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Climate 'tipping points' need not be the end of the world

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
The disastrous consequences of climate "tipping points" could be averted if global warming was reversed quickly enough, new research suggests.
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Central African forests are unequally vulnerable to global change

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
An international study coordinated by researchers from IRD and CIRAD reveals the composition of the tropical forests of Central Africa and their vulnerability to the increased pressure from climate change and human activity expected in the coming decades. Thanks to an exceptional dataset - an inventory of over 6 million trees across five countries - the researchers have produced the first continuous maps of the floristic and functional composition of these forests, allowing them to identify the most vulnerable areas.
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Simplifying our world

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Mice master complex thinking with a remarkable capacity for abstraction.
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New process makes 'biodegradable' plastics truly compostable

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Eliminating plastic pollution has become a priority for many nations, yet today's biodegradable plastics, like PLA, do not completely degrade during typical composting processes, and much of the biodegradable plastic ends up in landfills. UC Berkeley scientists show that enzymes can be embedded in polyester plastic if protected by nanoscale polymers, and then unleased by heat and moisture to degrade the plastic to simple molecules. Plastics made with this process compost within weeks.
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Jane Austen quote encoded in a polymer

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Using a novel molecular-data-storage technique, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have encoded a quote from Jane Austen's classic novel Mansfield Park in a series of oligomers, which a third party could read back without prior knowledge of the structures that encoded the passage. The findings appear April 21st in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.
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Pepper the robot talks to itself to improve its interactions with people

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Ever wondered why your virtual home assistant doesn't understand your questions? Or why your navigation app took you on the side street instead of the highway? In a study published April 21st in the journal iScience, Italian researchers designed a robot that "thinks out loud" so that users can hear its thought process and better understand the robot's motivations and decisions.
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New report finds COVID-19 pandemic causes dramatic shifts in prescription drug spending

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
The COVID-19 pandemic heavily influenced spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. in 2020, according to the ASHP's (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) National Trends in Prescription Drug Expenditures and Projections for 2021. Shifts in care related to the pandemic will continue to be a significant driver of drug expenditures in 2021, along with uptake in the use of biosimilars, a large pipeline of new cancer drugs, and increased approvals of specialty medications.
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For scleroderma, algorithm helps better screen for fatal complication

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
A portion of people with the scleroderma develop pulmonary arterial hypertension, which can cause the heart to weaken and fail. Current screening methods may miss one in three patients with this sometimes fatal complication. But one computer algorithm, according to this study, will significantly improve the accuracy and help physicians treat it earlier.
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Freshwater salt pollution threatens ecosystem health and human water security

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Drivers of freshwater salt pollution such as de-icers on roads and parking lots, water softeners, and wastewater and industrial discharges further threaten freshwater ecosystem health and human water security.
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Illuminating invisible bloody fingerprints with a fluorescent polymer

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Careful criminals usually clean a scene, wiping away visible blood and fingerprints. However, prints made with trace amounts of blood, invisible to the naked eye, could remain. Dyes can detect these hidden prints, but the dyes don't work well on certain surfaces. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have developed a fluorescent polymer that binds to blood in a fingerprint -- without damaging any DNA also on the surface -- to create high-contrast images.
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Researchers identify potential subtype of PTSD

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
A major obstacle in understanding and treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is its clinical and neurobiological heterogeneity. In order to better treat the condition and address this barrier, the field has become increasingly interested in identifying subtypes of PTSD based on dysfunction in neural networks alongside cognitive impairments that may underlie the development and maintenance of symptoms. VA and BU researchers have now found a marker of PTSD in brain regions associated with emotional regulation.
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Cracking open the mystery of how many bubbles are in a glass of beer

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
After pouring beer into a glass, streams of little bubbles appear and start to rise, forming a foamy head. As the bubbles burst, the released carbon dioxide gas imparts the beverage's desirable tang. But just how many bubbles are in that drink? By examining various factors, researchers reporting in ACS Omega estimate between 200,000 and nearly 2 million of these tiny spheres can form in a gently poured lager.
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Brushing away oral health disparities in America's rural children

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
A study published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry by a collaborative team at the Medical University of South Carolina and University of South Carolina provides evidence of critical oral health disparities among rural children in the U.S.
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International research team argues for combining organic farming and genetic engineering

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
For more sustainability on a global level, EU legislation should be changed to allow the use of gene editing in organic farming. This is what an international research team involving the Universities of Bayreuth and Göttingen demands in a paper published in the journal "Trends in Plant Science".
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How SARS coronaviruses reprogram host cells to their own benefit

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Researchers have found a specific mechanism that enables SARS viruses to replicate efficiently in infected cells.
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New results about the diets of people who lived on the Great Hungarian Plain

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
The lifestyle and eating habits of human groups that have lived for thousands of years can be examined by tooth. An international research group analyzed the prehistoric findings of the Neolithic Age. In addition to providing knowledge about the lifestyles of people who lived in prehistoric times, a novel study of tooth remains paved the way for other methods previously not used.
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Solar panels are contagious - but in a good way: Study

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
The number of solar panels within shortest distance from a house is the most important factor in determining the likelihood of that house having a solar panel, when compared with a host of socio-economic and demographic variables. This is shown in a new study by scientists using satellite and census data of the city of Fresno in the US, and employing machine learning.
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Bypassing broken genes

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
A new approach to gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system bypasses disease-causing mutations in a gene, enabling treatment of genetic diseases linked to a single gene, such as cystic fibrosis, certain types of sickle cell anemia, and other rare diseases. The method involves inserting a new, fully functional copy of the gene that displaces the mutated gene.
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Great white feeding ground

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
A new study suggests the white shark population for the eastern north Pacific, especially those listed in the Gulf of California, might be underestimated. Researchers found that the mortality rates for these white sharks might be underestimated as well, as an illicit fishery for the species was uncovered in the Gulf of California, suggesting that fishers were killing many more white sharks than has been previously understood.
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Consistent use of food pantries needed to address food insecurity, related health issues

Eurekalert - Apr 21 2021 - 00:04
Food banks should be used more consistently rather than only during emergencies to better address food insecurity and related health issues, a joint study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and economists at the University of Dallas shows.
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