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Discovery of ray sperms' unique swimming motion and demonstration with bio-inspired robot
It is generally agreed that sperms 'swim' by beating or rotating their soft tails. However, a research team led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has discovered that ray sperms move by rotating both the tail and the head. The team further investigated the motion pattern and demonstrated it with a robot. Their study has expanded the knowledge on the microorganisms' motion and provided inspiration for robot engineering design.
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Soot from heaters and traffic is not just a local problem
Soot particles from oil and wood heating systems as well as road traffic can pollute the air in Europe on a much larger scale than previously assumed. The evaluation of the sources during a measuring campaign in Germany showed that about half of the soot particles came from the surrounding area and the other half from long distances. This underlines the need to further reduce emissions of soot that is harmful to health and climate.
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RUDN University chemist proposed eco-friendly synthesis of fluorescent compounds for medicine
RUDN and Shahid Beheshti University(SBU) chemist proposed an eco-friendly method for the synthesis of pyrrole and pyrazole derivatives with a wide range of applications in medicine: from antidepressants to anticancer. Moreover, the synthesized compounds possess interesting fluorescence features, and the bioactive scaffolds might attract great interest in the fields of clinical diagnostics and biomedical research in the future.
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Tuning the energy gap: A novel approach for organic semiconductors
What is already established for inorganic semiconductors stays a challenge for their organic counterparts: Tuning the energy gap by blending different semiconducting molecules to optimize device performance. Now, scientists from TU Dresden, in cooperation with researchers at TU Munich, as well as University of Würzburg, HU Berlin, and Ulm University demonstrated how to reach this goal.
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Could neutrophils be the secret to cancer's Achilles' heel?
A study published in the June 10, 2021 issue of Cell describes a remarkable new mechanism by which the body's own immune system can eliminate cancer cells without damaging host cells. The findings have the potential to develop first-in-class medicines that are designed to be selective for cancer cells and non-toxic to normal cells and tissues.
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Microscopic imaging without a microscope?
A new technique uses high-throughput sequencing, instead of a microscope, to obtain ultra-high-resolution images of gene expression from a tissue slide.
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Combination targeted therapy provides durable remission for patients with CLL
A combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax was found to provide lasting disease remission in patients with newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Findings from the single-institution Phase II study were published today in JAMA Oncology and provide the longest follow-up data on patients treated with this drug regimen.
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Hush little baby don't say a word...
Children with documented child protection concerns are four times as likely to die before they reach their 16th birthday, according to confronting new research from the University of South Australia.
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Incidence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children among people with SARS-CoV-2 infection in US
The incidence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) among people with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States was estimated in this study.
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COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among patients with breast cancer
This survey study among women with breast cancer in Mexico evaluates their specific concerns about and high hesitancy rate toward COVID-19 vaccination.
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Declining growth rates of global coral reef ecosystems
If the trend of declining coral growth continues at the current rate, the world's coral reefs may cease calcifying around 2054, a new Southern Cross University study has found.Drawing on research from the late 1960s until now, the paper published in Communications & Environment reveals the global spatiotemporal trends and drivers of coral reef ecosystem growth (known as calcification). 116 studies from 53 published papers were analyzed.
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NYUAD study offers new insight into one of the mysteries of natural immunity to malaria
The team studied blood samples from children from two ethnic groups in remote rural areas of Burkina Faso, Gouin and Fulani, to see how they responded to the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The team discovered an elevation of immune-dampening steroid molecules and a strong immunosuppressive signature in Gouin children. Studying the enigmatic less malaria-susceptible Fulani ethnic group revealed opposing steroid profiles and stronger immune reactivity to infection.
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Could all your digital photos be stored as DNA?
MIT biological engineers have demonstrated a way to easily retrieve data files stored as DNA. This could be a step toward using DNA archives to store enormous quantities of photos, images, and other digital content.
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Indigenous mortality following Spanish colonization did not always lead to forest regrowth
New research led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History shows that disruptions to Indigenous land management following Iberian colonization did not always result in widespread forest regrowth in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, as has been recently argued.
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Engineering: Earmuffs measure blood alcohol levels through the skin
A new device that fits over a person's ears and enables non-invasive measurement of real-time changes in blood alcohol levels through the skin is presented in a proof-of-principle study in Scientific Reports.
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In Cell commentary, NIH outlines commitment to addressing structural racism in biomedicine
Earlier this year, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) acknowledged the impact of structural racism on biomedical science and committed to doing more to dismantle it. Now, in a commentary appearing June 10 in the journal Cell, NIH Director Francis Collins and colleagues describe the NIH's UNITE initiative and how it differs from the agency's previous diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
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New way to 3D-print custom medical devices to boost performance and bacterial resistance
Using a new 3D printing process, University of Nottingham researchers have discovered how to tailor-make artificial body parts and other medical devices with built-in functionality that offers better shape and durability, while cutting the risk of bacterial infection at the same time.
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Researchers' algorithm to make CRISPR gene editing more precise
Researchers from Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen have developed a new method, which makes CRISPR gene editing more precise than conventional methods. The method selects the molecules best suited for helping the CRISPR-Cas9 protein with high-precision editing at the correct location in our DNA, the researchers explain.
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Botany: Scent of death attracts coffin flies to pipevine flowers
In a new study, an international team of plant researchers including the Institute of Botany at TU Dresden has discovered an unusual and previously unknown reproductive strategy in plants: the Greek pipevine species 'Aristolochia microstoma' produces a unique mixture of volatiles that resembles the smell of dead and decaying insects to attract the pollinating fly genus 'Megaselia' (also known as 'coffin flies') to its trap-flowers. The study was recently published in the open-access journal 'Frontiers'.
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Research establishes safe water thresholds for antimicrobials, to help mitigate resistance
The Exeter team's review summarizes and critically appraises the current approaches that study the concentrations of antimicrobials that increase AMR. By collating and assessing available data, they have recommended what these safe thresholds could be, to enable governments to act to reduce them.
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