Culture
Melbourne researchers have mapped immune responses from one of Australia's first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, showing the body's ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection.
Researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) - a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne hospital - were able to test blood samples at four different time points in an otherwise healthy woman in her 40s, who presented with COVID-19 and had mild-to-moderate symptoms requiring hospital admission.
High-resolution micro-CT scanning of the skull of the fossil specimen known as "Little Foot" has revealed some aspects of how this Australopithecus species used to live more than 3 million years ago.
Currently we are facing a dementia epidemic, with estimations showing that by 2050 approximately 131 million people will be affected. Every 7 seconds a patient is diagnosed worldwide. Because the common forms of dementia occur in the elderly, delaying the onset or worsening of the cognitive impairment could translate into a significant reduction of the incidence of the disease. Estimations have shown that of the huge number of cases expected by 2050, roughly 23 million could be avoided if the onset of the disease could be delayed by 2 years.
Many foods - whether it's the mozzarella on your favorite pizza, the olive oil in salad dressing or hollandaise sauce during asparagus season - contain lots of fat. The fatty acids in these foods are among the essential nutrients that people need to survive. When someone eats more fatty acids than the body can immediately convert into energy, the extra amount is stored in tissues - often in the form of unwanted rolls of fat around the hips or stomach - and serves as a kind of reserve supply.
Joint research conducted by The Nature Conservancy and the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences calculated the carbon-storing power of global soils and showcased approaches like agroforestry designed to capitalise on untapped potential.
Over-reliance by countries on artificial intelligence to tackle international migration and manage future migration crisis could lead to serious breaches of human rights, a new study warns.
AI can help states and international organisations prepare for large movements of people, and improve reception conditions. But it could also be used to reinforce unlawful practices, bar entry and allow for discrimination, the research says.
New insight on what happens in brain cells to cause tremors in mice has been published today in the open-access journal eLife.
Uncontrollable movements called tremors are common and debilitating, but scientists have previously struggled to pinpoint their exact cause. The new study reveals the neural activity behind tremors, and suggests that targeting deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the cerebellum can help treat the condition. DBS is a technique used to treat movement disorders in patients who do not respond well enough to medications.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Need to reduce high-pitched noises? Science may have an answer.
In a new study, theoretical physicists report that materials made from tapered chains of spherical beads could help dampen sounds that lie at the upper range of human hearing or just beyond.
The impacts of such noises on health are uncertain. But some research suggests that effects could include nausea, headaches, dizziness, impaired hearing or other symptoms.
Largest microarray patch clinical vaccination study ever performed
First clinical microarray patch study to show dose sparing against standard intramuscular injection with comparable immune responses at a 1/6 dose
HD-MAP immune response significantly higher, faster than by IM injection at comparable doses
Vaccine on HD-MAP shown to be stable for 12 months at temperatures as high as 40oC
LAWRENCE -- When a partial fossil specimen of a primordial marine worm was unearthed in Utah in 1969, scientists had a tough go identifying it. Usually, such worms are recognized and categorized by the arrangement of little knobs on their plates. But in this case, the worm's plates were oddly smooth, and important bits of the worm were missing altogether.
Discouraged, researchers placed the mystery worm in a "wastebasket" genus called Palaeoscolex, and interest in the lowly critter waned for the next 50 years.
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MIT and Harvard University chemists have discovered the structure of an unusual bacterial enzyme that can break down an amino acid found in collagen, which is the most abundant protein in the human body.
The enzyme, known as hydroxy-L-proline dehydratase (HypD), has been found in a few hundred species of bacteria that live in the human gut, including Clostridioides difficile. The enzyme performs a novel chemical reaction that dismantles hydroxy-L-proline, the molecule that gives collagen its tough, triple-helix structure.
Inflammation in the brain may be more widely implicated in dementias than was previously thought, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The researchers say it offers hope for potential new treatments for several types of dementia.
Drawing on the largest sample of transgender people ever surveyed, a new study is the first to assess the relationship between gender-concordant IDs and mental health among transgender people in the USA.
The study finds that possessing gender-concordant IDs is associated with reduced psychological distress, and a lower prevalence of suicidal thoughts and suicide planning.
PHILADELPHIA (March 16, 2020) - Having gender-affirming documents, such as a passport, driver's license, or birth certificate, may improve mental health among transgender adults, according to findings published today in The Lancet Public Health from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Chronic exposure to microplastic fibers causes aneurysms, erosion of surface layers and other serious damage to fish gills, and increases egg production in female fish, a sign that chemicals in the fibers may be acting as endocrine disruptors, a new study by U.S. and Chinese scientists finds.