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Memory, learning and decision-making studied in worms
As anyone who has ever procrastinated knows, remembering that you need to do something and acting on that knowledge are two different things. To understand how memory can lead to different behaviors, researchers studied the simpler nervous system of worms.The discovery used a 'robot microscope,' which detects and tracks fluorescent light as a worm crawls around, meaning researchers can record videos of chemical signals traveling between individual neurons in awake, unrestrained animals.
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Researchers measure tritium production rates in mock-up of water-cooled ceramic breeder blanket
To realize tritium self-sustaining cycle through tritium breeding blanket has been one of the core technologies of future fusion reactor. Therefore the design and function of blanket must be validated by neutronic experiment under D-T neutron environment. But due to the scarcity of DT neutron source, and highly radioactivity during neutronic experiments, it is very difficult to validate the nuclear response of the blanket, the data of tritium production rate mainly rely on Monte Carlo simulation.
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Urban life is not to everyone's taste
Expanding urban habitats are likely to endanger a large number of butterfly species in the long term. This is reported by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Generalists that tolerate large temperature fluctuations and feed on different plants are most likely to benefit from human-modified habitats. In order to preserve biodiversity, urban and spatial planning should take the needs of specialized butterfly species into account, the authors recommend.
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Biopolymer-based electrolyte for the dream of zero-pollution battery
In a paper published in NANO, researchers from Guizhou Meiling Power Sources Co., Ltd., China have reviewed the recent progress in biopolymer-based electrolyte. The biopolymer materials with unique characteristics including water solubility, film-forming capability and adhesive property played a key role in the design of zero pollution lithium battery. The biopolymers mentioned in this review were polysaccharide, protein, natural rubber and other polymers.
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Researchers connect climate features to the variability of global tropical storm days from 1965 to 2019
A new study finds that tropical storm days have had a steady relationship with El Niño and La Niña from 1965 to 2018. And the tropical storm day and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) relationship breakdown in the 1980s is due to the decoupling of SST anomalies associated with the PDO-East and PDO-West. The results have a significant implication for seasonal to decadal predictions of global tropical storm day.
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The secret to stickiness of mussels underwater
Professor Hyung Joon Cha's team presents the interaction mechanism of components that make up the surface adhesive proteins.The research team reveals new synergy of adhesive molecules, clarifying the design principle of mussels' surface adhesive proteins.
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Overweight or obesity worsens liver-damaging effects of alcohol
The largest study of its kind has found people in the overweight or obese range who drink alcohol are at greater risk of liver disease and mortality.
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Declining deer population likely due to natural regulation
Scientists have shown that the population of the Yakushima sika deer has declined due to natural factors, suggesting that the population can be regulated without culling.
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Mind the nanogap: Fast and sensitive oxygen gas sensors
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have designed and produced novel nanogap gas sensors through a reliable and scalable fabrication strategy. The gap between electrodes, which can be as small as 20 nm, allows for sensing oxygen with an unprecedented response time at relatively low temperatures, especially compared with microgap sensors. Their results pave the way towards general gas-sensing platforms for biomedical, industrial, and environmental applications.
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Scientists identify protein that activates plant response to nitrogen deficiency
Researchers at Nagoya University, Japan, have identified a plant enzyme that is key to activating a nitrate uptake mechanism in response to nitrogen starvation. This finding explains how plants meet their needs in challenging environments, opening doors to improving agriculture in such environments.
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Suitable thread type and stitch density for Ghanaian public basic school uniforms
Seam performance of two sewing thread brands and three stitch densities in a selected suitable fabric for Ghanaian public basic school uniforms were evaluated with the aim of finding a suitable thread brand and stitch density for quality public basic school uniforms. The performance properties tested were strength, efficiency and elongation.
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Ethnically diverse research identifies more genetic markers linked to diabetes
By ensuring ethnic diversity in a largescale genetic study, an international team of researchers, including a University of Massachusetts Amherst genetic epidemiologist, has identified more regions of the genome linked to type 2 diabetes-related traits.
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Unraveling DNA packaging
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used for studying DNA wrapping processes. The technique enables visualizing the dynamics of DNA-protein interactions, which in certain cases resembles the motion of inchworms.
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Diabetes remission diet also lowers blood pressure and reduces need for medication
New research published in Diabetologia has shown that if people achieve and maintain substantial weight loss to manage their type 2 diabetes, many can also effectively control their high blood pressure and stop or cut down on their anti-hypertensive medication.
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Study suggests tai chi can mirror healthy benefits of conventional exercise
A new study shows that tai chi mirrors the beneficial effects of conventional exercise by reducing waist circumference in middle-aged and older adults with central obesity.
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Tai chi about equal to conventional exercise for reducing belly fat in middle aged and older adults
A randomized controlled trial found that tai chi is about as effective as conventional exercise for reducing waist circumference in middle-aged and older adults with central obesity. Central obesity, or weight carried around the midsection, is a major manifestation of metabolic syndrome and a common health problem in this cohort. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Emotional regulation technique may be effective in disrupting compulsive cocaine addiction
An emotion regulation strategy known as cognitive reappraisal helped reduce the typically heightened and habitual attention to drug-related cues and contexts in cocaine-addicted individuals, a study by Mount Sinai researchers has found
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Using fossil plant molecules to track down the Green Sahara
Researchers have developed a new concept to explain the phenomenon known as Green Sahara. They demonstrate that a permanent vegetation cover in the Sahara was only possible under two overlapping rainy seasons. Dr. Enno Schefuß of MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University of Bremen, Dr. Rachid Cheddadi of the University of Montpellier, and their colleagues have now published their study in the journal PNAS.
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Newly discovered African 'climate seesaw' drove human evolution
A scientific consortium led by Dr Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr of the University of Potsdam has found that ancient El Niño-like weather patterns were the primary drivers of environmental change in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 620 thousand years - the critical timeframe for the evolution of our species. The group found that these ancient weather patterns had more profound impacts in sub-Saharan Africa than glacial-interglacial cycles more commonly linked to human evolution.
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Researchers report reference genome for maize B chromosome
Dr. HAN Fangpu's group from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with their collaborators, reported a reference sequence for the supernumerary B chromosome in maize.
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