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43 articles from ScienceDaily

First all-human mouse model of inherited prion disease

Human prion diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS). A new study reports a significant advance in the development of mouse models of human prion diseases. The study demonstrates spontaneous formation of disease-relevant, transmissible prion protein assemblies in mice bearing only human forms of the prion protein.

Study on shorebirds suggests that when conserving species, not all land is equal

Researchers may have solved the long-standing puzzle of why migratory shorebirds around the world are plummeting several times faster than coastal ecosystems are being developed. They discovered that shorebirds overwhelmingly rely on tidal zones closest to dry land, which are most often lost to development. The findings suggest that protecting species requires a detailed understanding of how...

Study tracks decades of life cycle changes in nonwoody plants

For 25 years, Carol Augspurger visited a patch of ancient woods near Urbana, Illinois to look at the same 25 one-square-meter plots of earth she first demarcated for study in 1993. Her 600,000+ observations revealed that herbaceous plants are shifting their schedules in response to climate change, with distinct patterns for early- and late-spring-emerging plants.

Paper-based device provides low-power, long-term method for analyzing sweat

Researchers have constructed a paper-based device as a model of wearables that can collect, transport and analyze sweat in next-generation wearable technology. Using a process known as capillary action, akin to water transport in plants, the device uses evaporation to wick fluid that mimics the features of human sweat to a sensor for up to 10 days or longer.

Down to the bone: Understanding how bone-dissolving cells are generated

Bone-dissolving cells called osteoclasts are derived from a type of immune cells called macrophages. They are necessary for the maintenance and renewal of bones. But the intracellular mechanisms through which macrophages convert to osteoclasts are not fully understood. Recently, scientists have uncovered the role of a protein called Cpeb4 in this process. Their findings suggest potential...

Parasitic fungi keep harmful blue-green algae in check

When a lake is covered with green scums during a warm summer, cyanobacteria -- often called blue-green algae -- are usually involved. Mass development of cyanobacteria is bad for water quality. But cyanobacteria can become sick, when for instance infected by fungal parasites. Researchers found out that these infections do not only kill cyanobacteria, they also make them easier to consume for their...

Machine learning predicts nanoparticles' structure and dynamics

Researchers have demonstrated that new distance-based machine learning methods are capable of predicting structures and atomic dynamics of nanoparticles reliably. The new methods are significantly faster than traditional simulation methods used for nanoparticle research and will facilitate more efficient explorations of particle-particle reactions and particles' functionality in their environment....