135 articles from FRIDAY 6.12.2019

Improved pH probes may help towards cancer treatments

Nanopipettes with zwitterionic membranes may offer improved monitoring of changes in pH surrounding living cells, which can indicate traits of invasive cancer cells and their response to treatment, report researchers at Kanazawa University in Nature Communications.

Infant morbidity decreases with incentive-based prenatal tobacco interventions

A new study in Colorado reveals a significant reduction in NICU (up to 55%) and preterm births due to incentive-based programs implemented to help low-income pregnant women stop smoking cigarettes. Colorado saved over 4 million dollars in healthcare costs by providing these programs and has an opportunity to save 16 million. The issue is critical because smoking in the third trimester of pregnancy...

Move over Jules Verne -- scientists deploy ocean floats to peer into Earth's interior

The release of more than 50 floating sensors, called Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers (MERMAIDs), is increasing the number of seismic stations around the planet. Scientists will use them to clarify the picture of the massive mantel plume in the lower mantel lying below the South Pacific Ocean. This effort will also establish one of the most comprehensive overviews...

Reduced soil tilling helps both soils and yields

By monitoring crops through machine learning and satellite data, Stanford scientists have found farms that till the soil less can increase yields of corn and soybeans and improve the health of the soil -- a win-win for meeting growing food needs worldwide.

Researchers add order to polymer gels

Gel-like materials have a wide range of applications, especially in chemistry and medicine. However, their usefulness is sometimes limited by their inherent random and disordered nature. Researchers from the University of Tokyo's Institute for Solid State Physics have found a way to produce a new kind of gel which overcomes this limitation. It is still malleable and adaptable like existing gels,...

Scientists have spotted new compounds with herbicidal potential from sea fungus

Scientists of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and the G.B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry (FEB RAS) together with German colleagues spotted six new and three already known biologically active compounds in a new strain of the fungus Penicillium piltunense first time isolated. One compound has a pronounced anti-inflammatory activity, others have herbicidal potential, i.e.,...

Scientists use crabs to validate popular method to identify unknown human brain neurons

A crab's nervous system could help scientists learn what causes single neurons in the human brain to become 'out of whack,' which can contribute to the development of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Knowing exactly how a single neuron operates among the billions housed in the human brain could one day help scientists design innovative ways to prevent and treat these diseases, such...

Simple experiment explains magnetic resonance

Physicists at University of California, Riverside, have designed an experiment to explain the concept of magnetic resonance. A versatile technique employed in chemistry, physics, and materials research, magnetic resonance describes a resonant excitation of electron or atomic nuclei spins residing in a magnetic field by means of electromagnetic waves.

Stormquakes: Powerful storms cause seafloor tremors

Stormquakes are a phenomenon characterized by seismic activity originating at the ocean floor due to powerful storms. Heavy storms, like hurricanes or nor'easters, can create seismic waves as large as magnitude 3.5 quakes. These tremors caused by the effects of storms on the seafloor are what researchers call stormquakes. Catherine de Groot-Hedlin, who was part of the group that first observed...

Study debunks notion that C-section would increase risk of obesity in the child

Women who have C-sections are no more likely to have children who develop obesity than women who give birth naturally, according to a large study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal PLOS Medicine. The findings contradict several smaller studies that did find an association between C-section deliveries and offspring obesity but did not consider the numerous...

Surface effects affect the distribution of hydrogen in metals

The researchers from Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University and Institute of Problems of Mechanical Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences studied the distribution of hydrogen in metals in the process of standard testing for hydrogen cracking. They found that there is a surface effect that does not let hydrogen enter the metal. This can result in errors in industrial quality...

UM-led experiment closes critical gap in weather forecasting

Scientists working on the next frontier of weather forecasting are hoping that weather conditions 3-to-4 weeks out will soon be as readily available as seven-day forecasts. Having this type of weather information--called subseasonal forecasts--in the hands of the public and emergency managers can provide the critical lead time necessary to prepare for natural hazards like heat waves or the next...

Using a molecular motor to switch the preference of anion-binding catalysts

Many organic molecules are chiral, which means that they are non-superimposable on their mirror image. These enantiomers can have different properties when interacting with other chiral entities, for example, biomolecules. Selectively producing the right enantiomer is therefore important in for example the pharmaceutical. University of Groningen chemists Ruth Dorel and Ben Feringa have now devised...

Why people buy, trade, donate medications on the black market

Altruism and a lack of access and affordability are three reasons why people with chronic illnesses are turning to the 'black market' for medicines and supplies, new research shows. Scientists at University of Utah Health and University of Colorado ran surveys to understand why individuals are looking beyond pharmacies and medical equipment companies to meet essential needs. The reasons listed...