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2,227 articles from EurekAlert

Coronavirus pandemic in Germany: Medical care in an adaptive healthcare system

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has issued a fourth ad-hoc-statement on the coronavirus pandemic. It is dedicated to the topic: 'Medical Care and Patient-Oriented Research in an Adaptive Healthcare System'. The paper focuses on short- and medium-term aspects of medical and care services under the conditions of a sustained pandemic and identifies long-term measures that lead to a...

Extended parenting helps young birds grow smarter

The current study analyzes social and life-history data from several thousand songbirds, including 127 corvids, the family that includes jays, crows, ravens, and magpies. Results show that corvids are unusual in having larger brains and 'extended childhoods,' where parents provide the young with a safe haven to learn and practice skills they need to survive as adults. These findings shed light on...

Major gaps in HIV programs in Africa

HIV management in developing countries varies with socioeconomic and structural circumstances, with two Flinders University studies finding examples of key ways to close the gap for those worst affected in developing countries.The studies, just published in PLoS ONE journal, call for reforms to nutritional programs and for better treatment of HIV affected prisoners - providing guidance for several...

New study shows how ketamine combats depression

The anaesthetic drug ketamine has been shown, in low doses, to have a rapid effect on difficult-to-treat depression. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now report that they have identified a key target for the drug: specific serotonin receptors in the brain. Their findings, which are published in Translational Psychiatry, give hope of new, effective antidepressants.


SATURDAY 30. MAY 2020


Nanoparticles can make home refrigeration more accessible for low-income households

Power consumption of a home refrigerator can be cut by 29% while improving cooling capacity. Researchers replaced environmentally-unfriendly R134a refrigerant with the more energy-efficient R600a. They dosed R600a with multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanoparticles. Drop-in refrigerant replacement in the field by trained technicians is possible, says an engineer from the University of...

Study shows hydroxychloroquine's harmful effects on heart rhythm

The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been promoted as a potential treatment for Covid-19, is known to have potentially serious effects on heart rhythms. Now, a team of researchers has used an optical mapping system to observe exactly how the drug creates serious disturbances in the electrical signals that govern heartbeat.


FRIDAY 29. MAY 2020


'Black nitrogen'

In the periodic table of elements there is one golden rule for carbon, oxygen, and other light elements. Under high pressures they have similar structures to heavier elements in the same group of elements. Only nitrogen always seemed unwilling to toe the line. However, high-pressure researchers of the University of Bayreuth have actually disproved this special status.

A hormone -- plant style

Researchers from the Faculties of Chemistry and Biology at Bielefeld University have now found a method that might make the production of a biologically significant precursor of jasmonic acid more efficient and cheaper. Their innovation: they imitate how plants produce the hormone. The result is 12-OPDA, a central precursor of jasmonic acid. In the long term, it could also be a potential...

A roadmap for effective treatment of COVID-19

Researchers from the US Food and Drug Administration have reviewed the available scientific literature on COVID-19 and systematically outlined key immunological factors underlying COVID-19 disease severity. Based on these factors, the researchers indicate a range of approved and available drugs, as well as drugs currently under clinical investigation, as possible candidates for treatment.

Adoptive T-cell therapy ADP-A2M4 targeting MAGE-A4 shows early activity in patients with advanced solid tumors

The adoptive T-cell therapy ADP-A2M4, which is engineered to express a T-cell receptor (TCR) directed against the MAGE-A4 cancer antigen, achieved responses in patients with multiple solid tumor types, including synovial sarcoma, head and neck cancer and lung cancer, according to results from a Phase I clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Astronomers predict bombardment from asteroids and comets in another planetary system

The planetary system around star HR8799 is remarkably similar to our Solar System. A research team led by astronomers from the University of Groningen and SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research has used this similarity to model the delivery of materials by asteroids, comets and other minor bodies within the system. Their simulation shows that the four gas planets receive material delivered...

Better outcomes, lower cost in first-ever oncology hospital at home evaluation

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) presented the first outcomes evaluation of an adult oncology hospital-at-home program today at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. The study evaluated patients participating in HCI's Huntsman at HomeTM. The data demonstrate strong evidence for this care model, showing improved...

Better prepared for future crises

Although there were early warnings of an exponentially growing pandemic, most policymakers around the world were unprepared and reluctant to act when Covid-19 first spread from China around the world. In an article published in the Journal of Risk Research, Aengus Collins, Marie-Valentine Florin (both EPFL International Risk Governance Center) and IASS Scientific Director Ortwin Renn analyze the...

Blood test as a potential new weapon in the fight to eliminate malaria

An international collaborative team from PROS Ehime University and CellFee Science, Japan; the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Australia; Pasteur Institute, France; and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Switzerland developed a new diagnostic blood test which detects recent exposure to 'vivax' malaria. The new test can also identify people who may harbor dormant liver-stage malaria...