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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Stroke patients who also have COVID-19 showed increased systemic inflammation, a more serious stroke severity and a much higher rate of death, compared to stroke patients who did not have COVID-19, according to University of Alabama at Birmingham research led by Chen Lin, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Department of Neurology.

Situated between Africa and Eurasia, the Arabian Peninsula is an important yet understudied region for understanding human evolution across the continents. Recent research highlighting the role of the Arabian Peninsula in human prehistory shows that humans repeatedly dispersed into the peninsula's interior at times when its harsh deserts were transformed into lush grasslands. However, the nature and timing of these dispersals have remained elusive, due to a scarcity of datable material and poor-resolution paleoecological data associated with evidence for humans.

Prices paid to hospitals nationally during 2018 by privately insured patients averaged 247% of what Medicare would have paid, with wide variation in prices among states, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Some states (Arkansas, Michigan and Rhode Island) had relative prices under 200% of Medicare, while other states (Florida, Tennessee, Alaska, West Virginia and South Carolina) had relative prices that were above 325% of Medicare.

Who are we? Where did we come from? How did we get here? Throughout the ages, humans have sought answers to these questions, pursuing wisdom through religion, philosophy, and eventually science. Evolutionary analyses published by Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE) allow us to peer into the mirror and better understand ourselves as a species, bringing us closer than ever to uncovering the answers to these long-held questions.

Researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) developed a method to perform direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing of milk-based products at room temperature, while maintaining its temperature sensitive nutrients.

Researchers from Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) developed a new mathematical model to predict economic performance of crops. It can assist the breeders to obtain the plants with the highest possible quality.

Scientists from the Department of Cell Biology of the University of Malaga (UMA) and the Andalusian Centre for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology (BIONAND) have made progress in finding new rapid implementation therapies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying a new drug that could prevent or mitigate the consequences derived from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In March 2020, Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic, and governments around the world imposed restrictions to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. Some countries chose stricter measures than others. But what effect does social distancing and similar measures have on our mental health? How do we adapt?

Researchers at UiT have compared corona restrictions in six countries, and looked at psychological reactions among the population, their confidence in the restrictions and belief that the government is in control over Covid-19 in their countries.

The BioScience Talks podcast features discussions of topical issues related to the biological sciences.

A group of scientists from Russia studied the trends in the evolution of amino acid sequences of proteins in vertebrates and insects and traced the factors influencing the process of evolution. The research results are published in the Nature Communications.

Proteins provide for the majority of the most crucial functions of the body. Hence, changes in the amino acid sequences of proteins are a real mirror of evolution, in which scientists can track evolutionary changes and their implications for the body.

An international team of plant scientists have shown the potential to rapidly improve the quality of barley grain through a genetic tool known as CRISPR or gene editing.

Published in The Plant Journal, researchers from the University of Adelaide's Waite Research Institute working with the James Hutton Institute in Scotland and other colleagues in the UK and Melbourne, describe how the levels of beta-glucan in barley grain can be influenced through gene editing.

A study conducted by Hiroshima University researchers found that using Ultraviolet C light with a wavelength of 222 nanometers which is safer to use around humans effectively kills SARS-CoV-2 -- the first research in the world to prove its efficacy against the virus that causes COVID-19.

Other studies involving 222 nm UVC, also known as Far-UVC, have so far only looked at its potency in eradicating seasonal coronaviruses that are structurally similar to the SARS-CoV-2 but not on the COVID-19-causing virus itself. A nanometer is equivalent to one billionth of a meter.

Climate changes associated with global warming can affect astronomical observations. That is the result of a study involving scientists from the University of Cologne. The international research team investigated a range of climate parameters at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal in the Atacama Desert in Chile, where the European Southern Observatory (ESO) operates its telescopes. Among other things, the team evaluated the data for temperature, wind speed and wind direction, and the water vapour content in the atmosphere over a period of several decades.

The spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can adopt at least ten distinct structural states, when in contact with the human virus receptor ACE2, according to research from the Francis Crick Institute published in Nature today (Thursday).

This new insight into the mechanism of infection will equip research groups with the understanding needed to inform studies into vaccines and treatments.