Eurekalert


The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Updated: 3 years 9 months ago
Keeping it rolling
Osaka University researchers use machine learning methods to generate predicted remaining useful life curves for rolling bearings. By combining the results from convolutional neural networks using Bayesian hierarchical modeling, the team was able to improve the predictions of remaining useful life. This research may lead to more intelligent maintenance and less industrial waste.
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Deep and extreme: Microbes thrive in transition
A lot happens and changes within a thin one-meter-thick transition layer between deep Red Sea water and an expansive underlying brine lake.
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Pristine quantum criticality found
US and Austrian physicists searching for evidence of quantum criticality in topological materials have found one of the most pristine examples yet observed.
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Clean water and toilets for healthy shelters
The devastating Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 displaced some 500,000 people to evacuation shelters. A research team that conducted regular visits to shelters to assess their status and inhabitants well-being have analyzed their data and found that about half of shelters had inadequate clean tap water and toilets, leading to worsening health outcomes for inhabitants.
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Diabetes vaccine gives promising results in a genetic subgroup
A clinical study led by Linköping University, Sweden, and financed by pharmaceuticals company Diamyd Medical has investigated whether immunotherapy against type 1 diabetes can preserve the body's own production of insulin. The results suggest that injection of a protein, GAD, into lymph nodes can be effective in a subgroup of individuals. The results have been published in Diabetes Care.
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Stanford bioengineer aims to turn nature's virus fighters into powerful drugs
Years of development and testing remain before peptoid drugs, based on peptide-like molecules, could possibly make it to market. But encouraging results thus far suggest they have the potential to become a new category of antiviral treatments for everything from herpes and COVID-19 to the common cold.
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Higher dose of DHA associated with lower early preterm birth rate, NIH-funded study finds
Women taking 1,000 mg of docosohexanoic acid (DHA) daily in the last half of pregnancy had a lower rate of early preterm birth than women who took the standard 200 mg dose, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Women who entered the study with the lowest DHA level had the greatest reduction in early preterm birth, which is birth before 34 weeks of pregnancy and which increases the risk of infant death and disability.
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Metabolic hormone 'leptin' linked to poor vaccine response
Reduced levels of a metabolic hormone known as leptin is linked to poor vaccine antibody responses in the general population, a University of Queensland study has found.
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Plasma jets reveal magnetic fields far, far away
For the first time, researchers have observed plasma jets interacting with magnetic fields in a massive galaxy cluster 600 million light years away, thanks to the help of radio telescopes and supercomputer simulations. The findings, published in the journal Nature, can help clarify how such galaxy clusters evolve.
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Implantable piezoelectric polymer improves controlled release of drugs
A membrane made from threads of a polymer commonly used in vascular sutures can be loaded with therapeutic drugs and implanted in the body, where mechanical forces activate the polymer's electric potential and slowly release the drugs. The novel system, developed by a group led by bioengineers at UC Riverside, overcomes the biggest limitations of conventional drug administration and some controlled release methods, and could improve treatment of cancer and other chronic diseases.
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USC study reveals potential new treatment target in the fight against COVID-19
A new Keck School of Medicine of USC study reveals how therapies targeting a molecular chaperone called GRP78 might offer additional protection against COVID-19 and other coronaviruses that emerge in the future.
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Dental crowding: Ancient baleen whales had a mouth full
CT scans of a 25 million year-old fossil skull show the Aetiocetus weltoni had both teeth and baleen, unlike modern whales.
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Study finds health insurance disruptions associated with worse healthcare access
A new study underscores the importance of health insurance coverage continuity in access to and receipt of care and care affordability in the United States.
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A long-term study shows strong links between gestational diabetes during pregnancy and type-1 and type-2 diabetes later in life
A 23 year study being presented at the 23rd European Congress of Endocrinology (e-ECE 2021), on Monday 24 May 2021 at 14:40 CET (www.ece2021.org), has found that women who experience gestational diabetes (GDM) when they are pregnant, are more prone to developing type-1 and type-2 diabetes later in life. The long-term study suggests that autoantibody testing should be considered for women who experience GDM in order to have a better understanding of their prognosis.
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New quantum material discovered
A new semimetal has been found, showing remarkable properties: It is a quantum critical material, which means that it has phase transitions at absolute zero temperature. Usually, quantum criticality can only be created under very specific environmental conditions -- a certain pressure or an electromagnetic field. But the new material is quantum critical on its own.
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New research reveals that a low-calorie ketogenic diet can help testosterone levels in overweight men
A very low-calorie ketogenic diet can help testosterone and sex hormone (SHBG) levels in overweight men, according to a study being presented at the 23rd?European Congress of Endocrinology (e-ECE 2021), on Monday 24 May 2021 at 14:06 CET (www.ece2021.org). The study found that after following a recommended low-calorie ketogenic diet for four weeks, body weight, fat mass and body mass index (BMI) significantly decreased and a substantial increase of total testosterone and SHBG levels were also found.
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Defective gene slows down brain cells
Although many forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are thought to have genetic causes, the cellular and molecular functions of the identified genes remain unclear. Scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria studied a high-risk gene and discovered its important role during a critical phase of brain development.
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Predicting chemotherapy response and tailoring treatments for pancreatic cancer patients
After discovering critical epigenetic elements involved in chemotherapy resistance of pancreatic cancer, researchers from Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center have invented a novel biomarker platform that rapidly assesses these elements as a means to predict chemotherapy response and select pancreatic cancer patients who are most likely to benefit from traditional chemotherapy versus possible alternate epigenetic therapy. This technology introduces the first-ever epigenetic precision medicine approach to pancreatic cancer.
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Dengue immune function discovery could benefit much-needed vaccine development
Despite a daunting more than 130 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections to date worldwide, another global pathogen - the mosquito-borne dengue virus - saw a record number of over 400 million cases in 2019. But vaccine development has been challenging due to the need to protect equally against all four dengue strains. The discovery of new possible biomarkers to predict clinical and immune responses to dengue virus infection could be critical to informing future vaccines.
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Surge in nitrogen has turned sargassum into the world's largest harmful algal bloom
Using a unique historical baseline (1983-2019), scientists have discovered dramatic changes in the chemistry and composition of Sargassum, floating brown seaweed, transforming this vibrant living organism into a toxic "dead zone." Results suggest that increased nitrogen availability from natural and anthropogenic sources, including sewage, is supporting blooms of Sargassum and turning a critical nursery habitat into harmful algal blooms with catastrophic impacts on coastal ecosystems, economies, and human health. Globally, harmful algal blooms are related to increased nutrient pollution.
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