Culture
Liquid meltwater can sometimes flow deep below the Greenland Ice Sheet in winter, not just in the summer, according to CIRES-led work published in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters today. That finding means that scientists seeking to understand sea-level rise and the future of the Greenland Ice Sheet need to collect data during the dark Arctic winter with scant hours of daylight and temperatures that dip below -40 degrees.
Dark matter, which cannot be physically observed with ordinary instruments, is thought to account for well over half the matter in the Universe, but its properties are still mysterious. One commonly held theory states that it exists as 'clumps' of extremely light particles. When the earth passes through such a clump, the fundamental properties of matter are altered in ways that can be detected if instruments are sensitive enough.
Jean and Peter Medawar wrote in 1977 that a virus is "simply a piece of bad news wrapped up in proteins." The "bad news" in the SARS-CoV-2 case is the genome made of a very long ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule. Grappling with COVID-19 pandemic, the world seems to be lost with no sense of direction in uncovering what this coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) is composed of. Being an RNA virus, SARS-Cov-2 enters host cells and replicates its genomic RNA and produces many smaller RNAs (called "subgenomic RNAs").
A pioneering study has shed new light on how a group of novel organelle-based disorders affect cells.
The study led by Professor Michael Schrader from the University of Exeter, and featuring an international, multi-disciplinary team of scientists, has explored on peroxisome alterations and their contribution to the disease.
Kanazawa, Japan - Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute viral infection that usually affects infants and children below five years. In a study published in Scientific Reports in January 2020, an international research team including Kanazawa University, the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Nagasaki University and Hanoi Medical University, has demonstrated the emergence of a new enterovirus (EV) A71-C4 lineage during the 2015-2016 outbreak of HFMD in northern Vietnam.
It's time to encourage people to wear face masks as a precautionary measure on the grounds that we have little to lose and potentially something to gain, say experts in The BMJ today.
Professor Trisha Greenhalgh at the University of Oxford and colleagues say despite limited evidence, masks "could have a substantial impact on transmission with a relatively small impact on social and economic life."
The question of whether masks will reduce transmission of covid-19 in the general public is contested.
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing has dedicated the second issue of its 2020 volume to better understanding and defining the uniquely related concepts of consumer power and consumer access. The guest editors and articles authors show how both concepts are in a constant state of change. They are influenced by technology, wealth, industry organization, and public policy.
Scientists report that the combined effects of rare, damaging mutations present at birth have a negative impact on healthspan and longevity, according to a study published this week in eLife.
The findings suggest one additional inherited damaging mutation could carve off six months of life, and combinations of these rare mutations determine how soon someone will develop diseases such as cancer, heart disease and dementia.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The antimicrobial properties of silver have been known for centuries. While it is still a mystery as to exactly how silver kills bacteria, University of Arkansas researchers have taken a step toward better understanding the process by looking at dynamics of proteins in live bacteria at the molecular level.
Abusive head trauma (AHT), like that of Shaken Baby Syndrome, is the leading cause of fatal brain injuries in children under two. While children can suffer permanent neurological damage, developmental delay, and disability, the long-term effects of AHT are difficult to diagnose and predict. Now, researchers at New York Institute of Technology have developed computational simulations to help clinicians and caregivers better understand the impact of these injuries.
ALEXANDRIA, VA - The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation published the Clinical Practice Guideline: Ménière's Disease today in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Ménière's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that includes episodes of vertigo with possible hearing loss, ringing or buzzing in the ear, or ear pressure.
The coral-eating crown of thorns starfish that devastate tropical reefs can lie in wait as harmless young herbivores for more than six years while coral populations recover from previous attacks or coral bleaching, new research has shown.
The diet of the juvenile starfish is algae. Juveniles remain on this vegetarian diet for at least four months and then, if there is an abundance of coral, the starfish typically switch to a coral diet.
Researchers have identified a total of four cases of newborn babies with COVID-19 infection in China. In all cases the babies experienced only mild symptoms with none requiring intensive care or mechanical ventilation according to research published in in the European Respiratory Journal today (Thursday). [2]
The study was carried out by Dr Zhi-Jiang Zhang and colleagues at Wuhan University in China. The team report that all four babies were born to mothers with COVID-19 and all were delivered by caesarean section. Three were separated from their mothers at birth.
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and people who currently smoke may have higher levels of a molecule, called angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE-2), in their lungs according to a study published in the European Respiratory Journal today (Thursday). [1]
Previous research shows that ACE-2, which sits on the surface of lung cells, is the 'entry point' that allows coronavirus to get into the cells of the lungs and cause an infection.
The new study also shows that levels of ACE-2 in former smokers is lower than in current smokers.
High-quality online courses are no less effective than traditional classes when it comes to student learning outcomes. Online courses provide an opportunity to expand access to high-quality education without increasing costs: the number of students that universities will be able to enroll increases by 15-18%. The results of a study carried out jointly by HSE University researchers and US researchers have been published in Science Advances.