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| Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth Posted: 05 Jul 2022 04:41 PM PDT A robotic microswarm may one day automate the routine of rinsing, brushing, and flossing teeth. A multidisciplinary team developed the technology, which employs a magnetic field to direct the iron oxide nanoparticle-based microrobots into antimicrobial bristle- and floss-shaped arrays. |
| Researchers expand understanding of vortex spread in superfluids Posted: 05 Jul 2022 04:41 PM PDT Researchers have created a model that describes the spread and speed of tornado-like vortex tubes in superfluids. This work expands on a previous study that reported experimental results obtained in superfluid helium-4 within a narrow temperature range. |
| What is a pond? Study provides first data-driven definition Posted: 05 Jul 2022 04:41 PM PDT Nearly everyone can identify a pond, but what, exactly, distinguishes it from a lake or a wetland? A new study offers the first data-driven, functional definition of a pond and evidence of ponds' distinct ecological function, which could have broad implications for science and policy. |
| New research challenges long-held beliefs about limb regeneration Posted: 05 Jul 2022 04:41 PM PDT Researchers are challenging a centuries-old beliefs about how mammals might regenerate damaged parts of the body. In humans, the natural ability to regenerate is limited to tissues like the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, and some organs, such as the liver. Other species, most notably salamanders, have the ability to regenerate complex structures such as bones, joints, and even entire limbs. As a result, scientists have been studying these species for more than 200 years to try to understand the mechanisms behind limb regeneration in the hopes of someday translating those mechanisms to induce more extensive regeneration in humans. That research has led to a common belief that the single biggest key for limb regeneration is the presence of nerves. |
| Inhalable COVID-19 vaccine shows promise in rodent model Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT Researchers have created an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine that is shelf stable at room temperature for up to three months, targets the lungs specifically and effectively, and allows for self-administration via an inhaler. |
| Nervous system workings related to PTSD, other mental health disorders Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT A new study measures changes in the human brain's response to a perceived threat following non-invasive stimulation of the nervous system via the vagus nerve. The results have implications for the development of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions, as well as for increasing alertness and attention during learning. |
| Odd fish has adapted to Canada's deepest, coldest lakes Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT The deepwater sculpin is not an attractive fish by any conventional standard. You won't find it hanging on a plaque or landing a feature role in a Disney movie. What you might say about the bottom-dweller is that it's a survivor, having managed to eke out an existence at the bottom of Canada's deepest and coldest lakes since the last ice age. Researchers are now sequencing its entire genome to see how this seemingly unremarkable fish has been able to adapt to such extreme environments. |
| Most British COVID-19 mourners suffer PTSD symptoms, survey finds Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT More than eight out of 10 British people who are seeking support for having lost a loved one to COVID-19 reported alarming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, new research has found. |
| New photocatalytic membrane that can be cleaned using light energy Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT Researchers have developed a nanosheet-laminated photocatalytic membrane that demonstrates both excellent water permeance and photocatalytic activity. The membrane's photocatalytic properties make it easier to clean as irradiating the membrane with light successfully reduces fouling. This revolutionary membrane technology can be applied to water purification, and thus has the potential to contribute towards tackling both global environmental and energy issues by helping to ensure a supply of safe drinking water and clean energy. |
| It takes three: The genetic mutations that made rice cultivation possible Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT New research suggests that the historical emergence of cultivated rice from wild rice plants resulted from a combination of three gene mutations that make the seeds (i.e., the grains of rice) fall from the plant less easily. These results not only shed light on early history but will hopefully contribute towards the development of more efficient rice cultivars in the future. |
| Discovery could inspire new way to detect brain abnormalities Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT Scientists have taken a promising step towards a new generation of accurate, affordable and portable devices to detect concussion, epilepsy and dementia. |
| 8000 kilometers per second: Star with the shortest orbital period around black hole discovered Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT A newly discovered star only takes four years to travel around the black hole at the center of our galaxy. |
| How immune response triggered by COVID-19 may damage the brain Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT A new study describes the immune response triggered by COVID-19 infection that damages the brain's blood vessels and may lead to short- and long-term neurological symptoms. The study examined brain changes in nine people who died suddenly after contracting the virus. |
| Study points to Armenian origins of ancient crop with aviation biofuel potential Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT Camelina, an oilseed plant grown in modern-day Ukraine, may have been a more important and widespread crop than previously thought. New findings could inform breeding programs to improve this crop for biofuels applications. |
| COVID-19 virus spike protein flexibility improved by human cell's own modifications Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT Researchers created atomic-level models of the spike protein that plays a key role in COVID-19 infection and immunity, revealing how the protein bends and moves as it seeks to engage receptors. |
| Dominant omicron subvariants better at evading vaccines, antibody treatments Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:21 PM PDT The latest omicron subvariants -- especially the currently dominant BA.4 and BA.5 forms -- are even better at eluding vaccines and most treatments, researchers have found. |
| A rhythmic small intestinal microbiome prevents obesity and type 2 diabetes Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:21 PM PDT Researchers found that in mice how much they ate and when altered the nature of their gut microbiome: too much food too frequently resulted in poorer microbial and metabolic health. |
| Daily avocados improve diet quality, help lower cholesterol levels, study finds Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:21 PM PDT Eating one avocado a day for six months was found to have no effect on belly fat, liver fat or waist circumference in people with overweight or obesity, according to a new study. However, it did lead to a slight decrease in unhealthy cholesterol levels. |
| In Krabbe disease, neurons may bring about their own destruction Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:21 PM PDT The gene defect underlying Krabbe disease causes degeneration of neurons directly, independent of its effects on other cell types, according to a new study. The discovery represents a new mechanism of action for the mutant gene, presenting a more accurate picture of the disease process that may help in the development of therapies. |
| Why it is so hard for humans to have a baby? Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:21 PM PDT Medical researchers find an answer to the mystery of why most human embryos die young. |
| Bring back the wolves -- but not as heroes or villains Posted: 05 Jul 2022 09:39 AM PDT In a new finding that goes against current conservation paradigms, re-introducing wolves and other predators to our landscapes does not miraculously reduce deer populations, restore degraded ecosystems or significantly threaten livestock, according to a new study. |
| With changing climate, global lake evaporation loss larger than previously thought Posted: 05 Jul 2022 09:39 AM PDT A white mineral ring as tall as the Statue of Liberty creeps up the steep shoreline of Lake Mead, a Colorado River reservoir just east of Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona border. It is the country's largest reservoir, and it's draining rapidly. |
| Scientists look to the sky in effort to mitigate carbon problem Posted: 05 Jul 2022 09:39 AM PDT A global research effort has assessed two promising technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While still in the early stages of development, direct air carbon capture and sequestration (DAC) -- together with other carbon dioxide removal strategies -- are considered critical to achieving a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy by 2050 and limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100. |
| Robotic ammonites recreate ancient animals' movements Posted: 05 Jul 2022 09:39 AM PDT Robotic ammonites, evaluated in a university pool, allow researchers to explore questions about how shell shapes affected swimming ability. They found trade-offs between stability in the water and maneuverability, suggesting that the evolution of ammonite shells explored different designs for different advantages, rather than converged toward a single best design. |
| Scientists discover cancer trigger that could spur targeted drug therapies Posted: 05 Jul 2022 09:39 AM PDT Researchers definitively linked the function of a specific domain of proteins important in plant-microbe biology to a cancer trigger in humans, knowledge that had eluded scientists for decades. |
| Using big data to better understand cancerous mutations Posted: 05 Jul 2022 08:22 AM PDT The ideal method of determining what type of cancer mutation a patient has is to compare two samples from the same patient, one from the tumor and one from healthy tissue. Such tests can be complicated and costly, however, so researchers hit upon another idea -- using massive public DNA databases to look for common cell mutations that tend to be benign, so that researchers can identify rarer mutations that have the potential to be cancerous. |
| Posted: 05 Jul 2022 08:22 AM PDT A study has identified a molecule -- the purine inosine -- that boosts fat burning in brown adipocytes. The mechanism was discovered in mice, but probably exists in humans as well: If a transporter for inosine is less active, the mice remain significantly leaner despite a high-fat diet. |
| Shedding light on comet Chury's unexpected chemical complexity Posted: 05 Jul 2022 08:22 AM PDT Researchers have for the first time identified an unexpected richness of complex organic molecules on a comet. This was achieved thanks to the analysis of data collected during ESA's Rosetta mission at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, also known as Chury. Delivered to the early Earth by impacting comets, these organics may have helped to kick-start carbon-based life as we know it. |
| Discovery reveals large, year-round ozone hole over tropics Posted: 05 Jul 2022 08:22 AM PDT Scientist reveal a large, all-season ozone hole in the lower stratosphere over the tropics comparable in depth to that of the well-known springtime Antarctic hole, but roughly seven times greater in area. The observed data agree well with the cosmic-ray-driven electron reaction (CRE) model and strongly indicate the identical physical mechanism working for both Antarctic and tropical ozone holes. |
| Nanoparticle vaccine protects against a spectrum of COVID-19-causing variants and related viruses Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:38 AM PDT A new vaccine candidate, named mosaic-8, containing pieces of eight different SARS-like betacoronaviruses provides broad protection against other related coronaviruses. |
| Unchecked emissions could double heat-related child mortality Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:38 AM PDT If carbon emissions are limited to slow temperature rise, up to an estimated 6,000 child deaths could be prevented in Africa each year, according to new research. New work estimated the impact of climate change on annual heat-related deaths of children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa, from 1995 -- 2050. It shows that thousands of heat-related child deaths could be prevented if temperature increases are limited to the Paris Agreement's 1.5ºC target through to 2050. However, heat-related child deaths could double in sub-Saharan Africa by mid-century if high emissions continue. |
| Hereditary factors that increase the likelihood of cancer mutations detailed in new study Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:38 AM PDT A new study reveals 42 hereditary genes which predispose individuals to a higher number of mutations that correlate with a greater probability of developing cancer. |
| Brain's response to understanding stories changes as we grow up Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:38 AM PDT Scientists have shown how our brain's response to watching emotional and social stimuli in a movie changes between infancy and adulthood. |
| Study reveals why highly infectious cholera variant mysteriously died out Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:38 AM PDT Scientists say continuous monitoring of the cholera bug genome is key to preventing outbreaks of new variants. |
| Fertility: Sperm screening might detect harmful mutations before embryo implantation Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:38 AM PDT Screening sperm may help identify potentially harmful new genetic mutations and help fertility specialists prevent them from being passed on to offspring, shows a preliminary study. |
| Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:38 AM PDT Projected changes in wintertime precipitation make agriculture in the Iberian region some of the most vulnerable in Europe, according to a new study that links the changes to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gases. |
| Why natural gas is not a bridge technology Posted: 05 Jul 2022 07:36 AM PDT The expansion of natural gas infrastructure jeopardizes energy transition, as natural gas is not a bridge technology towards a 100 per cent renewable energy system as defined by the Paris Climate Agreement. The researchers have examined the natural gas issue from five perspectives and given gas a fairly poor climate balance, comparable to that of coal or oil. They recommend that politicians and scientists revise the current assumptions about natural gas. |
| Taking Vitamin D during pregnancy could lower the risk of eczema in babies Posted: 05 Jul 2022 06:38 AM PDT Taking Vitamin D supplements during pregnancy could substantially reduce the chances of babies up to a year old suffering from atopic eczema, according to a new study. |
| Eavesdropping on whales in the high Arctic Posted: 05 Jul 2022 06:07 AM PDT Earth's oceans are crisscrossed with roughly 1.2 million km of fiber optic telecommunication cables. Researchers have now succeeded in using a fiber in a submarine cable as a passive listening system, enabling them to listen to and monitor whales. |
| Making it easier to differentiate mirror-image molecules Posted: 05 Jul 2022 06:07 AM PDT Using a new method, scientists are better able to distinguish between mirror-image substances. This is important amongst others in drug development, because the two variants can cause completely different effects in the human body. |
| Link between recognizing our voice and feeling in control Posted: 05 Jul 2022 06:07 AM PDT Being able to recognize our own voice is a critical factor for our sense of control over our speech, according to a new study. If people think they hear someone else's voice when they speak, they do not strongly feel that they caused the sound. This could be a clue to understanding the experience of people who live with auditory hallucinations and could help to improve online communication and virtual reality experiences. |
| More dogs in the neighborhood often means less crime, research shows Posted: 05 Jul 2022 06:07 AM PDT In a recent study, researchers found that neighborhoods with more dogs had lower rates of homicide, robbery and, to a lesser extent, aggravated assaults compared to areas with fewer dogs, at least when residents also had high levels of trust in each other. |
| Magnetic spins that 'freeze' when heated: Nature in the wrong direction Posted: 04 Jul 2022 03:09 PM PDT Physicists observed a strange new type of behavior in a magnetic material when it's heated up. The magnetic spins 'freeze' into a static pattern when the temperature rises, a phenomenon that normally occurs when the temperature decreases. |
| Coevolution of mammals and their lice Posted: 04 Jul 2022 03:09 PM PDT According to a new study, the first louse to take up residence on a mammalian host likely started out as a parasite of birds. That host-jumping event tens of millions of years ago began the long association between mammals and lice, setting the stage for their coevolution and offering more opportunities for the lice to spread to other mammals. |
| Genetic atlas for zebrafish 'breakthrough' for biomedical research Posted: 04 Jul 2022 03:09 PM PDT Medical and life science researchers will benefit from the most comprehensive atlas yet of genetic data on zebrafish, newly published research suggests. |
| Connectivity of language areas unique in the human brain Posted: 04 Jul 2022 03:09 PM PDT Neuroscientists have gained new insight into how our brain evolved into a language-ready brain. Compared to chimpanzee brains, the pattern of connections of language areas in our brain has expanded more than previously thought. |
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