Culture
A new study published in BMJ Open found that opioid prescription rates for outpatient knee surgery vary widely across the country, but the strength of the average prescription in the United States is at a level that has been linked to an increased risk of overdose death.
A team of archeologists from Siberian Federal University and Novosibirsk State University provided a detailed reconstruction of a technology that was used to carve ornaments and sculptures from mammoth ivory. The team studied a string of beads and an ancient animal figurine found at the Paleolithic site of Ust-Kova in Krasnoyarsk Territory. Over 20 thousand years ago its residents used drills, cutters, and even levelling blades. The unusual features of some of the items showcased the mastery of the craftsmen.
University of Queensland researchers have developed biosensors that use nanoengineered porous gold which more effectively detect early signs of disease, potentially improving patient outcomes.
Most diagnostic methods use costly materials and are time-consuming and expensive to run, but PhD candidate Mostafa Masud and research supervisors Professor Yusuke Yamauchi and Dr MD Shahriar Hossain have developed a cheaper, faster and ultrasensitive biosensor for point-of-care testing.
That many novel network- and cloud-dependent services will have become commonplace in the next few years is evident. This includes highly demanding technological feats like 8K video streaming, remote virtual reality, and large-scale data processing. But, it is also likely that today's network infrastructures won't make the cut unless significant improvements are made to enable the advanced, "killer" 5G applications expected in the imminent 5G era.
Rare research on the effects of a pandemic undertaken during an ongoing disaster shows that COVID-19 has severely affected people's daily emotional lives and mental health, increasing their stresses the longer lockdowns, fear of getting sick and financial strains continue.
Having a lower education level and speaking English as a second language further reduced resilience and hindered people's ability to cope, suggests new University of California, Davis, research based on surveys that began in April -- just a few weeks after lockdowns started in the United States.
Is concern about climate change a luxury? According to a new survey by researchers at Stanford University, Resources for the Future, and ReconMR, perhaps not.
The survey, which polled a representative national sample of 999 American adults from May 28 through August 16, 2020, finds that Americans believe in and care about climate change as much as ever—despite the challenges created and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the personal importance that Americans attach to climate change is at an all-time high.
An international collaboration between leading respiratory scientists, immunologists and clinicians, led by Centenary UTS Centre for Inflammation, has completed the first comprehensive review of all relevant animal and cellular models of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19.
The review, published in Mucosal Immunology, aims to provide a head-to-head comparison of existing disease models, including in the background of predisposing chronic diseases, and discusses the pre-clinical pipeline for the testing of new and targeted preventions and treatments for COVID-19 patients.
A new paper in The Economic Journal, published by Oxford University Press, develops a theory of how people's social network structure impacts productivity and earnings. While large and loosely connected networks lead to better access to information, smaller and tighter networks lead to more peer pressure. Information is relatively more beneficial in uncertain work environments while for peer pressure the opposite is the case.
(Title: Stronger together in the microbiome: how gut microbes feed each other to overcome dietary deficiencies, change host behavior, and improve reproduction)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Rainfall and temperature drive agricultural activity, which, in turn, influences patterns of measles outbreaks in the West African nation of Niger, according to an international team of researchers. The findings may be useful for improving vaccine coverage for seasonally mobile populations within Niger and other countries.
Most adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are not at increased risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 due to medications used to dampen their altered immune system, the cause of their disease. Nor are most people with more common types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid, psoriatic and spondyloarthritis, at greater risk of hospitalization from COVID-19, a pair of new reports shows.
The use of antibiotics in people with COVID-19 could result in increased resistance to the drugs' benefits among the wider population, a new study suggests.
Patients hospitalised as a result of the virus are being given a combination of medications to prevent possible secondary bacterial infections.
However, research by the University of Plymouth and Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust suggests their increased use during the pandemic could be placing an additional burden on waste water treatment works.
Record drought and heat have some farmers worried about where and when crops can be grown in the future, even in California where unprecedented microclimate diversity creates ideal growing conditions for many of the most popular items in America's grocery stores. A third of the vegetables and two-thirds of fruits and nuts consumed by Americans are now grown on more than 76,000 farms across the state, yet 20 years from now certain California regions may simply become too hot and dry for continued production.
DALLAS - Aug. 25, 2020 - Breastfeeding secures delivery of sugar and fat for milk production by changing the insulin sensitivity of organs that supply or demand these nutrients, a new study led by UT Southwestern scientists suggests.