A major crisis that accompanied the rise of the pandemic was lack of availability of the nasopharyngeal swab -- necessary for testing for COVID-19, which in turn, was necessary to get a grip on the pandemic. An account of how one group addressed that crisis is published this week Journal of Clinical Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Scientists are developing new fish vaccines using nanocellulose produced from Maine's wood pulp industry. Nanocellulose poses no known harmful effects to fish tissue and is unlikely to cause cellular damage. Fish vaccines made with nanocellulose may also be more effective and less expensive to produce than current vaccines made with adjuvants that are water and oil based, according to researchers....

The genome of the seadragon, a very unusual fish, has been decoded. Seadragons (Phyllopetryx taeniolatus) live off the coast in western and southern Australia. Evolutionary biologists have now found the genetic basis for some external characteristics of the seadragon, like its lack of teeth and its distinct leaf-like appendages. The team also localized the sex-determination gene in the seadragon...

A research team offers a practical way to make ships CO2 neutral -- or even CO2 negative -- with CO2-capturing solid oxide fuel cells. After 'burning' traditional carbon-based fuels, the fuel cell generates concentrated CO2 that can be stored on-board the ship. From there, the CO2 can either be sequestered or recycled into a renewable hydrocarbon fuel.

A team led by researchers has generated premature cells that support early heart development but vanish soon after birth.

Giant anteaters living in less forested habitats make use of larger home ranges, according to a new study. This behavior may allow them to incorporate forest patches into their territory, the authors say.

Humans have been always on the move, creating a complex history of languages and cultural traditions dispersed over the globe. An international team has now traced families of related languages over more than 10,000 years by combining data from genetics, linguistics and musicology using novel digital methods. Their findings: grammar reflects best the common prehistory of a population and therefore...

Engineers have devised a new approach to using sound waves to conduct complex manipulations of tiny particles suspended in liquid. Dubbed a 'shadow waveguide,' the technique uses only two sound sources to create a tightly confined, spatially complex acoustic field inside a chamber without requiring any interior structure. The technology offers acoustic tweezers abilities with applications in...

Neurobiologists have uncovered the long-sought-after mechanisms behind the maintenance and decline of key synapses implicated in brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The researchers identified the main components driving amyloid beta-associated synapse degeneration, which is found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. The findings suggest an alternative approach to addressing...

The 3D print of glioblastoma -- the deadliest type of brain cancer -- is printed from human glioblastoma tissues containing all components of the malignant tumor. Researchers say the breakthrough will enable much faster prediction of best treatments for patients, accelerate the development of new drugs and discovery of new druggable targets.

Researchers have developed a new strategy that could offer much more precise control of prosthetic limbs. After inserting small magnetic beads into muscle tissue, they can accurately measure the length of a muscle as it contracts, and this measurement can be relayed to a robotic prosthesis within milliseconds.

As wildfire fronts advance through landscapes or communities on the ground, they also attack from above, launching volleys of glowing embers into the air. Also known as firebrands, these specks of burning debris can glide for up to 40 kilometers (approximately 24 miles) before landing and can cause up to 90% of home and business fires during wildfires.

Whether a robot or a person delivers your package, the carbon footprint would essentially be the same, according to a new study that could help inform the future of automated delivery as the pandemic fuels a dramatic rise in online shopping.

An international study has found evidence of a long-sought effect in accelerator data. The so-called 'triangle singularity' describes how particles can change their identities by exchanging quarks, thereby mimicking a new particle. The mechanism also provides new insights into a mystery that has long puzzled particle physicists: Protons, neutrons and many other particles are much heavier than one...

Eating a hot dog could cost you 36 minutes of healthy life, while choosing to eat a serving of nuts instead could help you gain 26 minutes of extra healthy life, according to a new study.

Mathematical research is aiding in the analysis of fMRI data. fMRI is the preeminent class of signals collected from the brain in vivo and is irreplaceable in the study of brain dysfunction in many medical fields, including psychiatry, neurology and pediatrics.

Eating fructose appears to alter cells in the digestive tract in a way that enables it to take in more nutrients, according to a preclinical study. These changes could help to explain the well-known link between rising fructose consumption around the world and increased rates of obesity and certain cancers.

Wearable health technologies are vastly popular with people wanting to improve their physical and mental health. Everything from exercise, sleep patterns, calories consumed and heart rhythms can be tracked by a wearable device. But timely and accurate data is also especially valuable for doctors treating patients with complicated health conditions using virtual care.

Video images capture for the first time in live animals the inexorable spread of the COVID-19 virus, tracking the infection as it moved from the noses of mice to the lungs and other organs over the course of six days, in a new study.

Management of many of the largest fisheries in the world assumes incorrectly that many small fish reproduce as well as fewer large ones with similar total masses, a new analysis has found. That can lead to overharvesting the largest, most prolific fish that can contribute the most to the population.

Single fruit flies quarantined in test tubes sleep too little and eat too much after only about one week of social isolation, according to a new study.

A breakthrough could pave the way for better products, such as improved batteries, automobile paint and cellphone screens.

New research builds on a body of work exploring remotely controlled cell therapies, in which the researchers can precisely target tumors, wherever they are in the body, with a local deposition of heat. The latest study shows the system cured cancer in mice, and the team's approach not only shrunk tumors but prevented relapse -- critical for long-term survival. Further studies will delve into...

Differences in impulsivity between individuals are linked to both experience and gene expression, according to a study on the ancestor of domestic chickens, the red junglefowl.