Culture
New research shows that counties with a greater decline in workplace cell phone activity during stay-at-home orders showed a lower rate of COVID-19 infections. The researchers believe patterns they saw in publicly available cell phone location data could be used to better estimate COVID-19 growth rates and inform decision-making when it comes to shutdowns and "reopenings." This research was published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Our job seems easy when compared with that of our cells. While they are hard at work, breaking some molecules and building others, we mainly have to do one thing - feed them. But what exactly should we feed them? This is not an easy problem to solve considering the constant competition happening inside. Whereas some cell types, like fat-cells, crave lipids, others may prefer protein or sugars. How does the brain factor in all competing demands and spits out a decision when faced with difficult choices like: steak or ice cream?
Scientists have estimated for the first time how nature-based solutions for agricultural pest control deliver US$ 14.6 to US$ 19.5 billion annually across 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The new research, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, suggests that non-chemical crop protection (or biological control) delivers economic dividends that far surpass those attained through improved "Green Revolution" rice germplasm (estimated at US$ 4.3 billion a year).
Next time you head outside for a socially distant walk in between your Zoom meetings, notice the rich diversity of plants along your path. As we approach late summer, be sure to also notice the diversity of disease symptoms on those plants, including spots, blotches or fuzzy growth caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi.
A key to surviving in the wild is fighting off infection -- and not just once. As in humans, one infection may or may not leave a plant with lasting immunity.
Flu season comes around like clockwork every year, and sooner or later everyone gets infected. The annual flu shot is a key part of public health efforts to control the flu, but the vaccine's effectiveness is notoriously poor, falling somewhere from 40% to 60% in a typical year.
Loneliness is recognized as a serious threat to mental health. Even as our world becomes increasingly connected over digital platforms, young people in our society are feeling a growing sense of isolation. The COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many countries to implement social distancing and school closures, magnifies the need for understanding the mental health consequences of social isolation and loneliness.
A study analysing over 650,000 hip replacement patients across England and Wales over 14 years sought to investigate why one hospital has consistently been identified as having better than expected outcomes compared to other settings. The findings have shown that the outstanding hip implant survival results seen in one centre in the UK are associated with implant choice more than surgeon skill.
In a world-first, the extent of human development in oceans has been mapped. An area totalling approximately 30,000 square kilometres - the equivalent of 0.008 percent of the ocean - has been modified by human construction, a study led by Dr Ana Bugnot from the University of Sydney School of Life and Environmental Sciences and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science has found.
Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica whose melting rates are rapidly increasing have raised the global sea level by 1.8cm since the 1990s, and are matching the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's worst-case climate warming scenarios.
According to a new study from the University of Leeds and the Danish Meteorological Institute, if these rates continue, the ice sheets are expected to raise sea levels by a further 17cm and expose an additional 16 million people to annual coastal flooding by the end of the century.
Radio astronomers have detected jets of hot gas blasted out by a black hole in the galaxy at the heart of the Phoenix Galaxy Cluster, located 5.9 billion light-years away in the constellation Phoenix. This is an important result for understanding the coevolution of galaxies, gas, and black holes in galaxy clusters.
An international team of scientists has succeeded in using the signature whistles of individual bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Namibia to estimate the size of the population and track their movement.
The research, led by Stellenbosch University and the University of Plymouth, marks the first time that acoustic monitoring has been used in place of photographs to generate abundance estimates of dolphin populations.
"The high level of approval of the measures indicates that the population is still aware of the risks posed by the virus," comments BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel on the current results.
https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/349/200818-bfr-corona-monitor-en.pdf
A team with the participation of researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has designed new hydrogels that allow the culture of T-cells or T-lymphocytes, cells of the immune system that are used in cancer immunotherapy since they have the capacity to destroy tumor cells. These hydrogels can mimic lymph nodes, where T-cells reproduce and, therefore, provide high rates of cell proliferation.
INDIANAPOLIS -- With global food demands rising at an alarming rate, a study led by IUPUI scientists has found new evidence that a previously overlooked insect shows promise as alternative protein source: the yellow mealworm.
The research is based upon a new analysis of the genome of the mealworm species Tenebrio molitor led by Christine Picard, associate professor of biology and director in Forensic and Investigative Sciences program at the School of Science at IUPUI.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Elephant trails may lead the way to better conservation approaches.
"Think of elephants as engineers of the forests," said Melissa J. Remis, professor and head of anthropology at Purdue University, who is best known for her work in ecology and behavior of western gorillas and their ecosystems. "Elephants shape the landscape in many ways that benefit humans. We're talking thousands of miles of trails. If we think about the loss of elephants over time, then we will see the forest structure change and human activities also would shift."