Culture
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University researchers have identified a spectacular new genus and species of flower from the mid-Cretaceous period, a male specimen whose sunburst-like reach for the heavens was frozen in time by Burmese amber.
"This isn't quite a Christmas flower but it is a beauty, especially considering it was part of a forest that existed 100 million years ago," said George Poinar Jr., professor emeritus in the OSU College of Science.
Findings were published in the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.
Chestnut Hill, Mass. (12/22/2020) - Air pollution in India resulted 1.67 million deaths in 2019 - the largest pollution-related death toll in any country in the world - and also accounted for $36.8 billion (US) in economic losses, according to a new study led by researchers from the Global Observatory on Pollution and Health at Boston College, the Indian Council of Medical Research, and the Public Health Foundation of India.
A team of researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and Vrije Universteit Amsterdam (VU) has determined the development stages of Aβ fibrils and has thus been able to understand the development of plaques. The researchers report in the academic journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications on 11 December 2020.
Joining forces
In previous studies, eye movements and vision were only affected at blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) approaching the legal limit for driving (0.08% BAC), in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (1).
New research published in The Journal of Physiology however found for the first time that hand-eye coordination is dramatically more sensitive to alcohol with some measures of coordination impaired by more than 20% at BAC levels as low as 0.015%.
Tsukuba, Japan - Researchers from the University of Tsukuba applied seismic data from around the world to build a model of the 2020 Caribbean earthquake. Oceanic transform faults are generally considered to be linear and simple and have been widely used in studies of earthquake dynamics. However, the research team found that high complexity in rupture speed and direction can occur even in a supposedly simple linear fault system.
We've all suffered from viruses, but did you know that they are also a problem for mushrooms and molds? Mycoviruses are viruses that specifically infect fungi and have the potential to impact ecology, agriculture, food security, and public health. Understanding the nature of these viruses, including their number and evolution, can help us understand their origins and inform our understanding of viruses in general.
In spring 2020, when soccer and sports clubs closed for sever-al weeks due to the Corona pandemic, children and adoles-cents looked for alternative physical activities. According to a supplementary study covering more than 1700 children and adolescents aged from 4 to 17 as part of the Motorik-Modul Study (MoMo) conducted by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Karlsruhe University of Education (PHKA), the chil-dren were physically active about 36 minutes longer every day, but also spent an hour more in front of screens and monitors.
Osaka, Japan - Mitochondria are cellular organelles that generate most of the energy cells need to function, and thus play an important role in maintaining cell health. In a new study, researchers from Osaka University discovered a novel mechanism by which cells turn over mitochondria and contribute to cellular maintenance. They further showed how this novel pathway is involved in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD).
Since colonoscopies were introduced in Germany for early cancer detection, the number of diagnoses of advanced cancer every year has decreased, as precancerous lesions can now be detected and immediately removed as part of the examination. As a result, the death rate from colon cancer has also gone down - by 26 percent in women and 21 percent in men. Nevertheless, it remains the fourth deadliest cancer in the Western world - just behind lung, prostate and breast cancer.
The discovery of dozens of new Roman Army sites thanks to remote sensing technology has revealed more about one of the empire's most infamous conflicts.
Analysis of the 66 camps shows the Roman army had a larger presence in the region than previously thought during the 200-year battle to conquer the Iberian Peninsula.
Doctors can better help patients with mental health concerns by adopting a different questioning style around self-harm and suicide, experts have said.
New research warns patients may find it difficult to disclose thoughts of self-harm because of the way in which GPs ask about them.
Academics who examined consultations found that GPs were prone to ask questions in a way that invited a "no" response (e.g. "You're not having any thoughts of harming yourself?") and that patients were subsequently more hesitant when reporting thoughts of self-harm.
Concerns over infecting others play a greater role in people's willingness to be vaccinated in sparsely populated areas than dense urban ones, according to newly published findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of the United States.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania examined people's behavior getting a flu vaccine as well as their future intentions to be vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19.
International research led by the Radboud university medical center shows that a full blood count of COVID-19 patients predicts fairly accurately whether the infection will have a complicated course or not. This makes it easier for healthcare providers to estimate the expected clinical picture. This study, conducted in eleven hospitals, has now been published in the scientific journal eLife.
Ithaca. N.Y.--A new study from scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology examines public attitudes toward non-native bird species and whether people are willing to manage them to protect native cavity-nesting birds, such as Eastern Bluebirds and the American Kestrel. The findings are published in the Journal of Environmental Management.
A new device designed to help scientists study in detail what happens during electrochemical reactions has been developed by researchers at the Center for Innovation in New Energies (CINE) in collaboration with researchers at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), a unit of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM).