298 articles from TUESDAY 1.6.2021

Innovative surgical simulator is a significant advance in training trauma teams

Simulators have long been used for training surgeons and surgical teams, but traditional simulator platforms typically have a built-in limitation: they often simulate one or a limited number of conditions that require performance of isolated tasks, such as placing an intravenous catheter, instead of simulating and providing opportunities for feedback on the performance of multiple interventions...

Modulating rapamycin target protein promotes autophagy, lowering toxic Huntingtin protein

Recent failed clinical trials of a drug designed to clear the mutant Huntingtin protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD) heightens the need for new approaches for the devastating, incurable, progressive neurodegenerative genetic disorder. Scientists have found that the targeting the protein called FK506-binding protein 51 or FKBP51 promotes the clearing of those toxic proteins via autophagy,...

New method to improve durability of nano-electronic components, further semiconductor manufacturing

Researchers have developed a novel approach to mitigating electromigration in nanoscale electronic interconnects that are ubiquitous in state-of-the-art integrated circuits. This was achieved by coating copper metal interconnects with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), an atomically-thin insulating two-dimensional (2D) material that shares a similar structure as the 'wonder material' graphene.

No UK Covid deaths announced for first time in 10 months

News raises optimism in No 10 for unlocking despite warnings from scientists over third waveCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe UK has reported no deaths from Covid in a day, for the first time in 10 months, raising optimism in Downing Street that England could forge ahead with the final stage of the roadmap despite scientists warning that extra restrictions might be...

Foster care, homelessness are higher education hurdles

A college education is estimated to add $1 million to a person's lifetime earning potential, but for some students the path to earning one is riddled with obstacles. That journey is even more difficult for students who have been in the foster care system or experienced homelessness, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

Trust among corvids

Siberian jays are group living birds within the corvid family that employ a wide repertoire of calls to warn each other of predators. Sporadically, however, birds use one of these calls to trick their neighboring conspecifics and gain access to their food. Researchers from the universities of Konstanz (Germany), Wageningen (Netherlands), and Zurich (Switzerland) have now examined how Siberian jays...

Best of both worlds: High entropy meets low dimensions, opens up infinite possibilities

The discovery of graphene, a 2D layered form of carbon, once caused a paradigm shift in science and technology like no other. As this wonder material drew attention from material scientists around the world, it spurred research on other materials that were structurally similar, such as "van der Waals materials," which comprise strongly-bonded 2D atomic layers that are held together by weak...

Study: Parler provided echo chamber for vaccine misinformation, conspiracy theories

In the early days of COVID-19 vaccine development, a new social media platform provided a place for like-minded people to discuss vaccines, share misinformation and speculate about the motivations for its development. A new study from the University of Kansas shows people flocked to Parler to discuss the vaccines in an echo chamber-type environment, and those conversations can shed light about how...

The evolutionary fates of supergenes unmasked

While the term "supergene" may bring to mind the genetic hocus-pocus of Peter Parker's transformation into Spiderman, supergenes are actually fairly common phenomena in the realm of biology. A supergene refers to a genomic region containing multiple genes or genetic elements that are tightly linked, allowing genetic variants across the region to be co-inherited. Supergenes may arise when there is...

Researchers demonstrate a quantum advantage

Quantum computing and quantum sensing have the potential to be vastly more powerful than their classical counterparts. Not only could a fully realized quantum computer take just seconds to solve equations that would take a classical computer thousands of years, but it could have incalculable impacts on areas ranging from biomedical imaging to autonomous driving.