Tech
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have combined derivatives of two surplus materials--wood pulp and dried-up pieces of an invasive exotic pest--to form a new composite material that is flexible, sustainable, nontoxic and UV light-reflective.
Irvine, Calif., May 3, 2018 - The nation's aging infrastructure requires massive investment. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the U.S. needs to spend some $4.5 trillion by 2025 to fix the country's roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure.
Imagine if engineers could build structures with materials that do not degrade over time. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have proposed a new simulation technique that could help engineers do just that.
The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses in children and young people has increased, but diagnostic practice among clinicians remains variable, with significant diagnostic delays and reliance on subjective assessments.
Heavy seasonal rainfall has recently caused flooding in Kenya and NASA analyzed and estimated the total rainfall using data from a suite of satellites and gauges.
The heavy rainfall has resulted in the displacement of over 244,000 people. This deluge follows the severe drought that afflicted East Africa in 2017. The estimated death toll from flooding and mudslides has recently been increased to about 100 people.
Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created new superconductors made of layers of bismuth sulfide (BiS2) and a high entropy rare earth alloy oxyfluoride, containing five different rare earth (RE) elements at the same crystallographic site. The new material retains superconducting properties over a wider range of lattice parameters than materials without high-entropy-alloy states. Their work promises an exciting new strategy for designing new layered superconductors, a potentially key development in the search for high-temperature superconductors.
Bethesda, Md. (May 3, 2018)--Sympathetic nerve activity to skeletal muscle blood vessels--a function of the nervous system that helps regulate blood pressure--increases during physiological and mental stress in people with chronic anxiety, a new study finds. Over time, this response may increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, although the study did not test this specifically.
WHAT:
Researchers have exploited a quirk in the genetic make-up of the deadly malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, to create 38,000 mutant strains and then determine which of the organism's genes are essential to its growth and survival. P. falciparum is responsible for about half of all malaria cases and 90 percent of all malaria deaths. New information about the parasite's critical gene repertoire could help investigators prioritize targets for future antimalarial drug development.
In the zebra finch, an extra chromosome exists in the reproductive, or germline, cells. (Songbirds have 40 chromosomes and 41 with the extra chromosome.) Known as the germline-restricted chromosome, its sequence is largely unknown and none of its genes have been identified, until now. Using sophisticated genome-sequencing techniques, American University researchers have identified the first gene of the GRC. This finding could pave the way for further research into what makes a bird male or female.
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 3, 2018 -- Fundamental researchers at the Colorado School of Mines have proposed a novel two-part system for separating impurities from natural gas in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, from AIP Publishing. Natural gas primarily contains methane, but impurities in the gaseous mixture need to be removed before the methane can be put into the pipeline.
Researchers have discovered three distinct variants of magnetic domain walls in the helimagnet iron germanium (FeGe). Their results have been published in Nature Physics.
Researcher Dennis Meier, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), says to understand the significance of the discovery, you have to first consider how magnetic fields are created.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (May 3, 2018) - Immune cells that are ready to take action against invaders like bacteria have been found in women's breast milk, researchers say.
They say the presence of this SWAT team of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells, or ILCs, in human breast milk is more evidence of the benefits of breastfeeding.
Short term, the ILCs in breast milk may help protect newborns from infection, and longer term help babies develop their own protective immune system, they report in JAMA Pediatrics.
A team of chemists has developed an MRI-based technique that can quickly diagnose what ails certain types of batteries--from determining how much charge remains to detecting internal defects--without opening them up.
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite has been busy analyzing severe weather in the U.S.
Until May 1, tornado alley was experiencing a drought of spring tornadoes. The eighteen tornadoes reported in the area yesterday may be a sign of things to come. Moisture laden air from the Gulf of Mexico is having a more normal interaction with dry air flowing from the desert south-western states (dry line). Wind speed and wind direction change (shear) with height results in thunderstorms that spawn rotation and tornadoes.
CINCINNATI -- Scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have uncovered three distinct subtypes of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), an emerging food allergic disease. The discovery provides a framework for developing precision medicines to treat this often-debilitating disorder.
The researchers found that each of the three groups, or endotypes (EoEe1, EoEe2, and EoEe3), was associated with different clinical features and molecular pathways.
There is no evidence that publishing patient death rates for individual bowel surgeons in England has led to risk averse behaviour or 'gaming' of data, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
In fact, the results show that the introduction of public reporting of individual surgeons' outcomes coincided with a substantial reduction in mortality for patients having non-emergency ("elective" or "scheduled") bowel cancer surgery.