320 articles from TUESDAY 19.1.2021

Study identifies a nonhuman primate model that mimics severe COVID-19 similar to humans

Aged, wild-caught African green monkeys exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with clinical symptoms similar to those observed in the most serious human cases of COVID-19, report researchers in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier. This is the first study to show that African green monkeys can develop severe clinical disease after...

Testing the waters: Analyzing different solid states of water on other planets and moons

Aside from regular ice, water can exist in the form of peculiar solids called clathrate hydrates, which trap small gaseous molecules. They play a large role in the evolution of atmospheres, but predicting their presence in cryogenic temperatures is difficult. In a recent study, scientists from Okayama University developed statistical mechanics theory to determine their presence in Pluto and some...

TGen-NAU study: COVID-19 virus triggers antibodies from previous coronavirus infections

This knowledge could help researchers design new diagnostics, evaluate the healing powers of convalescent plasma, develop new therapeutic treatments, and -- importantly -- help design future vaccines or monoclonal antibody therapies capable of protecting against mutations that may occur in the COVID-19 virus. The findings could help explain the widely varying reactions COVID-19 patients have to...

Ultra-small nanomedicines which stably deliver oligonucleotides to refractory cancers

Ultra-small nanomedicines with a size of ca. 18 nm were fabricated by dynamic ion-pairing between Y-shaped block copolymers and oligonucleotide drugs. Chemically modified and double-stranded oligonucleotides dramatically enhanced the stability of the ultra-small nanomedicines in the bloodstream. The size allows for high permeability in cancer tissues by slipping through the cracks in tumor...

Where do our minds wander? Brain waves can point the way

Anyone who has tried and failed to meditate knows that our minds are rarely still. But where do they roam? New research led by the University of California, Berkeley, has come up with a way to track the flow of our internal thought processes and signal whether our minds are focused, fixated or wandering.

With a little help from their friends, older birds breed successfully

The offspring of older animals often have a lower chance of survival because the parents are unable to take care of their young as well as they should. The Seychelles warbler is a cooperatively breeding bird species, meaning that parents often receive help when raising their offspring. A study led by biologists from the University of Groningen shows that the offspring of older females have better...

Worker safety goes beyond human error

Disasters in high-risk industries can have catastrophic environmental, financial and human safety consequences. One way these industries help prevent and mitigate disasters is formal procedures designed to standardize how work is done. These procedures typically come in the form of a written document workers use while performing a task.