Culture

Large amounts of new particles can form in the valleys of the Himalayas from naturally emitted gases and can be transported to high altitudes by the mountain winds and injected into the upper atmosphere.

The emitted particles may eventually affect climate by acting as nuclei for cloud condensation. These new findings about particles formation and sources will contribute to a better understanding of past and future climate.

According to a biologist from RUDN University, fern leaves powder has a positive effect on the immune system, antimicrobial activity, and growth of carps. Based on this data, fish farms can breed big and healthy fish without using any chemical additives. An article about the work was published in the Fish & Shellfish Immunology journal.

Athens and Patras, December 7, 2020- Caregivers of people with dementia and milder forms of neurocognitive disorder bear a heavy burden. They are constantly confronted with challenging symptoms and behaviors and feel they are up against their limits. The latest results from a study indicate that the COVID 19 crisis affects this burden since the pandemic has mental health implications.

New research shows that the militarization of local law enforcement through weapons, armored vehicles, combat attire, office equipment and other items provided by the Department of Defense does not reduce crime. Additionally, researchers found incomplete records and discrepancies in the federal government's tracking of surplus military equipment, or SME, issued to local law enforcement agencies.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign have developed a new technique that combines label-free imaging with artificial intelligence to visualize unlabeled live cells over a prolonged time. This technique has potential applications in studying cell viability and pathology.

The study "Phase imaging with computational specificity (PICS) for measuring dry mass changes in sub-cellular compartments" was published in Nature Communications.

Antibodies are remarkable biomarkers: they are the cues that provide us with indications about many diseases and how our immune system counter them. Now a group of scientists from the University of Rome, Tor Vergata (Italy) has found a way to repurpose them so that they can trigger a specific chemical reaction.

Adipose tissue is not just a simple reservoir of energy for periods of food scarcity. It contributes significantly to regulation of the metabolism, releasing various molecules into the bloodstream, including microRNAs that modulate the expression of key genes in different parts of the organism, including the liver, pancreas, and muscles.

Enormous efforts are being made worldwide in a technological field that could far surpass the capabilities of conventional electronics: spintronics. Instead of operating based on the collective movement of charged particles (electrons), spintronic devices could perform memory storage and data transmission by manipulating spin, an intrinsic property of elementary particles related to angular momentum and from which many magnetic characteristics in materials arise.

Well-known for its bactericidal and anti-fungal properties, Brazilian red propolis has now been found to act powerfully against the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, reducing the number of eggs and killing the helminths (worms).

In direct contradiction to the official forecast, a team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is predicting that the Sunspot Cycle that started this fall could be one of the strongest since record-keeping began.

In a new article published in Solar Physics, the research team predicts that Sunspot Cycle 25 will peak with a maximum sunspot number somewhere between approximately 210 and 260, which would put the new cycle in the company of the top few ever observed.

As municipalities have taxed sugar-sweetened beverages and schools and worksites have banned their sales, university researchers have found that simple warning labels on such beverages in a college cafeteria helped students reduce their reported consumption of drinks by 14.5 percent. The results signal that such labels could reduce sugar consumption in larger settings.

The creosote is the king of the desert. This scraggly shrub dominates the landscape of the American southwest, creating mini-oases from the harsh heat for desert wildlife.

In a new study, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin leveraged computer algorithms and high-resolution survey data to conduct the first-ever creosote census - counting every creosote in a 135-square-mile conservation site in Nevada's Mojave Desert. The final count was 23 million creosotes among a total population of 66 million plants.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The island of Nihoa, a slice of jagged rock that juts out of the Pacific Ocean, is the sole refuge for a rediscovered species of native Hawaiian land snail previously presumed to be extinct.

Nurses and other long-term care workers in nursing homes who hold multiple jobs, may be one of the factors contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in these facilities, according to a new study published in Medical Care Research and Review. The nature of their work in providing essential care to patients in rather close proximity, and the limited access to personal protective equipment for some workers, has made this profession even riskier during the pandemic.

In recent years, debate has been intensifying over whether the noncompete agreements some companies use to bind employees help or hurt workers. It's an issue management professor Evan Starr at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business has studied extensively -- co-authoring four research papers on the topic forthcoming in top journals. All the results point to the same conclusion: Noncompetes stifle workers.