Culture
The quest to discover what drove one of the most important evolutionary events in the history of life on Earth has taken a new, fascinating twist.
A team of scientists have given a fresh insight into what may have driven the "Cambrian Explosion" - a period of rapid expansion of different forms of animal life that occurred over 500 million years ago.
While a number of theories have been put forward to explain this landmark period, the most credible is that it was fuelled by a significant rise in oxygen levels which allowed a wide variety of animals to thrive.
Prejudice among white people can lessen over time, according to new research from Rice University.
"'Who Cares?': Investigating Consistency in Expressions of Racial Apathy among Whites," appears in the journal Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World. The study examines how some white people express racial prejudice - in the form of racial apathy - over time. The researchers also developed a new way to measure this type of prejudice.
Andrés Martínez strode briskly on the treadmill, staring straight ahead and counting backwards by seven from 898, a trick to keep his brain from anticipating the literal stumbling block heading his way: a compact 35 pounds of steel specifically designed to make him fall.
Artificial muscles made from polymers can now be powered by energy from glucose and oxygen, just like biological muscles. This advance may be a step on the way to implantable artificial muscles or autonomous microrobots powered by biomolecules in their surroundings. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have presented their results in the journal Advanced Materials.
Reston, VA (June 17, 2019) - A new study performed in conjunction with the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute examines changing characteristics of utilization and potential disparities in US emergency department (ED) patients undergoing CT of the abdomen and pelvis (CTAP) for suspected urolithiasis. The study is published online in the Journal of American College of Radiology (JACR).
Researchers at Concordia have devised a technique to detect obstructions in a type of mechanical heart valve they believe will contribute to safer follow-up methods for cardiologists and their patients.
PITTSBURGH (June 19, 2019) ¬--Technologies like solar panels and LEDs require a cover material that repels water, dirt and oil while still letting plenty of light through. There is also interest in new flexible materials so these devices can be incorporated into a variety of creative applications like curtains, clothes, and paper. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering have created a flexible optical plastic that has all of those properties, finding inspiration in a surprising place: the shape of Enoki mushrooms.
An international team spearheaded by researchers at McGill University has discovered a biological mechanism that could explain heightened somatic awareness, a condition where patients experience physical discomforts for which there is no physiological explanation.
A newly identified genus and species of worm-like, freshwater clam, commonly known as a shipworm, eats rock and expels sand as scat while it burrows like an ecosystem engineer in the Abatan River in the Philippines.
Beekeepers across the United States lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019, according to preliminary results of the latest annual nationwide survey conducted by the University of Maryland-led nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. The survey results indicate winter losses of 37.7%, which is the highest winter loss reported since the survey began 13 years ago and 8.9 percentage points higher than the survey average. Honey bees pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops in the United States each year, so their health is critical to food production and supply.
JUPITER, FL -- June 19, 2019 -- Fight or flight, panic, trembling: Our brains are wired to ensure we respond instantly to fear. While that fear response may save our lives in the dangerous moment, at times people stay on high alert long after the threat has passed, and develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
Baltimore, Md -- About 1 in 10 pregnant women experience placenta abnormalities that lead to life-threatening preeclampsia (hypertension), preterm labor and fetal growth problems, but finding effective treatments to effectively prevent or reverse these conditions has so far been elusive.
Chestnut Hill, Mass. (6/19/19) - Nearly two decades removed from a brutal civil war that made them both captives and combatants, many of the former child soldiers of Sierra Leone have gradually earned greater acceptance from families and communities as they try to overcome their childhood trauma, according to a sweeping new report on their adult lives from a team led by Boston College researchers.
A 40 minute test for angina could help patients avoid an overnight stay in hospital, according to research funded by the NIHR Guy's and St Thomas' Biomedical Research Centre.
The MR-INFORM trial looked at whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be used to guide treatment decisions for angina patients, rather than performing a more invasive procedure.
Patients of surgeons with higher numbers of reports from co-workers about unprofessional behavior are significantly more likely to experience complications during or after their operations, researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) reported today in JAMA Surgery.