151 articles from TUESDAY 5.7.2022
Airline’s decision to end monkey transports will worsen shortage in research
Air France announced last week it will stop transporting nonhuman primates. The decision will create additional problems for biomedical research, which already faces increasing difficulty getting monkeys. Air France was the last major airline still carrying nonhuman primates as cargo, as other companies have
increasingly refused to do
so over the past 2 decades....
Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth
A shapeshifting robotic microswarm may one day act as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss in one. The technology, developed by a multidisciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania, is poised to offer a new and automated way to perform the mundane but critical daily tasks of brushing and flossing. It's a system that could be particularly valuable for those who lack the manual dexterity to...
New head of U.S. aid program for HIV/AIDS vows to refocus attention on the other, ‘silent’ pandemic
On 13 June, John Nkengasong, 58, was appointed the first African-born head of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that helps more than 50 countries respond to their HIV/AIDS epidemics. Nkengasong, who grew up in Cameroon and became a U.S. citizen in 2007, previously ran the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)....
Researchers uncover life's power generators in the Earth's oldest groundwaters
An international team of researchers has discovered 1.2-billion-year-old groundwater deep in a gold- and uranium-producing mine in Moab Khotsong, South Africa, shedding more light on how life is sustained below the Earth's surface and how it may thrive on other planets.
Scientists uncover novel aspects of HIV infection by monitoring sugars at the surface of individual immune cells
HIV researchers have long been trying to identify the specific cells that the virus prefers to infect and hide in. They know that HIV favors a special type of immune cells called memory CD4 T cells. But these cells come in many flavors, and it has been difficult to ascertain exactly what makes one type of memory CD4 T cell more attractive to HIV than another.
As 'Run 3' begins, CERN touts discovery of exotic particles
The physics lab that's home to the world's largest atom smasher announced on Tuesday the observation of three new "exotic particles" that could provide clues about the force that binds subatomic particles together.
NASA: Contact lost with spacecraft on way to test moon orbit
NASA said Tuesday it has lost contact with a $32.7 million spacecraft headed to the moon to test out a lopsided lunar orbit, but agency engineers are hopeful they can fix the problem.
Avian influenza: Past, present, future
Due to the possibility that bird flu viruses could mutate and gain the ability to spread easily between people, avian influenza poses a significant pandemic threat to birds and humans alike. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been monitoring for illness among humans exposed to infected birds since outbreaks were detected in poultry and wild bird populations in late...
Video: Why don't we have synthetic blood yet?
Millions of liters of blood are donated around the world every year, but there's still not enough for everyone who needs it.
Inhalable COVID-19 vaccine shows promise in rodent model
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
Researchers have created an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine that is shelf stable at room temperature for up to three months, targets the lungs specifically and effectively, and allows for self-administration via an inhaler.
Nervous system workings related to PTSD, other mental health disorders
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
A new study measures changes in the human brain's response to a perceived threat following non-invasive stimulation of the nervous system via the vagus nerve. The results have implications for the development of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions, as well as for increasing alertness and attention during learning.
Odd fish has adapted to Canada's deepest, coldest lakes
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
The deepwater sculpin is not an attractive fish by any conventional standard. You won't find it hanging on a plaque or landing a feature role in a Disney movie. What you might say about the bottom-dweller is that it's a survivor, having managed to eke out an existence at the bottom of Canada's deepest and coldest lakes since the last ice age. Researchers are now sequencing its entire genome to see...
Most British COVID-19 mourners suffer PTSD symptoms, survey finds
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
More than eight out of 10 British people who are seeking support for having lost a loved one to COVID-19 reported alarming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, new research has found.
New photocatalytic membrane that can be cleaned using light energy
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
Researchers have developed a nanosheet-laminated photocatalytic membrane that demonstrates both excellent water permeance and photocatalytic activity. The membrane's photocatalytic properties make it easier to clean as irradiating the membrane with light successfully reduces fouling. This revolutionary membrane technology can be applied to water purification, and thus has the potential to...
It takes three: The genetic mutations that made rice cultivation possible
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
New research suggests that the historical emergence of cultivated rice from wild rice plants resulted from a combination of three gene mutations that make the seeds (i.e., the grains of rice) fall from the plant less easily. These results not only shed light on early history but will hopefully contribute towards the development of more efficient rice cultivars in the future.
Discovery could inspire new way to detect brain abnormalities
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
Scientists have taken a promising step towards a new generation of accurate, affordable and portable devices to detect concussion, epilepsy and dementia.
Printing a new chapter in solar energy
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/5 22:22
A simple and versatile nanoparticle ink could help next-generation perovskite solar cells to be printed at scale and become the dominant force in commercial photovoltaics.