM PST Researchers have developed a new blood-clotting test that uses only a single drop of blood and a smartphone vibration motor and camera. |
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