A new study of kindergarteners in one Midwestern state identified seven different pathways the children took in their early education and care before arriving at school. The researchers were surprised by the diverse experiences that kids brought with them to kindergarten: While some received care only in their home or mainly in a child care center, others switched back and forth between different...

A new study suggests that melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and is commonly used as an over-the-counter sleep aid, may be a viable treatment option for COVID-19.

Scientists have developed new simulations of black holes with widely varying masses merging that could help power the next generation of gravitational wave detectors.

Maintaining forest cover is an important natural climate solution, but new research shows that too often, communities lose out when local forest management is formalized.

A new study of coprolites, fossil feces, shows the detail of food webs in the ancient shallow seas around Bristol in south-west England. One hungry fish ate part of the head of another fish before snipping off the tail of a passing reptile.

Scientists have constructed a high-resolution 3D model that shows what happens when a bacterial motor switches directions.

Researchers using Big Data have shown that the average length of the menstrual cycle in Japanese women peaks at 23 years with a trough at 45. Body temperature was consistent for the follicular phase of the cycle, but the average during the luteal phase peaks and stabilizes in the thirties, declining after 42. These findings replace outdated statistics and are relevant for research into female...

A genetic disposition that plays a role in the development of the heart in the embryo also appears to play a key role in the human immune system.

New research has led to the first direct discovery of a cold brown dwarf from its radio wavelength emission. Along with paving the way for future brown dwarf discoveries, this result is an important step towards applying radio astronomy to the exciting field of exoplanets.

Receipt of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections makes it more likely that patients and their families will seek care and receive antibiotics for future respiratory viral infections. In the year after their visit, patients randomly assigned to clinicians who prescribed more antibiotics got 15 percent more antibiotics for viral respiratory infections compared with patients seen by clinicians...

Researchers have identified a new bacterial protein that assists in delivering components to the outer membrane of the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli.

The transition to remote learning coupled with an unequal distribution of second-shift responsibilities has placed teachers who are also mothers under immense stress, according to new research.

The transition to middle school is undeniably tough for many sixth-graders, even in the best of times. Mounting academic demands, along with changes in peer dynamics and the onset of puberty, result in a predictable and sometimes irreversible slump in academic performance. A new study suggests an unexpected but potentially potent remedy: trees.

Ecological theory provides insights on pesticide use in agriculture

Dr. Atanu Lahiri and Dr. Zhiqiang Zheng studied the relationship between online reviews of physicians and their patients' actual clinical outcomes. They wanted to know how much consumers can rely on the reviews, specifically in regard to chronic-disease care.

Scientists have developed a new way to decipher the atomic-level structure of materials based on data gleaned from ground-up powder samples. They describe their approach and demonstrate its ability to solve the structure of a material that shows promise for shuttling ions through sodium-ion batteries.

Biomedical engineers have developed a way of modeling how potentially beneficial packages of DNA called plasmids circulate and accumulate through a complex environment that includes many bacterial species. The researchers hope that their new model will lay the groundwork for others to better model and predict how important traits such as antibiotic resistance in pathogens or metabolic abilities in...

Males of the extinct human species Paranthropus robustus were thought to be substantially larger than females -- much like the size differences seen in modern-day primates such as gorillas, orangutans and baboons. But a new fossil discovery in South Africa instead suggests that P. robustus evolved rapidly during a turbulent period of local climate change about 2 million years ago, resulting in...

The properties of synthesized magnets can be changed and controlled by charge currents as suggested by a study and simulations conducted by physicists. The team reports on how magnets and magnetic signals can be coupled more effectively and steered by electric fields. This could result in new, environmentally friendly concepts for efficient communication and data processing.

When and how did the first animals appear? Science has long sought an answer. Researchers have now jointly found, in Greenland, embryo-like microfossils up to 570 million years old, revealing that organisms of this type were dispersed throughout the world.

Researchers have shown that nanoparticles could be used to deliver drugs to the brain to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Research has confirmed the nationwide Alert Level 4 COVID-19 lockdown had a significant toll on New Zealanders' well-being, especially for younger people -- but the results were not all negative.

An invention similar to an elephant's trunk has potential benefits for many industries where handling delicate objects is essential, say the researchers who developed it.

Researchers report a case of frosted branch angiitis in a woman presenting years after being treated for leukemia-lymphoma with allogeneic human stem cell transplant. The relevance of this ocular finding is discussed and its value as an early warning sign of immune activation following therapeutic immunological interventions is highlighted.