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| Soaking up the sun: Artificial photosynthesis promises clean, sustainable source of energy Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:23 AM PDT Humans can do lots of things that plants can't do. But plants have one major advantage over humans: They can make energy directly from the sun. That process of turning sunlight directly into usable energy - called photosynthesis - may soon be a feat humans are able to mimic to harness the sun's energy for clean, storable, efficient fuel. If so, it could open a whole new frontier of clean energy. |
| Shrinking to survive: Bacteria adapt to a lifestyle in flux Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:23 AM PDT E. coli adapt to survive sudden starvation. Biologists showed that when E. coli cells lack nutrients, the cytoplasm becomes more dense as its volume decreases, probably because of water loss. At the same time, the periplasm increases in volume as the inner membrane pulls away from the outer membrane. |
| Researchers can turn a single photo into a video Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:23 AM PDT Researchers have developed a deep learning method that can produce a seamlessly looping, realistic looking video from a single photo. |
| For transplant recipients, third time may be the charm for better COVID vaccine protection Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:23 AM PDT In a new study, researchers say they believe that, for the first time, there is evidence to show that three doses of vaccine increase antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID 19 -- more than the standard two-dose regimen for people who have received solid organ transplants. |
| Scientists make highly maneuverable miniature robots controlled by magnetic fields Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT A team of scientists has developed millimeter-sized robots that can be controlled using magnetic fields to perform highly maneuverable and dexterous manipulations. This could pave the way to possible future applications in biomedicine and manufacturing. |
| Not acting like themselves: Antidepressants in environment alter crayfish behavior Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT Expose crayfish to antidepressants, and they become more outgoing -- but that might not be such a positive thing for these freshwater crustaceans, according to a new study. |
| New treatment stops progression of Alzheimer's disease in monkey brains Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT A new therapy prompts immune defense cells to swallow misshapen proteins, amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles, whose buildup is known to kill nearby brain cells as part of Alzheimer's disease, a new study shows. |
| Use of PFAS in cosmetics 'widespread,' new study finds Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT Many cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada likely contain high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a potentially toxic class of chemicals linked to a number of serious health conditions, according to new research. |
| Stem cell scientists make big progress in building mini-kidneys Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT Researchers have created what could be a key building block for assembling a synthetic kidney. They describe how they generate rudimentary kidney structures, known as organoids, that resemble the collecting duct system that helps maintain the body's fluid and pH balance by concentrating and transporting urine. The organoids provide a way to study kidney disease that could lead to new treatments and regenerative approaches for patients. |
| Snails carrying the world's smallest computer help solve mass extinction survivor mystery Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT More than 50 species of tree snail in the South Pacific Society Islands were wiped out following the introduction of an alien predatory snail in the 1970s, but the white-shelled Partula hyalina survived. |
| Head impacts linked to imaging changes in youth football players Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT With pre-season football training on the horizon, a new study shows that head impacts experienced during practice are associated with changes in brain imaging of young players over multiple seasons. |
| Rapid exclusion of COVID-19 infection using AI, EKG technology Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT Artificial intelligence (AI) may offer a way to accurately determine that a person is not infected with COVID-19. An international retrospective study finds that infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, creates subtle electrical changes in the heart. An AI-enhanced EKG can detect these changes and potentially be used as a rapid, reliable COVID-19 screening test to rule out COVID-19 infection. |
| Human-driven climate change only half the picture for krill Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT New research about the fate of krill -- one of the most abundant species on Earth -- during this century has important implications for not only the Antarctic food web, but for the largest commercial fishery in the Southern Ocean. |
| Common cold combats COVID-19, study finds Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT In a new study, the researchers found that the common respiratory virus jump-starts the activity of interferon-stimulated genes, early-response molecules in the immune system which can halt replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus within airway tissues infected with the cold. |
| Combining classical and quantum computing opens door to new discoveries Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a new and more efficient computing method for pairing the reliability of a classical computer with the strength of a quantum system. |
| Adults who skip morning meal likely to miss out on nutrients Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT Adults who skip breakfast are likely to miss out on key nutrients that are most abundant in the foods that make up morning meals, a new study suggests. |
| Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT What exactly triggers a sneeze? A team has identified, in mice, specific cells and proteins that control the sneeze reflex. Better understanding of what causes us to sneeze -- specifically how neurons behave in response to allergens and viruses -- may point to treatments capable of slowing the spread of infectious respiratory diseases. |
| Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may boost babies' obesity risk Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:22 AM PDT New research shows pregnant women exposed to higher levels of air pollution have babies who grow unusually fast in the first months after birth, putting on excess fat that may put them at risk of obesity and related diseases later in life. |
| Baltic herring larvae appear earlier and grow faster due to climate change Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Conditions during Baltic herring spawning may have cascading effects on the whole Baltic ecosystem. |
| Cancer cells fight for their footing by using an aging gene Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT New results allow the development of novel therapies for hereditary forms of intestinal cancer. |
| Fungal spores from 250-year-old collections given new lease of life Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT The biological and historical diversity in museum collections is staggering, with specimens collected across centuries by some of the most famous scientists in history. In a new study, researchers successfully revived museal fungal specimens that were more than 250 years old and used the live cultures for whole genome sequencing and physiological experiments. |
| Obesity and hypertension: Researchers discover novel mechanisms Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded for the first time in demonstrating the role of hypothalamic astrocytes in obesity-related hypertension. In addition, they showed that the hormone leptin is involved in the increase of blood vessels in the hypothalamus of obese mice, contributing of hypertension. |
| Teenagers at greatest risk of self-harming could be identified almost a decade earlier Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Researchers have identified two subgroups of adolescents who self-harm and have shown that it is possible to predict those individuals at greatest risk almost a decade before they begin self-harming. |
| Bycatch risk for dolphins and porpoises in global small-scale fisheries Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Marine scientists assessed the risk posed by small-scale fisheries to all 72 species of toothed whales found throughout the world's oceans. They found that this risk was highest in the Central Indo-Pacific, Temperate Northern Pacific, Temperate South America and the Western Indo-Pacific. |
| Main gland in hormonal system ages due to process that can potentially be slowed down Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Stem cell biologist have discovered that the pituitary gland in mice ages as the result of an age-related form of chronic inflammation. It may be possible to slow down this process or even partially repair it. |
| Untapped rice varieties could sustain crop supplies in face of climate change Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Local rice varieties in Vietnam could be used to help breed improved crops with higher resilience to climate change, according to a new study. Researchers are aiming to identify varieties that can survive an increasingly unpredictable climate. |
| Small streams in agricultural ecosystems are heavily polluted with pesticides Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Pesticides safeguard agricultural yields by controlling insects, fungi, and weeds. However, they also enter streams and damage the aquatic communities. In a nationwide monitoring program, scientists have shown that the governmental thresholds for pesticides are generally too high and that these levels are still exceeded in over 80% of water bodies. The loss of biodiversity can only be halted if the environmental risk assessment of pesticides is revised. |
| Why some COVID-19 patients develop life-threatening clots Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Scientists have identified how and why some COVID-19 patients can develop life-threatening clots, which could lead to targeted therapies that prevent this from happening. |
| Heat from below: How the ocean is wearing down the Arctic sea ice Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT The influx of warmer water masses from the North Atlantic into the European marginal seas plays a significant role in the marked decrease in sea-ice growth, especially in winter. |
| Receptor location plays a key role in their function Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Research teams have identified, for the first time, where special receptors are located on heart muscle cells. Their findings open up new perspectives for developing therapies for chronic heart failure. |
| New evidence of early SARS-CoV-2 infections in the United States Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT A new antibody testing study examining samples originally collected through the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in five states earlier than had initially been reported. |
| COVID-19 reinfection rate less than 1 percent for those with severe illness, study finds Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT A review of more than 9,000 US patients with severe COVID-19 infection showed less than 1 percent contracted the illness again, with an average reinfection time of 3.5 months after an initial positive test. |
| Plants use a blend of external influences to evolve defense mechanisms Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:21 AM PDT Plants evolve specialized defense chemicals through the combined effects of genes, geography, demography and environmental conditions. |
| Rarest bee genus in North America is not so rare after all Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:20 AM PDT Canadian researchers have discovered that a bee thought to be rarest in North America, as the only representative of its genus, is no more than an unusual specimen of a widespread species. They have reclassified the mystery bee, collected in Nevada in the 1870s, as an aberrant specimen of the California digger-cuckoo bee, a cleptoparasitic bee, with females that lay eggs in the nests of digger bees. |
| Healthy fat impacted by change in diet and circadian clock Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:20 AM PDT Changing your eating habits or altering your circadian clock can impact healthy fat tissue throughout your lifespan, according to a preclinical study. |
| New AI model helps understand virus spread from animals to humans Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:20 AM PDT A new model that applies artificial intelligence to carbohydrates improves the understanding of the infection process and could help predict which viruses are likely to spread from animals to humans. |
| From symmetry to asymmetry: The two sides of life Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:15 AM PDT Researchers used innovative imaging techniques to demonstrate symmetric collective alignment of nuclei in the muscle cells of the anterior midgut of the Drosophila embryo. This 'collective nuclear behavior' further influences bilateral asymmetry in the development of internal organs. A clear understanding of the factors that influence the shape and location of viscera will help inform future research into experimental, and eventually therapeutic, organ regeneration technology. |
| New research finds 1M early deaths in 2017 attributable to fossil fuel combustion Posted: 14 Jun 2021 03:56 PM PDT An international team of researchers has determined what sources contribute to pollution and the health effects they have on global, regional and smaller scales. |
| Harmful protein waste in the muscle Posted: 14 Jun 2021 12:40 PM PDT An international research team identified the cause of a rare muscle disease. According to these findings, a single spontaneously occurring mutation results in the muscle cells no longer being able to correctly break down defective proteins. The condition causes severe heart failure in children, accompanied by skeletal and respiratory muscle damage. The study also highlights experimental approaches for potential treatment. Whether this hope will be fulfilled, however, will only become clear in a few years. |
| Biodiversity 'hotspots' imperiled along California's streams Posted: 14 Jun 2021 12:39 PM PDT A study of woodland ecosystems that provide habitat for rare, endangered species along streams, rivers throughout California reveals some ecologically important areas are inadvertently benefiting from water humans are diverting for their own needs. Though it seems a short-term boon to these ecosystems, the artificial supply creates an unintended dependence on its bounty, threatens the long-term survival of natural communities and spotlights the need for changes in the way water is managed across the state. |
| Early migrations of Siberians to America tracked using bacterial population structures Posted: 14 Jun 2021 12:39 PM PDT Early migrations of humans to the Americas from Siberia around 12,000 years ago have been traced using the bacteria they carried by an international team. |
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