Hunter-gatherer groups living in the Baltic between seven and a half and six thousand years ago had culturally distinct cuisines, analysis of ancient pottery fragments has revealed.

An international team of researchers analysed over 500 hunter-gatherer vessels from 61 archaeological sites throughout the Baltic region.

Philadelphia, April 21, 2020 - In parallel to their current work on a potential coronavirus vaccine, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have developed a new vaccine delivery system for vaccines using live or attenuated viral vectors: a finger-tip sized patch that contains 400 tiny needles, each just half of one millimeter.

Unlike animals, which only digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats, microorganisms also feed on a variety of other organic compounds. Even natural gas does not stop them. Researchers from Bremen have now discovered a microbe in the deep sea that eats ethane, which, with a share of up to 15%, is the second most common component of natural gas.

Life in the extreme

New Rochelle, NY, April 21, 2020--A new article discusses the psychological stresses imposed by the coronavirus pandemic and suggests that virtual reality can help alleviate the psychological impact of the need for social isolation. The article, which provides a link to a free 3-dimensional 360 video and suggestions for how to use it, is published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Astrophysical observations have shown that Neptune-like water-rich exoplanets
are common in our galaxy. These "water worlds" are believed to be covered with a thick layer of water, hundreds to thousands of miles deep, above a rocky mantle.

While water-rich exoplanets are common, their composition is very different from Earth, so there are many unknowns in terms of these planets' structure, composition and geochemical cycles.

A paper published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO), "Imaging hydroxyapatite in sub-retinal pigment epithelial deposits by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy with tetracycline staining," demonstrates a potential new diagnostic option for catching a degenerative eye disease in its earliest stages.

GALVESTON, Texas - A detailed study of the monoclonal antibodies from a person who survived a Marburg infection led researchers to identify novel mechanisms that contribute protection against the disease, according to the latest findings of a collaborative team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The findings are now available in Cell Host & Microbe.

April 21, 2020 - In "Mobilization and Preparation of a Large Urban Academic Center During the COVID-19 Pandemic,"- published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society - experts from Philadelphia's Temple University Hospital share their contingency plans for meeting an increased demand for hospitalization, as well as their protocols and training plans to minimize health care staff exposure to COVID-19 and ensure proper active and reserve staffing.

The cover for issue 16 of Oncotarget features Figure 6, "Radiation-induced DNA damage measured by γ-H2AX foci formation at a specified time point after 10 Gy irradiation," by Zhang, et al.

HPV-negative UM-SCC4 with and without transfection of HPV E6 oncoprotein, HPV-negative UPCI-SCC-089, and HPV-positive UPCI-SCC-099 cell lines were used in this study.

This summer, NASA plans to launch its next Mars rover, Perseverance, which will carry with it the first aircraft to ever fly on another planet, the Mars Helicopter. As the first of its kind, the Mars Helicopter will carry no instruments and collect no data -- NASA describes merely flying it all as "high-risk, high-reward" research.

With the risks of extraterrestrial flight in mind, Penn Engineers are suggesting a different approach to exploring the skies of other worlds: a fleet of tiny aircraft that each weigh about as much as a fruit fly and have no moving parts.