Tech
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a long-sought protein, the proton-activated chloride channel (PAC), that is activated in acidic environments and could protect against the tissue-damaging effects of stroke, heart attack, cancer and inflammation. The researchers believe the discovery of this protein could provide a new drug target for potential therapies for stroke and other health issues.
San Diego, Calif. (May 19, 2019) -- Coffee drinkers know that coffee helps keep the bowels moving, but researchers in Texas are trying to find out exactly why this is true, and it doesn't seem to be about the caffeine, according to a study presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2019. Researchers, feeding rats coffee and also mixing it with gut bacteria in petri dishes, found that coffee suppressed bacteria and increased muscle motility, regardless of caffeine content.
Women who breastfed their babies are less likely to develop heart disease later in life, according to findings to be presented in Lyon, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019. The study also suggests that the protective effect on heart health is increased in women who breastfed for longer periods of time. These findings provide further evidence for the long-term health benefits of breastfeeding and that women should be encouraged to do so when possible.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Recyclable plastics that contain ring-shaped polymers may be a key to developing sustainable synthetic materials. Despite some promising advances, researchers said, a full understanding of how to processes ring polymers into practical materials remains elusive. In a new study, researchers identified a mechanism called "threading" that takes place when a polymer is stretched - a behavior not witnessed before. This new insight may lead to new processing methods for sustainable polymer materials.
E-commerce is sizzling. Last year, consumers spent more than $517 billion online with US merchants, up 15 percent from the year before, according to Internet Retailer.
Machine learning (ML), a form of artificial intelligence that recognizes faces, understands language and navigates self-driving cars, can help bring to Earth the clean fusion energy that lights the sun and stars. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are using ML to create a model for rapid control of plasma -- the state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions -- that fuels fusion reactions.
When it comes to pitching business ideas to potential investors, an entrepreneur's excitement and enthusiasm can be the difference between dreams taking shape or ultimately falling flat.
But it's not just the intensity of enthusiasm that's important, according to a recent study by a team led by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers. How long an entrepreneur displays the highest level of excitement during a pitch also plays a major role in predicting success in receiving funding.
Basically, too much enthusiasm can be a bad thing.
Measuring the blood plasma levels of an enzyme called PDIA1 could one day become a method of diagnosing a person's predisposition to cardiovascular disease even if they are healthy, i.e., not obese, diabetic or a smoker, and with normal cholesterol.
This is suggested by a study published in the journal Redox Biology by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo (USP), the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and Butantan Institute.
Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have found a way to charge up the fight against bacterial infections using electricity.
Many parents express concerns about privacy and online safety in technology designed for their children. But we know much less about what children themselves find concerning in emerging technologies.
Conservation decisions based on population counts may fail to protect large, slow-breeding animals from irrevocable decline, according to new research coinciding with Endangered Species Day.
Changes to alpine streams fed by glaciers and snowfields due to a warming climate threaten to dramatically alter the types of bacteria and other microbes in those streams, according to a research team that included a University of Wyoming scientist.
But streams that are fed by underground ice insulated by rock -- called "icy seeps" -- offer some hope that the impact of climate change will be less severe in some areas, say the researchers, who include Lusha Tronstad, research scientist with UW's Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD).
Firms looking to boost their market value and make a favorable impression on investors might consider opportunities to testify before Congress, according to a new study by management researchers at the University of Arkansas.
If chosen to testify, these companies could benefit from publicizing such events, said Jason Ridge, assistant professor of management in the Sam M. Walton College of Businees, and the study's lead author.
By analyzing 26.2 million Twitter comments in the Arabic language, researchers found that despite losing territory, ISIS remains successful at inspiring low-level attacks because of its messaging for a "call for lone jihad." The study, "ISIS at its apogee: The Arabic discourse about support for ISIS on Twitter and what we can learn from that," was recently published in SAGE Open.
Researchers at The University of Chicago have demonstrated that the type of bacteria living in the gut can influence the development of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms in mice. The study, which will be published May 16 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that, by altering the gut microbiome, long-term antibiotic treatment reduces inflammation and slows the growth of amyloid plaques in the brains of male mice, though the same treatment has no effect on female animals.