Culture
In addition to responding to electrical and chemical stimuli, many of the body's neural cells can also respond to mechanical effects, such as pressure or vibration. But these responses have been more difficult for researchers to study, because there has been no easily controllable method for inducing such mechanical stimulation of the cells. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found a new method for doing just that.
The legalization of marijuana for Washington state adults may be thwarting a steady downward trend in teen marijuana use, according to new research from the University of Washington.
The longitudinal study of more than 230 teens and young adults finds that teens may be more likely to use marijuana following legalization -- with the proliferation of stores and increasing adult use of the drug -- than they otherwise would have been.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, USA -- Genes and cardiovascular health each contribute in an additive way to a person's risk of dementia, U.S. researchers including Sudha Seshadri, MD, and Claudia Satizabal, PhD, of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) reported July 20 in the journal Neurology.
The study was conducted in 1,211 participants in the Framingham Heart Study and involved collaborators from Boston University.
Respiratory droplets from a cough or sneeze travel farther and last longer in humid, cold climates than in hot, dry ones, according to a study on droplet physics by an international team of engineers. The researchers incorporated this understanding of the impact of environmental factors on droplet spread into a new mathematical model that can be used to predict the early spread of respiratory viruses including COVID-19, and the role of respiratory droplets in that spread.
(JACKSON, Wyo. - July 20, 2020) - In 2018, cyanobacteria from nutrient-rich waters in Lake Okeechobee were released down the Caloosahatchee river at the same time that red tides were gathering along the Florida west coast, potentially exposing coastal residents to a mixture of toxins. In 2018, releases of cyanobacterial-laden freshwater from Lake Okeechobee transported a large bloom of Microcystis cyanobacteria down the Caloosahatchee.
ITHACA, N.Y. - In a potential breakthrough in wearable sensing technology, researchers from Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have designed a wrist-mounted device that continuously tracks the entire human hand in 3D.
Toddlers may not be able to describe their feelings of uncertainty, but a new study from the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis provides evidence that toddlers may experience and deal with uncertainty in decision making in the same way as older children and adults.
The need for pacemakers in Africa will rise as life expectancy and associated cardiovascular diseases increase; however, the pacing field, including appropriate training, facilities and devices, are not sufficient to meet future need, according to an Africa Heart Rhythm Association (AFHRA) statement published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Preliminary data from researchers at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center show that immunotherapy doesn't necessarily worsen complications for patients with both COVID-19 and cancer.
This data is being presented by Layne Weatherford, PhD, UC postdoctoral fellow, at the American Association for Cancer Research Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer, Monday, July 20.
A rock core from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, has given scientists a powerful new tool to understand how catastrophic events shaped Earth's ecosystems before the rise of the dinosaurs.
The quarter-mile core is from an important part of the Triassic Period when life on Earth endured a series of cataclysmic events: Our planet was struck at least three times by mountain-sized asteroids, chains of volcanoes erupted to choke the sky with greenhouse gases, and tectonic movement tore apart Earth's single supercontinent, Pangea.
A new study identified 37 recently active volcanic structures on Venus. The study provides some of the best evidence yet that Venus is still a geologically active planet. A research paper on the work, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland and the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, was published in the journal Nature Geoscience on July 20, 2020.
A group of international scientists have substantially lengthened the duration of time that a spin-orbit qubit in silicon can retain quantum information for, opening up a new pathway to make silicon quantum computers more scalable and functional.
Spin-orbit qubits have been investigated for over a decade as an option to scale up the number of qubits in a quantum computer, as they are easy to manipulate and couple over long distances. However, they have always shown very limited coherence times, far too short for quantum technologies.
In a world first, Monash University researchers have identified a key biomolecule that enhances the repair of your gut lining by prompting stem cells to regenerate damaged tissue.
A strong cellular lining is essential for a healthy gut as it provides a barrier to the billions of microbes and harmful toxins present in our intestinal tract. This barrier is often damaged by infection and inflammation, which causes many painful symptoms.
Researchers at McGill University have discovered bacterial organelles involved in gene expression, suggesting that bacteria may not be as simple as once thought. This finding could offer new targets for the development of new antibiotics.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show that E. coli uses similar strategies to regulate gene transcription as other more complex cell types.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Millions of children fail to reach their developmental potential worldwide, in part due to higher rates of exposure to current and legacy pollutants.
Researchers studying chemical exposures among children in Uruguay turned to an unlikely data collection device as part of a recent study: silicone wristbands.
These wristbands -- the kind many people around the world wear to show their support for a cause or organization -- are extremely effective in capturing certain types of harmful chemicals, and they're easy for children to wear.