Culture
The legalization of cannabis and the arrival of nonmedical fentanyl are fundamentally changing drug markets in North America. A large part of these changes relates to the ability to produce large quantities of the drugs at low costs, which has slashed wholesale prices for both drugs and retail prices for cannabis. A new analysis explores the effects of these changes on use. The analysis concludes that sharp declines in production costs for cannabis and opioids could dramatically reduce the price per dose for consumers in ways that alter patterns of use and dependence.
One of the most classic algorithmic problems deals with calculating the shortest path between two points. A more complicated variant of the problem is when the route traverses a changing network--whether this be a road network or the internet. For 40 years, an algorithm has been sought to provide an optimal solution to this problem. Now, computer scientist Christian Wulff-Nilsen of the University of Copenhagen and two research colleagues have come up with a recipe.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health is staggering; more than one hundred million cases and two million deaths worldwide. In response, most countries and local governments have taken substantial measures -- such as travel restrictions and physical distancing -- to keep their citizens safe. Both the pandemic and related protective measures pose challenges for ongoing clinical research studies seeking to treat and prevent the world's greatest public health emergencies including COVID-19, but also Alzheimer's disease and other dementia.
Firefly beetles rank among the world's most charismatic creatures, with luminous courtship displays that have now turned them into a popular attraction for wildlife tourists. In the first comprehensive review of firefly tourism, published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, an international team of biologists led by a Tufts University researcher, reveal that an estimated 1 million people now travel each year to witness bioluminescent performances starring some two dozen firefly species around the world.
An eight-week programme of mindfulness meditation improves quality of life and reduces fear of activity in heart attack patients, according to research presented today at ESC Acute CardioVascular Care 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1
Results published today show it is possible to identify Parkinson's based on compounds found on the surface of skin. The findings offer hope that a pioneering new test could be developed to diagnose the degenerative condition through a simple and painless skin swab.
Several years after scientists discovered what was considered the oldest crater a meteorite made on the planet, another team found it's actually the result of normal geological processes.
During fieldwork at the Archean Maniitsoq structure in Greenland, an international team of scientists led by the University of Waterloo's Chris Yakymchuk found the features of this region are inconsistent with an impact crater. In 2012, a different team identified it as the remnant of a three-billion-year-old meteorite crater.
NASA's Perseverance Rover recently made a successful landing on Mars, embarking on a two-year mission to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples. Because Mars is extremely cold -- nighttime temperatures can drop below -112 F -- heaters are required to keep the rover's battery system from freezing. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Nano Letters have 3D printed porous carbon aerogels for electrodes in ultralow-temperature supercapacitors, reducing heating needs for future space and polar missions.
The slowdown in global warming that was observed at the end of last century was reflected by a decrease in malaria transmission in the Ethiopian highlands, according to a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" Foundation, and the University of Chicago. The results, published in Nature Communications, underscore the close connection between climate and health.
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at a significantly increased risk of contracting COVID-19 than women without the condition, new research led by the University of Birmingham has revealed.
Researchers are now calling for healthcare policy to specifically encourage women with PCOS to adhere to COVID-19 infection control measures while the global pandemic continues.
People with unhealthy heart structures and poorer functioning hearts have a significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with COVID-19 infection, according to research by Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (The University of Southampton).
New international research published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) concludes that surgery should be delayed for seven weeks after a patient tests positive for SARS-CoV-2, since the data show that surgery that takes place between 0 and 6 weeks after diagnosis is associated with increased mortality.
Scientists have pinpointed the location of an essential enzyme in plant cells involved in photosynthesis, according to a study published today in eLife.
The findings overturn conventional thinking about where the enzyme resides in plant cells and suggest a probable role in regulating energy processes as plants adapt from dark to light conditions.
During photosynthesis, plants convert carbon into energy stores through 'electron transport', involving an enzyme called ferredoxin:NADP(H) oxidoreductase, or FNR.
The annually occurring algal spring blooms play an important role for our climate, as they remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, they are an ephemeral phenomenon. Most of the carbon is released into the water once the algae die. There, bacteria are already waiting to finish them off and consume the algal remains.
According to an international study published in Frontiers in Psychology, people around the world have reported changes in their physical activity levels, wellbeing, and eating habits during the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. A decrease in physical activity during the pandemic was associated with poorer perceived physical and mental health. Reduced exercise was also associated with perceptions of weight gain and decreased sleep.