Tech
Scientists at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) have released their findings on the state of coral reefs in Palau. Their research, based on extensive underwater surveys, found Palau's reefs had the highest live coral cover of all the reefs studied on the Global Reef Expedition, a scientific research mission to assess the health and resiliency of coral reefs around the world.
Scientists affiliated with the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases (CRID http://crid.fmrp.usp.br), hosted by the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, have discovered that an enzyme involved in key metabolic processes also plays a role in immune cell differentiation and hence in the development of autoimmune diseases. The finding could contribute to the future development of new treatments and more cost-effective and resolutive medications for this kind of disease.
About 40% of the U.S. population lives in a coastal area and in Hawai'i, nearly everyone is vulnerable to the effects of tropical storms and hurricanes.
Tropical cyclones, regionally known as hurricanes or typhoons, have been moving across ocean basins faster since 1982, according to a new study published in Environmental Research Letters.
School bullying has been identified as harmful to students' mental health. Many studies have evaluated the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs, finding mixed results in general and no benefits overall for secondary school students. Looking at the specific components of bullying prevention programs helps to explain the complicated pattern: Unlike intensive programs that include parent training, firm disciplinary methods or improved playground supervision, interventions that involve work with peers tend to lead to increases in bullying.
Oncotarget Volume 11, Issue 30 reported that genomic profiling of murine mammary tumor cells with differential VDR expression identified 35 transcripts that were altered by the 1,25D3-VDR complex including Hyaluronan Synthase-2.
Oncotarget Volume 11, Issue 30 reported that recent evidence shows that the host innate immunity is also critical in sensing the presence of cytoplasmic DNA derived from genomic instability events, such as DNA damage and defective cell cycle progression.
This is achieved through the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase /Stimulator of interferon genes pathway.
Like people, cells in the human body protect their personal space. They seem to know how much space they need, and if it gets too tight, most cells prefer to break free. The mechanism enabling cells to evade crowded environments appears to involve an unusual player - the cell nucleus. This is what researchers from St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute Vienna, King's College London, Institute Curie Paris, and ETH Zürich in Basel showed in their recent work.
Odors are known to be essential for navigation during homeward orientation and migration of some bird species. Yet little was known about their chemical composition. An international team has now identified volatile organic compounds that can be used for olfactory navigation by homing pigeons and proved the existence of suitable regional chemical gradients in the air on a landscape-scale in Tuscany.
A new study of gun injuries and deaths in Ontario found that 68% of firearm-related deaths were from self-harm, and they most often occurred in older men living in rural regions, pointing to the need for targeted prevention efforts. The study is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Ultrathin materials such as graphene promise a revolution in nanoscience and technology. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have now made an important advance within the field. In a recent paper in Nature Communications they present a method for controlling the edges of two-dimensional materials using a 'magic' chemical.
More than two billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient malnutrition due to deficiencies in minerals and vitamins. Poor people in developing countries are most affected, as their diets are typically dominated by starchy staple foods, which are inexpensive sources of calories but contain low amounts of micronutrients. In a new Perspective article, an international team of scientists, involving the University of Göttingen, explains how plant genetic engineering can help to sustainably address micronutrient malnutrition. The article was published in Nature Communications.
An international study led by Monash scientists has discovered how volcanoes experience stress. The study, published today in Scientific Reports, has implications for how the world might be better protected against future volcano collapses.
Volcanic collapse is the worst-case scenario during volcanic crises. It can trigger dangerous tsunamis or devastating pyroclastic flows (for example Mount Saint Helens).
The research group of Takao Kohno (Nagoya City University) and Mitsuharu Hattori (Nagoya City University), Takahiko Kawasaki (National Institute of Genetics), and Kazunori Nakajima (Keio University School of Medicine) found a new mechanism by which superficial neurons correctly develop their dendrites. The results of this research were published in The Journal of Neuroscience, a journal published by the Society for Neuroscience.
The digital data generated around the world every year is now counted in zettabytes, or trillions of billions of bytes - equivalent to delivering data for hundreds of millions of books every second. The amount of data generated continues to grow. If existing technologies remained constant, all the current global electricity consumption would be devoted to data storage by 2040.
Researchers at the Université de Lorraine in France and Tohoku University reported on an innovative technology that leads to a drastic reduction in energy for data storage.
It's widely known that thick, viscous liquids - like honey - flow more slowly than low-viscosity liquids, like water. Researchers were surprised to find this behaviour flipped on its head when the liquids flow through chemically coated capillaries. In fact, through these specially coated tubes, liquids a thousand times more viscous flow ten times faster.