Culture
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Using protein and RNA, scientists have created hollow, spherical sacks known as vesicles.
These bubble-like entities -- which form spontaneously when specific protein and RNA molecules are mixed in an aqueous buffer solution -- hold potential as biological storage compartments. They could serve as an alternative to traditional vesicles that are made from water-insoluble organic compounds called lipids, researchers say.
NEW YORK (June 23, 2020) -- Healthcare epidemiologists report using unprecedented methods in response to the unique circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a new study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Healthcare epidemiologists have been at the center of hospitals' responses to the challenges presented by limited supplies and emerging evidence.
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- From low-income countries to high-income countries, long-term exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease and death, a new Oregon State University study found.
But even small reductions in air pollution levels can result in a reduction of disease risk.
A highly unusual gravitational wave signal, detected by the LIGO and Virgo observatories in the US and Italy, was generated by a new class of binary systems (two astronomical objects orbiting around each other), an international team of astrophysicists has confirmed.
Scientists from the LIGO and Virgo Collaboration, which includes researchers from the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, detected the signal, named GW190814, in August 2019.
A new study of twins finds that genetics play a significant role in how affectionate women are, but the same can't be said for men.
Researchers examined differences in the level of affection people express in an effort to determine how much affectionate behavior is influenced by genetics versus a person's environment. They found that, in women, variability in affectionate behavior can be explained 45% by hereditary and 55% by environmental influences, such as the media, personal relationships and other unique life experiences.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Access to green spaces in metro areas--parks, trails, even the tree cover in a neighborhood - is largely associated with income and race, new research indicates.
Researchers combined census-block-group demographic and socio-economic data with satellite imagery to analyze access to green spaces and vegetation in two metropolitan areas: Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia. Their study appears in the August issue of the journal Landscape and Urban Planning.
A device that monitors health conditions in the body using a person's sweat has been developed by Penn State and Xiangtan University researchers, according to Huanyu "Larry" Cheng, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics, Penn State.
"We want to be able to analyze the sweat from daily exercise or from the heat of the sun because in sweat we have a lot of biomarkers like pH and glucose that will be a really nice indicator for disease progression or diagnostics," Cheng said.
The BioScience Talks podcast features discussions of topical issues related to the biological sciences.
UC Davis Health researchers took a critical step in defining the possible paths for the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19 to get transmitted from the mother to her newborn baby. The mother to fetal transmission is known as "vertical" transmission.
TROY, N.Y. -- What is the value of a really good bottle of Bordeaux? Not one that can be bought at the neighborhood wine store for $20, nor even a $100 bottle that might be purchased at a fancy restaurant. How much should collectors and wine distributors pay for those rarified fine wines that, when mature, might sell for thousands of dollars?
How do plants know when it is time to flower? Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have studied this question and identified two genes that are key to this process. They were able to show that the ELF3 and GI genes control the internal clock of the plants that monitors the length of daylight and determine when it is the right time to flower. The findings could help to breed plants that are better adapted to their environments. The study was published in The Plant Journal.
In a new analysis of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, test results for nearly 38,000 people has found a positivity rate among Latinx populations about three times higher than for any other racial and ethnic group.
Researchers have found that rocky exoplanets which formed early in the life of the galaxy seem to have had a greater chance of developing a magnetic field and plate tectonics than planets which formed later. As both these conditions are considered favourable to the development of life, this means that if life exists in the Galaxy, it may have developed earlier than later, and that planets formed more recently may have less chance of developing life.
As lead scientist, planetary researcher Craig O'Neill said,
Hartford, Conn. -- Beverage companies spent $1.04 billion to advertise sugary drinks and energy drinks in 2018, a 26% increase compared to 2013, according to Sugary Drinks FACTS 2020, a new report from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut. The report documents continued extensive targeted advertising of sugary drinks by beverage companies directed to Black and Hispanic youth, which contributes to health disparities affecting communities of color--the same communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
A group of researchers including scientists from the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, University of Tokyo, Nagoya University, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) used the spin-polarized Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States to show that, in polarized proton-proton collisions, neutral pions emitted in the very forward area of collisions--where direct interactions involving quarks and gluons are not applicable--still have a large degree of left-right asymmetry.