Earth
Researchers have demonstrated the world's first metasurface laser that produces "super-chiral light": light with ultra-high angular momentum. The light from this laser can be used as a type of "optical spanner" to or for encoding information in optical communications.
Chestnut Hill, Mass. (4/27/2020) - Humans differ from other primates in the types and amounts of care that males provide for their offspring. The precise timing of the emergence of human "fatherhood" is unknown, but a new theory proposes that it emerged from a need for partnership in response to changing ecological conditions, U.S. and French researchers report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Hailed as one of the most important medical advances, the discovery of general anesthetics - compounds which induce unconsciousness, prevent control of movement and block pain - helped transform dangerous and traumatic operations into safe and routine surgery. But despite their importance, scientists still don't understand exactly how general anesthetics work.
Like fans that blow in sync, certain magnetic materials can exhibit interesting energetic properties.
In order to find new ways to transmit and process information, scientists have begun to explore the behavior of electronic and magnetic spins, specifically their resonant excitations, as information carriers. In some cases, researchers have identified new phenomena that could help eventually inform the creation of new devices for spintronic and quantum applications.
A new study provides an overview and comparison of the burden and management of fragility fractures due to osteoporosis in the five largest countries in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) as well as Sweden. The publication 'Fragility fractures in Europe: burden, management and opportunities' has been authored by an International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) steering committee in cooperation with experts from national societies.
As a general rule, the colour red in geological and archaeological samples tends to be due to the presence of various iron oxides that dye minerals and rocks a very deep colour.
The loss of insulin-secreting beta cells by autoimmune destruction leads to type 1 diabetes. Clinical islet cell transplantation has the potential to cure diabetes, but donor pancreases are rare. In a new study, a group of researchers developed an improved pluripotent stem cell differentiation protocol to generate beta cells in vitro with superior glucose response and insulin secretion. This is a major step towards beta cell replacement therapy.
NEWPORT, Ore. - Three years of "health check-ups" on Oregon's summer resident gray whales shows a compelling relationship between whales' overall body condition and changing ocean conditions that likely limited availability of prey for the mammals, a new study from Oregon State University indicates.
Researchers from the Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Laboratory at OSU's Marine Mammal Institute used drones to monitor 171 whales off the Oregon Coast during the foraging season between June and October in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
A new poll finds that a majority of Americans say that the federal government should commit to reducing economic inequality in this country over the next year, considering the spread of coronavirus in the United States and its impact on the economy and the American people.
Likes, shares, followers, and comments are the currency of online social networks. Posts with high levels of engagement are prioritized by content curation algorithms, allowing social network "influencers" to monetize the size and loyalty of their audience.
A RIKEN research team has established an optimized three-dimensional (3D) tissue-staining and observation technique based on existing tissue clearing technology. Published in Nature Communications, the study details how the new technique can be used to stain tissue and label cells in mouse brains, human brains, and whole marmoset bodies. This technique will allow detailed anatomical analysis and whole-organ comparisons between species at the cellular level.
Poorer rural Amazonians are going hungry despite living in one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet - a new study reveals.
Massive seasonal floods mean many ribeirinhos, a marginalised social group who live alongside rivers in Brazil's Amazonian floodplain forests, struggle to catch enough fish to eat and can go hungry.
A study has tracked the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to early farming that occurred in prehistoric Europe over a period of around 1,500 years.
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of York, analysed the molecular remains of food left in pottery used by the first farmers who settled along the Atlantic Coast of Europe from 7,000 to 6,000 years ago.
Bethesda, MD - Findings from a new study examining human and canine brain cancer cells suggest that cannabidiol could be a useful therapy for a difficult-to-treat brain cancer. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a non-psychoactive chemical compound derived from marijuana.
The study looked at glioblastoma, an often-deadly form of brain cancer that grows and spreads very quickly. Even with major advancements in treatment, survival rates for this cancer have not improved significantly.
Bethesda, MD - As the number of preterm births in the U.S. continues to rise, there is an increasing need for new approaches to prevent preterm labor from progressing to preterm birth. Researchers have discovered a common molecular pathway in women who experience preterm labor and are using this insight to develop new treatments for woman who experience early labor.