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Global network transforming tropical forest research
A huge global network of researchers is working together to take the pulse of our global tropical forests.ForestPlots.net, which is co-ordinated from the University of Leeds, brings together more than 2,500 scientists who have examined millions of trees to explore the effect of climate change on forests and biodiversity.
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Engineer's graphene additive manufacturing research makes journal's cover story
Research from a Kansas State University team is showing potential ways to manufacture graphene-based nano-inks for additive manufacturing of supercapacitors in the form of flexible and printable electronics.
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After routing de Soto, Chickasaws repurposed Spanish objects for everyday use
Archaeologists have unearthed a rare trove of more than 80 metal objects in Mississippi thought to be from Hernando de Soto's 16th-century expedition through the Southeast. Many of the objects were repurposed by the resident Chickasaws as household tools and ornaments, an unusual practice at a time when European goods in North America were few and often reserved for leaders.
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American Journal of Medical Quality supplement explores innovative solutions to health care quality and performance improvement
For health care organizations looking to improve performance and patient experiences, implementing data-driven solutions can be effective when focusing on addressing health equity and reducing patient length of stay. These topics are explored in selected member-submitted abstracts from the 2020 Vizient® Connections Education Summit that appear in a special supplement to the July/August 2021 issue of the American Journal of Medical Quality, the official journal of the American College of Medical Quality (ACMQ).
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Solar hydrogen for Antarctica -- study shows advantages of thermally coupled approach
Their conclusion: in extremely cold regions, it can be considerably more efficient to attach the PV modules directly to the electrolyser, i.e. to thermally couple them. This is because the waste heat from the PV modules increases the efficiency of electrolysis in this environment. The results of this study are also relevant for other cold regions on Earth, such as Alaska, Canada, and high mountain regions, for example. In these places, solar hydrogen could replace fossil fuels such as oil and petrol.
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Why does Mercury have such a big iron core? Magnetism!
A new study disputes the prevailing hypothesis on why Mercury has a big core relative to its mantle. For decades, scientists argued that hit-and-run collisions blew away much of Mercury's rocky mantle and left the big, dense, metal core inside. But new research from University of Maryland and Tohoku University reveals that collisions are not to blame--instead, the density, mass and iron content of a rocky planet's core is influenced by its distance from the sun's magnetic field.
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Smart technology is not making us dumber
There is no scientific evidence that shows that smartphones and digital technology harm our biological cognitive abilities.
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New clinical indicators discovered in transplant patients with COVID-19
Researchers from 12 Spanish hospitals took part with the aim of uncovering clinical and prognostic characteristics in solid organ recipients with COVID-19. The conclusions underscore the need for strict preventive measures in the initial period after transplantation.
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Neurobiology: How mice see the world
Researchers based in Munich and Tuebingen have developed an open-source camera system that images natural habitats as they appear to rodents.
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New insights into the assembly of photosynthetic membranes
An international study has elucidated the structure of a protein that is required for the assembly and stability of photosynthetic membranes.
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Inside the lungs, a new hope for protection against flu damage
The molecule, known as DAF, increases disease severity in mice upon infection with Influenza A virus, the most prevalent cause of the seasonal flu. Understanding this novel virulence mechanism of influenza and identifying the intrinsic factors that determine disease severity opens new possibilities for finding therapeutic targets for resilience to viral infections.
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Scientists publish a how-to guide for creating mouse-human chimeric embryos
A year after University at Buffalo scientists demonstrated that it was possible to produce millions of mature human cells in a mouse embryo, they have published a detailed description of the method so that other laboratories can do it, too.
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Big data are no substitute for personal input in surveys
When the analysis of digital data reaches its limits, methods that focus on observations made by individuals can be useful. In contexts such as the coronavirus pandemic, a method called human social sensing can elicit information that is difficult to obtain from digital trace data. Prof. Frauke Kreuter at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich is now using this method with the global "Covid Trends & Impact Survey" to predict the course of the pandemic.
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Air pollution during pregnancy may affect growth of newborn babies
Maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy has often been linked to adverse effects on the health of the newborn. However, there are very few studies on the subject. A study conducted at the UPV/EHU has just concluded in a paper published in the journal Environmental Research that the stages most sensitive to air pollution are the early and late months of pregnancy.
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Changing consumption of certain fatty acids can lessen severity of headaches
Migraine is one of the largest causes of disability in the world. Existing treatments are often not enough to offer full relief for patients. A new study published in The BMJ demonstrates an additional option patients can use in their effort to experience fewer migraines and headaches - a change in diet.
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Energy production at Mutriku remains constant even if the wave force increases
The EOLO research group of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has confirmed the increase in the power flow of the waves in the Bay of Biscay from 1900 onwards. It has identified ten types of sea state and has used a statistical model to link them to the output of the Mutriku wave farm. So it has been possible to calculate the amount of electrical power that could have been produced during the 1979-2019 period if these facilities had been operational.
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Researchers reduce severity of sleep apnoea by at least 30 per cent
New research published in The Journal of Physiology shows that researchers have successfully repurposed two existing medications to reduce the severity of sleep apnoea in people by at least 30 per cent.
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Three-in-one approach boosts the silencing power of CRISPR
The CRISPR-Cas9-based gene editing system has dramatically advanced the field of bioengineering. However, while fusing transcription activator or repressor to dCas9 protein allows targeted alteration of gene expression, the effect is short-term. Now, in a new study, scientists from the USA have developed a dCas9-based epigenetic editing tool that performs robust and long-term silencing of target genes.
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The missing ocean plastic sink: Gone with the rivers
Plastics are a growing problem for natural ecosystems around the globe, and in particular for marine and freshwater environments. Rivers are the leading source of plastic pollution, as it has been estimated that they deliver several million metric tons of plastic annually to oceans from poor land-based waste management. The estimates made for plastics flowing from the rivers are tens to hundreds of times higher than the quantity of plastics floating on the ocean's surface.
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At what temperature the weather becomes a problem
When extreme heat becomes more frequent and temperatures remain high for extended periods of time, as it is currently in Canada and in the American Northwest, physiological stress increases in humans, animals and crops. Prof. Senthold Asseng, director of the World Agricultural Systems Center at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), provides an overview of thresholds and adaptation strategies.
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