Eurekalert

Motor proteins form microscopic biological machines that are essential to many types of movement, from the swimming of bacteria to the contraction of muscles. However, integrating motor proteins efficiently into macroscopic robotic systems is challenging. In a recent study, scientists from Japan devised a biologically inspired strategy to produce artificial muscle that self-assembles from motor proteins. Their approach, compatible with modern 3D printing, paves the way for printable robots that further resemble living creatures.

A study published in Cretaceous Research expands the paleontological richness of continental fossils of the Lower Cretaceous with the discovery of a new water plant (charophytes), the species Mesochara dobrogeica. The study also identifies a new variety of carophytes from the Clavator genus (in particular, Clavator ampullaceus var. latibracteatus) and reveals a set of paleobiographical data from the Cretaceous much richer than other continental records such as dinosaurs'.

A group of international experts has clarified the concept of postbiotics in a recently published scientific consensus definition in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology: "a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host".

A count of the Western Monarch butterfly population last winter saw a staggering drop in numbers, but there are hopeful signs the beautiful pollinators are adapting to a changing climate and ecology.

Researchers: Unlike humans, who map the world in units of distance, bats map the world in units of time. What this means is that the bat perceives an insect as being at a distance of nine milliseconds, and not one and a half meters, as was previously thought.

An infrared imager developed by UC San Diego engineers could be used to see through smog and fog; easily locate blood vessels on a patient; and see through silicon wafers to inspect the quality of electronic boards. It is also slim, compact and less costly to fabricate than similar technologies.

Dr. Ryan Wilson, a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Nursing, says AF is the most commonly diagnosed arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) in the world. Despite that, he says many people do not understand the pre-diagnosis symptoms and tend to ignore them. In fact, 77 per cent of the women in his most recent study had experienced symptoms for more than a year before receiving a diagnosis.

New research indicates that the legendary Sargasso Sea, which includes part of the Bermuda Triangle and has long featured in fiction as a place where ships go derelict, may actually be an important nursery habitat for young sea turtles.In a study led by a UCF researcher and published today researchers presented evidence of baby green sea turtles arriving at the Sargasso Sea after entering the ocean off the east coast of Florida.

Young Black women show a high prevalence of obesity, elevated blood pressure and other lifestyle-related factors that may put them on a trajectory to develop heart disease at a young age, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.

Individuals living with a spouse with heart disease were more than twice as likely to have heart disease themselves, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.

People who clock six to seven hours of sleep a night had the lowest chance of dying from a heart attack or stroke when compared with those who got less or more sleep, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. This trend remained true even after the research team accounted for other known conditions or risk factors for heart disease or stroke.

Breathing in secondhand cigarette smoke may leave you more vulnerable to heart failure, a condition where the heart isn't pumping as well as it should and has a hard time meeting the body's needs, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.

People with heart disease are more likely to become seriously ill from the flu and other respiratory illnesses, including the coronavirus. Yet, new research finds that only half of Americans with a history of heart disease or stroke report getting an annual flu shot, despite widespread recommendations to do so. Rates of vaccination were even lower among Blacks and Hispanics, according to data being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.

People with prediabetes were significantly more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or other major cardiovascular event when compared with those who had normal blood sugar levels, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. Researchers said the findings should serve as a wake-up call for clinicians and patients alike to try to prevent prediabetes in the first place.

Black patients from disadvantaged neighborhoods were significantly more likely to die within five years of surviving a heart attack compared with Black heart attack patients from wealthier neighborhoods and white patients of any socioeconomic means who survive a heart attack, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.

Patients suffering a heart attack received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a procedure to clear blocked arteries in the heart, an average of 10 minutes faster after clinicians and paramedics began using an app to facilitate efficient hospital intakes for these patients, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.

Collaborative research between the University of Kentucky (UK) and University of Southern California (USC) suggests that a noninvasive neuroimaging technique may index early-stage blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction associated with small vessel disease (SVD).

The recommendations come from an international team, led by McMaster University. The international guideline panel included 22 health-care professionals, school administrators, and parents of children with and without food allergy, along with a team of six researchers with methodology expertise. A systematic literature review of practices for managing food allergy in schools found a lack of high-quality evidence, so the guideline recommendations are graded as conditional.

Mammals see with their eyes, hear with their ears and smell with their nose. But which sense or organ allows them to orient themselves on their migrations, which sometimes go far beyond their local foraging areas and therefore require an extended ability to navigate? Scientific experiments led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) ) now show that the cornea of the eyes is the location of such an important sense in migrating bats.

Research led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has for the first time mapped the unique genetic profile of the skeleton's 'master regulator' cells, known as osteocytes.