Culture

Forty-four planets in solar systems beyond our own have been unveiled in one go, dwarfing the usual number of confirmations from extrasolar surveys, which is typically a dozen or less. The findings will improve our models of solar systems and may help researchers investigate exoplanet atmospheres. Novel techniques developed to validate the find could hugely accelerate the confirmation of more extrasolar planet candidates.

Washington DC - Researchers from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP) have completed a study which outlines the cost of delivering routine childhood vaccines in seven Indian states. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal Global Health, provide useful information to India's Universal Immunization Program (UIP), where the data collected can be used to accurately plan and budget. The UIP is the largest public vaccination program in the world, yet its budget is prepared based on historical expenditure data.

As a personality characteristic, pride gets a pretty bad rap. Counted among the seven deadly sins (right up there with greed, lust and envy), it is considered by some to be the worst of the lot. And still others hold pride as the motivating factor behind all great mistakes.

But is it really as bad as all that?

ROCHESTER, Minn. - A research team led by Fergus Couch, Ph.D., a geneticist at Mayo Clinic, has identified specific genes associated with an increased risk for developing triple-negative breast cancer. Their research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A research team, led by the astronomers from National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, discovered the most lithium-rich giant ever known to date, with lithium abundance 3,000 times higher than normal giants. It is in the direction of Ophiuchus, north side of the Galactic disk, with a distance of 4,500 light years to Earth.

URBANA, Ill. - It can be a struggle for beef cattle producers to maintain mineral status, especially for cattle on pasture, so many implement a trace mineral supplementation program. But research on newer trace mineral strategies, including injectables, has been inconsistent and incomplete. In a set of recent studies, University of Illinois animal scientists study the effects of the injectable trace mineral Multimin®90 on reproductive performance in beef heifers.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A uniquely designed experimental vaccine against Zika virus has proven powerful in mice, new research has found.

A team led by researchers at The Ohio State University has developed and tested a vaccine that employs an uncommon two-pronged approach to fighting the virus, which is spread by mosquitos and is most serious for pregnant women and their fetuses.

Adolescents who view advertising for tobacco products on the tobacco "power wall" in convenience stores report being more willing to try vaping products in the future compared to peers who visited a store where the tobacco power wall was hidden, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Adolescents who were exposed to the power wall during a shopping trip were about 15 percent more likely to say they would be willing to use electronic cigarettes in the future as compared to adolescents who were not exposed to the power wall.

Brussels, 6 August 2018 : The genetic screening of fertilised eggs for embryo selection in assisted reproduction makes no difference to live birth rates, according to results from the largest published study of its kind. Results from this multicentre randomised controlled trial are reported today in the journal Human Reproduction (1) and, say the authors, confirm the "widely accepted" view that preimplantation genetic testing for chromosome abnormality (PGT-A) will not increase live birth rates in IVF.(2)

Social media accounts run by internet robots may be driving much of the discussion around the health threats posed by e-cigarettes, according to a study led by San Diego State University researchers, who also found most of the automated messages were positive toward vaping.

More than 70 percent of the tweets analyzed in the study appeared to have been put out by robots, also known as bots, whose use to influence public opinion and sell products while posing as real people is coming under increased scrutiny.

(SACRAMENTO) -- UC Davis researchers have shown that low levels of cytomegalovirus (CMV) have a significant impact on microbe and immune cell populations and how the immune system responds to the influenza vaccine. The study was published in the Journal of Virology.

If you've ever felt like a deer in the headlights before taking a math test or speaking before a large group of people, you could benefit from a simple change in posture. As part of a new study by researchers at San Francisco State University, 125 college students were tested to see how well they could perform simple math -- subtracting 7 from 843 sequentially for 15 seconds -- while either slumped over or sitting up straight with shoulders back and relaxed.

WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Scientists affiliated with the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have identified a key molecule driving chemoattraction between sperm and egg cells in marine invertebrates. The study was recently published in Nature Communications.

A study from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio-UB) analysed how water macroinvertebrate species, such as beetles, mosquitos and dragonflies, evolved and diversified since their beginnings. With the analysis of the ecological features of about 6,600 European species, researchers rebuilt the functional space they occupy.

Henipaviruses are among the deadliest viruses known to man and have no effective treatments. The viruses include Hendra, lethal to humans and horses, and the Nipah virus, a serious threat in East and Southeast Asia. They are on the World Health Organization Blueprint list of priority diseases needing urgent research and development action.