Culture

"Probiotic" is a broad term that refers to a range of different microorganisms that confer health benefits. Just as medications are identified by product names that connect them to the conditions they treat, probiotics are referred to by specific names that link them to scientifically-demonstrated health effects. A complete probiotic name includes the Latin name for genus and species, in addition to the strain: for example, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.

Irvine, Calif., April 15, 2020 - On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested that reopening the state's economy will require six steps, the first of which involves "tracing and tracking individuals" in order to identify those who need to remain in isolation.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a tool that could be instrumental in this effort. TrackCOVID is a free, open-source smartphone application that permits contact tracing for potential coronavirus infections while preserving privacy.

A Korean research team has developed a technology to fabricate an ultrathin material for electromagnetic interference(EMI) shielding. The research team, led by Koo Chong-Min, the head of the Materials Architecturing Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, Acting President Yoon Seok-jin), announced that it had developed an ultrathin nanometer-thick film, using MXene, a new two-dimensional nanomaterial for EMI shielding.

Some new crop varieties are bred to be more nutritious. Others are more resilient, bred to tolerate harsher environmental conditions.

In a new study, researchers report a variety of wheat that combines enhanced nutrition with increased resilience. The researchers also tested a breeding method that could reduce costs and save time compared to traditional methods.

The newly developed wheat variety contains higher levels of a naturally occurring carbohydrate, called fructans.

Ever since the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2, scientists have been scrambling to identify the species of origin to understand how the new coronavirus first leapt from its animal hosts to humans, causing the current pandemic infecting more than a million people worldwide.

Scientists have been looking for an intermediate animal host between bats, which are known to harbor many coronaviruses, and the first introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into humans.

Researchers from Yale-NUS College in Singapore and University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland have analysed preserved scales from wing cases of two fossil weevils from the Late Pleistocene era (approx. 13,000 years ago) to better understand the origin of light-scattering nanostructures present in present-day insects.

Researchers using the Gemini North telescope on Hawai'i's Maunakea have detected the most energetic wind from any quasar ever measured. This outflow, which is travelling at nearly 13% of the speed of light, carries enough energy to dramatically impact star formation across an entire galaxy. The extragalactic tempest lay hidden in plain sight for 15 years before being unveiled by innovative computer modeling and new data from the international Gemini Observatory.

Below please find a summary and link(s) of new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary below is not intended to substitute for the full article as a source of information. A collection of coronavirus-related content is free to the public at http://go.annals.org/coronavirus.

Caution Warranted: Using the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Model for Predicting the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic

URBANA, Ill. ¬- Soybean production in Africa and other developing regions has the potential to alleviate hunger and boost local economies. But the transition from traditional crops such as cowpea or cassava to a major commercial crop such as soybean is fraught with challenges.

The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL), housed in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, is funded by USAID's Feed the Future initiative to help bring research-based innovation and technology to develop soybean production in Sub-Saharan Africa.

URBANA, Ill. - Public parks can be valuable assets for communities, but crime in the area can "lock up" that amenity value. Crime directly affects the use that people get from their local parks. If crime is reduced, the environmental value can be unlocked, a new University of Illinois study shows.

"Our research is the first to rigorously quantify this effect, which turns out to account for nearly half of the total value of parks in major U.S. cities," says Peter Christensen, environmental economist at U of I, and one of the study's authors.

A University of Cincinnati ear, nose and throat specialist says your nose may hold a clue in identifying COVID-19.

The loss of smell may be a key indicator.

Physicians are increasingly recognizing the importance of the nasal cavity in determining the physiology of COVID-19, explains Ahmad Sedaghat, an associate professor in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and an UC Health physician specializing in diseases of the nose and sinuses.

KANSAS CITY, MO -- Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have fine-tuned a method to pinpoint surfaces within large multi-protein complexes that are close to, and likely to be directly interacting with, one another.

Until now, the immune sensor TLR8 has remained in the shadows of science. A research team led by the University of Bonn has now discovered how this sensor plays an important role in defending human cells against intruders. The enzymes RNaseT2 and RNase2 cut ribonucleic acids (RNAs) of bacteria into small fragments that are as characteristic as a thumbprint. Only then can TLR8 recognize the dangerous pathogens and initiate countermeasures. The results have now been published in the renowned journal "Immunity".

In recent decades, alternative food supply movements have arisen. These are based on greater society involvement in coordinating and making decisions regarding food. These short food supply chains translate into producer markets, food co-ops and consumer groups in which a group of people organizes with producers in order to get supplies of necessary products.

A drug that is well-tolerated in patients and prevents cancer coming back in mice has been identified by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute.

One of the biggest challenges in cancer research is preventing cancer returning in patients who have already had treatment. A reason for these relapses is that some cancer cells survive and are able to grow into a new tumour.