Major changes in bereavement care have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a flood of demand for help from bereaved people, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. The first major study of pandemic-related changes in bereavement care has found that the switch to remote working has helped some services to reach out, but many practitioners feel they do not have capacity...

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), also known as Machado-Joseph Disease (MJD), describes the most common form of dominantly inherited ataxia in many populations worldwide, including Hong Kong and mainland China. SCA3 or MJD patients often present problems with gait and balance, blurred vision, and speech difficulties. The symptoms are progressive, and patients may eventually decline into a...

Fluid injection of perovskite semiconductors creates microwires to build different optoelectronic devices on a single silicon chip.

Red supergiants are a class of star that end their lives in supernova explosions. Their lifecycles are not fully understood, partly due to difficulties in measuring their temperatures. For the first time, astronomers develop an accurate method to determine the surface temperatures of red supergiants.

A team led by the University of Tsukuba has discovered a key component of the molecular motors that drive motility in cells, such as sperm cells or unicellular algae that swim using flagella. A novel protein, named DYBLUP, is part of the linkage between the motor complexes and cellular microtubules that produce movement in flagella, and is also centrally involved in cell responses to blue light.

Obstructive sleep apnea is when breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep. Research has shown people with this sleep disorder have an increased risk of developing cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Yet, it is treatable. A preliminary study released today, February 28, 2021, has found that obstructive sleep apnea is common in people with cognitive impairment. The study will be...

A study carried out by researchers from the Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu revealed that human gut microbiome can be used to predict changes in Type 2 diabetes related glucose regulation up to four years ahead.

- The human brain grew as a result of hunting small animals following the extinction of large animals - As they adapted to hunting small, swift prey animals, humans developed higher cognitive abilities, evidenced by the most obvious evolutionary change

Takeaway coffees - they're a convenient start for millions of people each day, but while the caffeine perks us up, the disposable cups drag us down, with nearly 300 billion ending up in landfill each year.While most coffee drinkers are happy to make a switch to sustainable practices, new research from the University of South Australia shows that an absence of infrastructure and a general...

Well over half of Europe's forests are potentially at risk from windthrow, forest fire and insect attacks

This study reported for the first time, which identified the gene mutations and abnormal splicing of PLCg1 gene in AD using both high-throughput screening data and a deep learning-based prediction (Splice-AI)

Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have revealed how liquid foams collapse by observing individual collapse "events" with high-speed video microscopy. They found that cracks in films led to a receding liquid front which sweeps up the original film border, inverts its shape, and releases a droplet which hits and breaks other films. Their observations and physical model...

Eminent scientists warn that key ecosystems around Australia and Antarctica are collapsing, and propose a three-step framework to combat irreversible global damage.

When it comes to learning to read, new research suggests that explicit instruction--a phonics teaching method in which the relationship between sound and spelling is taught directly and systematically--is more effective than self-discovery through reading.

The absence of the TRIM37 protein induces the formation of centrosomes in cells in turn favouring the development of tumours.

Heart problems cause disturbed gene activity in the brain's memory center, from which cognitive deficits arise. Researchers at the DZNE come to this conclusion based on laboratory studies. They consider that they have found a possible cause for the increased risk of dementia in people with heart problems.

Marilyn Rantz still remembers the day she got the call that her mother, whose health had been declining, had fallen and fractured her shoulder.

A number of brain areas change their activity before we execute a planned voluntary movement. A new study by Umeå University identifies a novel function of this preparatory neural activity, highlighting another mechanism the nervous system can use to achieve its goals.

Parasitic flatworms known as agents of food-borne zoonoses were confirmed to use several species of thiarid snails, commonly found in freshwater and brackish environments in southeast Asia, as their first intermediate host. These parasites can cause severe ocular infections in humans who consume raw or improperly cooked fish that have fed on parasitised snails. The study, conducted in South...

Based on a manual recently discovered in a 3,500-year-old medical papyrus, University of Copenhagen Egyptologist Sofie Schiødt has been able to reconstruct the embalming process used to prepare ancient Egyptians for the afterlife. It is the oldest surviving manual on mummification yet discovered.

Studies have shown that clonal hematopoiesis often goes hand in hand with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Since its discovery, this surprising association has been the subject of intense interest from clinicians and researchers alike. Patients with atherosclerosis suffer from hyperlipidemia and inflammation, two conditions that are known to chronically boost hematopoietic stem cell...

A Rice University computer science lab challenges -- and beats -- deep learning in a test to see if a new bioinformatics approach effectively tracks the lab of origin of a synthetic genetic sequence.

Biologists from RUDN University confirmed that a well-known spasmolytic drug called hymecromone can suppress the inflammatory response in astrocytes, important glial cells of the central nervous system. Potentially, it could be used to develop medications against Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

When patients with COVID-19 arrive in emergency rooms, there are relatively few ways for doctors to predict which ones are more likely to become critically ill and require intensive care and which ones are more likely to enjoy a quick recovery.