Tech
A new study may have uncovered why wall lizards have become the most successful reptile in the Mediterranean region. The results reveal how drastic changes in sea levels and climate 6 million years ago affected species formation in the area. The researchers believe they can now explain why the lizards became so diverse and widespread, something that has puzzled biologists since the 19th century. The study is published in Nature Communications.
Scientists have developed a mathematical model that predicts how the number and effects of bacterial mutations leading to drug resistance will influence the success of antibiotic treatments.
Their model, described today in the journal eLife, provides new insights on the emergence of drug resistance in clinical settings and hints at how to design novel treatment strategies that help avoid this resistance occurring.
Researchers of Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) developed a new approach to determine the best electrode materials composition for Solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The results of the study were published in the first quartile journal Nanomaterials, MDPI. The Russian Science Foundation supports the project.
Analysing the forces at work behind the obstructions that cause heart attacks is crucial for identifying patients at risk of these events, says a study published today in eLife.
The findings suggest that bringing such biomechanical analyses into clinical practice could allow cardiologists to predict a future heart attack in patients by simulating the distribution of stress within diseased heart vessels.
Study shows optimized multi-scale structure and chemical gradients in exoskeletons of mantis shrimps
A research group led by Prof. LUO Tianzhi from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborating with Prof. WANG Zhengzhi's team from Wuhan University, explored the natural defenses in the tail spike of mantis shrimps and left chela of hermit crabs.
The researchers found that the variants have a similar surface stability as the wild type virus under laboratory conditions, but can be effectively eliminated by disinfection and thorough hand washing, heat or alcohol treatment. They report their results in the Journal of Infectious Diseases from 16 May 2021.
The frequency and intensity of heat waves in cities is increasing due to climate change, with a great negative impact on the health and mortality rates of the population. Anthropogenic activities and urban materials affect heat accumulation in cities, and solar radiation stored throughout the day on asphalt and buildings is released slowly during the night, generating significant heat stress. To face this growing problem, cities must establish effective mitigation strategies that allow reducing the temperature during heat waves.
Philadelphia, May 18, 2021 - Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain shortages of reagents and test kits have limited the rapid expansion of clinical testing needed to contain the virus. Investigators have developed and validated a new microchip real-time technology platform that uses 10-fold less reagents compared to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-approved tube-based RT-PCR tests, and reports results in as little as 30 minutes.
Researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine have developed a highly sensitive blood test that can find traces of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) in infants a year before they develop the deadly disease, according to a study published in BMC Medicine.
The wild relatives of modern peanut plants have the ability to withstand disease in ways that peanut plants can't. The genetic diversity of these wild relatives means that they can shrug off the diseases that kill farmers' peanut crops, but they also produce tiny nuts that are difficult to harvest because they burrow deep in the soil.
LA JOLLA--(MAY 18, 2021) Despite only accounting for about 1 percent of skin cancers, melanoma causes the majority of skin cancer-related deaths. While treatments for this serious disease do exist, these drugs can vary in effectiveness depending on the individual.
A Salk study published on May 18, 2021, in the journal Cell Reports reveals new insights about a protein called CRTC3, a genetic switch that could potentially be targeted to develop new treatments for melanoma by keeping the switch turned off.
Modern and emerging applications in various fields have found creative uses for organic thin films (TFs); some prominent examples include sensors, photovoltaic systems, transistors, and optoelectronics. However, the methods currently available for producing TFs, such as chemical vapor deposition, are expensive and time-consuming, and often require highly controlled conditions. As one would expect, making TFs with specific shapes or thickness distributions is even more challenging.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University researchers say "topographic templates" can help forest conservation managers develop strategies for protecting and restoring the most fire-resistant parts of vulnerable forests across a range of ecosystems.
That's important because changing wildfire regimes are affecting forests around the globe, the scientists note, and areas that burn over and over in relatively quick succession may not be able to recover between fires.
Tsukuba, Japan - Aggression is common in many neuropsychiatric diseases, such as dementia, autism spectrum disorder, and schizophrenia. It causes many problems for patients and their families, but can be difficult to treat because little is known about what causes it. In a study published last month in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Tsukuba revealed that variation in levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), a protein that mediates the inflammatory response, is associated with individual differences in aggressive behaviors in male mice.
Previous clinical trials suggested that ultra-thin strut biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent (BP-SES) may be associated with lower target lesion failure (TLF) when compared to durable polymer everolimus-eluting stents (DP-EES). However, the possible underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, the all-comers CASTLE study was designed to assess the role of imaging-guided percutaneous cardiac intervention (PCI) in the clinical outcomes difference between BP-SES vs DP-EES.