Earth
When ocean temperatures rise, corals are put at risk of a phenomenon known as bleaching, in which corals expel the algae living in their tissues and turn white. Bleached corals are at increased risk of disease and death. But, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on August 8 now show that more severe marine heatwaves--as occurred on Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in 2016--are even worse for corals. They don't just lead to bleaching but to the immediate death and decay of coral reefs.
An international collaboration of researchers from the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan and Gladstone Institutes in the USA have generated 3D blastocyst-like structures from stem cells. Published in the journal Stem Cell Reports, the study shows that the blastocyst-like structures very closely resemble actual blastocysts, and even induce proper changes in the uterus after being implanted in pseudo-pregnant mice.
The inability to tolerate light touch is a telltale feature of autism and one of the disorder's many perplexing symptoms. It has defied treatment, and its precise origins have remained somewhat of a mystery.
Now a study led by investigators at Harvard Medical School's Blavatnik Institute has not only identified the molecular aberrations that give rise to heightened touch sensitivity in autism spectrum disorders but also points to a possible treatment for the condition.
HOUSTON -- A key difference between the few pancreatic cancer patients who survive long-term and the many whose disease overcomes all treatments is the bacterial signatures on their tumors that either stimulate or suppress immune response, a team led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the journal Cell.
The researchers also showed that fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) from long-term survivors prompted immune response and stifled tumors in a mouse model of the disease by altering the bacteria on the tumor - its microbiome.
Stereotypically viewed as passive and immobile, a University of Otago, New Zealand, pilot study has shown the powerful influence music and dance can have on older adults with dementia.
Researchers from the Department of Dance and Department of Psychological Medicine used familiar, reminiscent music and the natural gestures of a group of 22 participants to create an original series of dance exercises.
Thin films made of carbon nanotubes hold a lot of promise for advanced optoelectronics, energy and medicine, however with their manufacturing process subject to close supervision and stringent standardization requirements, they are unlikely to become ubiquitous anytime soon.
A new sensor, that can detect ice accumulation in real-time, might be a game-changer when it comes to airline safety and efficiency.
Two distinctly different research teams-one that designs microwave sensors and microelectronics systems, and the other that investigates ice-repellent materials and extreme liquid repellency-joined forces for this latest research coming out of UBC Okanagan's School of Engineering.
(Boston) -- Conversion therapy is a broad term used to describe practices and actions aimed at changing people's sexual orientation or gender identity - to turn anyone who doesn't identify as "straight" into a "straight" person. Historically, conversion therapies have used electroshock therapy, chemical drugs, hormone administrations and even surgery.
New research led by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Rochester Medical Center indicates that concussions aren't the sole cause of damage to the brain in contact sports. A study of college football players found that typical hits sustained from playing just one season cause structural changes to the brain.
Groundwater - a vital source of water for drinking and irrigation across sub-Saharan Africa - is resilient to climate variability and change, according to a new study led by UCL and Cardiff University.
A consortium of 32 scientists from across Africa and beyond carried out the research, published in Nature, which shows how groundwater replenishment depends upon heavy rainfalls and flood events, amplified by climate change.
Add another item to the ever-growing list of the dangerous impacts of global climate change: Warming oceans are leading to an increase in the harmful neurotoxicant methylmercury in popular seafood, including cod, Atlantic bluefin tuna and swordfish, according to research led by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH).
Patients fitted with an orthopedic prosthetic commonly experience a period of intense pain after surgery. In an effort to control the pain, surgeons inject painkillers into the tissue during the operation. When that wears off a day or two later, the patients are given morphine through a catheter placed near the spine. Yet catheters are not particularly comfortable, and the drugs spread throughout the body, affecting all organs.
First-ever study to examine gun control effects on urban and suburban/rural firearm homicide rates finds different laws are more effective in different areas.
New Rochelle, NY, August 5, 2019-Researchers have developed a simple, fast, and standardized method for measuring phage virulence quantitatively, which can expediate phage therapy development by allowing robust individual and combined testing of phage efficacy. The method, which takes into account all factors affecting virulence, is published in a preview issue of PHAGE: Therapy, Applications, and Research, a new peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers launching in early 2020.
Cancer treatment often involves a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy uses medication to stop cancer cells reproducing, but the medication affects the entire body. Radiotherapy uses radiation to kill the cancer cells, and it is targeted to the tumour site. In a recent study, published in the journal EPJ D, researchers from the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck, in Innsbruck, Austria, studied selected molecules of relevance in this context.