Tech
A new robot - named WomBot - that can be used to explore and study wombat burrows is presented in a study published in the journal SN Applied Sciences.
Wombats reside and sleep in burrows and occupy a different burrow every four to ten days. Parasitic mites that cause sarcoptic mange, a serious disease affecting wombats, are thought to be transmitted when wombats occupy each other's burrows but it has not been clear whether conditions within burrows promote this transmission.
Weakened electrical signals in the brain may be an early warning sign of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, suggests a study published today in eLife.
The findings hint at new ways to identify early on patients who may have an age-related brain disease. They also provide new insights on the changes that occur in the brain as these diseases develop.
Difficulty sleeping, sleep apnea and narcolepsy are among a range of sleep disorders that thousands of Danes suffer from. Furthermore, it is estimated that sleep apnea is undiagnosed in as many as 200,000 Danes.
In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Department of Computer Science have collaborated with the Danish Center for Sleep Medicine at the danish hospital Rigshospitalet to develop an artificial intelligence algorithm that can improve diagnoses, treatments, and our overall understanding of sleep disorders.
UNF archaeology researchers are uncovering the lost Indigenous NE Florida settlement of Sarabay
Jacksonville, Fla. - The University of North Florida archaeology team is now fairly confident they have located the lost Indigenous northeast Florida community of Sarabay, a settlement mentioned in both French and Spanish documents dating to the 1560s but had not been discovered until now.
Femtosecond spectroscopy and first-principles calculations shed light on compositional dependence of
Researchers from Skoltech and Ludwig Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Germany have studied the fundamental properties of halide perovskite nanocrystals, a promising class of optoelectronic materials. Using a combination of theory and experiment, they were able to show and explain an intricate connection between composition, light-induced lattice dynamics, and stability of the materials. The paper was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Stereotypes are knowledge structures integrated in our world representation, which have an influence on our decisions and which are hard to change. A team from the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), in collaboration with the Èpica Foundation - La Fura dels Baus analysed how a performing experience could have a positive impact in reducing the population's bias against physical illnesses.
HOUSTON - (June 8, 2021) - A simple chemical process developed at Rice University creates light and highly absorbent aerogels that can take a beating.
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), crystal structures with strong molecular bonds, can form a porous aerogel for use as a custom membrane in batteries or other devices or as an absorbent to remove pollutants from the environment.
ROCKVILLE, MD, USA - June 8, 2021 - The PfSPZ malaria vaccines of Sanaria Inc. are unique in vaccine development as they are composed of weakened (attenuated) forms of the live parasite cells that cause malaria. These parasite cells are called eukaryotic cells and there are no vaccines against any infectious disease composed of such cells. Furthermore, there are no licensed vaccines against any infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic pathogen.
Ever since the world's first ever microscope was invented in 1590 by Hans and Zacharias Janssen --a Dutch father and son-- our curiosity for what goes on at the tiniest scales has led to development of increasingly powerful devices. Fast forward to 2021, we not only have optical microscopy methods that allow us to see tiny particles in higher resolution than ever before, we also have non-optical techniques, such as scanning force microscopes, with which researchers can construct detailed maps of a range of physical and chemical properties.
A defining characteristic of all life is its ability to evolve. However, the fact that biologically engineered systems will evolve when used has, to date, mostly been ignored. This has resulted in biotechnologies with a limited functional shelf-life that fail to make use of the powerful evolutionary capabilities inherent to all biology.
New research published in the journal Psychological Science reveals a pervasive but unfounded stereotype: that women (but not men) who engage in casual sex have low self-esteem. This finding was consistent across six separate experiments with nearly 1,500 total participants.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Since the end of the long-running conflict in Colombia, large areas of forest have been rapidly converted to agricultural uses, suggesting the peace agreement presents a threat to conservation the country's rainforest, a new study from Oregon State University shows.
In 2016, Colombia officially signed a peace agreement ending the country's six-decade civil war, which mainly took place within the Andes-Amazon region, an extremely biodiverse rainforest and a critical biological corridor.
Mining involves moving a lot of rock, so some mess is expected. However, mining operations can continue to affect ecosystems long after activity has ended. Heavy metals and corrosive substances leach into the environment, preventing wildlife and vegetation from returning to the area.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have developed a novel continuous-flow microfluidic device that may help scientists and pharmaceutical companies more effectively study drug compounds and their crystalline shapes and structures, which are key components for drug stability.
Everyone is familiar with tiny gas bubbles gently rising up in sparkling water. But the bubbles that were created by intense focused lasers in this experiment were ten times smaller and contained water vapour at a pressure around a hundred thousand times higher. Under these conditions, the bubble expands at supersonic speed and pushes a shockwave, consisting of a spherical shell of highly compressed water, ahead of itself.