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The evolving periodicity of the brightness of certain types of stars can now be described mathematically.

People's ability to perceive speech sounds has been deeply studied, specially during someone's first year of life, but what happens during the first hours after birth? Are babies born with innate abilities to perceive speech sounds, or do neural encoding processes need to age for some time?

CRISPR/Cas-based Diagnostics and Gene Therapyhttps://doi.org/10.15212/bioi-2020-0048Announcing a new article publication for BIO Integration journal. In this mini review article the authors Meiyu Qiu and Pei Li from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea summarize CRISPR/Cas-based Diagnostics and Gene Therapy.

Now, researchers from the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of CAS, the Institute of Hydrobiology of CAS, Zhejiang Ocean University and Northwestern Polytechnical University, have unraveled the evolutionary and genetic origins of the specialized body plan of flatfishes through comparative genomic analysis.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have identified influenza virus peptides that resemble human protein fragments and can cause an immune response against the body's own cells due to cross-reactivity. The recently completed study confirms the notion that influenza A (H1N1) virus peptides can trigger an autoimmune reaction in genetically predisposed individuals, that results in the onset of narcolepsy with cataplexy.

Researchers have found that DNP peptide, a small intestine-permeable cyclic peptide originally used as an insulin additive to improve absorption into the small intestinal, lowers blood glucose levels in mice. They also found that insulin can be administered orally simply by adding D-form DNP peptide (D-DNP) peptide to injectable insulin used in clinical practice. This study is expected to provide a basis for the development of oral insulin using DNP peptides.

A team from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), the Universitat de València (UV) and the Aiken Ophthalmic Clinic (through its Research Foundation) have designed and assessed in their laboratories a new groundbreaking implant, the only one in its kind, to correct presbyopia.

New research shows placing solar panels on the roofs of Australian airport buildings could be an efficient step towards net zero emissions.

A study has analysed the various systems and schedules implemented by the American entertainment platform in recent years in relation to its original feature films, which have allowed it to become the leader in the distribution of on-demand audiovisual content.

Osaka University researchers conducted a detailed multiphoton excitation photoluminescence (MPPL) analysis of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor substrates. The threading dislocations of GaN crystals observed using the nondestructive analysis technique were statistically classified to give the Burgers vectors. It is hoped that their findings will support the identification of fatal defects in GaN crystals to improve quality and yields and accelerate the availability of GaN-based devices.

Australian researchers have identified neutralising nanobodies that block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells in preclinical models. The discovery paves the way for further investigations into nanobody-based treatments for COVID-19. Published in PNAS, the research is part of a consortium-led effort, bringing together the expertise of Australian academic leaders in infectious diseases and antibody therapeutics at WEHI, the Doherty Institute and the Kirby Institute.

Summer is the ozone season: The harmful gas forms at ground level on hot, sunny days. In recent years, however, the rise in ozone levels over the summer months has not been as pronounced in Germany as it was previously. According to a new study, this is primarily due to a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. This trend can be observed across Germany's southwestern regions in particular, while Berlin lags behind.

Wonderwerk Cave has been identified as potentially the earliest cave occupation in the world and the site of some of the earliest indications of fire use and tool making among prehistoric humans.

Boundary conditions of shopping, such as shipping costs or travel time, are of central importance for individual store choices. Assessment of purchasing security, environmental protection aspects, and work conditions also come into play when deciding between online and local. This is found by a microeconometrical, representative study at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) funded by the German Research Foundation. Some of its results are now reported in Papers in Applied Geography and Raumforschung und Raumordnung.

The study showed that the cells of people who survived critical illness (ie two or more organs failing) produced energy in a different way to those who did not survive. The behaviour of critically ill cells looks similar to how cells adapt to limited oxygen levels (hypoxia). The work took place before the COVID-19 pandemic, but findings are relevant to patients on ventilators experiencing low oxygen levels or multiple organ failure.

Touching patients while providing care is an important and unavoidable aspect of the nursing profession. Nurses can also transform touch into a useful therapeutic tool to improve patients'-- and their own--wellbeing. That is the topic of a study, "'Permission to Touch': Nurses' Perspectives of Interpersonal Contact during Patient Care," published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research. Through focus groups and interviews, participants said they found touch and massage helpful when providing patient care.

Brain research and advocacy nonprofit Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB) today announced the launch of a National TBI Precision Solutions Research Roadmap, with the advent of the first in a series of publications resulting from its Brain Trauma Blueprint program. The Brain Trauma Blueprint is a framework that enables stakeholder groups across government, academia, foundations, and industry to advance precision diagnostics and treatments for brain trauma through a coordinated effort.

The opioid prescribing guideline released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 has failed to reduce addiction and overdoses, significantly worsened the quality of pain care in the United States and should be revoked, according to a large new survey of patients and healthcare providers.

The University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Rigshospitalet and the University of Copenhagen have come together to study the effects of Football Fitness on various health parameters and self-rated health following treatment for breast cancer.The study concludes, that Football Fitness strengthens bones and muscles as well as improving balance in women treated for breast cancer. This in turn reduces the risk of various established long-term consequences of the medical treatment the women have undergone.

A study led by researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm shows that the last remaining populations of the Sumatran rhinoceros display surprisingly low levels of inbreeding. The genomes from 21 modern and historical rhinoceros' specimens were sequenced to investigate the genetic health in rhinos living today and ones that recently became extinct. With less than 100 individuals remaining, the Sumatran rhinoceros is one of the most endangered mammal species in the world.