Earth
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - While studying one of the smallest DNA viruses known, Sunnie Thompson, Ph.D., may have found a new way to help prevent kidney damage following organ transplant.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher studies BK polyomavirus, a major source of kidney damage and rejection in transplant recipients. Nearly all humans silently harbor polyomaviruses in their bodies; but when transplant recipients receive drugs to suppress their immune system to prevent graft rejection, the virus can reactivate, resulting in damage to the kidney.
Successful new field tests of a continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) system over commercial fiber networks could pave the way to its use in metropolitan areas.
That is the key achievement from a joint team of Chinese scientists, published today in Quantum Science and Technology, which demonstrates CV-QKD transmission over commercial deployed fiber link with a distance of 50 kilometres.
A study conducted by scientists from Brazil, the United States and Portugal investigated the accuracy and consistency of different satellite data collections with regard to the location and size of burned areas in the Cerrado biome, the Brazilian savanna.
Scientists at Texas A&M University are harnessing the combined power of organic nanomaterials-based chemistry and a natural product found in crustacean exoskeletons to help bring emergency medicine one step closer to a viable solution for mitigating blood loss, from the hospital to the battlefield.
EAST BOOTHBAY, Maine - New research connects recent changes in the movement of North Atlantic right whales to decreased food availability and rising temperatures in Gulf of Maine’s deep waters. Right whales have been showing up in unexpected places in recent years, putting the endangered species at increased risk. The study, which was published in Oceanography and conducted by scientists from more than 10 institutions, provides insights to this key issue complicating conservation efforts.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A new University at Buffalo study based on levels before, during and after the Beijing Olympics reveals how air pollution affects the human body at the level of metabolites.
Researchers found that 69 metabolites changed significantly when air pollution changed. Their results were published today (May 29) in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Scientists of Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS), Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and National Taiwan University comprehended state of the art scientific knowledge about plants stress response activated by unfavorable environmental factors. Researchers proposed ways to improve crop plants stress resistance by developing one's heritable stress response memory which will allow preserving the stability of the yield obtained worldwide. A related review published in Trends in Plant Science.
For all the evidence that the benefits of reducing greenhouse gases outweigh the costs of regulation, disturbingly few domestic climate change policies have been enacted around the world so far.
So say UC Santa Barbara professor and economist Kyle Meng, and co-author Ashwin Rode, a former UCSB Ph.D. student now at the University of Chicago, in a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- After exposing more than 70 million grain amaranth seeds to a soil-based herbicide, researchers were not able to find a single herbicide-resistant mutant. Though preliminary, the findings suggest that the mutation rate in amaranth is very low, and that low-level herbicide application contributes little - if anything - to the onset of new mutations conferring resistance, researchers say.
The study is reported in the journal Weed Science.
A new compound developed by University of Sheffield experts has killed antibiotic resistant gram-negative bacteria, including E. coli, during tests
New treatments for gram-negative bacteria are vital as they are rapidly becoming immune to current drugs
Antimicrobial resistance is already responsible for 25,000 deaths in the EU each year
The research could pave the way for new treatment of life-threatening superbugs
Embedded at the end of chromosomes are structures called "telomeres" that in normal cells become shorter as cells divide. As the shortening progresses it triggers cell proliferation arrest or death. Cancer cells adopt different strategies to overcome this control mechanism that keeps track of the number of times that a cell has divided. One of these strategies is the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway, which guarantees unlimited proliferation capability. Now, a research group led by Claus M.
The ROSETTA-Ice project, a three-year, multi-institutional data collection survey of Antarctic ice, has assembled an unprecedented view of the Ross Ice Shelf, its structure and how it has been changing over time. In a study published today in Nature Geoscience, the ROSETTA-Ice team members detail how they discovered an ancient geologic structure that restricts where ocean water flows. The discovery suggests that local ocean currents may play a critical role in the ice shelf's future retreat.
Winters in the northern hemisphere are brutal. The harsh conditions drive some species to hibernate; bears reduce their metabolic state to conserve energy until spring. Forests also endure winter by conserving energy; they shut down photosynthesis, the process by which a green pigment called chlorophyll captures sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce the chemical energy that fuels the plants. The total production of chemical energy resulting from photosynthesis is called Gross Primary Production (GPP).
Having multiple-birth babies can be a time of wonder and excitement, however, according to the first-ever international collaborative report released today, these babies and their families can face serious disadvantages compared to parents of single-birth babies.
Led by Twins Research Australia based at the University of Melbourne, the report identifies common challenges facing these families, including greater risk of pregnancy complications and premature birth, infant development delays and special needs, as well as financial, psychological and social support obstacles.
Recent archaeological finds of ancient preserved apple seeds across Europe and West Asia combined with historical, paleontological, and recently published genetic data are presenting a fascinating new narrative for one of our most familiar fruits. In this study, Robert Spengler of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History traces the history of the apple from its wild origins, noting that it was originally spread by ancient megafauna and later as a process of trade along the Silk Road. These processes allowed for the development of the varieties that we know today.