Tech
Solar cells that use mixtures of organic molecules to absorb sunlight and convert it to electricity, that can be applied to curved surfaces such as the body of a car, could be a step closer thanks to a discovery that challenges conventional thinking about one of the key components of these devices.
A chameleon can alter the color of its skin so it either blends into the background to hide or stands out to defend its territory and attract a mate. The chameleon makes this trick look easy, using photonic crystals in its skin. Scientists, however, have struggled to make a photonic crystal "smart skin" that changes color in response to the environment, without also changing in size.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 10, 2019) – The Trump administration’s “public charge” rule, which would subject legal immigrants to a public charge determination if they use public health, nutrition and housing benefits for which they are eligible, represents a major threat to health, according to a “friend of the court” brief filed Sept. 10.
For many people in Africa and Latin America, beans are an important staple. Historically described as "the meat of the poor", beans are rich in protein and minerals, affordable and suitably filling. That is why they are served daily, often with several meals.
In many regions, however, plant diseases severely reduce bean yields. For example, the dreaded angular leaf spot disease can cause yield losses of up to 80 percent - especially in Africa, where smallholders rarely have the opportunity to protect their crops with fungicides.
Genomics-assisted breeding
Researchers at KU Leuven in Belgium have developed a technique to make sheep produce new antibodies simply by injecting the DNA building blocks. This approach is much cheaper and more efficient than producing antibodies industrially and administering them afterwards. The study in animals with a similar size as humans brings us a step closer to the clinical use of antibody gene therapy.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers using electronic tags were able to monitor blue and fin whales off the coast of Southern California over multiple weeks, providing new insight into the feeding behaviors of the two largest whale species. The researchers also found evidence of differences in the feeding intensity and habitat use of males and females of both species.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (Sept. 11, 2019) - In the face of obesity, the sex hormone progesterone that helps females get and stay pregnant appears to also put them at increased, early risk for cardiovascular disease, investigators report.
Premenopausal women are considered protected from cardiovascular disease, but evidence indicates obesity can negate those benefits, and in fact put them at even higher risk than men, but just how remains an unfolding mystery.
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology have demonstrated a detector made from graphene that could revolutionize the sensors used in next-generation space telescopes. The findings were recently published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy.
Beyond superconductors, there are few materials that can fulfill the requirements needed for making ultra-sensitive and fast terahertz (THz) detectors for astronomy. Chalmers researchers have shown that engineered graphene adds a new material paradigm for THz heterodyne detection.
Scientists studying scarlet fever have identified a new strain of disease-causing bacteria, which may explain a rise in more serious Strep A infections in England and Wales, according to results from cases in London and across England and Wales from 2014-16 published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
A team of scientists led by Imperial College London have discovered a new strain of group A streptococcus bacteria.
Group A streptococcus (or Strep A) is known to cause scarlet fever, throat infections and - in very rare cases - invasive disease, where the bacterium enters the bloodstream or tissue and can trigger sepsis and toxic shock.*
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 10, 2019 - America has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, and it's getting worse. Since cardiovascular disease is the primary cause, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) created a blood pressure home-monitoring program to rapidly detect concerning trends in postpartum women before their situation becomes critical.
On trucks, drones and airplanes, 10 promising technologies for finding natural gas leaks swiftly and cheaply competed in the Mobile Monitoring Challenge, the first independent assessment of moving gas leak detectors at well sites. The organizers of the contest - Stanford University's Natural Gas Initiative and the Environmental Defense Fund - describe the outcomes in a study published Sept. 10 in Elementa by University of California Press.
Homelessness is a persistent and significant public policy and public health challenge, disproportionately affecting veterans. However, the fiscal year 2020 budget negotiated between President Donald Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi includes no growth in funding for the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) voucher program.
Two University of Hawaii at Manoa researchers have identified and corrected a subtle error that was made when applying Einstein's equations to model the growth of the universe.
There are at least three species of electric eels (Electrophorus spp.), not just one as previously believed. Two new species have recently been described with São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP's support by a group of researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society, among other institutions. One of the new species can discharge up to 860 volts, the strongest of any known animal.
Electric eels are naked-back knifefishes (Gymnotidae) and are more closely related to catfish and carp than to other eel families.