318 articles from THURSDAY 18.6.2020

Nanoparticle for overcoming leukemia treatment resistance

One of the largest problems with cancer treatment is the development of resistance to anticancer therapies. A research team found that repurposing a commonly used chemotherapy drug using a nanoparticle developed at UConn was more effective than both a solution of the pure drug and other available treatments.

Neandertal genes in the petri dish

Protocols that allow the transformation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines into organoids have changed the way scientists can study developmental processes and enable them to decipher the interplay between genes and tissue formation, particularly for organs where primary tissue is not available. Now, investigators are taking this technology and applying it to study the...

New Argentine fossils uncover history of celebrated conifer group

Newly unearthed, surprisingly well-preserved conifer fossils from Patagonia, Argentina, show that an endangered and celebrated group of tropical West Pacific trees has roots in the ancient supercontinent that once comprised Australia, Antarctica and South America, according to an international team of researchers.

New research says displaying fake reviews increases consumer trust in platforms by 80%

Many people are using COVID-19 quarantine to get projects done at home, meaning plenty of online shopping for tools and supplies. But do you buy blind? Research shows 97% of consumers consult product reviews before making a purchase. Fake reviews are a significant threat for online review portals and product search engines given the potential for damage to consumer trust. Little is known about...

New study: Publicizing OSHA violations increases compliance

A single press release naming a company that has violated workplace health and safety regulations can result in a 73 percent improvement in compliance by other facilities, a Duke researcher finds in a study published in the American Economic Review. 'OSHA would have to conduct an additional 210 inspections to elicit the same improvement in compliance as sparked by a single press release about...

Off the scales: Fish armor both tough and flexible

Humans have drawn technological inspiration from fish scales going back to ancient times: Romans, Egyptians, and other civilizations would dress their warriors in scale armor, providing both protection and mobility. Now, using advanced X-ray imaging techniques, Berkeley Lab scientists have characterized carp scales down to the nanoscale, enabling them to understand how the material is resistant to...

Popular doesn't mean influential among Cambodian farmers

Published in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, their research examined the role of social network brokers - well-connected individuals within a community - in the adoption of innovative farming practices in Battambang Province in North-Western Cambodia. The authors, Dr Petr Matous, Junjian Zhang and Associate Professor Daniel Tan found that less popular farmers were better...

Predicting side effects

Scientists develop AI-based tool to predict adverse drug events. Such events are responsible for some 2 million U.S. hospitalizations per year. The free, open-source system could enable safer drug design, optimize drug safety

Quantum rings in the hold of laser light

Ultracold atoms trapped in appropriately prepared optical traps can arrange themselves in surprisingly complex, hitherto unobserved structures, according to scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow. In line with their most recent predictions, matter in optical lattices should form tensile and inhomogeneous quantum rings in a controlled manner.

Reducing the risk of space debris collision

In a new paper published in EPJ Special Topics, authors Antônio Delson Conceição de Jesus and Gabriel Luiz F. Santos, from the State University of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil, model the complex rendezvous manoeuvres a tug vehicle clearing space debris would have to undergo to mitigate the risk of collision at the moment of coupling.

Researchers create a photographic film of a molecular switch

Molecular switches are the molecular counterparts of electrical switches and play an important role in many processes in nature. Nanotechnologist now produced a photographic film at the atomic level and thus tracked the motion of a molecular building block. The result was a light-controlled 'pedalo-type motion', going forward and backward. The study has been published in the "The Journal of...

Researchers find a new therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer

The development of pancreatic cancer is driven by coexisting mutations in an oncogene involved in controlling cell growth, and in a tumor suppressor gene. But how these mutations cooperate to promote cancer is unknown. A new study uncovers the link between key processes in the formation of pancreatic cancer.

Researchers study a novel type of extracellular vesicles

Researchers from Sechenov University and the University of Pittsburgh compared the properties of two groups of extracellular vesicles. Either present in a liquid phase or attached to the fibres of the extracellular matrix, these vesicles facilitate metabolism and cell-cell communication. A better understanding of their structure, production and movement can help create new bioengineered materials...