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Single-particle studies point the way toward next-generation light displays

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba synthesized microparticles that exhibit complex fluorescence that has not been previously characterized on a supramolecular level. This fluorescence is attributable to the anisotropic helical arrangement of the polymer chains that comprise the microparticles. Liquid-crystal displays, artificial photosynthesis technologies, and other applications will benefit from the molecular-scale insight provided by these findings.
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Transformation toughening of ceramics made crystal clear

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba used time-resolved X-ray diffraction to observe crystal structure changes in yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) under dynamic loading. The tetragonal structure remained unchanged on loading; however, following dynamic fracture, some monoclinic phase was detected. The findings provide insight into the properties of Y-TZP and demonstrate the feasibility of the technique for wider application. It is hoped the method will contribute to improving materials from dental implants to aircraft parts.
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COVID-19 lockdowns lead Aussie and UK women to drink more

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Feelings of anxiety, pessimism and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic led middle-aged women in both Australia and the UK to stock up on alcohol, which was associated with drinking more, a new Flinders University-led study has found. The research also found women in the UK were more likely to drink at risky levels than their Australian counterparts during lockdown, and were more likely to have stockpiled alcohol.
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Microbial production of natural rainbow colorants

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
A research group at KAIST has engineered bacterial strains capable of producing three carotenoids and four violacein derivatives, completing the seven colors in the rainbow spectrum.
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No health worries for children born to mothers given seasonal flu vaccine in pregnancy

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
University of Ottawa/CHEO study reviewing 28,000 children over three-plus years following birth found no increased risk of early childhood health issues following exposure to seasonal flu vaccination during pregnancy
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Senolytics reduce COVID-19 symptoms in preclinical studies

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues at the University of Minnesota showed that COVID-19 exacerbates the damaging impact of senescent cells in the body. In preclinical studies, the senolytic drugs discovered at Mayo significantly reduced inflammation, illness, and mortality from COVID infection in older mice. The findings appear in the journal Science.
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Study finds novel evidence that dreams reflect multiple memories, anticipate future events

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Dreams result from a process that often combines fragments of multiple life experiences and anticipates future events, according to novel evidence from a new study.
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Drinking alcohol is linked to reduced chances of pregnancy

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
A study of the associations between drinking alcohol and the chances of becoming pregnant suggests that women who want to conceive should avoid heavy drinking. In the second half of menstrual cycle even moderate drinking is linked to reduced chances of pregnancy. The study is published in Human Reproduction journal.
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How your phone can predict depression and lead to personalized treatment

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used a combination of modalities, such as measuring brain function, cognition and lifestyle factors, to generate individualized predictions of depression.
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New report shows poor morale of UK anaesthesia trainees and that many have no training posts to go to after helping country through COVID-19 pandemic

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
As new research on anaesthesia trainee morale is published, an impassioned plea is today being made in an open letter from the Association of Anaesthetists to the UK's four Health Secretaries: to urgently double the number of training posts for anaesthetists this summer and for subsequent years.
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Researchers study historic Mississippi flow and impacts of river regulation

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Influences on Discharge Partitioning on a Large River Delta: Case Study of the Mississippi-Atchafalaya Diversion, 1926-1950, seeks to resolve lingering questions about the rate at which the Atchafalaya River captured water from the Mississippi River and the degree to which it would have changed the course of the river.
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Drone improves odor management in water treatment plants

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and DAM Company develop a system equipped with chemical sensors that provides information, in real time, on the intensity and location of odor sources in the Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP).
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The buck stops where? UNH research records longest-ever deer distance

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Why did the deer cross the road? According to research from the University of New Hampshire to keep going and going and going. Researchers have discovered the longest distance ever recorded by an adult male white-tailed deer--300 kilometers, or close to 200 miles, in just over three weeks. The finding has important implications for population management and the transmission of disease, especially chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological disease.
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Control over water friction with 2D materials points to 'smart membranes'

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
The speed of water flow is a limiting factor in many membrane-based industrial processes, including desalination, molecular separation and osmotic power generation. Researchers at The University of Manchester have published a study revealing a dramatic decrease in friction when water is passed through nanoscale capillaries made of graphene. In contrast, capillaries made from hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) - which has a similar surface topography and crystal structure as graphene - display high friction.
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Increasing the memory capacity of intelligent systems based on the function of human neurons

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Researchers from the University of Liège (Belgium) have recently developed a new artificial neuron inspired by the different modes of operation of human neurons. Called a Bistable Recurrent Cell (BRC), this process has enabled recurrent networks to learn temporal relationships of more than a thousand discrete time units where classical methods failed after only a hundred time units.
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Keeping a closer eye on seabirds with drones and artificial intelligence

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
Drones and artificial intelligence can monitor large colonies of seabirds as well as traditional on-the-ground methods, while reducing costs, labor and the risk of human error, a new study finds. Scientists at Duke University and the Wildlife Conservation Society used an AI deep-learning algorithm to analyze more than 10,000 drone images of mixed colonies of seabirds in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas. The algorithm's automated counts closely matched human counts 90% of the time.
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UMass Amherst researchers create intelligent electronic microsystems from green material

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
A research team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has created an electronic microsystem that can intelligently respond to information inputs without any external energy input, much like a self-autonomous living organism. The microsystem is constructed from a novel type of electronics that can process ultralow electronic signals and incorporates a device that can generate electricity "out of thin air" from the ambient environment.
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Cell Reports publishes data supporting the importance of ion channel, Kv7.2/7.3 as a target in ALS

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
QurAlis Corporation today announced the publication of an article in Cell Reports titled Human Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Excitability Phenotype Screen: Target Discovery and Validation by QurAlis founders Kasper Roet, Ph.D., Clifford Woolf, M.D., Ph.D., and Kevin Eggan, Ph.D., who pioneered a high-content, live-cell imaging screen using ALS patient-derived motor neurons in combination with a compound library generated by Pfizer to identify drug targets to treat hyperexcitability induced neurodegeneration in ALS patients.
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Discovery of the oldest plant fossils on the African continent!

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
The analysis of very old plant fossils discovered in South Africa and dating from the Lower Devonian period documents the transition from barren continents to the green planet we know today. Cyrille Prestianni, a palaeobotanist at the EDDy Lab at the University of Liège (Belgium), participated in this study, the results of which have just been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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X-ray flash imaging of laser-induced bubbles and shockwaves in water

Eurekalert - Jun 08 2021 - 00:06
The bubbles created by intense focused lasers in this experiment were ten times smaller and contained water vapour at a pressure around a hundred thousand times higher than orginary bubbles in water. They expand at supersonic speed, pushing a shockwave in front. Researchers led by University of Göttingen with Deutsches Elektronen-Synchroton (DESY) and European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (European XFEL), used holographic flash imaging and X-ray laser pulses to make images. Research appears in Nature Communications.
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