218 articles from FRIDAY 12.6.2020

Heart attack in a dish: a 3D model

Researchers in the Medical University of South Carolina Clemson Bioengineering program report in Nature Biomedical Engineering that they have developed human cardiac organoids that model what happens in a heart attack in a microtissue less than 1 millimeter in diameter. This is the first model that accurately recapitulates the complex tissue dysfunction after a heart attack with multiple human...

Hibernation in mice: Are humans next?

University of Tsukuba and RIKEN researchers identified cells in the brain that can induce a hibernation-like state in mice or rats, species that do not naturally hibernate. In this state, oxygen consumption, body temperature, heart rate, and respiration were all lowered, and animals spontaneously recovered without any tissue damage. Inducing this state in humans could have several medical...

India's 50-year drying period and subsequent reversal -- Battle between natural and anthropogenic variability

Increase of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere generally tends to increase rainfall over India. Up to the year 2000, however, it appeared that the natural variability had been able to override this effect, resulting in the overall decrease. In addition to anthropogenic climate change, rainfall changes in recent decades are also influenced by natural sea surface temperature oscillation...

Inhibitory interneurons in hippocampus excite the developing brain

A new study from the George Washington University, however, reports that in some critical structures of the developing brain, the inhibitory neurons cause excitation rather than suppression of brain activity. The findings, published in Science Advances, could have implications for the treatment of neonatal seizures.

LJI scientists uncover immune cells that may lower airway allergy and asthma risk

In a new Science Immunology study, published on June 12, 2020, scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) offer a clue to why non-allergic people don't have a strong reaction to house dust mites. They've uncovered a previously unknown subset of T cells that may control allergic immune reactions and asthma from ever developing in response to house dust mites--and other possible...

Mixture and migration brought food production to sub-Saharan Africa

A new interdisciplinary study published in the journal Science Advances reports on 20 newly sequenced ancient genomes from sub-Saharan Africa, including the first genomes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Botswana, and Uganda. The study documents the coexistence, movements, interactions and admixture of diverse human groups during the spread of food production in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our sleep during lockdown: Longer and more regular, but worse

A survey conducted at the University of Basel and the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel has investigated how sleep has changed during the Covid-19 lockdown. The 435 individuals surveyed -- most of whom were women -- reported sleeping longer while sleep quality deteriorated. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

Parasites and the microbiome

In a study of ethnically diverse people from Cameroon, the presence of a parasite infection was closely linked to the make-up of the gastrointestinal microbiome, according to a research team led by Penn scientists.

Pitt study shows optical fields can modify electrons in metal

The paper, 'Coherent multidimensional photoelectron spectroscopy of ultrafast quasiparticle dressing by light,' describes how applying intense optical fields to electrons in metals can change how electrons flow between the ions. The results could introduce new innovations by using light to control the properties of matter.

Printed perovskite LEDs

A team of researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin has succeeded for the first time in producing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) from a hybrid perovskite semiconductor material using inkjet printing.This opens the door to broad application of these materials in manufacturing many different kinds of electronic components.The scientists achieved the...

Protecting bays from ocean acidification

As oceans absorb more man-made carbon dioxide from the air, a process of ocean acidification occurs that can have a negative impact on marine life. But coastal waterways, such as Chesapeake Bay, can also suffer from low oxygen and acidification. New research from the University of Delaware identifies one way to protect these waterways -- the presence of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV).

Protecting scientific diversity

The COVID-19 pandemic means that scientists face great challenges because they have to reorient, interrupt or even cancel research and teaching. A team of international scientists including the University of Göttingen published an international appeal highlighting the precarious situation of many scientists and calling for a collective effort by the scientific community, especially from its...

Radioactive cloud over Europe had civilian background

A mysterious cloud containing radioactive ruthenium-106, which moved across Europe in 2017, is still bothering Europe's radiation protection entities. German researchers now found out that the cloud did not originate from military sources but rather from civilian nuclear activities. The study has been published in Nature Communications.