Loading...
ScienceDaily: Latest Science News |
| Study challenges evolutionary theory that DNA mutations are random Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:15 AM PST Researchers have found that DNA mutations are not random. This changes our understanding of evolution and could one day help researchers breed better crops or even help humans fight cancer. |
| 1,000-light-year wide bubble surrounding Earth is source of all nearby, young stars Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:15 AM PST The Earth sits in a 1,000-light-year-wide void surrounded by thousands of young stars -- but how did those stars form? For the first time, astronomers have retraced the history of our galactic neighborhood, showing exactly how the young stars nearest to our solar system formed. |
| Earliest human remains in eastern Africa dated to more than 230,000 years ago Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:15 AM PST The age of the oldest fossils in eastern Africa widely recognized as representing our species, Homo sapiens, has long been uncertain. Now, dating of a massive volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reveals they are much older than previously thought. |
| Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:15 AM PST Economic growth goes down when the number of wet days and days with extreme rainfall go up, a team of scientists finds. Rich countries are most severely affected and herein the manufacturing and service sectors, according to their study. The data analysis of more than 1.500 regions over the past 40 years shows a clear connection and suggests that intensified daily rainfall driven by climate-change from burning oil and coal will harm the global economy. |
| Rubber material holds key to long-lasting, safer EV batteries Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:14 AM PST For electric vehicles (EVs) to become mainstream, they need cost-effective, safer, longer-lasting batteries that won't explode during use or harm the environment. Researchers may have found a promising alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries made from a common material: rubber. |
| Rugby ball-shaped exoplanet discovered Posted: 12 Jan 2022 08:01 AM PST With the help of the CHEOPS space telescope, an international team was able to detect the deformation of an exoplanet for the first time. Due to strong tidal forces, the appearance of the planet WASP-103b resembles a rugby ball rather than a sphere. |
| Why we feel confident about decisions we make Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST A team of researchers has shown for the first time that decisions feel right to us if we have compared the options as attentively as possible -- and if we are conscious of having done so. This requires a capacity for introspection. |
| Photon pairs are more sensitive to rotations than single photons Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST Quantum states of light have enabled novel optical sensing schemes, e.g., for measuring distance or position, with precisions impossible to achieve with classical light sources such as lasers. The field of quantum metrology has now been pushed even further as a team of researchers showed that photons that are engineered to be entangled in complex spatial structures have, due to quantum phenomena, an advantage for sensing the smallest rotations. The new method allows for more precise measurement than what could be achieved by conventional means. |
| Lymphoma: Key signaling pathway involved in tumor formation identified Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST There are myriad reasons why cancers develop. By studying genes which are altered in people with lymphoma, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has identified a key mechanism involved in disease development. This signaling pathway, which the researchers describe in detail, controls the repair of DNA damage. |
| Novel therapeutic target in multiple myeloma Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow, with a life expectancy of less than 5 years post-diagnosis. Proteasome inhibitors, the therapeutic backbone of current treatments, are very effective in treating newly diagnosed cancers but resistance or intolerance to these molecules inevitably develop, leading to relapses. While studying a neglected tropical disease , Buruli ulcer, researchers discovered a novel therapeutic target for multiple myeloma that could allow to bypass this resistance. |
| Alzheimer’s: Inflammatory markers are conspicuous at an early stage Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST Long before the onset of dementia, there is evidence for increased activity of the brain's immune system. Researchers from DZNE and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) come to this conclusion based on a study of more than 1,000 older adults. To this end, various proteins were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid: They served as so-called biomarkers that indicate inflammatory processes of the nervous system. As it turned out, some of these molecules seem to be part of a damage control program of the immune system, which could be useful for the development of new drugs. |
| New evidence of a gravitational wave background Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST The results of a comprehensive search for a background of ultra-low frequency gravitational waves has been announced by an international team of astronomers. |
| New study reveals how the lung's immune cells develop after birth Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST From our first breath, our lungs are exposed to microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses. Thanks to immune cells in the lungs, so-called macrophages, we are protected from most infections at an early age. Researchers now show how lung macrophages develop; new findings that can help to reduce organ damage and that are significant for the continued development of important lung disease treatments. |
| Long-term use of blood pressure drugs may cause kidney damage, study suggests Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:40 AM PST New kidney research is raising concerns that long-term use of ACE inhibitors and other drugs commonly prescribed to treat high-blood pressure and heart failure could be contributing to kidney damage. |
| To destroy cancer cells, team 'travels back in time' Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:40 AM PST When an individual suffers from cancer, the process of programmed cell death called apoptosis does not occur normally, permitting abnormal cells to thrive. |
| Chemical commonly found in consumer products may disrupt a hormone needed for healthy pregnancy Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:40 AM PST Exposure to phthalates -- a group of chemicals found in everything from plastics to personal care products to electronics -- may disrupt an important hormone needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy, according to a new study. The study has examined the impact that phthalates, added to plastics to increase flexibility, have on the placental corticotropin releasing hormone (pCRH) that is produced by the placenta and increases throughout the course of pregnancy. |
| Images of enzyme provide insights into cause of hereditary neurological disease Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:40 AM PST Researchers have produced the first molecular images of an enzyme that controls proteins to signal and communicate with each other in human cells. The discovery could help to solve the mystery cause of a rare group of hereditary neurodegenerative diseases linked to deregulation of this enzyme. |
| Learning through ‘guided’ play can be as effective as adult-led instruction up to at least age eight Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:40 AM PST Teaching younger children through 'guided' play supports key aspects of their learning and development at least as well - and sometimes better - than the traditional direct instruction they usually receive at school, a new analysis finds. Guided play broadly refers to playful educational activities which, although gently steered by an adult using open-ended questions and prompts, give children the freedom to explore a learning goal in their own way. The new study gathered data about the impact of this approach on 3,800 children aged three to eight. It found that guided play can be just as effective as more traditional methods of classroom instruction in the development of key literacy, numeracy and social skills - as well as the acquisition of executive functions (a cluster of essential thinking skills). The findings also suggest that children may master some skills - notably in maths - more effectively through guided play than via other methods. |
| Black hole at center of Milky Way unpredictable and chaotic Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:40 AM PST Researchers have found that the black hole at the center of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*, not only flares irregularly from day to day but also in the long term. |
| New findings may contribute to better diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:39 AM PST In a new study, researchers have identified the presence of a specific connection between a protein and an lncRNA molecule in liver cancer. By increasing the presence of the lncRNA molecule, the fat depots of the tumor cell decrease, which causes the division of tumor cells to cease, and they eventually die. The study contributes to increased knowledge that can add to a better diagnosis and future cancer treatments. |
| Clothes dryers are an underappreciated source of airborne microfibers Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:39 AM PST No one likes when their favorite clothes develop holes or unravel after many laundry cycles. But what happens to the fragments of fabric and stitching that come off? Although it's known that washing clothes releases microfibers into wastewater, it's unclear how drying impacts the environment. Now, a pilot study reports that a single dryer could discharge up to 120 million microfibers annually -- considerably more than from washing machines. |
| Tomato concentrate could help reduce chronic intestinal inflammation associated with HIV Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:39 AM PST New research in mice suggests that adding a certain type of tomato concentrate to the diet can reduce the intestinal inflammation that is associated with HIV. Left untreated, intestinal inflammation can accelerate arterial disease, which in turn can lead to heart attack and stroke. |
| Possibility of vaccine to prevent skin cancer Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:38 AM PST Research suggests that a vaccine stimulating production of a protein critical to the skin's antioxidant network could help people bolster their defenses against skin cancer. |
| Decoding inner language to treat speech disorders Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:37 AM PST What if it were possible to decode the internal language of individuals deprived of the ability to express themselves? Researchers have now managed to identify promising neural signals to capture our internal monologues. They were also able to identify the brain areas to be observed to try to decipher them in the future. |
| New treasure trove of globular clusters holds clues about galaxy evolution Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST Using observations of Centaurus A, a nearby elliptical galaxy, obtained with the Gaia space telescope and ground-based instruments under the PISCeS survey, a team of astronomers presents an unprecedented number of globular cluster candidates in the outer regions of the galaxy. The findings provide astronomers with an even more detailed picture of galactic architecture and history of collisions and mergers. |
| Molecular paddlewheels propel sodium ions through next-generation batteries Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST Materials scientists have revealed paddlewheel-like molecular dynamics that help push sodium ions through a quickly evolving class of solid-state batteries. The insights should guide researchers in their pursuit of a new generation of sodium-ion batteries to replace lithium-ion technology in a wide range of applications such as data centers and home energy storage. |
| Common household cleaner can boost effort to harvest fusion energy on Earth Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST Path-setting findings demonstrate for the first time a novel regime for confining heat in stellarators. The demonstration could advance the twisty design as a blueprint for future fusion power plants. |
| Alcohol consumption is affected by a protein linked to the circadian rhythm Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST Researchers announce that the presence of the Bmal1 gene in the striatum affects alcohol consumption in both male and female mice in a sexually dimorphic manner. Male mice without the protein consumed more alcohol than those that had it, while female mice without the protein consumed less than females with it. |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST Animal farming has traditionally fulfilled human nutritional requirements for protein, but insects may serve as an alternative for direct human consumption in the future. Researchers are working to lay a foundation to develop efficient protein isolation techniques by determining the nutritional and functional properties of protein for cricket, locust and silk worm pupae powders. |
| Using only 100 atoms, electric fields can be detected and changed Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST The body is full of electrical signals. Researchers have now created a new nanomaterial that is capable of both detecting and modulating the electric field. This new material can be used in vitro studies for 'reading and writing' the electric field without damaging nearby cells and tissue. In addition, researchers can use this material to conduct in vitro studies to understand how neurons transmit signals but also to understand how to potentially shut off errant neurons. This may provide critical insights on neurodegeneration. |
| Twelve for dinner: The Milky Way’s feeding habits shine a light on dark matter Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:37 PM PST Astronomers are one step closer to revealing the properties of dark matter enveloping our Milky Way galaxy, thanks to a new map of twelve streams of stars orbiting within our galactic halo. |
| Ancient Mesopotamian discovery transforms knowledge of early farming Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:37 PM PST Researchers have unearthed the earliest definitive evidence of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) in ancient Iraq, challenging our understanding of humanity's earliest agricultural practices. |
| Computer model seeks to explain the spread of misinformation, and suggest counter measures Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:37 PM PST Researchers have come up with a computer model that mirrors the way misinformation spreads in real life. The work might provide insight on how to protect people from the current contagion of misinformation that threatens public health and the health of democracy. |
| Study identifies predictors of severe outcomes in children with COVID-19 Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST A new international study offers a clearer picture of the impact of COVID-19 infection and the risk of severe outcomes on young people around the world. |
| Safe drinking water remains out of reach for many Californians Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST An estimated 370,000 Californians rely on drinking water that may contain high levels of arsenic, nitrate or hexavalent chromium, and contaminated drinking water disproportionately impact communities of color in the state, finds a new analysis. Because this study is limited to three common contaminants, results likely underestimate the actual number of Californians impacted by unsafe drinking water. |
| Mechanism controlling tertiary lymphoid structure formation in tumors discovered Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST Tertiary lymphoid structures are formations that occur outside of the lymphatic system. They contain immune cells and are similar in structure and function to lymph nodes and other lymphoid structures. However, little is known about how tertiary lymphoid structures form. In a new article published in Immunity, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers report on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control tertiary lymphoid structure formation within tumors. |
| How much do students learn when they double the speed of their class videos? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST A new study shows that students retain information quite well when watching lectures at up to twice their actual speed. With 85% of college students surveyed as part of the study reporting they "speed-watched" lecture videos, the researchers engaged students in a series of experiments to test how faster speeds affected learning. Recorded lectures have become a routine part of course instruction during COVID-19. |
| Researchers find concerns for animals tied to same habitats Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST While site fidelity may be beneficial for animals when environmental conditions don't change very fast, those benefits may not be realized in the ever-changing world dominated by humans, researchers have found through a review of scientific literature. |
| Watering holes bring together wildlife, and their parasites Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST The sun rises on the savannas of central Kenya. Grasses sway in the wind as hoof-steps fall on the dusty ground. A menagerie of Africa's iconic wildlife congregates around a watering hole to quench their thirst during the region's dry season. |
| New model examines the effects of toxicants on populations in polluted rivers Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST A new mathematical model describes the interactions between a population and a toxicant in a river environment, enabling researchers to study how the way in which a pollutant moves through a river affects the wellbeing and distribution of the river's inhabitants. |
| Brain-based method to determine impairment from cannabis intoxication Posted: 11 Jan 2022 12:36 PM PST A new study shows that imaging of brain activity with functional near-infrared spectroscopy might offer a more accurate and reliable way to distinguish impairment from cannabis intoxication. |
| Wearable air sampler assesses personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Posted: 11 Jan 2022 09:04 AM PST Researchers have developed a passive air sampler clip that can help assess personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which could be especially helpful for workers in high-risk settings, such as restaurants or health care facilities. |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 09:04 AM PST Researchers have discovered a new role for macrophages in the fight against cardiovascular disease. Macrophages have mostly been thought to drive inflammation and promote plaque build-up, but a new study shows that a subset of macrophages is actually fighting against plaque build-up within the artery. |
| Stem cell model of albinism to study related eye conditions Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Researchers have developed the first patient-derived stem cell model for studying eye conditions related to oculocutaneous albinism (OCA). |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Scientists have provided new insights into molecular 'crosstalk' in pancreas cancer cells, identifying vulnerabilities that could provide a target for therapeutic drugs already being studied in several cancers. |
| Older adult opioid overdose death rates on the rise Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST A new study that analyzed 20 years of fatal opioid overdose data in adults 55 and older found that between 1999 and 2019, opioid-related overdose deaths increased exponentially in U.S. adults ages 55 and older, from 518 deaths in 1999 to 10,292 deaths in 2019: a 1,886% increase. |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Researchers have discovered the first in-situ evidence of chlorophyll remnants in a billion-year-old multicellular algal microfossil preserved in shales from the Congo Basin. This discovery has made it possible to unambiguously identify one of the first phototrophic eukaryotic organisms in the fossil record. This research opens up new perspectives in the study of the diversification of eukaryotes within the first ecosystems. |
| Tasmanian devils have just broken the laws of scavenging – and scientists are puzzled Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Scavengers are supposed to have generalist diets and eat whatever they can find. But a new study shows Australia's Tasmanian devils have their own specific tastes and preferences -- in other words, they're picky eaters. |
| Rwandan genocides chemically modified the DNA of victims and victims’ offspring Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Scientists have taken a significant step in providing the people of Rwanda the scientific tools they need to help address mental health issues that stemmed from the 1994 genocides of the Tutsi ethnic group. |
| Researchers develop new method to increase effectiveness of nanomedicines Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Researchers have discovered a new, more effective method of preventing the body's own proteins from treating nanomedicines like foreign invaders, by covering the nanoparticles with a coating to suppress the immune response that dampens the therapy's effectiveness. |
| Biomass burning increases low clouds over southeastern Asia Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Clouds have significant impact on the energy balance of the Earth system. Low clouds such as Stratocumulus, Cumulus and Stratus cover about 30 percent of the Earth surface and have a net cooling effect on our climate. What counteracts global warming, can have economic consequences: a persistently dense and low cloud cover over land can reduce agricultural production and the solar-power generation. Understanding the factors governing low cloud cover is not only important for regional weather forecasting and global climate prediction but also for their socioeconomic effects. |
| Overcoming a bottleneck in carbon dioxide conversion Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:19 AM PST A new study reveals why some attempts to convert carbon dioxide into fuel have failed, and offers possible solutions. |
| Obscure protein is spotlighted in fight against leukemia Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:19 AM PST Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of white blood cells. Researchers discovered that AML cancer cells depend on a protein called SCP4 to survive. They think the previously little-known protein is involved in a metabolic pathway the cancer cells need to survive. SCP4 provides researchers with a potential new therapeutic approach for this aggressive cancer. |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:19 AM PST Arctic coasts are characterized by sea ice, permafrost and ground ice. This makes them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which is already accelerating rapid coastal erosion. |
| Researchers reveal how skin cells form a first line of defense against cancer Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:19 AM PST A new study reveals important insights into the molecular mechanisms that underpin the body's natural defences against the development of skin cancer. The protein CSDE1 coordinates a complex chain of events that enable senescence in skin cells. The senescent cells act as a firewall against cancer, suppressing the formation of tumours. The findings are surprising because CSDE1 has been previously linked to driving the formation of cancers. The results offer new clues into the behavior of skin cancer at the cellular level, paving the way for potential new therapeutic targets to treat the disease. |
| Simple screening for common lung disease could relieve millions globally Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:19 AM PST The global burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a group of common lung conditions that affects more than 300 million people, could be significantly reduced with a simple health assessment, concludes a large-scale international study. |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:00 AM PST Researchers have found that manipulating voltage patterns of tumor cells -- using ion channel blockers already FDA-approved as treatments for other diseases -- can in fact significantly reduce metastasis in animal models of breast cancer. |
| New drug combo identified for liver cancer via CRISPR-Cas9 screen Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:00 AM PST A research team has successfully repurposed an approved drug ifenprodil, a vasodilator, to be used in combination with the FDA-approved first-line drug sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. This study leveraged on their CombiGEM-CRISPR v2.0 screening platform1 to expedite the search among the many possible drug combinations to inhibit druggable targets in the genome for treating HCC. |
| Hidden order in windswept sand Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:00 AM PST Researchers have analyzed an extensive collection of sand samples from so-called megaripple fields around the world and gained new insights into the composition of these sand waves. These could help settle debates about the mechanistic origin of some recently discovered enigmatic extraterrestrial sand structures and improve our ability to infer information about past weather and climate events from sediment records. |
| Within a dinosaur’s head: Ankylosaur was sluggish and deaf Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:00 AM PST Scientists took a closer look at the braincase of a dinosaur from Austria. The group examined the fossil with a micro-CT and found surprising new details: it was sluggish and deaf. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Loading...
Loading...
