Eurekalert


The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Updated: 3 years 8 months ago
Combining light, superconductors could boost AI capabilities
As artificial intelligence has attracted interest, researchers are focused on understanding how the brain accomplishes cognition so they can construct systems with general intelligence comparable to humans' intelligence. In Applied Physics Letters, researchers propose an approach to AI that focuses on integrating photonic components with superconducting electronics; using light for communication and complex electronic circuits for computation could enable artificial cognitive systems of scale and functionality beyond what can be achieved with either light or electronics alone.
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Researchers raise alarm over stalled adoption of biotechnology to improve food security
The worldwide adoption of biotechnologies to improve crop production has stalled, putting global food security at risk, according to an international team of researchers led by the University of Birmingham.
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Examining clinician burnout
What The Study Did: Researchers investigated the association of burnout at an academic medical center with clinician type, sex, work culture and use of electronic health records.
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Stone skipping techniques can improve reentry of space vehicles
In Physics of Fluids, scientists reveal several key factors that influence the number of bounces a skipping stone will undergo when hitting the water. The study involved theoretical modeling and an experimental setup using a model stone to gather data in real time and that allowed a motor to apply a controlled spin to the disk prior to launch. The investigators found that vertical acceleration and the spin direction influence the result.
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Certain gut microbes make mosquitoes more prone to carry malaria parasite
Dietary sugars and gut microbes play a key role in promoting malaria parasite infection in mosquitoes. Researchers in China have uncovered evidence that mosquitoes fed a sugar diet show an increased abundance of the bacterial species Asaia bogorensis, which enhances parasite infection by raising the gut pH level. The study appears April 20 in the journal Cell Reports.
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Forensics puzzle cracked via fluid mechanical principles
A real-life forensic puzzle inspired University of Illinois at Chicago and Iowa State University researchers to explore the physics involved, and in Physics of Fluids, they present theoretical results revealing an interaction of the incoming vortex ring of propellant muzzle gases with backward blood spatter. A detailed analytical theory of such turbulent self-similar vortex rings was given by this group in earlier work and is linked mathematically to the theory of quantum oscillators.
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Reversal of blood droplet flight predicted, captured in experiments
To search for answers about how blood droplets from a gunshot wound can reverse direction while in flight, researchers explored the influence of propellant gases on blood backspatter. In Physics of Fluids, they report using numeric modeling to capture the behavior of gun muzzle gases and predict the reversal of blood droplet flight, which was captured experimentally. Their experiments also show the breakup of blood droplets, a future extension of their modeling efforts.
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Newly discovered airway cells may shed light on SIDS and other conditions
Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells, found in the human airway, are more varied than previously thought. Higher levels of certain types of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells are linked to sudden infant death syndrome and other breathing-related conditions.
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Chaperone protein imbalance promotes toxic tau buildup in the aging brain
A new University of South Florida Health (USF Health) study suggests that disruption of chaperone proteins in the aging brain may tip the balance to promote toxic tau accumulation, leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
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Fearsome tyrannosaurs were social animals, study suggests
A new report by a scientists including University of Arkansas paleontologist Celina Suarez indicates the fearsome tyrannosaur dinosaurs may not have been solitary predators as popularly envisioned, but social carnivores with complex hunting strategies like wolves.
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New infrastructure approach could save millions
As President Biden's $2 trillion American Jobs Plan places the nation's infrastructure in the spotlight, new research from the University of Georgia suggests states can save money and extend the life of their bridges by taking a fresh approach to how they prioritize maintenance.
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Probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus shows promise for treating inflammatory bowel disease and other
A defective intestinal tight junction barrier, sometimes known as "leaky gut," plays an important role in exacerbating and prolonging intestinal inflammation. New research reported in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier, shows that the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) strain known as LA1 can generate a rapid and sustained enhancement of this defective intestinal barrier and effectively treat intestinal inflammation by preserving and restoring the intestinal barrier.
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Study could lead to production of more efficient optoelectronic devices
Resonant-tunneling diodes are used in high-frequency oscillators, wave emitters and detectors, logic gates, photodetectors, and optoelectronic circuits. The study was a collaboration between Brazilian and German researchers.
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Study reveals roadmap of muscle decline with age
Scientists have produced a comprehensive roadmap of muscle aging in mice that could be used to find treatments that prevent decline in muscle mobility and function.
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Specialized technique captures unique protein structures in neuropathy disorders
Charcot Marie Tooth and Dejerine-Sottas syndrome are groups of diseases that involve the breakdown of the myelin sheath covering nerve axons.
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Overgrowth of gut yeast in newborns may increase asthma risk
An overgrowth of yeast in the gut within the first few months of life may cause changes to the immune system that increase the risk of asthma later on, shows a study published today in eLife.
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Preventing evictions remains critical to controlling COVID-19, study finds
Renter protection policies that have curbed mass evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have played a key role in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in U.S. cities, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.
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New findings suggest organ tissues become increasingly immune throughout life
University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have offered new ways to think about the immune system thanks to a recent study published in Nature. Their research, which indicates organ tissues become increasingly immune throughout life, may begin to alter fundamental ideas regarding the rules of vaccination and the immune system's function within the body.
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A study finds gender bias in music recommendation algorithms
Although the problem of gender discrimination is already found in the music industry, music recommendation algorithms would be increasing the gender gap. Andrés Ferraro and Xavier Serra, researchers of the Music Technology research group of the UPF, with Christine Bauer, of the University of Utrecht, have recently published a paper on gender balance in music recommendation systems in which they ask themselves how the system should work to avoid gender bias.
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Chickens and pigs with integrated genetic scissors
Genetically engineered animals provide important insights into the molecular basis of health and disease. Research has focused mainly on genetically modified mice, although other species, such as pigs, are more similar to human physiology. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now generated chickens and pigs in which target genes in desired organs can be efficiently altered.
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