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New way to 3D-print custom medical devices to boost performance and bacterial resistance

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Using a new 3D printing process, University of Nottingham researchers have discovered how to tailor-make artificial body parts and other medical devices with built-in functionality that offers better shape and durability, while cutting the risk of bacterial infection at the same time.
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Researchers' algorithm to make CRISPR gene editing more precise

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Researchers from Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen have developed a new method, which makes CRISPR gene editing more precise than conventional methods. The method selects the molecules best suited for helping the CRISPR-Cas9 protein with high-precision editing at the correct location in our DNA, the researchers explain.
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Botany: Scent of death attracts coffin flies to pipevine flowers

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
In a new study, an international team of plant researchers including the Institute of Botany at TU Dresden has discovered an unusual and previously unknown reproductive strategy in plants: the Greek pipevine species 'Aristolochia microstoma' produces a unique mixture of volatiles that resembles the smell of dead and decaying insects to attract the pollinating fly genus 'Megaselia' (also known as 'coffin flies') to its trap-flowers. The study was recently published in the open-access journal 'Frontiers'.
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Research establishes safe water thresholds for antimicrobials, to help mitigate resistance

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
The Exeter team's review summarizes and critically appraises the current approaches that study the concentrations of antimicrobials that increase AMR. By collating and assessing available data, they have recommended what these safe thresholds could be, to enable governments to act to reduce them.
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Model shows sharp decrease in HIV incidence in England

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
The annual number of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men in England is likely to have fallen dramatically, from 2,770 in 2013 to 854 in 2018, showing elimination of HIV transmission by 2030 to be within reach -- suggests work by researchers from the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge and Public Health England, published in The Lancet HIV.
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Novel SERS sensor helps to detect aldehyde gases

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Prof. HUANG Qing's group from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) gas sensor to detect aldehyde with high sensitivity and selectivity, which provided a new detection method for studying the adsorption of gas molecules on porous materials. The relevant research results have been published in Analytical Chemistry.
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Improved climate resilience through better seasonal forecasts

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Lack of water, floods, or crop losses: As a result of climate change, pronounced periods of drought and rainfall are causing human suffering and major economic damage. Precise seasonal forecasts can help to mitigate these consequences. A research team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has now been able to improve global forecasts using statistical methods so that they can be used on the regional level. Publication in Earth System Science Data and Scientific Reports.
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New method eliminates interference of nicotine in detection of methamphetamine

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Recently, a research group led by CHU Yannan and HUANG Chaoqun from the Institute of Health & Medical Technology of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) developed an effective method for on-site detection of methamphetamine (MA) in the presence of nicotine by a homemade ion mobility spectrometry. Relevant results were published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.
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Observing quantum coherence from photons scattered in free-space

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Sending photons encoded with quantum information through free-space for applications like quantum communication and imaging are currently limited to channels with direct line-of-sight and low-noise. Researchers at University of Waterloo, Canada, have demonstrated a technique to encode quantum information in photons that will survive scattering from diffuse objects, while recording an image. This research could open up new possibilities for non-line-of-sight quantum channels and broaden the application of quantum communications or imaging to scattered signals.
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Changing community networks impact disease spread

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of understanding precisely how diseases spread throughout networks of transportation. In a paper publishing on Thursday in the IAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Stephen Kirkland (University of Manitoba), Zhisheng Shuai (University of Central Florida), P. van den Driessche (University of Victoria), and Xueying Wang (Washington State University) study the way in which changes in a network of multiple interconnected communities impact the ensuing spread of disease.
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New methods needed to boost success of Classical Biological Control to fight insect pests

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
A CABI-led study has revealed that the success of Classical Biological Control (CBC) in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East is only rarely dependent on the released biological control agent, but more often on other factors, such as the target pest, its host plant, or the circumstances of the releases.
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Researchers use transoceanic fiber link for geophysical sensing

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
In a new study in Optica, The Optical Society's journal for high impact research, researchers show that the fiber optic cables that carry data across the world's oceans can also be used to sense geophysical events and monitor ocean and seafloor conditions.
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Latest tests on 6G return surprising results

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Researchers have long believed that as we move up into 6G frequency, the ways in which a signal can reach a receiver will be greatly limited. New research shows that this is not always accurate..Making 6G technology a reality is an important step towards realizing a whole host of new applications including haptic internet, mobile edge computing, and holographic communications. All three of these areas have the potential to change the face of communications, health, transportation, education, and more.
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Bacteria hijack latent phage of competitor

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Bacteriophages are still a relatively unknown component of the human microbiome. However, they can play a powerful role in the life cycles of bacteria. Biochemist Thomas Böttcher from the University of Vienna and Ph.D. student Magdalena Jancheva were able to show for the first time how Pseudomonas bacteria use a self-produced signal molecule to selectively manipulate phages in a competing bacterial strain to defeat their enemy.
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ACS Nano: CNIC scientists describe a possible disease-causing mechanism in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
A team led by Dr. Jorge Alegre-Cebollada has shown, for the first time, an association between hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and mechanical alterations to a component of the contractile machinery of the heart
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Decoded genome of little-known disease offers hope for citrus

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Scientists are hoping the RNA of an obscure infection can one day be used like a Trojan horse to deliver life-saving treatments to citrus trees.
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'Bad fat' suppresses killer T cells from attacking cancer

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Salk researchers have identified how tumors cause immune cells to lose their ability to fight cancer, by producing harmful fats the energy-hungry immune cells ingest, impairing their functionality. The understanding opens new avenues for novel immunotherapies for cancer.
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Sealed, signed and delivered

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
A team of archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) made a rare discovery when they unearthed a small clay seal impression dating back some 7,000 years. The impression, with two different geometric stamps imprinted on it, was discovered in Tel Tsaf, a prehistoric village located in Israel's Beit She'an Valley up north.
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Trapping DNA damage

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
The delicate strands that carry life's genetic code take a beating as they jumble about in the course of their work. If left untreated, errors accumulate, with fatal consequences for the organism. This is where two key proteins come to the rescue: PARP acts as a marker for a trouble spot, allowing XRCC1 to zoom in and begin a repair.
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Study of harvey flooding aids in quantifying climate change

Eurekalert - Jun 10 2021 - 00:06
Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fathom Bristol used a hydraulic model to consider the degree to which human-caused climate change may have affected flooding in Houston in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey. Resources at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center were used to quantify the increase in Houston flood area and depth and to host a portal where other scientists and the public can access and explore the resulting data.
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