254 articles from TUESDAY 14.7.2020

Particulate plutonium released from the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns

Small amounts of plutonium (Pu) were released from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) reactors into the environment during the site's 2011 nuclear disaster. However, the physical, chemical, and isotopic form of the released Pu has remained unknown. Now, recent work published in the journal "Science of the Total Environment" has shown that Pu was included inside cesium-rich...

Report calls for government to 'level up' Stoke-on-Trent economy

Stoke-on-Trent faces an increased threat of poverty and destitution due to the COVID-19 crisis, a new report reveals. The research has been carried out by Staffordshire University Business School for the Stoke-on-Trent Hardship Commission and highlights the considerable work to be still done by central government to 'level-up' the Stoke-on-Trent economy.

Robot jaws shows medicated chewing gum could be the future

Medicated chewing gum has been recognised as a new advanced drug delivery method but currently there is no gold standard for testing drug release from chewing gum in vitro. New research by the University of Bristol has shown a chewing robot with built-in humanoid jaws could provide opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to develop medicated chewing gum.

Scientists achieve first complete assembly of human X chromosome

Although the current human reference genome is the most accurate and complete vertebrate genome ever produced, there are still gaps in the DNA sequence, even after two decades of improvements. Now, for the first time, scientists have determined the complete sequence of a human chromosome from one end to the other ('telomere to telomere') with no gaps and an unprecedented level of accuracy.

Scientists find new link between delirium and brain energy disruption

Scientists have discovered a new link between impaired brain energy metabolism and delirium -- a disorienting and distressing disorder particularly common in the elderly and one that is currently occurring in a large proportion of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The research suggests that therapies focusing on brain energy metabolism may offer new routes to mitigating delirium.

Scientists found a way to identify diseases by blood serum

Researchers developed a new dynamic light scattering method to determine the sizes of circulating immune complexes in blood serum. The results of the study were published in the first quartile Biology Journal, MDPI Publishing House. Scientists mentioned, that this method is fast, contactless, safe and cheap.

Study finds hidden emotions in the sound of words

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, it's common to feel stress levels rise every time we hear the word "virus." But new Cornell-led research reveals that the sound of the word itself was likely to raise your blood pressure - even before "corona" was added to it.

Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills

A new study finds that the technical interviews currently used in hiring for many software engineering positions test whether a job candidate has performance anxiety rather than whether the candidate is competent at coding. The interviews may also be used to exclude groups or favor specific job candidates.

The earliest cat on the Northern Silk Road

Dr. Irina Arzhantseva and Professor Heinrich Haerke from the Centre for Classical and Oriental Archaeology (IKVIA, Faculty of Humanities, HSE University) have been involved in the discovery of the earliest domestic cat yet found in northern Eurasia.