195 articles from THURSDAY 9.9.2021

A recent reversal in the response of western Greenland’s ice caps to climate change

Greenland may be best known for its enormous continental scale ice sheet that soars up to 3,000 meters above sea level, whose rapid melting is a leading contributor to global sea level rise. But surrounding this massive ice sheet, which covers 79% of the world's largest island, is Greenland's rugged coastline dotted with ice capped mountainous peaks. These peripheral glaciers and ice caps are now...

Impaired T cell function precedes loss of natural HIV control

A small subset of people, known as controllers, are able to suppress HIV naturally, without the need for medication. A small percentage of controllers ultimately lose the ability to suppress the virus. Researchers have found that aborted control is likely due to HIV-specific T cells losing the ability to replicate and kill infected cells, which can happen years before.

Team sequences shea tree genome to support breeding and conservation efforts

The shea tree is best know as a source for a multimillion-dollar ingredient used in cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals and chocolate. But for hundreds of thousands of African families living in the 'shea belt' it is also a crucial source of nutrition and income. Despite its increasing demand, the slow-growing shea tree is being threatened by other cash crops and its preservation...

Researchers report an insulator made of two conductors

Ohm's law is well-known from physics class. It states that the resistance of a conductor and the voltage applied to it determine how much current will flow through the conductor. The electrons in the material—the negatively charged carriers—move in a disordered fashion and largely independently of each other. Physicists find it far more interesting, however, when the charge carriers influence...

Reusable cloth masks hold up after a year of washing, drying

The reusable cloth masks people have been using for the past year or more may look a little worse for the wear. But new research from the University of Colorado Boulder finds that washing and drying them doesn't reduce their ability to filter out viral particles.

Team sequences shea tree genome to support breeding and conservation efforts

The shea tree is a vital social and economic crop that is best known for the popular product shea butter—a multimillion-dollar ingredient used in cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals and chocolate. For hundreds of thousands of African families living in the "shea belt" it is also a crucial source of nutrition and income. Despite its increasing demand, the slow-growing shea tree is...

A recent reversal in the response of western Greenland's ice caps to climate change

Greenland may be best known for its enormous continental scale ice sheet that soars up to 3,000 meters above sea level, whose rapid melting is a leading contributor to global sea level rise. But surrounding this massive ice sheet, which covers 79% of the world's largest island, is Greenland's rugged coastline dotted with ice capped mountainous peaks. These peripheral glaciers and ice caps are now...

Unprecedented plasma lensing for high-intensity lasers

High-power laser pulses focused to small spots to reach incredible intensities enable a variety of applications, ranging from scientific research to industry and medicine. At the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) Center, for instance, intensity is key to building particle accelerators thousands of times shorter than conventional ones that reach the same energy. However, laser-plasma...

Tissue abnormalities found in oysters years after Deepwater Horizon oil spill

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) petroleum drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, resulting in the world's worst oil spill in history with more than 4 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico. Though the short-term impact of the oil spill on local wildlife was widely researched among scientists and discussed in the media, there has been relatively little...

New research analyzes millions of Twitter posts during hurricanes to understand how people communicate in a disaster

In the face of a potentially disastrous storm like Hurricane Ida, people take to Twitter and other social media sites to communicate vital information. New research published in the journal Risk Analysis suggests that monitoring and analyzing this social media "chatter" during a natural disaster could help decision makers learn how to plan for and mitigate the impacts of severe weather events in...

A customer-centric approach is key in a post-pandemic world

Quoting Vladimir Lenin, Bill Kanarick describes the tectonic industry shifts brought on by the pandemic: “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” After months of hunkering down at home, consumers got used to online shopping, telehealth doctor’s appointments and contactless and curbside pickup, effectively doubling e-commerce sales in the…

Researchers discover an important role for hydrogen bonding in mitochondrial disease mutation

Researchers from the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland and Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland found that a subtle hydrogen bonding rearrangement caused by an exercise-intolerance related mitochondrial disease mutation can perturb the normal functioning of the respiratory chain complex III. Complex III is one of the key enzymes that contributes to energy (ATP) generation...

Free radicals linked to heart damage caused by cancer

A new study in animal models shows that the presence of a cancer tumor alone can lead to cardiac damage, and suggests the culprits are molecules called free radicals interacting with specific cells in the heart. Adding specific types of antioxidants to food consumed by fruit flies with tumors reversed the damage to their hearts -- a finding suggesting that harm caused by free radicals was the...

Mothers’ diabetes may induce premature aging of neural tissue leading to birth defects

About 300,000 to 400,000 fetuses per year from mothers with diabetes develop neural tube defects -- when the tissue that eventually forms the brain and spinal cord fails to form properly -- which can lead to miscarriage or profound disability. Now using studies in mice, researchers have identified the mechanism behind these structural birth defects, which they say is due to the neural tissue aging...

Smart dental implants

Researchers are developing a smart dental implant that resists bacterial growth and generates its own electricity through chewing and brushing to power a tissue-rejuvenating light. The innovation could extend the usable life of an implant.

Preventing the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury

Researchers have identified a specific molecule in a part of the brain called the thalamus that plays a key role in secondary effects of traumatic brain injury, such as sleep disruption, epileptic activity, and inflammation. They also showed that an antibody treatment could prevent the development of these negative outcomes.

How serotonin curbs cocaine addiction

Contrary to common thinking, cocaine triggers an addiction only in 20% of the consumers. But what happens in their brains when they lose control of their consumption? Thanks to a recent experimental method, neuroscientists have revealed a brain mechanism specific to cocaine, which has the particularity of triggering a massive increase in serotonin in addition to the increase in dopamine common to...

As U.S. football season kicks off, climate change threatens the game

For many in the United States, the first sign of fall is the start of football season. College students are back on campus and broadcasting networks are gearing up for the usual Thursday-to-Monday coverage. But the impacts of climate change have undeniably worsened in recent years, converging in a cluster of disasters each summer and fall —also known as prime football time.