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41 articles from ScienceDaily

Solving a 50-year-old puzzle in signal processing

The same engineers, who announced the solution to a 50-year-old puzzle in signal processing last fall, have followed up with more research results. The engineers say their new algorithm is more useful and just as fast as the one previously used.

An aspirin a day does not keep dementia at bay

Taking a low-dose aspirin once a day does not reduce the risk of thinking and memory problems caused by mild cognitive impairment or probable Alzheimer's disease, nor does it slow the rate of cognitive decline, according to a large study.

A small forage fish should command greater notice, researchers say

A slender little fish called the sand lance plays a big role as 'a quintessential forage fish' for puffins, terns and other seabirds, humpback whales and other marine mammals, and even bigger fish such as Atlantic sturgeon, cod and bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine and northwest Atlantic Ocean. But scientists say right now they know far too little about its biology and populations to inform...

Bats depend on conspecifics when hunting above farmland

Common noctules -- one of the largest bat species native to Germany -- are searching for their fellows during their hunt for insects above farmland. Scientists show that bats forage on their own in insect-rich forests, but hunt collectively in groups over insect-poor farmland.

Eclectic rocks influence earthquake types

New Zealand's largest fault is a jumble of mixed-up rocks of all shapes, sizes, compositions and origins. According to research from a global team of scientists, this motley mixture could help explain why the fault generates slow-motion earthquakes known as 'slow slip events' as well as destructive, tsunami-generating tremors.

Ultrasound solves an important clinical problem in diagnosing arrhythmia

Researchers have used an ultrasound technique they pioneered a decade ago -- electromechanical wave imaging (EWI) -- to accurately localize atrial and ventricular cardiac arrhythmias in adult patients in a double-blinded clinical study. They evaluated the accuracy of EWI for localization of various arrhythmias in all four chambers of the heart prior to catheter ablation: the results showed that...

Computational human cell reveals new insight on genetic information processing

Researchers have developed the first computational model of a human cell and simulated its behavior for 15 minutes -- the longest time achieved for a biological system of this complexity. In a new study, simulations reveal the effects of spatial organization within cells on some of the genetic processes that control the regulation and development of human traits and some human diseases.

Too much salt weakens the immune system

A high-salt diet is not only bad for one's blood pressure, but also for the immune system. Mice fed a high-salt diet were found to suffer from much more severe bacterial infections. Human volunteers who consumed additional six grams of salt per day also showed pronounced immune deficiencies. This amount corresponds to the salt content of two fast food meals.

Printing complex cellulose-based objects

Researchers have set a new world record: they 3D printed complex objects with higher cellulose content than that of any other additively manufactured cellulose-based parts. To achieve this, they used a clever trick.

Ultrafast repeated staining and destaining of cell samples for tumor diagnostics

In the treatment of tumors, microenvironment plays an important role. It often contains immune cells that are so changed that they promote tumor growth. Scientists have introduced a method by which cell samples from tumors and their surroundings can rapidly (under 1 hour) be cycled through staining, destaining, and then restaining with fluorescent antibodies -- through attachment of a ''black hole...

A nanoscale device to generate high-power Terahertz waves

Researchers have developed a nanodevice that operates more than 10 times faster than today's fastest transistors. It enables the generation of high-power terahertz waves. These waves, which are notoriously difficult to produce, are useful in a rich variety of applications ranging from imaging and sensing to high-speed wireless communications. The high-power picosecond operation of these device...

International ozone treaty stops changes in Southern Hemisphere winds

The Montreal Protocol of 1987 phased out production of ozone-destroying substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Beginning around 2000, concentrations of those chemicals in the stratosphere started to decline and the ozone hole began to recover. In this study, researchers have shown that around the year 2000, the circulation of the Southern Hemisphere also stopped expanding polewards -- a...

Mother/infant skin-to-skin touch boosts baby's brain development and function

As the world prioritizes social distancing due to COVID-19, research shows that extended use of Kangaroo Care, a skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest method of caring for a baby, can positively benefit full-term infants and their mothers, with important implications for post-partum depression. The study provides evidence that the physiology of mothers and their full-term infants is influenced by Kangaroo...