218 articles from WEDNESDAY 11.12.2019

Recommendations for responding to the Fridays for Future movement

The level of public concern about climate change has risen significantly in recent years. The Fridays for Future movement enjoys broad political and public support, but this has so far not translated into tangible changes. The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany, has now published a resource - the Futuring Tool - and a more comprehensive Policy Brief aimed at...

Researchers develop first mathematical proof for key law of turbulence in fluid mechanics

Turbulence is one of the least understood phenomena of the physical world. Long considered too hard to understand and predict mathematically, turbulence is the reason the Navier-Stokes equations, which describe how fluids flow, are so hard to solve that there is a million-dollar reward for anyone who can prove them mathematically. But now, University of Maryland mathematicians have broken through...

Revealing the physics of the sun with Parker Solar Probe

Nearly a year and a half into its mission, Parker Solar Probe has returned gigabytes of data on the sun and its atmosphere. Following the release of the very first science from the mission, five researchers presented additional new findings from Parker Solar Probe at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Dec. 11, 2019.

Safer viruses for vaccine research and diagnosis

A new technology to produce safer 'hybrid' viruses at high volumes for use in vaccines and diagnostics for mosquito-borne diseases has been developed at The University of Queensland.Researchers from UQ and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have exploited the benign characteristics of the Binjari virus - inert to humans - to produce 'dangerous looking' mosquito-borne viruses such as Zika...

Scientists link decline of Baltic cod to hypoxia -- and climate change

If you want to know how climate change and hypoxia -- the related loss of oxygen in the world's oceans -- affect fish species such as the economically important Baltic cod, all you have to do is ask the fish. Those cod, at least, will tell you that hypoxia is making them smaller, scrawnier and less valuable. A paper published today in the journal Biology Letters points to a link between hypoxia...

Site search: A digital approach to proteins and cancer

What if scientists could create more effective drugs to treat cancers and other diseases by better targeting specific sites on proteins in the body?That's the primary question researchers in the Purdue University laboratory of Carol Post, a distinguished professor in Purdue's College of Pharmacy, are trying to answer. They developed software called NmrLineGuru to move researchers closer to the...

Skipping one night of sleep may leave insomniacs twice as impaired, study says

Poor daytime functioning is a frequent complaint among those suffering from insomnia. Previous studies have found that their daytime cognitive performance is not significantly degraded, seemingly suggesting it is a perceived issue that does not reflect a real impairment. A new study of individuals with sleep-onset insomnia revealed that the impairment may be real but hidden during the normal...

State of shock: 200-year-old law about gas mixtures called into question

According to a new study led by a team from The University of New Mexico, centuries-old laws about the behavior of gas mixtures do not apply in the presence of shock waves. This finding could have potential impact on everything that involves mixtures of gases exposed to a shock wave, for example, during combustion in an engine.

Study reveals rapid increases in cannabis use among individuals with depression

Results of a new study suggest that over the past decade (2005-2017), the prevalence of cannabis use in the United States has increased among persons with and without depression, though the increase is significantly more rapid among those with depression. At the same time, the perception of risks associated with cannabis use have declined overall, and the decline has been more rapid among those...

Teams of microbes are at work in our bodies. Here's how to figure out what they're doing

An algorithm akin to the annoyingly helpful one that attempts to auto-complete text messages and emails is now being harnessed for a better cause. A group of Drexel University researchers are using its pattern-recognition ability to identify microbial communities in the body by sifting through volumes of genetic code. Their method could speed the development of medical treatments for...

The right mouse model is crucial for Huntington's disease drug development

Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable and fatal hereditary disease. Developing disease-modifying drugs to treat patients with HD depends on studying them in animal models. Scientists evaluated the mouse models used for developing new treatments for mood disorders in HD and recommended which of these models are most relevant to their studies. Their findings are published in the Journal of...

The secret to a long life? For worms, a cellular recycling protein is key

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have shown that worms live longer lives if they produce excess levels of a protein, p62, which recognizes toxic cell proteins that are tagged for destruction. The discovery, published in Nature Communications, could help uncover treatments for age-related conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, which are often caused by accumulation of misfolded proteins.

The songwriter is creative -- the singer, not so much

Country music songwriters must perform a careful dance when they work with famous singers who may be less talented at writing songs but bring the needed star power to attract fans -- and, importantly, to get the song recorded in the first place, research suggests. A study of 39 successful country-music songwriters found that they use two strategies to navigate creative collaboration with more...