feed info
2,369 articles from EurekAlert
Importance of rainfall highlighted for tropical animals
Imagine a tropical forest, and you might conjure up tall trees hung with vines, brightly colored birds, howling monkeys, and ... rain. Indeed, precipitation patterns, along with temperature, dictate where tropical forests are distributed around the world, but surprisingly, scientists know very little about the direct effects of rainfall on animals. A new conceptual framework calls for the...
In sickness and in health
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have shown that for men with major cardiovascular disease risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, their wives are more likely to suffer from the same diseases. These results emphasize the need for extending disease concerns beyond relatives who share ancestry to the patient's spouse. Further, couple-based interventions are desirable...
Legacy
Breastfeeding secures delivery of sugar and fat for milk production by changing the insulin sensitivity of organs that supply or demand these nutrients, a new study led by UT Southwestern scientists suggests. The findings, published in this month's print issue of Diabetes, could explain how different tissues cooperate to start and maintain lactation and offer strategies to help improve...
Less "sticky" cells become more cancerous
In cooperation with colleagues from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, researchers at Leipzig University have investigated the structure of tumour tissue and the behaviour of tumour cells in detail, gaining important insights that could improve cancer diagnosis and therapy in the future.
Less is more: A soft, self-actuated pump to simplify mechatronic devices
As electromechanical devices become increasingly small and complex, the high number of required components becomes a limiting factor. Now, scientists at Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, have tapped into the potential of hydrogels driven by oscillating chemical reactions to create the first self-actuated, single-component pump. This device could act as a practical power source for...
Life in a nutshell: New species found in the carapace of late cretaceous marine turtle
Fossils have often been known to tell stories of immobile organisms living in the hard tissues of dead ancient marine animals. Now, scientists from Japan have discovered a new species of extinct bivalves that seem to have lived in a unique habitat: the shell of an ancient, now extinct, leatherback sea turtle while the turtle was alive, which allowed this species to colonize new environments and...
Lockdowns have economic and social costs for world's poorest families
Low socioeconomic families - and particularly women - experienced increased financial hardship, food insecurity, domestic violence and mental health challenges during COVID-19 lockdown measures in Bangladesh, a new research study shows. In the first study of its kind, Australian and Bangladeshi researchers documented the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures on the...
Magnetic stimulation dramatically improves fecal incontinence
Painless magnetic stimulation of nerves that regulate muscles in the anus and rectum appears to improve their function and dramatically reduce episodes of fecal incontinence, a debilitating problem affecting about 10% of the population, investigators report.
Majority of groundwater stores resilient to climate change
Fewer of the world's large aquifers are depleting than previously estimated, according to a new study by the University of Sussex and UCL.
Measles outbreaks in Niger linked to rainfall and temperature, study finds
Rainfall and temperature drive agricultural activity, which, in turn, influences patterns of measles outbreaks in the West African nation of Niger, according to an international team of researchers. The findings may be useful for improving vaccine coverage for seasonally mobile populations within Niger and other countries.
Memory protein
When UC Santa Barbara materials scientist Omar Saleh and graduate student Ian Morgan sought to understand the mechanical behaviors of disordered proteins in the lab, they expected that after being stretched, one particular model protein would snap back instantaneously, like a rubber band.
Metabolic syndrome linked to worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who had a combination of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes were over three times more likely to die from the disease, according to a new Tulane University study published in Diabetes Care.
Mineral dust ingested with food leaves characteristic wear on herbivore teeth
In a controlled feeding study of guinea pigs, paleontologists have discovered that mineral dust ingested with food causes distinct signs of wear on the teeth of plant-eating vertebrates, which can differ considerably depending on the type of dust.
More than half of "sudden" cardiac arrest victims had contacted health services before
Today scientists report that 58% of "sudden" cardiac arrest sufferers sought medical help during the two weeks before the event. The research is presented today at ESC Congress 2020. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Cardiac arrest is lethal within minutes if left untreated and it is estimated that, on average, less than 10% of victims survive.
Most adults with lupus or common types of arthritis have similar risks of getting admitted to hospital as other COVID-19 patients
Most adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are not at increased risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 due to medications used to dampen their altered immune system, the cause of their disease.
Moving bits, not watts
The phrase "too much of a good thing" may sound like a contradiction, but it encapsulates one of the key hurdles preventing the expansion of renewable energy generation. Too much of a service or commodity makes it harder for companies to sell them, so they curtail production.
NASA gathers nighttime images of Laura becoming a Hurricane
Tropical Storm Laura strengthened to a hurricane in the morning hours of Aug. 25, 2020, and NASA provided infrared imagery that showed the structure, temperature and rainmaking capabilities of the storm.
NASA missions explore a 'TIE Fighter' active galaxy
Not so long ago, astronomers mapped a galaxy far, far away using radio waves and found it has a strikingly familiar shape. In the process, they discovered the object, called TXS 0128+554, experienced two powerful bouts of activity in the last century.
NASA's terra satellite catches the demise of post-tropical cyclone Marco
NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Gulf of Mexico early on Aug. 25 and found a very small area of convection from post-tropical cyclone Marco, northeast of its center. All watches and warnings have been dropped as the storm continues to weaken toward dissipation.
NBA playoff format is optimizing competitive balance by eliminating travel
In addition to helping protect players from COVID-19, the NBA 'bubble' in Orlando may be a competitive equalizer by eliminating team travel. Researchers analyzing the results of nearly 500 NBA playoff games over six seasons found that a team's direction of travel and the number of time zones crossed were associated with its predicted win probability and actual game performance.
New blood, new hope: Transfusions protect the brain from stroke damage
In a study led by Xuefang "Sophie" Ren, a research assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience, a team of West Virginia University neuroscientists found that blood substitution therapy rescues the brains of mice from ischemic damage, a potential breakthrough in stroke therapy.
New insights into lithium-ion battery failure mechanism
Researchers have identified a potential new degradation mechanism for electric vehicle batteries - a key step to designing effective methods to improve battery lifespan.
New method to track ultrafast change of magnetic state
An international team of physicists from Bielefeld University, Uppsala University, the University of Strasbourg, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, ETH Zurich, and the Free University Berlin have developed a precise method to measure the ultrafast change of a magnetic state in materials. Their study, titled 'Ultrafast terahertz...
New study shows evolutionary breakdown of 'social' chromosome in ants
Scientists from Queen Mary University of London have found that harmful mutations accumulating in the fire ant social chromosome are causing its breakdown.
New technique to prevent imaging cyberthreats proposed by Ben-Gurion University researchers
As part of his Ph.D. research, Ben-Gurion University researcher Tom Mahler has developed a technique using artificial intelligence that analyzes the instructions sent from the PC to the physical components using a new architecture for the detection of anomalous instructions.