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Small galaxies likely played important role in evolution of the Universe
A study led by University of Minnesota researchers found evidence of the first-ever galaxy in a "blow-away" state, which could give more insight into the Universe's early stages.
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Open-source GPU technology for supercomputers
Researchers from the HSE International Laboratory for Supercomputer Atomistic Modelling and Multi-scale Analysis, JIHT RAS and MIPT have compared the performance of popular molecular modelling programs on GPU accelerators produced by AMD and Nvidia. In a paper published by the International Journal of High Performance Computing Applications, the scholars ported LAMMPS on the new open-source GPU technology, AMD HIP, for the first time.
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New test detects residual cancer DNA in the blood without relying on tumor data
After surgical removal of a tumor, tests for signs of cancer DNA circulating in the blood typically rely on knowing the mutations that were present in a patient's tumor. A new study has found that a "tumor-uninformed" blood-only test can also detect residual disease.
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Discarded ostrich shells provide timeline for our early African ancestors
Dating early human middens becomes uncertain beyond 50,000 years, when radiocarbon dating ceases to be useful. Uranium-series dating of marine shells and bone is uncertain by some 10% because of the structure of these materials. A UC Berkeley and Berkeley Geochronology Center team has now improved the method for a more stable discard: ostrich eggshells. The method extends the accuracy and precision of radiocarbon 10 times into the past, to about 500,000 years ago.
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Digital mental health interventions for young people are perceived promising, but are they effective
An increasing number of digital mental health interventions are designed for adolescents and young people with a range of mental health issues, but the evidence on their effectiveness is mixed, according to new research. Computerized cognitive behavioral therapy was found effective for anxiety and depression in adolescents and young people, holding promise for increasing access to mental health treatment for these conditions.
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In-person schooling with inadequate mitigation measures raises household member's COVID-19 risk
People living with a child who attends school in-person have an increased risk of reporting evidence of COVID-19, but teacher masking, symptom screening, and other mitigation measures in schools may be able to minimize that excess risk, suggests a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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Partnerships between researchers, policymakers and practitioners improve early childhood education
New journal volume proves that research practice partnerships (RPPs), long-term collaborations between researchers, policy makers and practitioners, actually improves early childhood education.
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How to level up soft robotics
The field of soft robotics has exploded in the past decade, as ever more researchers seek to make real the potential of these pliant, flexible automata in a variety of realms, including search and rescue, exploration and medicine.
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Nearly $500M a year in Medicare costs goes to 7 services with no net health benefits
A UCLA-led study shows that physicians frequently order preventive medical services for adult Medicare beneficiaries that are considered unnecessary and of "low value" by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- at a cost of $478 million per year.
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Battling public health misinformation online
Social media and web-based news channels became a communication superhighway for correct and incorrect public health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study of this vast amount of information, known as infodemiology, is critical to building public health interventions to combat misinformation and help individuals, groups, and communities navigate and distill crucial public health messages.
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Pop those 'BPA-free' drinking bottles into the dishwasher before using them
A team of researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine decided to test an array of drinking bottles made of Tritan to see if transient BPA was present. Tritan is a BPA-free plastic. They acquired 10 different Tritan bottles and detected BPA release from two kinds of Tritan bottles. The team then tested whether rinsing, handwashing or dishwashing removed the BPA from the Tritan bottles. It showed that multiple cycles through the dishwasher was the most effective at removing BPA.
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An OU-led study sheds new insight on forest loss and degradation in Brazilian Amazon
An international team led by Xiangming Xiao, George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences, published a paper in the April issue of the journal Nature Climate Change that has major implications on forest policies, conservation and management practices in the Brazilian Amazon.
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Less innocent than it looks
Researchers in the materials department in UC Santa Barbara's College of Engineering have uncovered a major cause of limitations to efficiency in a new generation of solar cells.
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Baby mantis shrimp don't pull their punches
Tiny larvae of the Philippine mantis shrimp (Gonodactylaceus falcatus) display the ultra-fast movements for which these animals are known, even when they are smaller than a short grain of rice. Their ultra-fast punching appendages measure less than 1 mm, and accelerate 100 times faster than a Formula One race car. However, they violate a rule of thumb that smaller is faster; the adults punch even more quickly.
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Plankton have a genome like no other
The weird and wonderful genome of dinoflagellates looks nothing like other eukaryotic genomes.
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New Geology articles published online ahead of print in April
Thirty-one new articles were published online ahead of print for Geology in April. Topics include shocked zircon from the Chicxulub impact crater; the Holocene Sonoran Desert; the architecture of the Congo Basin; the southern Death Valley fault; missing water from the Qiangtang Basin; sulfide inclusions in diamonds; how Himalayan collision stems from subduction; ghost-dune hollows; and the history of the Larsen C Ice Shelf. These Geology articles are online at https://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/recent.
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Hubble watches how a giant planet grows
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers a rare look at a Jupiter-sized, still-forming planet that is feeding off material surrounding a young star.
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Lightning and subvisible discharges produce molecules that clean the atmosphere
Lightning bolts break apart nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the atmosphere and create reactive chemicals that affect greenhouse gases. Now, a team of atmospheric chemists and lightning scientists have found that lightning bolts and, surprisingly, subvisible discharges that cannot be seen by cameras or the naked eye produce extreme amounts of the hydroxyl radical -- OH -- and hydroperoxyl radical -- HO2.
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Considerable gap in evidence around whether portable air filters reduce the incidence of COVID-19
There is an important absence of evidence regarding the effectiveness of a potentially cost-efficient intervention to prevent indoor transmission of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, warns a study by researchers at the University of Bristol.
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Multi-drug resistant infection about to evolve within cystic fibrosis patients
Scientists have been able to track how a multi-drug resistant organism is able to evolve and spread widely among cystic fibrosis patients - showing that it can evolve rapidly within an individual during chronic infection. The researchers say their findings highlight the need to treat patients with Mycobacterium abscessus infection immediately, counter to current medical practice.
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