283 articles from THURSDAY 22.7.2021

Big data-derived tool facilitates closer monitoring of recovery from natural disasters

By analyzing peoples' visitation patterns to essential establishments like pharmacies, religious centers and grocery stores during Hurricane Harvey, researchers have developed a framework to assess the recovery of communities after natural disasters in near real time. They said the information gleaned from their analysis would help federal agencies allocate resources equitably among communities...

'Good cholesterol' may protect liver

The body's so-called good cholesterol may be even better than we realize. New research suggests that one type of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has a previously unknown role in protecting the liver from injury. This HDL protects the liver by blocking inflammatory signals produced by common gut bacteria.

New tests can detect tiny but toxic particles of coal ash in soil

Scientists have developed tests sensitive enough to detect and measure microscopic particles of coal ash in soil, even at concentrations so low and sizes so small that other tests would likely miss them. The four new tests complement tests previously developed at Duke to detect coal ash contamination in water and larger particles of coal ash in soil.

Early-life social connections influence gene expression, stress resilience

Having friends may not only be good for the health of your social life, but also for your actual health—if you're a hyena, that is. Strong social connections and greater maternal care early in life can influence molecular markers related to gene expression in DNA and future stress response, suggests a new University of Colorado Boulder study of spotted hyenas in the wild.

Big data-derived tool facilitates closer monitoring of recovery from natural disasters

By analyzing peoples' visitation patterns to essential establishments like pharmacies, religious centers and grocery stores during Hurricane Harvey, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a framework to assess the recovery of communities after natural disasters in near real time. They said the information gleaned from their analysis would help federal agencies allocate resources...

Study: Young workers now value respect over 'fun' perks in the workplace

Millennials, often referred to as the "job-hopping generation," represent a group of young workers who once grabbed the national spotlight with their publicized demands for "fun" work perks, such as happy hours. However, researchers at the Novak Leadership Institute at the University of Missouri and Kansas State University discovered today's young workers—ages 21-34—represent a life-stage...

Cattle losing adaptations to environmental stressors, researchers find

As a fourth-generation cattle farmer, Jared Decker knows that cattle suffer from health and productivity issues when they are taken from one environment—which the herd has spent generations adapting to—to a place with a different climate, a different elevation or even different grass. But as a researcher at the University of Missouri, Decker also sees an opportunity to use science to solve...

Limited number of critical workers to be allowed to avoid self-isolation

Policy will only apply to named staff in approved workplaces who are fully vaccinatedWorkers from 16 key services including health, transport and energy will not have to isolate after being pinged by the NHS Covid app, as it was revealed that more than 600,000 people in England and Wales were sent self-isolation alerts last week.The raft of changes, after days of frantic talks with industry...

Unravelling the knotty problem of the Sun's activity

A new approach to analysing the development of magnetic tangles on the Sun has led to a breakthrough in a longstanding debate about how solar energy is injected into the solar atmosphere before being released into space, causing space weather events. The first direct evidence that field lines become knotted before they emerge at the visible surface of the Sun has implications for our ability to...

Young workers now value respect over 'fun' perks in the workplace

Millennials, often referred to as the 'job-hopping generation,' represent a group of young workers who once grabbed the national spotlight with their publicized demands for 'fun' work perks, such as happy hours. However, researchers have discovered today's young workers -- ages 21-34 -- represent a life-stage shift toward placing more value on having respectful communication in the workplace over...

Early-life social connections influence gene expression, stress resilience

Having friends may not only be good for the health of your social life, but also for your actual health -- if you're a hyena, that is. Strong social connections and greater maternal care early in life can influence molecular markers related to gene expression in DNA and future stress response, suggests a new study of spotted hyenas in the wild.

'Wrapping' anodes in 3D carbon nanosheets: The next big thing in li-ion battery technology

The lithium-ion battery is the future of sustainable energy technology, but drastic volume fluctuations in their anodes related to enhanced battery capacity raises a safety concern. Recently, researchers have found that embedding manganese selenide anodes in a 3D carbon nanosheet matrix is an innovative, simple, and low-cost means of reducing drastic volume expansion while improving the energy...

Investigational magnetic device shrinks glioblastoma in human test

Researchers shrunk a deadly glioblastoma tumor by more than a third using a helmet generating a noninvasive oscillating magnetic field that the patient wore on his head while administering the therapy in his own home. The 53-year-old patient died from an unrelated injury about a month into the treatment, but during that short time, 31% of the tumor mass disappeared. The autopsy of his brain...

Cattle losing adaptations to environment

Researchers have uncovered evidence showing that cattle are losing important environmental adaptations, losses the researchers attribute to a lack of genetic information available to farmers. After examining genetic material stretching back to the 1960s, they identified specific DNA variations associated with adaptations that could one day be used to create DNA tests for cattle -- tests that could...

US in ‘another pivotal moment’ as Delta variant drives surge in Covid cases

Hospitals are filling up, especially in areas with low vaccinationsCDC offers no change in guidance on mask wearingThe US is “at another pivotal moment in this pandemic” as rising Covid-19 cases show no signs of abating, driven by the Delta variant, and some hospitals are filling up, especially in areas with low vaccination rates, government officials warned on Thursday.The US government did...

InSight mission: Mars unveiled

Using information obtained from around a dozen earthquakes detected on Mars by the Very Broad Band SEIS seismometer, developed in France, the international team of NASA's InSight mission has unveiled the internal structure of Mars. The three papers published on July 23, 2021 in the journal Science, involving numerous co-authors from French institutions and laboratories, including the CNRS, the...

Western wildfires grow, but better weather helps crews

Lower winds and better weather helped crews using bulldozers and helicopters battling the nation's largest wildfire in southern Oregon while a Northern California wildfire crossed into Nevada, prompting new evacuations as blazes burn across the West.

Researchers develop tool to drastically speed up the study of enzymes

For much of human history, animals and plants were perceived to follow a different set of rules than the rest of the universe. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this culminated in a belief that living organisms were infused by a non-physical energy or "life force" that allowed them to perform remarkable transformations that couldn't be explained by conventional chemistry or physics alone.

Cell-analysis technique could combat tuberculosis

A new method that analyzes how individual immune cells react to the bacteria that cause tuberculosis could pave the way for new vaccine strategies against this deadly disease, and provide insights into fighting other infectious diseases around the world.

New study provides clues to decades-old mystery about cell movement

A new study, led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities engineering researchers, shows that the stiffness of protein fibers in tissues, like collagen, are a key component in controlling the movement of cells. The groundbreaking discovery provides the first proof of a theory from the early 1980s and could have a major impact on fields that study cell movement from regenerative medicine to cancer...

New study provides clues to decades-old mystery about cell movement

A new study shows that the stiffness of protein fibers in tissues, like collagen, are a key component in controlling the movement of cells. The groundbreaking discovery provides the first proof of a theory from the early 1980s and could have a major impact on fields that study cell movement from regenerative medicine to cancer research.

Clever cockatoos learn through social interaction

Scientists have shown that cockatoos, an iconic Australian bird species, learn from each other a unique skill -- lifting garbage bin lids to gather food. The research confirms that cockatoos spread this novel behavior through social learning. This behavior by cockatoos is actually learnt, rather than a result of genetics.

Global warming may limit spread of dengue fever, new research finds

Infection with dengue virus makes mosquitoes more sensitive to warmer temperatures, according to new research. The team also found that infection with the bacterium Wolbachia, which has recently been used to control viral infections in mosquitoes, also increases the thermal sensitivity of the insects. The findings suggest that global warming could limit the spread of dengue fever but could also...

Sulphur-crested cockatoos learn to open wheelie bins in Sydney – video

Sulphur-crested cockatoos are learning to pry open bins, with researchers finding the new skill has caught on in 44 Sydney suburbs in just two years. With help from the public, Australian and German ecologists have documented cockatoos learning the bin-diving behaviour through social interactions. The research, published in the journal Science, also found differences in the cockatoos’...

Scientists determine Mars crustal thickness

Based on the analysis of marsquakes recorded by NASA's InSight mission, the structure of Mars's crust has now been determined in absolute numbers for the first time. Beneath the InSight landing site, the crust is either approximately 20 or 39 kilometers thick. That is the result of an international research team led by geophysicist Dr. Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun at the University of Cologne's...

Clever cockatoos learn through social interaction

For the first time, a team of international scientists have proven that cockatoos, an iconic Australian bird species, learn from each other a unique skill—lifting garbage bin lids to gather food. The world-first research published today in Science, confirms that cockatoos spread this novel behavior through social learning. Led by Barbara Klump and Lucy Aplin (Max Planck Institute of Animal...

Studying chromosomal rearrangements in yeast reveals potential avenue for cancer therapy

Researchers from Osaka University have found that the attachment of a ubiquitin molecule to a protein called PCNA at the lysine 107 position causes gross chromosomal rearrangements. This lysine is located where two PCNA molecules interact, and the ubiquitin attachment to it may change the ring structure they form. The ubiquitin attachment occurs through the action of Rad8 (a ubiquitin ligase) and...

Covid jab uptake slows among young people in England, PHE says

Scientists say efforts to increase vaccinations by tactics seen as coercive are less useful than good communication via role modelsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageClearer information and messages from role models are needed to boost Covid vaccination uptake among young people, experts have said, as figures showed that fewer than 60% of 18- to 25-year-olds had received...

Eco-friendly plastic from cellulose and water

Plastics offer many benefits to society and are widely used in our daily life: they are lightweight, cheap and adaptable. However, the production, processing and disposal of plastics pose a major global threat to the environment and human health. However, researchers have now found a sustainable method - 'hydrosetting', which uses water at normal conditions - to process and reshape a new type of...

Pathogens get comfy in designer goo

New hydrogels mimic intestines when lined with epithelial cells. A study demonstrated hydrogels in various stiffnesses are valuable for learning the dynamics of pathogens that cause diarrhea and other intestinal diseases.