Tech
The year 2020 can be summarized simply by one word - COVID-19 - as it was the culprit that froze the entire world. For more than 8 months so far, movement between nations has been paralyzed all because there are no means to prevent or treat the virus and the diagnosis takes long.
Lithium is an ancient element that is almost as old as the universe itself. As one of the building blocks of our present-day universe though, the context of lithium observed in many celestial bodies often disaccord with predictions of classic theories.
Lithium-rich stars, accounting for only 1% of the total number of the low-mass evolved stars, is one example of such conflict. They preserve up to thousands of times more lithium than the normal stars that account for the rest 99%. Astronomers are wondering what these stars really are and why.
The effectiveness of cancer treatment is often hampered by cancer cells being heterogeneous. This is the case for EGFR-mutated lung cancer: drugs based on biomolecules of a type known as tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) have been used to treat the disease, but with various levels of efficacy. (EGFR stands for "epidermal growth factor receptor", a protein playing an important role in signaling processes from the extracellular environment to a cell.) Sometimes, tumor cells are simply resistant to the drug.
Zeolites are porous minerals that occur both naturally but also are being synthesized artificially. Because they are stable and durable, zeolites are used for chemical catalysis, purification of gases and liquids, and even in medical applications such as drug delivery and blood-clotting powders, e.g. the QuickClot trauma bandages used in the US military.
From pollen forecasting, honey analysis and climate-related changes in plant-pollinator interactions, analysing pollen plays an important role in many areas of research. Microscopy is still the gold standard, but it is very time consuming and requires considerable expertise. In cooperation with Technische Universität (TU) Ilmenau, scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) have now developed a method that allows them to efficiently automate the process of pollen analysis.
The depletion of groundwater sources in parts of the United States High Plains is so severe that peak grain production in some states has already been passed, according to new research.
Laboratories from 14 countries (with different levels of experience in radiometric measurement of radionuclides in environmental samples and in the application of the 210 Pb dating method) participated in an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) exercise related to the application of the 210 Pb sediment dating technique. The exercise was conducted in the framework of a research project coordinated by the IAEA.
Peatlands with their huge diversity of peat moss species store about 30 percent of the earth's soil carbon. This means they store roughly twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined. However, peat harvesting and climate change are threatening these long-term carbon stores because there is not enough founder material for cultivating peat mosses on a large scale.
Patients who suffer an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) face an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) during their hospitalization. AKI can lead to sudden kidney failure, kidney damage or even death. Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and MU Health Care have determined which ICH patients are at the highest risk for this kidney injury so doctors can take precautions to prevent it. They also examined how the commonly-used blood pressure lowering drug nicardipine contributes to AKI.
Led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a study of a solar-energy material with a bright future revealed a way to slow phonons, the waves that transport heat. The discovery could improve novel hot-carrier solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity more efficiently than conventional solar cells by harnessing photogenerated charge carriers before they lose energy to heat.
HOUSTON - (Oct. 5, 2020) - When you take a medication, you want to know precisely what it does. Pharmaceutical companies go through extensive testing to ensure that you do.
With a new deep learning-based technique created at Rice University's Brown School of Engineering, they may soon get a better handle on how drugs in development will perform in the human body.
The Rice lab of computer scientist Lydia Kavraki has introduced Metabolite Translator, a computational tool that predicts metabolites, the products of interactions between small molecules like drugs and enzymes.
WESTMINSTER, Colorado - October 5, 2020 - Horseweed is considered one of the most troublesome weeds in the United States and Canada - able to produce devastating losses in both corn and soybean yields when left uncontrolled. Populations of herbicide-resistant horseweed are now found in 18 countries, and many are resistant to multiple herbicide sites of action.
HOUSTON -- A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has discovered that mutations found in cancers do not accumulate randomly, but are found in distinct patterns that vary based on the three-dimensional organization of the genome in the cell as well as the underlying factors causing the mutations.
A team of soil scientists from RUDN University organized a summer school to study urban soils in 5 climatic zones. Students from Germany, Russia, China, and the USA spent two weeks analyzing the state of soils and vegetation in cities and towns all the way from the Barents to the Azov Sea. The results of their study confirmed the effect of urbanization on the soil such as decrease of soil acidity, increase of carbon concentrations, and shrinkage of tree trunks by 40% - 60%. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Environmental Quality.
Philadelphia, October 5, 2020 -Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center have demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating a virtual driving assessment system into the driver's licensing process in Ohio. In a report published today in Health Affairs, the researchers also assessed the validity of the tool in identifying likely on-road test failure while providing personalized feedback regarding skills that need improvement to keep drivers safe.