179 articles from WEDNESDAY 16.2.2022

A possible cure for sickle cell?

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder where red blood cells become sickle/crescent shaped. It causes frequent infections, swelling in the hands and legs, pain, severe tiredness and delayed growth or puberty. Treatment typically focuses on controlling symptoms and may include pain medicines during crises; hydroxyurea to reduce the number of pain episodes; antibiotics and vaccines to...

Thousands affected as quake hits Guatemala

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck western Guatemala early Wednesday caused damage affecting nearly 25,000 people, and caused one person to suffer a fatal heart attack, authorities said.

EPFL and DeepMind use AI to control plasmas for nuclear fusion

EPFL's Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) has decades of experience in plasma physics and plasma control methods. DeepMind is a scientific discovery company acquired by Google in 2014 that's committed to "solving intelligence to advance science and humanity." Together, they have developed a new magnetic control method for plasmas based on deep reinforcement learning, and applied it to a real-world plasma...

Researchers find activating a specific acetylcholine receptor in the brain reduces cocaine use in rodents

Cocaine, opioids, and other drugs of abuse disrupt the brain's reward system, often shifting users' priorities to obtaining more drug above all else. For people battling addiction, this persistent craving is notoriously difficult to overcome—but new research from scientists at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research and collaborators points toward a therapeutic strategy that could help.

Does 'bridging' therapy improve outcome for people with stroke?

There has been debate over the best treatment for a certain type of stroke caused by a blockage of a large artery in the brain. A new meta-analysis finds that people who have this kind of stroke who can be treated within four-and-a-half hours after their symptoms start may do better after their stroke when treated with both a clot-busting drug and physical clot removal, compared to physical...

How long does it really take to recover from concussion?

A new study suggests that people with mild traumatic brain injuries may be more likely to have cognitive impairment, cognitive decline or both one year later, compared to people who were not injured. People with poor cognitive outcomes were also more likely to have other symptoms like anxiety and lower satisfaction with life.

Lake evaporation patterns will shift with climate change

For many people, warm summer days feature spending time swimming in a lake. Lakes are important for more than just recreation and serve as a major global source of freshwater. But as temperatures continue to get warmer, so will lakes. As global average temperatures rise, lake evaporation is projected to increase at double the rate of ocean evaporation.

Huntington's, ALS: Where the body fails

Huntington's, Alzheimer's, ALS, and multiple other neurodegenerative diseases share a commonality: they are all characterized by proteins (different ones for each disease) aggregating in neurons within the brain and nervous system. Now, scientists have found that the cells have the mechanisms to clear those aggregates -- they just fail to activate them.

Can a planet have a mind of its own? Thought experiment

Astrophysicists combine current scientific understanding about the Earth with broader questions about how life alters a planet to ask: if a planet with life has a life of its own, can it also have a mind of its own? The research raises new ideas about the ways in which humans might tackle global issues such as climate change.

Unexpected findings detailed in new portrait of HIV, revealing virus architecture

Using powerful tools and techniques developed in the field of structural biology, researchers at the University of Washington and The Scripps Research Institute have discovered new details about the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV. The findings bring into focus the basic architecture of the virus just above and below its surface and may help in the design and development of a vaccine that can...

Forest canopy covers 'obviously' underestimated by current assessments, researchers find

Satellite mapping, bolstered by algorithmic assessment, provides an indispensable view of Earth's canopy covering. The fraction of ground covered by tree crowns serves as a critical parameter for measuring forest ecosystems and potential carbon sinks. The maps are typically assessed by visually reviewing the satellite images or by cross-examining overlapping views but are rarely confirmed via...

Study reveals sunlight can help dissolve oil into seawater

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest marine oil spill in United States history. The disaster was caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, taking 11 lives and releasing nearly 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Twelve years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, scientists are still working to understand where all this oil ended up, a...

Pregnant mother’s vaccination protects baby from Covid – study

Research finds much lower risk of infant hospitalisation when mother had mRNA vaccine during pregnancyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBabies whose mothers get vaccinated against Covid-19 during pregnancy are less likely to be admitted to hospital for the disease after they are born, a study suggests.The new findings are the first real-world evidence that pregnant...

Dissolving oil in a sunlit sea

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest marine oil spill in United States history. The disaster was caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, taking 11 lives and releasing nearly 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Twelve years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, scientists are still working to understand where all this oil ended up, a...