Culture
Language is one of the most remarkable abilities humans have. It allows us to express complex meanings and transmit knowledge from generation to generation. An important question in human biology is how this ability evolved, and researchers from the universities of Barcelona, Cologne and Tokyo have tackled this issue in a recent article, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Researchers used platinum and aluminum compounds to create a catalyst which enables certain chemical reactions to occur more efficiently than ever before. The catalyst could significantly reduce energy usage in various industrial and pharmaceutical processes. It also allows for a wider range of sustainable sources to feed the processes, which could reduce the demand for fossil fuels required by them.
While studying strontium titanate with electron paramagnetic resonance, a team from KFU's Center for Quantum Technology has found that the shape of a specimen of strontium titanate influences its internal symmetry. The research was co-conducted by the Ioffe Institute of Physics and Technology (Russia) and the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
A recent study finds that social inequality persists, regardless of educational achievement - particularly for men.
"Education is not the equalizer that many people think it is," says Anna Manzoni, author of the study and an associate professor of sociology at North Carolina State University.
The study aimed to determine the extent to which a parent's social status gives an advantage to their children. The research used the educational achievements of parents as a proxy for social status, and looked at the earnings of adult children as a proxy for professional success.
ADELPHI, Md. -- Spoken dialogue is the most natural way for people to interact with complex autonomous agents such as robots. Future Army operational environments will require technology that allows artificial intelligent agents to understand and carry out commands and interact with them as teammates.
New, detailed study of the Renland Ice Cap offers the possibility of modelling other smaller ice caps and glaciers with significantly greater accuracy than hitherto. The study combined airborne radar data to determine the thickness of the ice cap with on-site measurements of the thickness of the ice cap and satellite data. Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute - University of Copenhagen gathered the data from the ice cap in 2015, and this work has now come to fruition in the form of more exact predictions of local climate conditions.
A new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania uses computer modeling to suggest that eviction bans authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the infection rate and not only protected those who would have lost their housing but also entire communities from the spread of infections.
A joint research carried out by MIPT scientists and Harvard researchers have presented retinal cells that can integrate into the retina. This is the first successful attempt to transplant ganglion cells (retinal neurons that are destroyed by glaucoma) derived from stem cells in a lab setting. Scientists tested the technology in mice and established that the cells successfully integrated and survived for a year. In the future, the researchers plan to create specialized cell banks, which will permit individual, tailored therapy for each patient.
COVID-19 patients who are overweight or obese are more likely to develop a more severe infection than patients of healthy weight, and they require oxygen and invasive mechanical ventilation more often. There is no increased risk of death . These conclusions, for which more than 7,000 patients were studied, appear from international research in eleven countries, including the Netherlands (Radboud university medical center).
Due to global warming, not only the temperatures in the atmosphere and in the ocean are rising, but also winds and ocean currents as well as the oxygen distribution in the ocean are changing. For example, the oxygen content in the ocean has decreased globally by about 2% in the last 60 years, particularly strong in the tropical oceans. However, these regions are characterized by a complex system of ocean currents. At the equator, one of the strongest currents, the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC), transports water masses eastwards across the Atlantic.
WASHINGTON -- Researchers are blurring the lines between science and art by showing how a laser can be used to create artistic masterpieces in a way that mirrors classical paints and brushes. The new technique not only creates paint-like strokes of color on metal but also offers a way to change or erase colors.
A new study investigates a genetic culprit behind abdominal aortic aneurysm, a serious condition that puts people at risk of their aorta rupturing - a potentially deadly event.
Finding a viable genetic target for AAA could change the game, says senior author Katherine Gallagher, M.D., a vascular surgeon and an associate professor of surgery and microbiology and immunology at Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan.
INDIANAPOLIS -- A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) details the state of dementia care and research in America and provides guidance on future research to make sure both patients and their families are having their needs met by the care they receive. Sections of the report highlight the effectiveness of the collaborative care model as well as successful implementation, citing research from Regenstrief Institute, Eskenazi Health and the Indiana University School of Medicine.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In a new paper published in Nature Communications, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators report the protein-coding gene SERPINA5 may worsen tau protein tangles, which are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, and advance disease. By combining clinical expertise, brain tissue samples, pathology expertise and artificial intelligence, the team clarified and validated the relevance of the gene to Alzheimer's disease.
Hydrogen will be needed in large quantities as an energy carrier and raw material in the energy system of the future. To achieve this, however, hydrogen must be produced in a climate-neutral way, for example through so-called photoelectrolysis, by using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. As photoelectrodes, semiconducting materials are needed that convert sunlight into electricity and remain stable in water. Metal oxides are among the best candidates for stable and inexpensive photoelectrodes.