Eurekalert

A new paper in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicates that disruptions in health care due to the COVID 19 pandemic may increase breast cancer deaths.

For the first time, scientists have seen stony coral cells engulf dinoflagellates - single-celled, photosynthetic algae that are crucial for keeping coral alive. The researchers cultured endoderm-like cells from the stony coral, Acropora tenuis. Around 40% of coral cells incorporated the algae in around 30 minutes and remained healthy for one month. The research is a step towards understanding the partnership between coral and dinoflagellates and could shed light on how coral bleaching occurs.

A team of physicists led by the University of Iowa have described in fuller detail the sun's electric field. The researchers measured the flow of electrons streaming from the sun as the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft made its closest approach to date to our home star. Result appear in The Astrophysical Journal.

Oregon State University scientists are beginning to unravel the key microorganisms that contribute to the fermentation of kombucha, research that is already aiding large-scale kombucha producers in the fast-growing industry.

University of Washington researchers have, for the first time, identified and classified how different people respond to the accumulation of dental plaque.

Sea-level rise threatens to produce more frequent and severe flooding in coastal regions and is expected to cause trillions of dollars in damages globally if no action is taken to mitigate the issue. However, communities trying to fight sea-level rise could inadvertently make flooding worse for their neighbors, according to a new study from researchers at UT Arlington and the Stanford Natural Capital Project published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An associate professor of marketing at The University of Texas at Arlington says digital avatars can replace a sales force and customer service employees at a fraction of the cost.

Researchers in the University of Arizona Health Sciences Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center have found that terpenes mimic cannabinoids and produce similar pain-relieving effects, which are amplified when the two are used together.

Researchers from Kumamoto University, Japan have found that a component derived from turmeric essential oil, ar-turmerone, and its derivatives act directly on dopaminergic neurons to exert a neuroprotective effect on tissue cultures of a Parkinson's disease model. The effect appears to be due to the enhancement of cellular antioxidant potency through Nrf2 activation. The researchers believe that the ar-turmerone derivatives identified in this study can be utilized as new therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease.

Researchers from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute have found that physical load stimulates expression of the peptide osteocrin (OSTN) to make bone. They found that OSTN expression was high in bones such as the tibia, radius, and ulna, and was increased via stimulation by load and decreased when load was reduced. These results will be useful for promoting bone maintenance in patients restricted to long-term bed rest, and for treating frailty syndrome.

A team of scientists led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore has found a way to process tamarind shells which are rich in carbon, converting the waste material into carbon nanosheets, which are a key component of supercapacitors - energy storage devices that are used in automobiles, buses, electric vehicles, trains, and elevators.

Prof. DU Jiangfeng and his colleges from USTC set the most stringent laboratory constraint on the exotic spin- and velocity-dependent interaction at the micrometer scale. It's a graceful combination of experiment and theory, and it may contribute to the search for dark matter.

Prof. PAN Jianwei and Prof. ZHANG Jun from USTC set the new benchmark for real-time quantum random number generator in speed and size by highly integrated chip and optimized processing algorithm. This work makes it possible for the practical production and application of a quantum random number generator.

A new study by a team of scientists from Argonne National Laboratory and Chilean-based SQM shows the best ways to produce lithium more efficiently.

Scientists have devised a means of achieving improved information processing with a new technology for effective gate operation. This technology has applications in classical electronics as well as quantum computing, communications and sensing.

A team of geneticists and archaeologists from Ireland, France, Iran, Germany, and Austria has sequenced the DNA from a 1,600-year-old sheep mummy from an ancient Iranian salt mine, Chehrābād. This remarkable specimen has revealed sheep husbandry practices of the ancient Near East, as well as underlining how natural mummification can affect DNA degradation.

A new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, University of Oxford, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, and the Medical University of Graz, has found that lateral flow tests detect Covid-19 with similar accuracy to laboratory-based PCR tests, providing they are used at the onset of infection and soon after symptoms start.

Four percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases in 2020 may by associated with drinking alcohol, according to a global study published in The Lancet Oncology, leading its authors to call for greater public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancers and increased government interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in worst-affected regions.

Survival for a baby born with a birth defect - otherwise known as a congenital anomaly - is a "post-code lottery", according to scientists from 74 countries.

Climate change mitigation efforts have led to shifts from fossil-fuel dependence to large-scale renewable energy. However, renewable energy sources require significant land and could come at a cost to ecosystems. A new study led by Ryan McManamay, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental science at Baylor University, evaluates potential conflicts between alternative energy strategies and biodiversity conservation.