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Adult roles build skills for children of Latinx immigrants

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Children of Latinx immigrants who take on adult responsibilities exhibit higher levels of political activity compared with those who do not, according to University of Georgia researcher Roberto Carlos.
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Study finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils' response to transmissible cancer

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
University of Idaho researchers and partners studied the evolution of Tasmanian devils in response to a unique transmissible cancer. The team found that historic and ongoing evolution are widespread across the devils' genome, but there is little overlap of genes between those two timescales. These findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest that if transmissible cancers occurred historically in devils, they imposed natural selection on different sets of genes.
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Good bacteria can temper chemotherapy side effects

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
A new Northwestern University study found that specific types of gut bacteria can protect other good bacteria from cancer treatments -- mitigating harmful, drug-induced changes to the gut microbiome. By metabolizing chemotherapy drugs, the protective bacteria could temper short- and long-term side effects of treatment.
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Conquering COVID-19 with antivirals

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen scientists perform incredible feats in a short amount of time, from developing tests to new types of vaccines. Despite these victories, experts are still working to develop an effective antiviral drug to kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, details the challenges of and progress toward creating a drug that would help the world conquer COVID-19.
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NIH scientists find that salmonella use intestinal epithelial cells to colonize the gut

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
The immune system's attempt to eliminate Salmonella bacteria from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract instead facilitates colonization of the intestinal tract and fecal shedding, according to National Institutes of Health scientists. The study, published in Cell Host & Microbe, was conducted by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) scientists at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana.
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Scientists find solution to measure harmful plastic particles in human sewage

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Scientists have got up close and personal with human sewage to determine how best to measure hidden and potentially dangerous plastics.
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Stormwater could be a large source of microplastics and rubber fragments to waterways

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
In cities, heavy rains wash away the gunk collecting on sidewalks and roads, picking up all kinds of debris. However, the amount of microplastic pollution swept away by this runoff is currently unknown. Now, researchers in ACS ES&T Water report that stormwater can be a large source of microplastics and rubber fragments to water bodies and, with a proof-of-concept experiment, show that a rain garden could keep these microscopic pieces out of a storm drain.
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Study affirms that vaccines are safe for children and adults

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
A new study looking across a large body of research finds further evidence for the safety of vaccines that are Food and Drug Administration-approved and routinely recommended for children, adults and pregnant women. The meta-analysis does not address the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, but summarizes the results of 338 studies of other vaccines commonly given across the lifespan.
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Research identifies climate-change refugia in dry-forest region

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
The study was conducted in a Brazilian national park and was based on analysis of tree rings in the species Amburana cearensis, as well as satellite images.
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How the mold influences a chocolate bar's crystalline structure

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
When enjoying a chocolate bar, most people don't think about how the molecules within it are organized. But different arrangements of the fats in chocolate can influence its taste and texture. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Crystal Growth & Design have found that the side of a chocolate bar facing the mold has a more orderly crystalline structure than the side facing air, knowledge that might help chocolatiers produce tastier confections, the researchers say.
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Young adults with schizophrenia have highest suicide risk

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
A study from Columbia University that looked at a large population of adults iagnosed with schizophrenia has found the youngest group (18-34) had the highest suicide risk and those aged 65 and older had the lowest. In the general US population, younger adults have less risk and older age groups have greater risk.
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Ultrafast, on-chip PCR could speed diagnosis during current and future pandemics

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the PCR portion of the test requires bulky, expensive machines and takes about an hour to complete, making it difficult to quickly diagnose someone at a testing site. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a plasmofluidic chip that can perform PCR in only about 8 minutes, which could speed diagnosis during current and future pandemics.
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Study: Don't count on caffeine to fight sleep deprivation

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Sleep scientists assessed how effective caffeine was in counteracting the negative effects of sleep deprivation on cognition.
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HKUST's meta-analysis shows SARS-CoV-2 variants unlikely to affect T cell responses

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
In a new study, scientists at HKUST have revealed that most T cell epitopes known to be targeted upon natural infection are seemingly unaffected by current SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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UNH research: Journey of PFAS in wastewater facilities highlights regulation challenges

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have conducted two of the first studies in New England to collectively show that toxic man-made chemicals called PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), found in everything from rugs to product packaging, end up in the environment differently after being processed through wastewater treatment facilities--making it more challenging to set acceptable screening levels.
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A new 'gold standard' compound for generating electricity from heat

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Researchers show in a new study that a single material, a layered crystal consisting of the elements rhenium and silicon, turns out to be the gold standard of transverse thermoelectric devices.
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Study finds physicians support pharmacy dispensing to expand access to medication abortion

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Interviews with primary care providers showed support for removal of the FDA's mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which prevents pharmacists from dispensing the drugs needed for medication abortions.
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How antibiotic-filled poop helps 'bessbug' beetles stay healthy

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that the frass of the horned passalus beetle is teeming with antibiotic and antifungal chemicals similar to the ones that humans use to ward off bacterial and fungal infections. Understanding the symbiotic relationship between bessbug beetles, actinomycetes and their antimicrobial compounds could help speed the search for new antibiotic drugs, and help doctors create better strategies for preventing the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections.
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University of Kentucky researchers discover fundamental roles of glucosamine in brain

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Using novel imaging methods for studying brain metabolism, University of Kentucky researchers have identified the reservoir for a necessary sugar in the brain. Glycogen serves as a storage depot for the sugar glucose.
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Dinosaur-age fossils provide new insights into origin of flowering plants

Eurekalert - May 26 2021 - 00:05
Fossil seed-bearing structures preserved in a newly discovered Early Cretaceous silicified peat in Inner Mongolia, China, provide a partial answer to the origin of flowering plants, according to a study led by Prof. SHI Gongle from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS).
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