Content

Global warming may limit spread of dengue fever, new research finds

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Infection with dengue virus makes mosquitoes more sensitive to warmer temperatures, according to new research led by Penn State researchers. The team also found that infection with the bacterium Wolbachia, which has recently been used to control viral infections in mosquitoes, also increases the thermal sensitivity of the insects. The findings suggest that global warming could limit the spread of dengue fever but could also limit the effectiveness of Wolbachia as a biological control agent.
Categories: Content

Study on chromosomal rearrangements in yeast reveals potential avenue for cancer therapy

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Researchers from Osaka University have found that the attachment of a ubiquitin molecule to a protein called PCNA at the lysine 107 position causes gross chromosomal rearrangements. This lysine is located where two PCNA molecules interact, and the ubiquitin attachment to it may change the ring structure they form. The ubiquitin attachment occurs through the action of Rad8 (a ubiquitin ligase) and Mms2-Ubc4 (a ubiquitin conjugating enzyme). This implies that inhibiting the human equivalent of this ubiquitination could prevent cancer.
Categories: Content

InSight mission: Mars unveils its inner structures

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
From a dozen earthquakes detected on Mars by the SEIS seismometer, developed in France, the InSight team reveals the internal structure of Mars. The three studies published in Science and involving many co-authors from French institutions, reveal, by analyzing the seismic waves, an estimate of the size of the core, the thickness of the crust and the structure of the mantle.
Categories: Content

Clever cockatoos learn through social interaction

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
World-first research proves 'cockies' learn unique bin-opening behavior by copying others
Categories: Content

Neurotransmitter levels predict math ability

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
The neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate have complementary roles -- GABA inhibits neurons, while glutamate makes them more active. Published 22nd July in PLOS Biology, researchers led by Roi Cohen Kadosh and George Zacharopoulos from the University of Oxford show that levels of these two neurotransmitters in the intraparietal sulcus of the brain can predict mathematics ability. The study also found that the relationships between the two neurotransmitters and arithmetic fluency switched as children developed into adults.
Categories: Content

Less-sensitive COVID-19 tests may still achieve optimal results if enough people tested

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
A computational analysis of COVID-19 tests suggests that, in order to minimize the number of infections in a population, the amount of testing matters more than the sensitivity of the tests that are used. Philip Cherian and Gautam Menon of Ashoka University in Sonipat, India, and Sandeep Krishna of the National Centre for Biological Sciences TIFR, Bangalore, India, present their findings in the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology.
Categories: Content

Less-sensitive COVID-19 tests may still achieve optimal results if enough people tested

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
A computational analysis of COVID-19 tests suggests that, in order to minimize the number of infections in a population, the amount of testing matters more than the sensitivity of the tests that are used. Philip Cherian and Gautam Menon of Ashoka University in Sonipat, India, and Sandeep Krishna of the National Centre for Biological Sciences TIFR, Bangalore, India, present their findings in the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology.
Categories: Content

New study provides clues to decades-old mystery about cell movement

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
A new study, led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities engineering researchers, shows that the stiffness of protein fibers in tissues, like collagen, are a key component in controlling the movement of cells. The groundbreaking discovery provides the first proof of a theory from the early 1980s and could have a major impact on fields that study cell movement from regenerative medicine to cancer research.
Categories: Content

Cell-analysis technique could combat tuberculosis

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Researchers at Cornell have developed a way to analyze how individual immune cells react to the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. It could pave the way for new vaccine strategies and provide insights into fighting other infectious diseases.
Categories: Content

California's carbon mitigation efforts may be thwarted by climate change itself

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
To meet an ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, California's policymakers are relying in part on forests and shrublands to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, but researchers at the University of California, Irvine warn that future climate change may limit the ecosystem's ability to perform this service.
Categories: Content

Gaming graphics card allows faster, more precise control of fusion energy experiments

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
University of Washington researchers have developed a method that uses a gaming graphics card to control plasma formation in their prototype fusion reactor.
Categories: Content

What makes a market transaction morally repugnant?

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Many people find it morally impermissible to put kidneys, children, or doctorates on the free market. But what makes a market transaction morally repugnant in the eyes of the public? And which transactions trigger the strongest collective disapproval? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the Robert Koch Institute have addressed these questions. Their findings, published in Cognition, offer new entry points for policy interventions.
Categories: Content

Pathogens get comfy in designer goo

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Hydrogels developed at Rice University mimic intestines when lined with epithelial cells. A study by Rice and Baylor College of Medicine proved hydrogels in various stiffnesses are valuable for learning the dynamics of pathogens that cause diarrhea and other intestinal diseases.
Categories: Content

Eco-friendly plastic from cellulose and water

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Plastics offer many benefits to society and are widely used in our daily life: they are lightweight, cheap and adaptable. However, the production, processing and disposal of plastics pose a major global threat to the environment and human health. However, researchers at the University of Göttingen have now found a sustainable method - "hydrosetting", which uses water at normal conditions - to process and reshape a new type of hydroplastic polymer. The research was published in Nature Sustainability.
Categories: Content

Possible link between late-term births and better academic outcomes, study suggests

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Even at term, gestational age may have an impact on children's academic performance, findings of a new study suggest. The research showed an association between gestational age at term and above-average rankings in a number of academic subjects.
Categories: Content

Study points to remotely supervised exercise classes as best option during lockdown

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Based on data for 344 volunteers, Brazilian researchers compared the physical and mental health benefits of workouts led in person by a fitness instructor, unsupervised online sessions, and classes supervised remotely via video call. Gradually increasing intensity was associated with improvements in mental health.
Categories: Content

Smartphone screens effective sensors for soil or water contamination

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
The touchscreen technology used in billions of smartphones and tablets could also be used as a powerful sensor, without the need for any modifications.
Categories: Content

Silicon with a two-dimensional structure

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
Silicon, a semi-metal, bonds in its natural form with four other elements and its three-dimensional structure takes the form of a tetrahedron. For a long time, it seemed impossible to achieve the synthesis and characterisation of a two-dimensional equivalent - geometrically speaking, a square. Now scientists from the field of Inorganic Chemistry at Heidelberg University have succeeded in producing a crystalline complex with such a configuration.
Categories: Content

Excess coffee: A bitter brew for brain health

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
It's a favourite first-order for the day, but while a quick coffee may perk us up, new research from the University of South Australia shows that too much could be dragging us down, especially when it comes to brain health.
Categories: Content

Rensselaer-designed platform could enable personalized immunotherapy

Eurekalert - Jul 22 2021 - 00:07
An innovative testing platform that more closely mimics what cancer encounters in the body may allow for more precise, personalized therapies by enabling the rapid study of multiple therapeutic combinations against tumor cells. The platform, which uses a three-dimensional environment to more closely mirror a tumor microenvironment, is demonstrated in research published in Communications Biology.
Categories: Content