348 articles from WEDNESDAY 23.6.2021

Rising greenhouse gases pose continued threat to Arctic ozone layer

A new study including University of Maryland Professor Ross Salawitch, shows that extremely low winter temperatures high in the atmosphere over the arctic are becoming more frequent and more extreme because of climate patterns associated with global warming. The study also shows that those extreme low temperatures are causing reactions among chemicals humans pumped into the air decades ago,...

Scientists uncover new mechanism that enables development of cancer

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have uncovered a mechanism that activates specific genes, leading to the development of cancers. They showed that a mutation that fuses two unrelated genes can promote a process similar to that observed when oil and water are mixed but do not blend together. The process, called liquid-liquid phase separation, can promote cancers such...

Seeking a treatment for IBS pain in tarantula venom

For patients who have inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), the condition is literally a pain in the gut. Chronic -- or long-term -- abdominal pain is common, and there are currently no effective treatment options for this debilitating symptom. In a new study in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, researchers identify a new potential source of relief: a molecule derived from spider venom. In...

Single dose of Pfizer or Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine offers substantial protection to

A new study to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) (9-12 July) and published this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases shows that, for residents of long-term care homes for adults aged 65 years and over, a single dose of either the Pfizer or Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine offers around 60% protection against infection from...

Sneeze cam reveals best fabric combos for cloth masks (video)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, cloth face masks became a way to help protect yourself and others from the virus. And for some people, they became a fashion statement, with many fabric choices available. But just how effective are they, especially in containing a sneeze? Now, researchers reporting in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering used high-speed videos of a person sneezing to identify the...

Starchy snacks may increase CVD risk; fruits and veggies at certain meals decreases risk

Eating fruits with lunch, vegetables at dinner and a dairy snack in the evening was associated with a reduced risk of death by cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality, according to a study of U.S. adults.Eating a Western lunch (typically containing a high quantity of refined grains, cheese and cured meat) was associated with an elevated risk of CVD and all-cause mortalities in the...

Study on fiscal policy advocates for making hay while the sun shines

A study published in Economic Inquiry that examined data from 133 countries from 1950-2014 found that a reduction in fiscal space--with fiscal space being the ability of governments to provide resources without undermining fiscal sustainability--in high income countries following the global financial crisis in 2007-2009 prevented these economies from adopting countercyclical fiscal policies.

Synthesis of a near-infrared light absorbing macrocyclic aromatic compound

A ring-expanded porphyrin with no meso-bridges comprised of an odd number of pyrroles was successfully synthesized via the oxidative coupling of the corresponding terpyrrole. This porphyrin showed a 34pi aromatic character and an intense absorption at the near-infrared region. We analyzed the optical and electronic structures using magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy and time-dependent...

Systolic blood pressure above 120 mmHg increases rate of cardiovascular disease

Researchers remain perplexed on the role of the interplay between blood pressure and glucose status and the development of cardiovascular events like coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease. In a first-of-its-kind study, published in Diabetes Care, Japanese researchers discovered that cardiovascular risks gradually rose with increases in blood pressure regardless of the presence of and...

The origins of farming insects

A beetle bores a tree trunk to build a gallery in the wood in order to protect its lay. As it digs the tunnel, it spreads ambrosia fungal spores that will feed the larvae. When these bore another tree, the adult beetles will be the transmission vectors of the fungal spores in another habitat. This mutualism among insects and ambrosia fungi could be more than 100 years old, more than what was...