Tech
Researchers have designed a protein "decoy" that mimics the interface where the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds a human cell, one version of which could neutralize virus infection in cells and protect hamsters from viral challenge. The SARS-CoV-2 virus enters human cells when the spike protein binds to the human ACE2 receptor. While neutralizing antibodies to the spike protein have been isolated, the spike can develop "escape mutations" that help it evade them. A pressing need, therefore, is to develop therapeutics that can be more resistant to SARS-CoV-2 mutational escape.
NEWPORT, Ore. - Small shifts in ocean temperature can have significant effects on the eating habits of blackfin tuna during the larval stage of development, when finding food and growing quickly are critical to long-term survival, a new study from Oregon State University researchers has found.
In a year of warmer water conditions, larval blackfin tuna ate less and grew more slowly, in part because fewer prey were available, compared to the previous year, when water conditions were one to two degrees Celsius cooler, the researchers found.
NEW YORK, NY (Nov. 5, 2020)--Immunotherapy for stomach cancer may work better if the therapy is delivered earlier in the course of disease and in combination with standard chemotherapy, a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons suggests.
The study, in mice, was published online in the journal Gastroenterology.
Fossil fuel burning accounts for the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions, and to the world's credit, several countries are working to reduce their use and the heat-trapping emissions that ensue. The goal is to keep global temperatures under a 1.5° to 2°C increase above preindustrial levels -- the upper limits of the Paris Climate Agreement.
If we stopped burning all fossil fuels this minute, would that be enough to keep a lid on global warming?
Mapping the magnetic field for Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment
As scientists await the highly anticipated initial results of the Muon g-2 experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, collaborating scientists from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory continue to employ and maintain the unique system that maps the magnetic field in the experiment with unprecedented precision.
Large amounts of chemical fertilizers can lead to severe environmental pollution. Biofertilizers are a preferred and sustainable alternative technology that can promote plant health without damaging ecological impacts. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can be used as biofertilizers and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides while also ensuring sustainable and increased production.
Climate change will bring an acute toll worldwide, with rising temperatures, wildfires and poor air quality, accompanied by higher rates of cancer, especially lung, skin and gastrointestinal cancers, according to a new report from UC San Francisco.
In an analysis of nearly five dozen published scientific papers, the researchers provided a synopsis of future effects from global warming on major cancers, from environmental toxins to ultraviolet radiation, air pollution, infectious agents and disruptions in the food and water supply.
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A research team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology developed a method for reducing aerodynamic noise via plasma. Cavity flow, such as the flow around car gaps of high-speed trains, often radiates aerodynamic noise. A plasma actuator inducing flow was applied to suppress this noise. By periodically switching off the power of the plasma actuator, a higher reduction in sound pressure level was observed when compared with continuous operation under the same power consumption.
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Scientists have used gene therapy to regenerate damaged nerve fibres in the eye, in a discovery that could aid the development of new treatments for glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide.
Axons - nerve fibres - in the adult central nervous system (CNS) do not normally regenerate after injury and disease, meaning that damage is often irreversible. However, over the past decade there have been a number of discoveries that suggest it may be possible to stimulate regeneration.
Scientists at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a liquid window panel that can simultaneously block the sun to regulate solar transmission, while trapping thermal heat that can be released through the day and night, helping to reduce energy consumption in buildings.
In the Northwest Pacific, most tropical cyclones occur alone during their lifetime. However, sometimes two or several tropical cyclones exist simultaneously. Generally, two tropical cyclones occurring simultaneously are referred to as binary tropical cyclones (BTCs), and they concurrently perform a mutual counterclockwise spin and move closer to each other when at a relatively close range. This phenomenon was first noted by Fujihara in 1921.
It's a major breakthrough in the field of electronics. Engineers at EPFL's Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) have developed a next-generation circuit that allows for smaller, faster and more energy-efficient devices - which would have major benefits for artificial-intelligence systems. Their revolutionary technology is the first to use a 2D material for what's called a logic-in-memory architecture, or a single architecture that combines logic operations with a memory function. The research team's findings appear today in Nature.
The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) becomes active at low blood pressure and forms angiotensin II, a hormone that causes blood vessels to constrict, causing blood pressure to rise again. The enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase 3 (DPP3) is significantly involved in the metabolism of angiotensin II.
Older, large-diameter trees have been shown to store disproportionally massive amounts of carbon compared to smaller trees, highlighting their importance in mitigating climate change, according to a new study in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. Researchers examined the aboveground carbon storage of large-diameter trees (>21 inches or >53.3 cm) on National Forest lands within Oregon and Washington.
Two of humanity's biggest problems - the climate crisis and abysmal eating habits - can partly be solved by one healthy solution: eating more food from trees, specifically tropical ones. While global trends in agriculture and diets are not easily reversed, scientists say that creating incentives to grow and eat more mangos, avocados and Brazil nuts - and dozens of tree-sourced foods most people have never heard of - can be both attainable and sustainable.