Culture
"Let it go." "Think about something else." "Clear your head."
In our attempts to de-clutter our busy minds and make room for new, often more productive thoughts, people tap an array of different approaches. Which works best, and how does each strategy distinctly impact the brain?
On December 10, 2020 (Hawai?i Standard Time), the Subaru Telescope imaged the small asteroid 1998 KY26, the target of Hayabusa2's extended mission. The positional data for 1998 KY26 collected during the observations will be used to more accurately determine the orbital elements of this object.
Scientists in Japan's brain science project have used machine intelligence to improve the accuracy and reliability of a powerful brain-mapping technique, a new study reports.
Their development, published on December 18th in Scientific Reports, gives researchers more confidence in using the technique to untangle the human brain's wiring and to better understand the changes in this wiring that accompany neurological or mental disorders such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.
Sea level could rise higher than current estimates by 2100 if climate change is unchallenged, according to a new assessment.
Its authors say understanding the way strong global heating affects polar ice sheets will be crucial to projecting sea level rise over the next century. However, uncertainties remain and current knowledge about ice sheets suggests sea-level rise under continued strong warming could be higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 'likely' range by 2100.
In the last decade, Neuroscientists have made major advances in their quest to study the brain. They can assemble complete wiring diagrams and catalogue the brain's many cell types. They've developed electrode arrays for recording electrical activity in individual neurons and placed itty bitty microscopes on the heads of mice to visualize their brain activity. However, almost shockingly, there are no tools to precisely measure the brain's principal output -- behavior - in freely moving animals.
A new study led by researchers in the Geography Department at Swansea University reveals the extreme scale of loss and fragmentation of tropical forests, which once covered much of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
The study also reveals that only 10% of the forest that is left remains fire-resistant. The researchers warn that protecting this is crucial for preventing catastrophic fire.
Social holidays improve holiday makers' overall satisfaction with life, as well as satisfaction with the quantity and quality of their leisure time, and social life, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. The study analysed the effect of social holidays on holiday makers' subjective well-being and experience of inclusion.
Human activities, such as urban planning, irrigation and agricultural fertilization, can affect terrestrial carbon, nitrogen and water cycle processes and aquatic ecosystems.
Some human activities lead to water stress, ecological environment damage, including groundwater lateral flow, and the movement of frost and thaw fronts. These changes in turn alter energy balance and water budget, and affect weather, climate and environment.
Since time immemorial, people have been fascinated by ways to stop aging. Nearly every culture has stories to tell about people who lived for thousands of years, showing that extending lifespan has always been one a deep desire across humanity. While modern medicine does not strive to find the fountain of youth, keen interest in promoting longevity has prompted research into the mechanisms of aging and the possibility of anti-aging drugs. Researchers now know that mitochondria play an important role in aging.
Just as archaeologists dig hoping to find traces of the past, an international group of astrophysicists managed to get into the thick cloud of dust around the centre of the Milky Way (also known as the bulge) discovering primordial clumps of gas and stars never found so far. They named this new class of stellar system "Bulge Fossil Fragments". A research team led by Francesco Ferraro (Department of Physics and Astronomy "Augusto Righi" at the University of Bologna and member of the National Institute for Astrophysics - INAF) carried out a study published in Nature Astronomy.
Scientists at the University of Exeter have identified a way to "rescue" cells that have genetically mutated, paving the way to a possible new treatment for rare terminal childhood illness such as mitochondrial disease.
The results could make a significant contribution to combating COVID-19 and have now been published in Advanced Nano-Biomed Research, a journal that is part of the Advanced Science series.
The ability of cells to sense and respond to their mechanical environment is critical for many cellular processes but the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular mechanosensitivity are still unclear. Researchers at the University of Münster have now discovered how the muscle-specific adhesion molecule metavinculin modulates mechanical force transduction on the molecular level. The research results have just been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Background and methodology
A new canine sleep study from North Carolina State University could serve as a baseline for research on chronic pain and cognitive dysfunction in dogs, potentially improving detection and treatment of these conditions.
(Boston)--Ovarian torsion can cause severe pain and other symptoms because the ovary is not receiving enough blood due to twisting of its blood supply. It can occur at any age and is responsible for nearly three percent of all gynecologic emergencies. An oophorectomy is performed when there is concern that the torsed ovary is nonviable (necrosis) based on its dusky color. However, numerous studies have shown that a surgeon's ability to determine necrosis based on physical appearance is inaccurate.