Culture
Bees and humans are about as different organisms as one can imagine. Yet despite their many differences, surprising similarities in the ways that they interact socially have begun to be recognized in the last few years. Now, a team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, building on their earlier studies, have experimentally measured the social networks of honey bees and how they develop over time.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A team co-led by a scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a method to study how HIV mutates to escape the immune system in multiple individuals, which could inform HIV vaccine design.
What if there is a major earthquake near Cologne? This scenario is the subject of the "Risk Analysis in Civil Protection 2019", whose report was recently submitted to the German Bundestag (document: Bundestag Drucksache 19/23825). In the 125-page document, a group of experts has listed in detail, on the basis of extensive research work, what effects can be expected in the event of strong ground movements.
The uniquely human ability to read is the cornerstone of modern civilization, yet very little is understood about the effortless ability to derive meaning from written words. Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have now identified a crucial region in the temporal lobe, know as the mid-fusiform cortex, which appears to act as the brain's visual dictionary. While reading, the ability of the human brain to distinguish between a real word such as "lemur" and a made-up word like "urmle" appears to lie in the way that region processes information.
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) today released a report entitled "Innovative Finance for Conservation: Roles for Ecologists and Practitioners" that offers guidelines for developing standardized, ethical and effective conservation finance projects.
A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that validated biomarkers can reveal an individual's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Using a model that combines the levels of two specific proteins in the blood of those with mild memory impairment, the researchers are able to predict the risk of developing Alzheimer's. The researchers have also developed an app that doctors can use to give patients a risk assessment.
Swansea University research has provided a new insight into the behaviour of nature's own UV sunscreens when they are exposed to other parts of the light spectrum.
Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) provide screening against the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation in living organisms in our oceans and lakes.
These compounds are known to increase in the environment where levels of UV are high. The uniqueness of these compounds has led to interest from the healthcare industry in the development of more natural sunscreen formulations.
Our gut microbiomes -- the many bacteria, viruses and other microbes living in our digestive tracts -- play important roles in our health and risk for disease in ways that are only beginning to be recognized.
University of California San Diego researchers and collaborators recently demonstrated in older men that the makeup of a person's gut microbiome is linked to their levels of active vitamin D, a hormone important for bone health and immunity.
When it comes to water and Mars, there's good news and not-so-good news. The good news: there's water on Mars! The not-so-good news?
There's water on Mars.
The Red Planet is very cold; water that isn't frozen is almost certainly full of salt from the Martian soil, which lowers its freezing temperature.
You can't drink salty water, and the usual method using electricity (electrolysis) to break it down into oxygen (to breathe) and hydrogen (for fuel) requires removing the salt; a cumbersome, costly endeavor in a harsh, dangerous environment.
Hydrothermally-active submarine volcanoes account for much of Earth's volcanism and are mineral-rich biological hotspots, yet very little is known about the dynamics of microbial diversity in these systems. This week in PNAS, Reysenbach and colleagues, show that at one such volcano, Brothers submarine arc volcano, NE of New Zealand, the geological history and subsurface hydrothermal fluid paths testify to the complexity of microbial composition on the seafloor, and also provide insights into how past and present subsurface processes could be imprinted in the microbial diversity.
A plant-based diet boosts after-meal burn, leads to weight loss, and improves cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight individuals, according to a new randomized control trial published in JAMA Network Open by researchers with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
November 30, 2020 - For men with early-stage prostate cancer, choices about initial treatment carry varying risks of "financial toxicity," reports a study in The Journal of Urology®, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA).
The recent serious outbreak of Covid19 has affected (November 13, 2020) 53,796,098 people worldwide, resulting in 37,555,669 recovered, 1,310,250 deaths (Figure 1), and a large number of open cases. It has required urgent medical treatments for numerous patients. No clinically active vaccines or antiviral agents are available for Covid19. According to several studies, Chloroquine (CQ) and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have shown promises as Covid19 antiviral especially when administered with Azithromycin (AZM). However, there is significant controversy.
Achieving universal access to healthcare is a key development priority and a major target of the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 3. The COVID-19 pandemic has only reinforced this urge. A rapid development and expansion of public, affordable healthcare infrastructure is particularly crucial in sub-Saharan Africa. In the region, communicable diseases are the first cause of death, infant mortality rates are above five percent, and lengthy journeys to healthcare facilities undermine the accessibility to basic healthcare for millions.
Results of a new five-year study of recycled concrete show that it performs as well, and in several cases even better, than conventional concrete.
Researchers at UBC Okanagan's School of Engineering conducted side-by-side comparisons of recycled and conventional concrete within two common applications--a building foundation and a municipal sidewalk. They found that the recycled concrete had comparable strength and durability after five years of being in service.