292 articles from TUESDAY 6.4.2021

Screening for skin disease on your laptop

A biomedical engineer is reporting a new deep neural network architecture - to be used on a standard laptop - that provides early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis (SSc), a rare autoimmune disease marked by hardened or fibrous skin and internal organs.

Leptin puts the brakes on eating via novel neurocircuit

A new study in mice describes novel neurocircuitry between midbrain structures that control feeding behaviors that are under modulatory control by leptin, a hormone made by body fat. Since the discovery of leptin in the 1990s, researchers have wondered how leptin can suppress appetite.

Scientists reveal elusive inner workings of antioxidant enzyme with therapeutic potential

The enzyme manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) plays a critical role in maintaining human health by keeping the amount of harmful reactive oxygen molecules in cells under control. By using neutron scattering, researchers have now obtained a complete atomic portrait of the enzyme, revealing key information about its catalytic mechanism. The work could help experts develop MnSOD-based treatments...

Deep learning networks prefer the human voice -- just like us

A study proves that AI systems might reach higher levels of performance if they are programmed with sound files of human language rather than with numerical data labels. The researchers discovered that in a side-by-side comparison, a neural network whose 'training labels' consisted of sound files reached higher levels of performance in identifying objects in images, compared to another network...

Understanding fruit fly behavior may be next step toward autonomous vehicles

With over 70% of respondents to a AAA annual survey on autonomous driving reporting they would fear being in a fully self-driving car, makers like Tesla may be back to the drawing board before rolling out fully autonomous self-driving systems. But new research shows us we may be better off putting fruit flies behind the wheel instead of robots.

'Brain glue' helps repair circuitry in severe TBI

In a new study, researchers have demonstrated the long-term benefits of a hydrogel, which they call 'brain glue,' for the treatment of traumatic brain injury. The gel protects against loss of brain tissue after a severe injury and might aid in functional neural repair.

The sea urchin microbiome

Sea urchins receive a lot of attention in California. Red urchins support a thriving fishery, while their purple cousins are often blamed for mowing down kelp forests to create urchin barrens. Yet for all the notice we pay them, we know surprisingly little about the microbiomes that support these spiny species.

Aquatic invasive species cause billions of dollars in damage

The global movement of goods and people, in its modern form, has many unwanted side effects. One of these is that animal and plant species travel around the world with it. Often they fail to establish themselves in the ecosystems of the destination areas. Sometimes, however, due to a lack of effective management, they multiply to such an extent in the new environment that they become a threat to...

Americans are super-spreaders of COVID-19 misinformation: study

Misinformation about COVID-19 is spreading from the United States into Canada, undermining efforts to mitigate the pandemic. A study led by McGill University shows that Canadians who use social media are more likely to consume this misinformation, embrace false beliefs about COVID-19, and subsequently spread them.

First air quality profile of two sub-Saharan African cities finds troubling news

Ambient air pollution is a global public health crisis, causing more than 4.9 million premature deaths per year around the world. In Africa, it has surpassed AIDS as the leading cause of premature death. According to one study, air pollution—specifically, fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—may cause at least as many as 780,000 premature deaths annually in Africa and worsen a significant number of...