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)....

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...

Nervous system workings related to PTSD, other mental health disorders

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

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...

New photocatalytic membrane that can be cleaned using light energy

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

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.