Tech
A systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies from three continents published in the journal Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) shows that overall mortality of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has fallen from almost 60% at the end of March to 42% at the end of May -- a relative decrease of almost one third.
Over 70% of young people, some as young as eight, are using apps, YouTube videos and other digital online technologies to track and manage their health, according to the authors of a new report.
The researchers, based at the universities of Bath, Salford and University of New South Wales (Australia) say their findings highlight risks and opportunities for young people and suggest that more needs to be done to expand digital literacy lessons at school to focus on health.
Proponents of campaign finance reform claim that putting limits on how much money can be raised and spent to support a political candidate leads to more competitive elections by helping level the political playing field between incumbents -- the people holding the political office -- and challengers. However, a new study by two social scientists at the University of Missouri finds state campaign finance reforms actually have no beneficial effect on the competitiveness of state legislative elections.
The use of tethered unmanned aerial vehicles (TUAVs) has been modeled as a powerful new tool for improving cellular phone and internet networks. When employed as flying base stations with a cable connection, multirotor drones promise to quickly ramp up coverage, increase the efficiency of urban networks and provide much needed access in remote rural areas.
Like other highly migratory sharks, tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) often traverse regional, national and international boundaries where they encounter various environmental and manmade stressors. Their range and habitat use in the Gulf of Mexico, a complex marine environment significantly impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, has been understudied and remains unknown.
Smartphone accelerometers are effective tools to measure key time-under-tension indicators of muscle training - and could help in resistance-based workouts and rehabilitation protocols.
Article Title: "Using smartphone accelerometer data to obtain scientific mechanical-biological descriptors of resistance exercise training"
Piezoelectric materials can convert electrical voltage to mechanical displacement and vice versa. They are ubiquitous in modern wireless communication networks such as in cellphones. Today, piezoelectric devices, including filters, transducers and oscillators, are used in billions of devices for wireless communications, global positioning, navigations, and space applications.
Warmblood fragile foal syndrome is a severe, usually fatal, genetic disease that manifests itself after birth in affected horses. Due to the defect, the connective tissue is unstable. Under force, for instance, the skin tears from the tissue underneath and the joints can suffer dislocation. A research team from the Universities of Göttingen and Halle has now been able to prove that the disease did not stem from the English thoroughbred stallion Dark Ronald XX, which had been the assumption until now. The results have been published in the journal Animal Genetics.
Pharmacists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have succeeded in detecting small amounts of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 using mass spectrometry. For their investigation, they used gargle solutions of COVID-19 patients. The novel method might supplement conventional tests. It is currently undergoing improvements and might be available as standard diagnostic tool for COVID-19 in the future. Initial results have been published in the Journal of Proteome Research.
In the pandemic age of telehealth and new technologies, remote site lab or point-of-care (POC) testing of biofluids is a potentially rapid and non-invasive way to test for most diseases - including COVID-19.
Now scientists at Flinders University have run tests on the bioprobe industry, recommending the potential of a novel group of bioprobes with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, so-called AIEgens, as being the best way forward to deliver accurate clinical biomarkers.
Animals have an innate preference for certain scents and tastes. Attractive scents are linked to things like good food. Less attractive scents - that of spoiled food, for example - instinctively give the animal a signal which says: "There could be danger here!" When it comes to taste, all animals have similar preferences: Sugars and fats are perceived positively, whereas a bitter taste is perceived rather negatively.
In the 1600s, two private chapels were erected as family burial sites for two noble families. One in the town Svendborg in Denmark, the other in Montella, Italy. They were both attached to a Franciscan Friary, and only a few meters from the chapels, more common townspeople and friars were buried in the cloister walks.
Now scientists have had access to the earthly remains of both the noble families and the less fortunate in Svendborg and Montella, and this gives an intriguing insight into what these people consumed while they were alive.
Researchers have proved that a microvesicle-based instrument can be effective in reducing inflammation and immune response.
Group leader, Senior Research Associate Marina Gomzikova explains how microvesicles - bubbles surrounded by a natural cell membrane - can be biocompatible therapeutic instruments.
In the summer, many people enjoy walks along the beach looking for seashells. Among the most prized are those that contain iridescent mother of pearl (also known as nacre) inside. But many beachcombers would be surprised to learn that shimmery nacre is one of nature's strongest, most resilient materials. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have made a material with interlocked mineral layers that resembles nacre and is stronger and tougher than previous mimics.
Planting huge numbers of trees to mitigate climate change is "not always the best strategy" - with some experimental sites in Scotland failing to increase carbon stocks, a new study has found.
Experts at the University of Stirling and the James Hutton Institute analysed four locations in Scotland where birch trees were planted onto heather moorland - and found that, over decades, there was no net increase in ecosystem carbon storage.