252 articles from TUESDAY 2.6.2020
Stretchable variable color sheet that changes color with expansion and contraction
Toyohashi University of Technology research team have succeeded in developing a variable color sheet with a film thickness of 400 nanometers that changes color when stretched and shrunk. The developed stretchable color sheets are expected to be applied to adhesive-type display elements, as they can adhere to skin or be transferred to various electronic devices at room temperature utilizing the...
Study casts doubt on usefulness of Ofsted ratings
A study, led by the University of York, suggests that Ofsted ratings of secondary school quality account for less than one percent of the differences in students' educational achievement at age 16. For example, if one student attending a school rated "good" achieves an A at GCSE and another student from a school that "requires improvement" gets a B - the study reveals that only one tenth of the...
Study finds COVID-19 convalescent plasma therapy safe, with 76% patients improving
The first convalescent plasma transfusion trial results from Houston Methodist have been released. Of the study's 25 patients, 19 have improved and 11 have been discharged. With no adverse side effects caused by the therapy, the study concluded convalescent plasma is a safe treatment option for patients with severe COVID-19. This is the largest cohort assessed for outcomes related to convalescent...
Study in twins finds our sensitivity is partly in our genes
Some people are more sensitive than others -- and around half of these differences can be attributed to our genes, new research has found.
Study reveals continuous pathway to building blocks of life
A new study conducted by scientists at the Institute for Advanced Study, the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), and the University of New South Wales, among other participating institutions, marks an important step forward in the effort to understand the chemical origins of life. The findings of this study demonstrate how 'continuous reaction networks' are capable of producing RNA precursors and...
Study: Reflecting sunlight to cool the planet will cause other global changes
Study finds reflecting sunlight to cool the planet will weaken extratropical storm tracks, causing other global changes.
SUTD-led research powers longer lasting rechargeable batteries
The development of the new material directly addresses the shortage of lithium resources and high energy power supplies.
Swing voters, swing stocks, swing users
A new technique could help identify prime candidates for changing election outcomes, or lead to a better understanding of how institutional and environmental factors shape the emergence of social structure.
Terahertz radiation can disrupt proteins in living cells
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics and collaborators have discovered that terahertz radiation, contradicting conventional belief, can disrupt proteins in living cells without killing the cells.
Tiger snakes tell more about local wetlands' pollution levels
Tiger snakes living in Perth's urban wetlands are accumulating toxic heavy metals in their livers, suggesting that their habitats -- critical, local ecosystems -- are contaminated and the species may be suffering as a result.
Tulane scientists find a switch to flip and turn off breast cancer growth and metastasis
Researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine identified a gene that causes an aggressive form of breast cancer to rapidly grow. More importantly, they have also discovered a way to "turn it off" and inhibit cancer from occurring. The animal study results have been so compelling that the team is now working on FDA approval to begin clinical trials and has published details in the journal...
Tuning the interfacial properties of 2D heterophases though tilt-angles
For devices based on atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials, the properties of the interface play important roles in determining their performances. Chinese scientists correlated the electronic states of the 2D 1T'/2H-MoTe2 (metallic/semiconducting) interface with its atomic structures and found that its contact characteristics are tilt angle-dependent, providing useful guidelines to tune...
Two lefties make a right -- if you are a one-in-a-million garden snail
A global campaign to help find a mate for a left-coiling snail called 'Jeremy' has enabled scientists to understand how mirror-image garden snails are formed.The findings, published today in the journal Biology Letters, show that the rare left-spiralling shell of some garden snails is usually a development accident, rather than an inherited condition.
UCI scientists engineer human cells with squid-like transparency
In a paper published today in Nature Communications, scientists at the University of California, Irvine described how they drew inspiration from cephalopod skin to endow mammalian cells with tunable transparency and light-scattering characteristics.
Understanding the role of cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition in brain health
Researchers at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated that brain chemistry is sensitive to fitness and body composition.
When determining sex, exceptions are the rule
Thanks to new genomic data, long-held theories on sex chromosome evolution are now being tested against empirical evidence from nature -- often with surprising results.
Researchers develop method to probe phase transitions in 2-D materials
Phase transitions play an important role in materials. However, in two-dimensional materials, the most famous of which is graphene, phase transitions can be very difficult to study. Researchers from Delft University of Technology and the University of Valencia have developed a new method that helps to solve this problem. They suspended ultrathin layers of 2-D-materials over a cavity and tracked...
Site C set to 'move a river' to build mega dam in northern B.C.
BC Hydro is poised to divert part of a major river to build the $10 billion Site C mega dam in northern...
Ten years of ecosystem services matrix: Review of a (r)evolution
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/2 01:42
One of the methods to assess Ecosystem Services (ES) - the benefits people obtain from ecosystems: the ES Matrix approach, has been increasingly used in the last decade. A review of its application confirms its flexibility, appropriateness and utility for decision-making, as well as its ability to increase awareness. Nevertheless, it is often used in a 'quick and dirty' way that calls for more...
Evidence supports physical distancing, masks, and eye protection to help prevent COVID-19
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/2 01:41
The systematic review was conducted by a large, international collaborative of researchers, front-line and specialist clinicians, epidemiologists, patients, public health and health policy experts of published and unpublished literature in any language.
Today's atmospheric carbon dioxide levels greater than 23 million-year record
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/2 01:41
A common message in use to convey the seriousness of climate change to the public is: 'Carbon dioxide levels are higher today than they have been for the past one million years!' This new study used a novel method to conclude that today's carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are actually higher than they have been for the past 23 million years.
Loggerhead sea turtles host diverse community of miniature organisms
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/2 01:41
Researchers found that more than double the number of organisms than previously observed live on the shells of these oceanic reptiles, raising important questions about loggerhead sea turtle ecology and conservation.
Killing coronavirus with handheld ultraviolet light device may be feasible
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/2 01:41
A personal, handheld device emitting high-intensity ultraviolet light to disinfect areas by killing the novel coronavirus is now feasible, according to researchers.
Researchers map SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells of nasal cavity, bronchia, lungs
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/2 01:41
Researchers have characterized the specific ways in which SARS-CoV-2 infects the nasal cavity to a great degree -- replicating specific cell types -- and infects and replicates progressively less well in cells lower down the respiratory tract. The findings suggest the virus tends to become firmly established first in the nasal cavity, but in some cases the virus is aspirated into the lungs, where...
Atmospheric scientists identify cleanest air on Earth in first-of-its-kind study
- ScienceDaily
- 20/6/2 01:41
A research group has identified an atmospheric region unchanged by human-related activities in the first study to measure bioaerosol composition of the Southern Ocean south of 40 degrees south latitude.