Culture
Shortly after the lockdown began, a huge number of volunteers signed up to help people in coronavirus risk groups - primarily via online platforms. A study by the University of Basel has found that websites such as these can have a positive impact with regard to the mobilization, willingness and satisfaction of volunteers, including in the longer term.
Scientists have used genome sequencing to reveal the extent to which a drug-resistant gastrointestinal bacterium can spread within a hospital, highlighting the challenge hospitals face in controlling infections.
Enterococcus faecium is a bacterium commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract, where it usually resides without causing the host problems. However, in immunocompromised patients, it can lead to potentially life-threatening infection.
T-cells taken from the blood of people who recovered from a COVID-19 infection can be successfully multiplied in the lab and maintain the ability to effectively target proteins that are key to the virus's function, according to a new study published Oct. 26 in Blood.
Scientists have created synthetic soft surfaces with tongue-like textures for the first time using 3D printing, opening new possibilities for testing oral processing properties of food, nutritional technologies, pharmaceutics and dry mouth therapies.
UK scientists led by the University of Leeds in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh have replicated the highly sophisticated surface design of a human tongue and demonstrated that their printed synthetic silicone structure mimics the topology, elasticity and wettability of the tongue's surface.
NEW YORK, NY (October 26, 2020) - To identify new potential therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2, a team of scientists at the New York Genome Center, New York University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed a genome-scale, loss-of-function CRISPR screen to systematically knockout all genes in the human genome. The team examined which genetic modifications made human lung cells more resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Monday 26 October 2020 - A world-first double-blind clinical trial, will investigate if a powerful drug used to treat nausea in chemotherapy patients, could alleviate hallucinations in people with Parkinson's.
"Much of the discussion so far related to the future trajectory of COVID-19 has rightly been focused on the effects of seasonality and non-pharmaceutical interventions [NPIs], such as mask-wearing and physical distancing," said co-first author Chadi Saad-Roy, a Ph.D. candidate in Princeton's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. "In the short term, and during the pandemic phase, NPIs are the key determinant of case burdens. However, the role of immunity will become increasingly important as we look into the future."
Leopards are fascinating animals. In addition to being sublime hunters that will eat nearly anything and can survive in varied habitats from forests to deserts, they are able to withstand temperatures ranging from minus 40 degrees Celsius during winter to plus 40 degrees in summer.
Despite their resilience, the majority of leopard species are endangered. Poaching and the clearing of forest habitat for human activities are among the reasons for their global decline.
But in northern China -- and specifically upon the Loess Plateu -- something fantastic is occurring.
While many people think of lead poisoning as a problem of the past, chronic exposure still occurs in some communities that may be missed in limited screening programs for children's blood lead levels. Now researchers at Emory University have developed a more precise screening index, illustrated with a map, which provides a fine-grain view of areas where children are most at risk for low-level lead exposure in the city of Atlanta and throughout the state of Georgia.
One of the best sources of information on the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems and plant diversity over millions of years is fossil pollen. For palynologists--the scientists who study ancient pollen--a common challenge in the field is the identification of plant species based on these fossil grains. By integrating machine-learning technology with high-resolution imaging, a team from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of California, Irvine and collaborating institutions was able to advance this goal.
Access to more localized data on childhood vaccination coverage, such as at the school or neighborhood levels, could help better predict and prevent measles outbreaks in the United States, according to a new University of Michigan study.
The research also shows that when people who are not vaccinated are geographically clustered, the probability and size of an outbreak increases. The study is scheduled for publication Oct. 26 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Roots are essential for reaching water and nutrients, for anchorage to the ground, but also for interacting and communicating with microorganisms in the soil. A long root enables the plant to reach deeper, more humid layers of soil, for example during drought. A shallower root with many root hairs is good for phosphate uptake, as phosphate is mostly found in the upper soil layers.
Caroline Gutjahr, Professor of Plant Genetics at the TUM School of Life Sciences in Weihenstephan, and her team discovered new hormone interactions which influence the growth of plant roots.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers find that strong state firearm laws are associated with fewer firearm homicides--both within the state where the laws are enacted and across state lines. Conversely, weak firearm laws in one state are linked to higher rates of homicides in neighboring states.
Results of the study appear in the journal Epidemiology, and are based on an analysis of county-level data on firearm homicides as they relate to state gun laws between 2000 and 2014.
URBANA, Ill. - Since COVID-19 began its menacing march across Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and then across the world, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has taken a "whatever works" strategy to ensure its replication and spread. But in a new study published in Evolutionary Bioinformatics, University of Illinois researchers and students show the virus is honing the tactics that may make it more successful and more stable.
North and South, rural and urban--the United States is a complex mix of cultures, mindsets, and life experiences. And, as a new report by researchers at Stanford University, Resources for the Future, and ReconMR illustrates, those state-by-state differences affect climate attitudes and opinions.