Culture
So far, the only direct evidence we have for the existence of dark matter is through gravity-based effects on the matter we can see. And these gravitational effects are so pronounced that we know it must make up about 85 percent of all matter in the universe.
But we know little else about dark matter, including whether it is made up of as-yet-undiscovered particles.
There are many competing theories for the composition and properties of dark matter, and for whether dark matter has any visible markers to at last unmask it.
An international collaborative study led by researchers from the NUI Galway provides findings on the neural basis of intelligence, otherwise known as general cognitive ability (IQ).
This new research uses an imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to provide an insight into how small variations in this wiring system is associated with differences in IQ in both the general population and how disorders such as schizophrenia manifest.
Chicago, March 26, 2020 -- Researchers from New Mexico State University, University of South Carolina, Zhejiang University (China), and The Ohio State University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing, which examines strategies for restoring customer satisfication.
The study forthcoming in the March issue of the Journal of Marketing is titled "When and Why Saying "Thank You" Is Better Than Saying "Sorry" in Redressing Service Failures: The Role of Self-Esteem" and is authored by Yanfen You, Xiaojing Yang, Lili Wang, and Xiaoyan Deng.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for determining the historical location and distribution of radioactive materials, such as weapons grade plutonium. The technique may allow them to use common building materials, such as bricks, as a three-dimensional "camera," relying on residual gamma radiation signatures to take a snapshot of radioactive materials even after they've been removed from a location.
Washington, DC - March 23, 2020 - The number of potential therapeutic options for treatment of COVID-19 is growing. Approaches include blocking SARS-CoV-2 from entering cells, disrupting the virus' replication, antivirals, vaccines, and suppressing overactive immune response.
The research was published in a minireview, and in a short article in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The authors of the former suggest that therapeutic drugs directly targeting SARS-CoV-2 will be most effective.
Shorter and warmer winters lead to an increase in emissions of methane from northern lakes, according to a new study by scientists in Finland and the US. Longer ice-free periods contribute to increased methane emissions. In Finland, emissions of methane from lakes could go up by as much as 60%.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Scientists have found a way in the laboratory to shorten the time it takes to create a key chemical used to synthesize a variety of medications, fertilizers and other important substances.
The finding could make a number of industrial manufacturing processes cheaper and more efficient. And all it takes, essentially, is electrifying an aluminum container that includes the right chemicals.
As cities physically expanded worldwide between 1970 and 2010, the population in those cities became less dense, according to a study led by a Texas A&M university professor.
(Boston)--Physician gender pay gaps continue to persist in the U.S. despite an impressive body of research spanning more than 25 years. While men have a larger representation within academic medical leadership, a new study publish in JAMA Network Open has found that women are significantly overrepresented as the authors and disseminators of physician compensation studies and this research is largely unfunded.
A global research effort
'There is broad agreement on the importance of academic freedom, yet we have strikingly little knowledge about global or country-level trends,' says Prof. Kinzelbach, Professor for International Politics of Human Rights. 'This is why we decided to assess academic freedom worldwide and across time.'
Ithaca, NY--According to a new study, Zebra Finches exposed to low levels of environmental PCBs as nestlings show changes in breeding behavior as adults. The study published in the journal PLoS ONE was conducted by scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Though polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were banned in 1979, they still contaminate the environment because of improper disposal.
Washington, DC - March 20, 2020 - SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease is more transmissible, but has a lower mortality rate than its sibling, SARS-CoV, according to a review article published this week in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
In humans, coronaviruses cause mainly respiratory infections. Individuals with SARS-CoV-2 may remain asymptomatic for 2 to 14 days post-infection and some individuals likely transmit the virus without developing disease symptoms.
Research published in the journal Microbiology has found that a unique type of algae, usually only seen on the shells of turtles, affects the surrounding microbial communities.
It is hoped that these findings can be applied to support the conservation of turtles. Previous research has shown that a diverse microbiome can protect animals against infections.
As scientists scramble to learn more about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, two recent studies of the virus' genome reached controversial conclusions: namely, that snakes are intermediate hosts of the new virus, and that a key coronavirus protein shares "uncanny similarities" with an HIV-1 protein. Now, a study in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research refutes both ideas and suggests that scaly, anteater-like animals called pangolins are the missing link for SARS-CoV-2 transmission between bats and humans.
Maintaining vitamin D receptor (VDR) levels in pancreatic cells that synthesize and secrete insulin (β cells) could contribute to protecting against the development of diabetes and counteract pancreatic cell damage caused by the progression of the disease. This is suggested by a study conducted by researchers of the CIBER's area of Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM) at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), which points to this receptor as a potential therapeutic target in the prevention and treatment of the disease.