Culture
Researchers at Uppsala University have described the presence, throughout the human body, of the enzyme ACE2. This is thought to be the key protein used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus for host cell entry and development of the disease COVID-19. In contrast to previous studies, the study shows that no or very little ACE2 protein is present in the normal respiratory system. The results are presented in Molecular Systems Biology.
An intriguing early symptom among some COVID-19 patients is the loss of the sense of smell and/or taste, which has led to the suspicion that the virus that causes the illness, SARS-CoV-2, could be targeting taste buds. But as researchers report in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, initial data from mice suggest that might not be the case.
Astronomers using several telescopes at NOIRLab, including the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope, have obtained critical data on a particular type of exploding star that produces copious amounts of calcium. The calcium produced in this unique type of supernova explosion is the same calcium found in our bones and teeth and these events account for up to half of the calcium found in the Universe.
A Brazilian scientist has produced an inventory of 219 pathogens that infect plants in Brazil, including many agriculturally important species. The annotated list, published in Biota Neotropica, is the largest compilation of information on plant viruses ever produced in Brazil. It presents descriptions of the microorganisms, data on the diseases they cause, and information on their occurrence in native, cultivated and ornamental plants as well as weeds.
Equipped with naloxone and a smartphone app, community members can save lives in the fight against America's opioid crisis, according to a paper from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health and colleagues published this week in The Lancet journal EClinicalMedicine.
A survey of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico on their way to the United States found that 74 percent of them experienced a degree of food insecurity, ranging from having only one meal to no food at all for one day or longer. Factors associated with more severe food insecurity include more days in active transit, and the experience of illness by the migrant or their travel companion.
The life-givers of integrated circuits and quantum devices in silicon are small structures made from patches of foreign atoms called dopants. The dopant structures provide charge carriers that flow through the components of the circuit, giving the components their ability to function. These days the dopant structures are only a few atoms across and so need to be made in precise locations within a circuit and have very well-defined electrical properties.
New Rochelle, NY, August 5, 2020--Individuals playing a virtual reality (VR)-based game showed a higher navigational efficiency and less disorientation than those playing a non-VR immersive desktop version, according to a study in the peer-reviewed journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Click here to read the article now.
Navigation in VR can be overwhelming for its users.
The experimental vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 that was the first to enter human trials in the United States has been shown to elicit neutralizing antibodies and a helpful T-cell response with the aid of a carefully engineered spike protein that mimics the infection-spreading part of the virus.
Scientists have developed a new prediction of the shape of the bubble surrounding our solar system using a model developed with data from NASA missions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental effects on global infrastructure sectors, including economic, political, health care, education and research systems, and there is still no definitive treatment strategy for the disease. A team of scientists, including VCU Massey Cancer Center researcher Masoud Manjili, D.V.M., Ph.D., conducted a comprehensive analysis of worldwide COVID-19 data to identify key strategies moving forward to develop effective therapeutics.
5 August 2020, Cambridge - A global team of researchers has partnered up with the Māori tribe Ngātiwai to sequence the genome of the tuatara, a rare reptile endemic to New Zealand. Their work, published in the scientific journal Nature, lays the foundation for understanding the evolution of this ancient species, and can inform conservation efforts to protect it. The study included collaborators at the University of Otago and at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI).
A McGill research team has developed a new technique to detect nano-sized imperfections in materials. They believe this discovery will lead to improvements in the optical detectors used in a wide range of technologies, from cell phones to cameras and fiber optics, as well as in solar cells.
WASHINGTON - The Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University and the Black Public Defender Association today released "Save Black Lives: A Call for Racially-responsive Strategies and Resources for the Black Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic," a comprehensive report that details why public health responses and strategies to address COVID-19 must be centered around race and the criminal legal system.
A 17-year research project has generated a detailed atlas of the genome that reveals the location of hundreds of thousands of potential regulatory regions - a resource that will help all human biology research moving forward.