Feed aggregator
Damage to white matter is linked to worse cognitive outcomes after brain injury
A new University of Iowa study challenges the idea that gray matter (the neurons that form the cerebral cortex) is more important than white matter (the myelin covered axons that physically connect neuronal regions) when it comes to cognitive health and function. The findings may help neurologists better predict the long-term effects of strokes and other forms of traumatic brain injury.
Categories: Content
Losing an only child is more devastating than losing a spouse, according to study of Chinese parents
Which wound cuts deeper: the loss of an only child or loss of a spouse? A new study led by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and Fudan University suggests that Chinese parents find the loss of an only child to be approximately 1.3 times as psychologically distressing than the loss of a spouse.
Categories: Content
Why is COVID-19 so hard to treat? Growing evidence points to unique infectious profile
A comprehensive review into what we know about COVID-19 and the way it functions suggests the virus has a unique infectious profile, which explains why it can be so hard to treat and why some people experience so-called "long-COVID". There is growing evidence that the virus infects both the upper and lower respiratory tracts - unlike "low" or "high" pathogenic" human coronavirus sub-species, which typically settle in one or the other.
Categories: Content
Too much, too little or just right: WVU researchers study proper 'dosing' of telehealth
In a new project, WVU researchers completed a systematic review of studies that dealt with telehealth and chronic conditions. They found that--in general--telehealth services benefitted patients more if they continued for about a year, rather than ending after six months or so.
Categories: Content
New study explores functionality in aquatic ecosystems
The functions of water-dominated ecosystems can be considerably influenced and changed by hydrological fluctuation. The varying states of redox-active substances are of crucial importance here. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have discovered this, in cooperation with partners from the Universities of Tübingen and Bristol and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle-Leipzig.
Categories: Content
18.5 million year old vine fossil identified as new species
An 18.5 million-year-old fossil found in Panama provides evidence of a new species and is the oldest reliable example of a climbing woody vine known as a liana from the soapberry family. The discovery sheds light on the evolution of climbing plants.
Categories: Content
Overcoming tab overload
A research team at Carnegie Mellon University recently completed the first in-depth study of browser tabs in more than a decade. They found that many people struggle with tab overload, an underlying reason being that while tabs serve a variety of functions, they often do so poorly.
Categories: Content
Migratory songbirds climb to extreme altitudes during daytime
Great reed warblers normally migrate by night during its month-long migration from northern Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa. However, researchers have now discovered that during the few occasions when it continues to fly during daytime, it flies at extremely high altitudes (up to 6300 meters). One possible explanation for this unexpected and consistent behaviour could be that the birds want to avoid overheating. The study is published in Science.
Categories: Content
Consumption of pornography is widespread among young Internet users
A new survey shows that websites dedicated to pornography are popular among 16- and 17-year-olds. But social media are playing also a prominent role.
Categories: Content
How bullying and obesity can affect girls' and boys' mental health
Depressive symptoms are more common in teenage girls than in their male peers. However, boys' mental health appears to be affected more if they suffer from obesity. Irrespective of gender, bullying is a considerably greater risk factor than overweight for developing depressive symptoms. These conclusions are drawn by researchers at Uppsala University who monitored adolescents for six years in a questionnaire study, now published in the Journal of Public Health.
Categories: Content
Some meat eaters disgusted by meat
Some meat eaters feel disgusted by meat, according to a new study.
Categories: Content
Breaching the blood-brain barrier to deliver precious payloads
RNA-based drugs may change the standard of care for many diseases, making personalized medicine a reality. So far these cost-effective, easy-to-manufacture drugs haven't been very useful in treating brain tumors and other brain disease. But a team of researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University has shown that a combination of ultrasound and RNA-loaded nanoparticles can temporarily open the protective blood-brain barrier, allowing the delivery of potent medicine to brain tumors.
Categories: Content
Study finds racial disparities in concussion symptom knowledge among college athletes
Among collegiate football players and other athletes, Black athletes recognize fewer concussion-related symptoms than their White counterparts, reports a study in the May/June issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR). The official journal of the Brain Injury Association of America, JHTR is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Categories: Content
In the spotlight: Successful synthesis of perovskite visible-light-absorbing semiconductor material
Narrow-gap semiconductors with the ability to use visible light have garnered significant interest thanks to their versatility. Now, scientists in Japan have developed and characterized a new semiconductor material for application in process components stimulated by light. The findings have, for the first time, suggested a new way to reduce the band gap in cheaper and non-toxic tin-based oxide semiconductors for efficient light-based applications.
Categories: Content
With bacteria against coral bleaching
Coral bleaching, which is becoming stronger and more frequent due to heat stress, has already wiped out corals at many locations globally. With the help of a microbiome-targeting strategy developed by an international team led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, it could become feasible to help protect corals from heat stress.
Categories: Content
Essential virulence proteins of corn smut discovered
Plant pathogen needs membrane-bound protein complex to be virulent
Categories: Content
Discovery of a new genetic cause of hearing loss illuminates how inner ear works
A gene called GAS2 plays a key role in normal hearing, and its absence causes severe hearing loss, according to a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Categories: Content
Artificial intelligence makes great microscopes better than ever
Collaboration between deep learning experts and microscopy experts leads to an significantly improved data-intensive light-field microscopy method by using AI and ground-truthing it with light-sheet microscopy. The result is the power of light-field microscopy available to biologists in near real time vs. days or weeks, AND the expansion of biologists' ability to use this microscopy for many things more things requiring the most detailed observation.
Categories: Content
How we retrieve our knowledge about the world
In order to find our way in the world, we classify it into concepts, such as "telephone". Until now, it was unclear how the brain retrieves these when we only encounter the word and don't perceive the objects directly. Scientists at the German MPI CBS have now developed a model of how the brain processes abstract knowledge. They found that depending on which features one concentrates on, the corresponding brain regions go into action.
Categories: Content
Study helps to better understand the link between indoor and outdoor air quality
A new study finds that the indoor aerosol species are primarily from outdoor air exchange.
Categories: Content