Culture
A woman in Scotland can feel virtually no pain due to a mutation in a previously-unidentified gene, according to a research paper co-led by UCL.
She also experiences very little anxiety and fear, and may have enhanced wound healing due to the mutation, which the researchers say could help guide new treatments for a range of conditions, they report in the British Journal of Anaesthesia.
Cities to swelter as planners face unenviable trade-off between tackling climate change and quality of life, new research has shown.
The study, led by experts at Newcastle University, UK, has shown the challenge we face to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase cities' resilience to extreme weather and also give people quality space to live in.
(Boston)-- African American women with poor oral health may be more likely to get pancreatic cancer (PC).
Playing games in virtual reality (VR) could be a key tool in treating people with neurological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.
The technology, according to a recent study from the University of Waterloo, could help individuals with these neurological conditions shift their perceptions of time, which their conditions lead them to perceive differently.
Over 50 non-native species have found their way to the Galápagos Islands, almost 10 times more than scientists previously thought, reports a new study in Aquatic Invasions published Thursday, March 28.
The study, a joint effort of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Williams College, and the Charles Darwin Foundation, documents 53 species of introduced marine animals in this UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the largest marine protected areas on Earth. Before this study came out, scientists knew about only five.
FINDINGS
A preclinical study led by scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer suggests that heating solid tumors during CAR T-cell therapy can enhance the treatment's success.
The researchers found that when a heating technique called photothermal ablation was combined with the infusion of CAR T cells, it suppressed melanoma tumor growth for up to 20 days in mice. Among the mice that were treated with the combination, 33 percent were still tumor free after the 20-day mark.
BACKGROUND
Liposomes are small spherical vesicles with walls comprising two layers of lipids and containing an aqueous core. These artificial structures have been developed for drug delivery or as carriers of active substances in cosmetic products. Another possible application involves the encapsulation of magnetic nanoparticles in liposomes to use them to transmit signals.
This possibility is discussed in an article published by a group of Brazilian researchers supported by São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP in Royal Society Open Science.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Kangaroo rats are abundant and seemingly defenseless seed-eating rodents that have to contend with a host of nasty predators, including rattlesnakes -- venomous pit vipers well known for their deadly, lightning-quick strikes.
Research by a student-led team from UC Riverside, San Diego State University, and UC Davis now shows that desert kangaroo rats frequently foil snakes through a combination of fast reaction times, powerful evasive leaps, and mid-air, ninja-style kicks.
Tracking animals using DNA signatures are ideally suited to answer the pressing questions required to conserve the world's wildlife, providing benefits over invasive methods such as ear tags and collars, according to a new study by University of Alberta biologists.
Genetic tagging, or the identification and tracking of individual animals using DNA, is a non-invasive method of conducting research that uses samples from shed hair, feathers, feces, or saliva.
A new way of making scaffolding for biological cultures could make it possible to grow cells that are highly uniform in shape and size, and potentially with certain functions. The new approach uses an extremely fine-scale form of 3-D printing, using an electric field to draw fibers one-tenth the width of a human hair.
The system was developed by Filippos Tourlomousis, a postdoc at MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, and six others at MIT and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. The work is being reported in the journal Microsystems and Nanoengineering.
Joint replacements are among the most common elective surgeries -- but around one in 100 patients suffer post-surgical infections, turning a routine procedure into an expensive and dangerous ordeal. Now, researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a "self-defensive surface" for these implants that release targeted micro-doses of antibiotics when bacteria approach, potentially sharply reducing infection rates.
Researchers show that how well parents or guardians support millennials' psychological needs prior to their transition to college is an important predictor of their psychological well-being as they adapt to college life.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield and University of Turku are looking at ways to boost captive populations of Asian elephants without relying on taking them from the wild.
Almost a third of Asian elephants are in captivity in countries like India, Myanmar and Thailand, mainly being used in the timber industry to drag logs or for tourism.
Sustaining wild populations is the conservation priority but, with so many individuals in captivity, maintaining sustainable captive populations with high welfare standards is also important for the future of the species.
People with and without cancer are more likely, over time, to use a more potent form of medical marijuana with increasingly higher amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a new study shows.
In a report publishing in the Journal of Palliative Medicine on March 26, researchers say that cancer patients were more likely to favor forms of medical marijuana with higher amounts of THC, which relieves cancer symptoms and the side effects of cancer treatment, including chronic pain, weight loss, and nausea.
The good news is global and local. Keeping inland lakes from turning green means less greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. Healthy drinking water, fishing and recreation opportunities are also increased when waters are not green.