ScienceDaily: Top News

An easier way to teach robots new skills

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 12:43 PM PDT

Researchers have developed a technique that enables a robot to learn a new pick-and-place task with only a handful of human demonstrations. This could allow a human to reprogram a robot to grasp never-before-seen objects, presented in random poses, in about 15 minutes.

Inflammation markers associated with COVID-19 during pregnancy may signal adverse impacts to long-term infant health

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 12:43 PM PDT

New research results demonstrate how inflammation from a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy could potentially impact long-term infant health, including infant growth and brain development. A new study describes how infants of mothers who had a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy had significant elevations in inflammatory blood markers, also known as cytokines, at the time of delivery.

Wireless device to provide new options for colorectal cancer treatment

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 11:42 AM PDT

A team is developing an intracavity device that will allow doctors to eliminate leftover cancer cells during surgery, reducing the need for additional treatments such as chemotherapy.

How to assess a community's resilience

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 11:42 AM PDT

Communities large and small exist throughout the West where water is life. Social systems are entwined with water systems, so water supply challenges are social challenges. To understand how the connection between those systems impacts communities' water supply resilience, researchers have developed a new framework to think about social water resilience.

Being in nature: Good for mind, body and nutrition

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 10:59 AM PDT

Researchers have investigated how nature relatedness -- simply feeling connected with the natural world -- benefits dietary diversity and fruit and vegetable intake.

Meat consumption must fall by at least 75 percent

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 10:59 AM PDT

If our planet Earth is to continue feeding us in the future, rich countries must significantly reduce their meat consumption -- ideally by at least 75 percent. The study reviews the current state of research on various aspects of meat consumption. In addition to the effects on the environment and climate, these include health and economic effects.

Study: Economic burden of PTSD 'staggering'

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 10:59 AM PDT

A new study finds that the national economic burden of PTSD goes beyond direct health care expenses and exceeds the costs of other common mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. The researchers estimated the cost of PTSD at $232.2 billion for 2018, the latest year for which data were available at the time of the study.

New research harnesses the power of movement

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 10:59 AM PDT

Harvesting energy from the day-to-day movements of the human body and turning it into useful electrical energy, is the focus of a new piece of research. Academics have developed a unique design for sensors capable of using human movements -- such as bending, twisting and stretching -- to power wearable technology devices including smart watches and fitness trackers.

Study reviews COVID-related hospital visitation limits and family stress

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 10:59 AM PDT

Efforts by hospitals to protect people from COVID-19 by restricting them from visiting family members in ICUs may have contributed to a significant increase in stress-related disorders, according to new research. The study reports that nearly two-thirds of those restricted from visiting were suffering from stress-related disorders three months after their family member was hospitalized.

Beetle in the coconut: Fossil find sheds new light on Neotropical rainforests

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:11 AM PDT

Tiny beetles that feed on fruit from the palm family may have developed their taste for coconuts long ago, according to a team of scientists studying suspected insect damage in a 60-million-year-old fossil.

'I know this song!' Evolutionary keys to musical perception

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:11 AM PDT

When we hear a song that we already know, we can identify it even if it is not an exact version of the original. If it sounds higher or lower, faster or slower, or if the instruments are different from the known version, humans can identify it even if there are these superficial changes to the melody. New research explores the extent to which this skill is based on skills that are also present in other animals, i.e., not unique to humans.

Automated nutrition app can help people follow healthier diet

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:11 AM PDT

People could benefit from fully automated personal nutritional advice, as a new research paper shows that an app improved healthy diet in clinical trials.

These male spiders catapult at impressive speeds to flee their mates before they get eaten

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:11 AM PDT

After males of the orb-weaving spider Philoponella prominens mate with a female, they quickly launch themselves away, researchers report. Using a mechanism that hadn't been described before, the male spiders use a joint in their first pair of legs to immediately undertake a split-second catapult action, flinging themselves away from their partners at impressive speeds clocked at up to 88 centimeters per second (cm/s).

Cheaper hydrogen fuel cell could mean better green energy options

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:11 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a hydrogen fuel cell that uses iron instead of rare and costly platinum, enabling greater use of the technology.

Scientists have discovered how bloodworms make their unique copper teeth

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:11 AM PDT

Bloodworms are known for their unusual fang-like jaws, which are made of protein, melanin, and concentrations of copper not found elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Scientists have observed how these worms use copper harvested from marine sediments to form their jaws, and the process may be even more unusual than the teeth themselves.

A new era of mitochondrial genome editing has begun

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:11 AM PDT

A new era of mitochondrial genome editing has begun. Scientists successfully achieve A to G base conversion, the final missing piece of the puzzle in gene-editing technology.

Researchers discover drug-resistant environmental mold is capable of infecting people

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:10 AM PDT

A new study finds that drug-resistant mold is spreading from the environment and infecting susceptible people's lungs.

Reprogrammed macrophages promote spread of breast cancer

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:10 AM PDT

Metastatic breast cancer cells abuse macrophages, a type of immune cell, to promote the settlement of cancer metastases in the lungs. The reprogrammed macrophages stimulate blood vessel cells to secrete a cocktail of metastasis-promoting proteins that are part of the so-called metastatic niche.

Managing UK agriculture with rock dust could absorb up to 45 per cent of atmospheric carbon dioxide needed for net-zero

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:10 AM PDT

A major new study shows adding rock dust to UK agricultural soils could remove between 6 and 30 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere annually by 2050.

Using AI to detect cancer from patient data securely

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 09:10 AM PDT

A new way of using artificial intelligence to predict cancer from patient data without putting personal information at risk has been developed. Swarm learning can be used to help computers predict cancer in medical images of patient tissue samples, without releasing the data from hospitals.

Scientists model landscape formation on Titan, revealing an Earth-like alien world

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

A new hypothesis reveals that a global sedimentary cycle driven by seasons could explain the formation of landscapes on Saturn's moon Titan. The research shows the alien world may be more Earth-like than previously thought.

Friendship ornaments from the Stone Age

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Roughly 6,000 years ago, hunter-gatherer communities in northeast Europe produced skillfully manufactured slate ring ornaments in great numbers. While these ornaments are commonly referred to as 'slate rings', they were rarely used as intact rings. Instead, the ornaments were fragmented on purpose, using pieces of rings as tokens. These fragments were further processed into pendants. The fragments have most likely served as symbols of the social relations of Stone Age hunter-gatherers.

How equal charges in enzymes control biochemical reactions

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

It is well known in physics and chemistry that equal charges repel each other, while opposite charges attract. It was long assumed that this principle also applies when enzymes -- the biological catalysts in all living organisms -- form or break chemical bonds.

Scientists find elusive gas from post-starburst galaxies hiding in plain sight

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Post-starburst galaxies were previously thought to scatter all of their gas and dust -- the fuel required for creating new stars -- in violent bursts of energy, and with extraordinary speed. Now, new data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveals that these galaxies don't scatter all of their star-forming fuel after all. Instead, after their supposed end, these dormant galaxies hold onto and compress large amounts of highly-concentrated, turbulent gas. But contrary to expectation, they're not using it to form stars.

Bean cultivation in diverse agricultural landscapes promotes bees and increases yields

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Pollination by insects is essential for the production of many food crops. The presence of pollinators, such as bees, depends on the availability of nesting sites and sufficient food. If these conditions are lacking, the pollinators also fail to appear and the yield of flowering arable crops, such as broad beans or oilseed rape, suffers as well. A team has investigated how the composition of flowering crops and semi-natural habitats in the landscape affects the density of bees, their behavior when collecting nectar, and the faba bean (Vicia faba) yields.

When male bees don't get lucky

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Do pesticides have anything to do with the decline in bee populations? A research team has now found a connection between fenbuconazole and the insects' mating behavior.

A friend, not foe: Parasite in gastrointestinal system found to promote health

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Researchers have demonstrated that a gut parasite suppresses inflammation and improves the health of the gastrointestinal system.

Palmitoylation, a new target for anti-cancer drugs

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

By developing a tool to visualize the membrane association and activation status of normal and oncogenic proteins, scientists have established the basis for innovative drug discovery.

High performance microscopy for non-invasive conjunctival goblet cell examination

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a high-speed extended depth-of-field (DOF) microscopy for non-invasive conjunctival goblet cell (CGC) examination.

Learning from endangered zebra stem cells

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:49 AM PDT

Scientists have produced stem cells from the endangered Grévy's zebra using human reprogramming factors. Further comprehensive gene analyses identified key genes that are also found in human and mouse cells, providing insight into evolutionary conservation between mammals.

Exotic magnetic structures created with laser light

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:48 AM PDT

Research has found a new way to create nano-sized magnetic particles using ultrafast laser light pulses. The discovery could pave the way for new and more energy-efficient technical components and become useful in the quantum computers of the future.

Automated analysis of animal behavior

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:48 AM PDT

Researchershave developed a new method that uses artificial intelligence to analyze animal behavior. This opens the door to longer-term in-depth studies in the field of behavioral science -- while also helping to improve animal welfare.

Hitting rewind to predict multi-step chemical reactions

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:48 AM PDT

Researchers overcome computational limitations to predict the starting materials of multi-step reactions using only information about the target product molecule.

Offspring weakens when parents are given antibiotics

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:48 AM PDT

New study shows the immune system of zebrafish weakens if one parent has been exposed to antibiotics. Antibiotics can have unwanted effects for several generations, researchers discover.

Ecotourism is having a negative effect on primate's behavior

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:48 AM PDT

New research shows that the increase in primate ecotourism is having a negative effect on monkey's behavior. The study found that this fast-growing tourism sector where tourists can conveniently reach primates via motor boats is causing stress-related behaviors in monkeys.

Alternative process for converting white phosphorus promises more sustainability in the chemical industry

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:48 AM PDT

Chemists have developed a new, more sustainable process for synthesizing numerous important everyday chemicals from white phosphorus. The new process has the potential to establish innovative, more resource-efficient processes in the chemical industry.

Computing: Resilient system using only non-volatile memory

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:47 AM PDT

A research team has developed hardware and software technology that ensures both data and execution persistence. The Lightweight Persistence Centric System (LightPC) makes the systems resilient against power failures by utilizing only non-volatile memory as the main memory.

Scientists discover mechanism behind chemically induced suppression of fearful memories

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:43 AM PDT

Fearful events negatively impact the brain. For instance, war veterans often go through post-traumatic stress disorder months after the cessation of the triggering event. Now, the precise mechanism of suppression of such fearful memories has been uncovered. Using a mouse model, the researchers identified the associated biochemical pathways, thus paving the way for the development and clinical evaluation of therapeutic compounds such as KNT-127.

Breakthrough for efficient and high-speed spintronic devices

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 05:57 AM PDT

Scientists have made a major breakthrough on how the spin evolves in the nanoworld on extremely short time scales.

Marine mollusc shells reveal how prehistoric humans adapted to intense climate change

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 05:57 AM PDT

A study reveals the impact and consequences of the '8.2 ka event', the largest abrupt climate change of the Holocene, for prehistoric foragers and marine ecology in Atlantic Europe.

Researchers identify key regulators of urinary concentration in the kidney

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 05:57 AM PDT

The kidney carries out important functions via microscopic functional units called nephrons. Researchers are investigating which factors control the formation and function of specific segments of the nephron, called the distal nephron. Their findings could have implications in the treatment of kidney diseases.

Newly discovered protein in fungus bypasses plant defenses

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 05:57 AM PDT

Scientists have identified a protein that allows the fungus which causes white mold stem rot in more than 600 plant species to overcome plant defenses. Knowledge of this protein, called SsPINE1, could help researchers develop a new, more precise system of control measures for the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum fungus, which attacks potatoes, soybeans, sunflowers, peas, lentils, canola, and many other broad leaf crops.

Meet the forest microbes that can survive megafires

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 05:57 AM PDT

New research shows fungi and bacteria able to survive redwood tanoak forest megafires are microbial 'cousins' that often increase in abundance after feeling the flames.