160 articles from TUESDAY 5.10.2021

New way to image whole organisms in 3D brings key skin color pigment into focus

To understand the biological underpinnings of skin and hair pigmentation and related diseases such as albinism or melanoma, scientists and doctors need quantitative, three-dimensional information about the architecture, content and location of pigment cells. Researchers have developed a new technique that allows scientists to visualize every cell containing melanin pigment in 3D, in whole...

Increase in fatal opioid overdoses after hospital discharge

The period after hospital discharge is a high-risk time for people who use illicit opioids such as heroin, according to new research. Fatal opioid overdoses are four times more likely in the first two days after hospital discharge than at other times, and people who use illicit drugs need extra support when being discharged from hospital.

One in three kids with food allergies say they’ve been bullied because of their condition

Living with a food allergy can greatly impact a child's everyday life -- from limiting participation in social activities to being treated differently by peers. While previous research indicates many kids experience food allergy-related bullying, a new study found that offering kids with food allergies a multi-question assessment gives a more accurate picture of the size and scope of the problem.

Weed goes off script to resist herbicides

Cementing waterhemp's reputation as a hard-to-kill weed in corn and soybean production systems, researchers have now documented the weed deviating from standard detoxification strategies to resist an herbicide that has never been commercialized.

Men Are Now More Likely to Be Single Than Women. It’s Not a Good Sign

Almost a third of adult single men live with a parent. Single men are much more likely to be unemployed, financially fragile and to lack a college degree than those with a partner. They’re also likely to have lower median earnings; single men earned less in 2019 than in 1990, even adjusting for inflation. Single women, meanwhile, earn the same as they did 30 years ago, but those with...

Process leading to supernova explosions and cosmic radio bursts unearthed at PPPL

A promising method for producing and observing on Earth a process important to black holes, supernova explosions and other extreme cosmic events has been proposed by scientists at Princeton University's Department of Astrophysical Sciences, SLAC National Acceleraor Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The process, called quantum...

Improving the evidence: Scientists review quantitative climate migration literature

Quantitative empirical studies exploring how climatic and other environmental drivers influence migration are increasing year by year. PIK scientists have now reviewed methodological approaches used in the quantitative climate migration literature. Their review plays an important role when it comes to assessing how climatic factors influence human migration, and provides guidance to researchers...

The Facebook whistleblower says its algorithms are dangerous. Here’s why.

On Sunday night, the primary source for the Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files, an investigative series based on internal Facebook documents, revealed her identity in an episode of 60 Minutes. Frances Haugen, a former product manager at the company, says she came forward after she saw Facebook’s leadership repeatedly prioritize profit over safety. Before quitting…

How the expanded child tax credit is helping families

American households making less than $50,000 are more likely than higher-earning families to spend the expanded child tax credit on essential expenses and tutors for their children, found a survey from the Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis.

Physicists report promising approach to harnessing exotic electronic behavior

For some 50 years scientists have worked to harness Bloch oscillations, an exotic kind of behavior by electrons that could introduce a new field of physics—and important new technologies—much like more conventional electronic behavior has led to everything from smart watches to computers powerful enough to get us to the Moon.

Waterhemp goes off script to resist herbicides

Cementing waterhemp's reputation as a hard-to-kill weed in corn and soybean production systems, University of Illinois researchers have now documented the weed deviating from standard detoxification strategies to resist an herbicide that has never been commercialized.

Climate Pressure Mounts for Biden As a Major Conference Looms

A version of this story first appeared in the Climate is Everything newsletter. If you’d like sign up to receive this free once-a-week email, click here. Anyone who has followed U.S. climate policy is familiar with the cycle of bold attempts to enact climate rules that eventually sputter, followed by years of inaction. President Bill Clinton proposed an energy tax before backing away under...

New way to image whole organisms in 3D brings key skin color pigment into focus

To understand the biological underpinnings of skin and hair pigmentation and related diseases such as albinism or melanoma, scientists and doctors need quantitative, three-dimensional information about the architecture, content and location of pigment cells. Penn State College of Medicine researchers have developed a new technique that allows scientists to visualize every cell containing melanin...

Shooting stars: Russians beating US in race for first film shot in space

Actor and director on International Space Station push ahead of Hollywood project led by Tom CruiseThe list of “firsts” in orbit under the Soviet space programme is legendary: first satellite, first dog, first man, first woman.Now another looms after Russia sent an actor and a director to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of plans to make the first film in orbit – and once again...

New measurement method promises spectacular insights into the interior of planets

At the heart of planets, extreme states are to be found: temperatures of thousands of degrees, pressures a million times greater than atmospheric pressure. They can therefore only be explored directly to a limited extent -- which is why the expert community is trying to use sophisticated experiments to recreate equivalent extreme conditions. Researchers have adapted an established measurement...

Gene linked to evolution of limb development identified

A new study gives insight into how limb development evolved in vertebrates. The findings identify a gene that plays a central role in the evolution of limb development in vertebrates. By manipulating this gene in mice, researchers were able to activate an ancestral form of limb development seen in early tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates).

Large scale solar parks cool surrounding land

Researchers studying two solar parks, situated in arid locations, found they produced 'cool islands' extending around 700 meters from the solar park boundaries. The temperature of surrounding land surface was reduced by up to 2.3 degrees at 100 meters away from the solar park, with the cooling effects reducing exponentially to 700 meters. This new discovery is important as it shows the solar park...

Growing potential for toxic algal blooms in the Alaskan Arctic

Changes in the northern Alaskan Arctic ocean environment have reached a point at which a previously rare phenomenon -- widespread blooms of toxic algae -- could become more commonplace, potentially threatening a wide range of marine wildlife and the people who rely on local marine resources for food. That is the conclusion of a new study about harmful algal blooms (HABs) of the toxic algae...

Smuggling light through opaque materials

Electrical engineers have discovered that changing the physical shape of a class of materials commonly used in electronics can extend their use into the visible and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Already commercially used in detectors, lenses and optical fibers, chalcogenide glasses may now find a home in applications such as underwater communications, environmental monitoring...

Simultaneous optical and electrical tracking of heart activity

It is still elusive to what extent interactions between different cell types of the heart influence the normal heart rhythm and possibly trigger life-threatening arrhythmias. A new measurement method combines optical and electrical recording of cardiac ventricular activation which, in conjunction with optogenetics, will permit finding comprehensive answers to these questions.

This hydrogel tablet can purify a liter of river water in an hour

As much as a third of the world's population does not have access to clean drinking water, according to some estimates, and half of the population could live in water-stressed areas by 2025. Finding a solution to this problem could save and improve lives for millions of people, and it is a high priority among scientists and engineers around the globe.

A robot that finds lost items

Researchers developed a fully-integrated robotic arm that fuses visual data from a camera and radio frequency (RF) information from an antenna to find and retrieve object, even when they are buried under a pile and fully out of view.

Spider silk’s supposed 'healing properties' might have no basis in science

As far back as ancient Rome, spider silk has been used as a remedy to treat everything from skin lesions to warts. In the past, doctors have covered open wounds in cobwebs or advised patients to place cocoons on infected teeth. In modern times, however, the literature contains conflicting reports of whether or not spider silk has antimicrobial properties. Researchers have now revisited these old...

Super-enhancers: The villain fueling certain cancers

Researchers identified a small RNA molecule called miR-766-5p that reduces expression of MYC, a critical cancer-promoting gene. This microRNA reduces levels of proteins CBP and BRD4, which are both involved in super-enhancer (SE) formation. SEs form in areas of DNA that can fuel MYC expression and tumor progression. This study provides strong evidence for developing miR-766-5p as a novel...

An X-ray view of carbon

At the heart of planets, extreme states are to be found: temperatures of thousands of degrees, pressures a million times greater than atmospheric pressure. They can therefore only be explored directly to a limited extent—which is why the expert community is trying to use sophisticated experiments to recreate equivalent extreme conditions. An international research team including the...

Cancer chemotherapy drug reverses Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice

A drug commonly used to treat cancer can restore memory and cognitive function in mice that display symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, new research has found. The drug, Axitinib, inhibits growth of new blood vessels in the brain -- a feature shared by both cancer tumors and Alzheimer's disease. This hallmark represents a new target for Alzheimer's therapies. Mice that underwent the therapy not only...