308 articles from MONDAY 17.8.2020

New study: Hydroxychloroquine ineffective as a preventive antiviral against COVID-19

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have added to the growing body of understanding about how hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is not a possible defense against COVID-19. Specifically, they found that HCQ is not effective in preventing COVID-19 in patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), suggesting a broader interpretation of HCQ as ineffective preventive medicine for the general...

New superlattice by CCNY team could lead to sustainable quantum electronics

A team of international physicists led by Lia Krusin-Elbaum of the City College of New York, has created a new topological magnetic superlattice material, that at a high temperature can conduct electrical current without dissipation and lost energy. The finding, detailed in a paper published in "Nature Physics," could be the basis of research leading to an entire new quantum materials class that...

New superlattice material for future energy efficient devices

A team of international physicists including Jennifer Cano, PhD, of Stony Brook University, has created a new material layered by two structures, forming a superlattice, that at a high temperature is a super-efficient insulator conducting current without dissipation and lost energy. The finding is detailed in a paper published in Nature Physics.

Novel method can efficiently create several 'building blocks' of pharmaceutical drugs

A class of organic compounds that form the backbone of several pharmaceuticals, alicyclic compounds, are difficult to synthesize. However, with a novel method developed by a team of scientists at Waseda University in Japan, a range of abundantly available aromatic compounds, such as benzene derivatives, can be readily and efficiently transformed into a variety of highly functionalized alicyclic...

Ocean microbes could interact with pollution to influence climate

Little is known about how gases and aerosols made by ocean microbes affect weather and climate, or how pollution could influence this process. Today, scientists report they've used an "ocean-in-a-lab" to show that air pollution can change the makeup of gases and aerosols that sea spray releases into the atmosphere, potentially altering weather patterns. The researchers will present their results...

Opioid use can trigger deafness

Opioid use, particularly in high doses, can cause deafness, according to Rutgers researchers. The study, published in The Journal of Medical Toxicology, reviewed records from the New Jersey Poison Control Center, based at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, from 1999 to 2018 to determine the association between opioid use and degrees of hearing loss.

Penguins are Aussies. Or are they Kiwis?

UC Berkeley and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile researchers sequenced the genomes of all 18 recognized species of penguin to assemble a family tree, showing that the largest of the penguins - king and emperor - split off from all other penguins not long after penguins arose 22 million years ago in Australia and New Zealand. Other penguins diversified after Drake's Passage opened, revving...

Potency-enhancing drugs linked to decreased risks in men with colorectal cancer

A new study from Lund University and Region Skåne in Sweden indicates that potency-enhancing PDE5 inhibitor drugs have an anti-cancer potential with the ability to improve the prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. PDE5 inhibitors include a few approved drugs in which sildenafil (Viagra) is the most well-known. The article is published in Nature Communications.

Realtime observation of structural dynamic of influenza A hemagglutinin during viral entry

Researchers in Kanazawa University has recently reported their study in Nano Letters regarding a high-speed atomic force microscopy study on a biological event that happens during flu virus enters infects its host cell. The real-time visualization of influenza A hemagglutinin (HA) has enhanced the understanding of fusogenic transition of HA and its interactions with host endosomes.

Researchers discover how enzyme protects cells from DNA damage

A research team from Mount Sinai has unraveled for the first time the three-dimensional structure and mechanism of a complex enzyme that protects cells from constant DNA damage, opening the door to discovery of new therapeutics for the treatment of chemotherapy-resistant cancers.

Researchers got busy: After nearly allowing the solution to a math riddle

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) thought that they were five years away from solving a math riddle from the 1980's. In reality, and without knowing, they had nearly cracked the problem and had just given away much of the solution in a research article. The solution could be used to improve tomorrow's phones and computers.

Safer, more comfortable soldier uniforms are in the works

Uniforms of U.S. Army soldiers must feel comfortable in all climates, be durable through multiple washings, resist fires and ward off insects, among other things. Existing fabrics don't check all of these boxes, so scientists have come up with a novel way of creating a flame-retardant, insect-repellent fabric that uses nontoxic substances. The researchers will present their results today at the...