Culture
Rates of soil erosion and alluvium accumulation in North America accelerated 10-fold after Europeans colonized the continent, according to new research carried out by scientists from China, Belgium and USA.
In a paper published today in Nature Communications, the researchers show how humans have altered the North American landscape at a rate far in excess of what nature alone can achieve. The results, they suggest, may have implications for instructing land management and restoration efforts.
INDIANAPOLIS--Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have published their work about a specific type of childhood cancer in the peer-reviewed, international oncology journal, Cancers. This research involves a combination therapy that significantly slows tumor growth in models, which includes a model established from cells taken from tumors donated by Tyler Trent. This is the first published manuscript that includes Trent's tumor model.
HSE University scientists have for the first time in the world investigated the impact of delayed reinforcement signals in neurofeedback (NFB) training. They have experimentally proven that reducing the delay in feedback (decreasing feedback latency) can significantly increase the efficacy of training. This opens up new potential for the use of NFB for cognitive enhancement, self-regulation, and the treatment of a broad range of neurological disorders from anxeity and depression to epilepsy.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have demonstrated for the first time that in COVID-19 patients an immune mechanism known as the inflammasome participates in activation of the inflammatory process that can damage several organs and even lead to death.
Tissue oxygenation is a measure of the oxygen level in biological tissue and is a useful clinical biomarker for tissue viability. Abnormal levels may indicate the presence of conditions such as sepsis, diabetes, viral infection, or pulmonary disease, and effective monitoring is important for surgical guidance as well as medical care.
A team of zoologists and microbiologists from NUI Galway have published a new study showing that common house spiders carry bacteria susceptible to infect people, with the Noble False Widow spiders also carrying harmful strains resistant to common antibiotic treatments.
The onset of any physical exercise program causes muscle pain that can hinder movements as simple as getting up from a sofa. With time and a little persistence, the muscles become accustomed to the effort, developing more strength and endurance. Researchers affiliated with Harvard University in the United States and the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil describe the cellular mediator that makes this adaptation to exercise possible in the journal Cell.
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After Jo-Ana Chase heard her mother had successful heart surgery, she was relieved when her mom was finally discharged from the hospital and sent home to be cared for by her brother. However, Chase quickly learned from her brother that he felt lost on the best ways to care for their mom due to confusing discharge instructions from the hospital and logistical challenges related to home health care services like wound care and medication management.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked heightened awareness of cleaning and disinfecting procedures in many industries. Health care facilities have long been familiar with protocols for disinfecting tools and equipment, and now, scientists are studying methods to improve these procedures, making them safer and more efficient for patients and health care workers.
CLEVELAND--A team of researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has taken a major step toward understanding the mechanisms involved in the formation of large clumps of tau protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease and several other neurodegenerative disorders.
Their findings may help to better understand the pathological process and possibly lead to developing medications to treat such devastating brain diseases.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Imagine changing the TV channel with a wave of your hand or turning on the car radio with a twist of your wrist.
Freehand gesture-based interfaces in interactive systems are becoming more common, but what if your preferred way to gesture a command - say, changing the TV to channel 10 - significantly differed from that of a user from another culture? Would the system recognize your command?
As time goes by, the tips of your chromosomes--called telomeres--become shorter. This process has long been viewed as an unwanted side-effect of aging, but a recent study shows it is in fact good for you.
"Telomeres protect the genetic material," says Titia de Lange, Leon Hess Professor at Rockefeller. "The DNA in telomeres shortens when cells divide, eventually halting cell division when the telomere reserve is depleted."
A rupture along the full length of the fast-slipping Alpine Fault on New Zealand's South Island poses the largest potential seismic threat to the southern and central parts of the country. But new evidence of a 19th century earthquake indicates that in at least one portion of the fault, smaller earthquakes may occur in between such large rupture events.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Widespread forest management and protections against deforestation can help mitigate climate change - but will come with a steep cost if deployed as broadly as policymakers have discussed, new research suggests.
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Tobacco control efforts have reduced cigarette smoking for many, but those efforts have disproportionately helped white smokers, while other racial and ethnic groups are still struggling, an Oregon State University researcher's analysis found.
The study, published recently in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, compared cigarette use among racial and ethnic groups. Across all groups, the number of cigarettes consumed per day dropped roughly 30% between 1992 and 2019.