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 The Animal Kingdom Is Full of Righties and Lefties
Many creatures favor one side of the body over another, just as humans do. Scientists are interested in learning what makes animals right or left-pawed, so to speak, because it offer fascinating insights into evolution and brain development.
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 Tool to distribute limited vaccines equitably
Researchers have developed a tool that incorporates a person's age and socioeconomic status to prioritize vaccine distribution among people who otherwise share similar risks due to their jobs.
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Spreading the sound
Scientists are studying the motion of sound waves in glassy materials using a new theoretical model and find that they can diffuse like fluids, which may lead to the design of more resilient touchscreens.
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Astronomers document the rise and fall of a rarely observed stellar dance
Astronomers have catalogued 126 years of changes to HS Hydra, a rare evolving eclipsing binary star system. Analyzing observations from astro-photographic plates in the late 1800s to TESS observations in 2019, they show that the two stars in HS Hydra began to eclipse each other around a century ago, peaking in the 1960s. The degree of eclipsing then plummeted over the course of just a half century, and will cease around February 2021.
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Glass frogs living near roaring waterfalls wave hello to attract mates
A conservationist has discovered that the glass frog Sachatamia orejuela can be added to the list of species that make use of visual cues in response to their acoustic environments. This is the first time a member of the glass frog family (Centrolenidae) has been observed using visual communication in this manner.
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Stuck in a rut: Ocean acidification locks algal communities in a simplified state
Researchers have found that ocean acidification limits algal communities to a state of low diversity and complexity. Communities grown in waters rich in carbon dioxide (CO2) were dominated by turf algae, and had low biodiversity, ecological complexity and biomass. Communities grown under acidic conditions and then transferred to waters that weren't CO2-enriched increased their biodiversity and complexity, showing that they can recover if CO2 emissions are significantly reduced.
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Scholars link diet, dentition, and linguistics
Anthropologists used a novel data analysis of thousands of languages, in addition to studying a unique subset of celebrities, to reveal how a soft food diet -- contrasted with the diet of hunter-gatherers -- is restructuring dentition and changing how people speak.
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Acute itching in eczema patients linked to environmental allergens
New research indicates that allergens in the environment often are to blame for episodes of acute itch in eczema patients, and that the itching often doesn't respond to antihistamines because the itch signals are being carried to the brain along a previously unrecognized pathway that current drugs don't target.
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Scientists identify nutrient that helps prevent bacterial infection
Scientists studying the body's natural defenses against bacterial infection have identified a nutrient -- taurine -- that helps the gut recall prior infections and kill invading bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn). The finding could aid efforts seeking alternatives to antibiotics.
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Climate change doesn't spare the insects
Entomologists have seen a striking contraction of insect numbers and diversity. They are sharing new data suggesting that climate change is the culprit and they are coming up with a way to protect the survivors: a bioliteracy program that aims to educate Costa Rican residents about the diversity around them and empower them to conserve it. It's a model they hope catches on and spreads around the globe.
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New fossil provides clarity to the history of Alligatoridae
Families are complicated. For members of the Alligatoridae family, which includes living caimans and alligators - this is especially true. They are closely related, but because of their similarity, their identification can even stump paleontologists.
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Extreme fire weather
When the Thomas Fire raged through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in December 2017, an earth science researcher was stunned by its severity. Burning for more than a month and scorching 440 square miles, the fire was then considered the worst in California's history.
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Newly developed GaN based MEMS resonator operates stably even at high temperature
JST PRESTO researcher developed a MEMS resonator that stably operates even under high temperatures by regulating the strain caused by the heat from gallium nitride (GaN). This device is small, highly sensitive and can be integrated with CMOS technology promising for the application to 5G communication, IoT timing device, on-vehicle applications, and advanced driver assistance system.
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The role of T cells in fighting cancer
Why do some hosts' immune systems reject tumors easily, while others have a harder time doing so? It depends on the types of the immune cells known as CD8 T cells and how a host's specific T cells match up with the neoantigens present in the tumor.
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ADA lowers target HbA1C levels for children with type-1 diabetes
In early 2020, upon recommendation by leading endocrinologists, American Diabetes Association lowered the target hemoglobin A1C guidelines for children with type 1 diabetes. Their goal in recommending stricter glucose control was to ensure children with type 1 diabetes have better immediate and long-term health outcomes with fewer health complications and reduced mortality rates. Researchers now discuss the evidence and rationale behind this new recommendation.
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Model analyzes how viruses escape the immune system
MIT researchers have devised a way to computationally model viral escape, using models that were originally developed to model language. The model can predict which sections of viral surface proteins, including those of influenza, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2, are more likely to mutate in a way that allows the virus to evade the human immune system. It can also identify sections that are less likely to mutate, making them good targets for new vaccines.
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Not as simple as thought: How bacteria form membrane vesicles
Researchers have identified a novel mechanism by which bacteria form membrane vesicles, which bacteria employ to communicate with each other or to defend themselves against antibiotics. By studying mycolic acid-containing bacteria (MCB), which also includes tuberculosis-causing bacteria, the researchers demonstrated that environmental stimuli dictate the route by which the MCB form membrane vesicles. Further, their observations were consistent among various MCB. This study has implications for v
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Rare lichen unique to Florida discovered in museum collections, may be extinct
Scientists have found a new species of fleshy verdigris lichen, thanks to DNA analysis of museum specimens. Misidentified by its original collectors, the lichen is only known from 32 specimens collected in North and Central Florida scrubland between 1885 and 1985. Now the hunt is on to find it in the wild -- if it still exists.
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Scientists identify contents of ancient Maya drug containers
Scientists have identified the presence of a non-tobacco plant in ancient Maya drug containers for the first time. The researchers detected Mexican marigold (Tagetes lucida) in residues taken from 14 miniature Maya ceramic vessels. The vessels also contain chemical traces present in two types of dried and cured tobacco.
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Intertropical Convergence Zone limits climate predictions in the tropical Atlantic
The strongest climate fluctuation on time scales of a few years is the so-called El Niño phenomenon, which originates in the Pacific. A similar circulation pattern exists in the Atlantic, which scientists have now studied in more detail. Their results contribute to a better understanding of this climate fluctuation and pose a challenge for prediction models.
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Researchers discover new inhibitor drug combination for rare form of cancer
Researchers took the novel approach of targeting specific cell proteins that control DNA information using inhibitors, or drugs, that were effective in reducing the growth of the Waldenström macroglobulinemia cancer cells and when combined with a third drug were even more successful in killing the WM cancer cells which could lead to more treatment options.
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Breathing easier with a better tracheal stent
New research is poised to drastically improve the use of tracheal stents for children with airway obstruction. Researchers demonstrate for the first time the successful use of a completely biodegradable magnesium-alloy tracheal stent that safely degrades and does not require removal.
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RNA's mysterious folding process
Using data from RNA-folding experiments, the researchers generated the first-ever data-driven movies of how RNA folds as it is made by cellular machinery. By watching their videos of this folding occur, the researchers discovered that RNA often folds in surprising, perhaps unintuitive ways, such as tying itself into knots.
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Controlling chemical catalysts with sculpted light
Using state-of-the-art fabrication and imaging, researchers watched the consequences of adding sculpted light to a catalyst during a chemical transformation. This work could inform more efficient -- and potentially new -- forms of catalysis.
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Increased risk of Parkinson's disease in patients with schizophrenia
A new study shows that patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder have an increased risk of Parkinson's disease later in life. The increased risk may be due to alterations in the brain's dopamine system caused by dopamine receptor antagonists or neurobiological effects of schizophrenia.
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Helium nuclei at the surface of heavy nuclei discovered
Scientists are able to selectively knockout nucleons and preformed nuclear clusters from atomic nuclei using high-energy proton beams. In an experiment the existence of preformed helium nuclei at the surface of several tin isotopes could be identified in a reaction. The results confirm a theory, which predicts the formation of helium clusters in low-density nuclear matter and at the surface of heavy nuclei.
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Scientists uncover new path toward treating a rare but deadly neurologic condition
Molybdenum cofactor (Moco) is a compound that is little known but is essential for life. Children born without the ability to synthesize Moco die young. It has not been possible to create Moco supplements because the compound is so unstable. Studies in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans suggest that by combining, Moco with certain proteins, it becomes stable and can repair deficiency.
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Research breaks new ground in understanding how a molecular motor generates force
A team of biophysicists set out to tackle the long-standing question about the nature of force generation by myosin, the molecular motor responsible for muscle contraction. The key question they addressed - one of the most controversial topics in the field - was: how does myosin convert chemical energy, in the form of ATP, into mechanical work? The answer revealed new details into how myosin, the engine of muscle and related motor proteins, transduces energy.
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Researchers trace geologic origins of Gulf of Mexico 'super basin' success
The Gulf of Mexico holds huge untapped offshore oil deposits that could help power the U.S. for decades. According to researchers, the basin's vast oil and gas reserves are the result of a remarkable geologic past. Only a fraction of the oil has been extracted and much remains buried beneath ancient salt layers, just recently illuminated by modern seismic imaging.
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Mapping our sun's backyard
Astronomers have curated the most complete list of nearby brown dwarfs to date thanks to discoveries made by thousands of volunteers participating in the Backyard Worlds citizen science project. The list and 3D map of 525 brown dwarfs -- including 38 reported for the first time -- incorporate observations from a host of astronomical instruments including several NOIRLab facilities. The results confirm that the Sun's neighborhood appears surprisingly diverse relative to other parts of the Milky W
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Measuring the belowground world
Life above ground depends on the soil and its countless inhabitants. Yet, global strategies to protect biodiversity have so far paid little attention to this habitat. Researchers call for greater consideration of soils in international biodiversity strategies, far beyond agriculture. The researchers explain their plan for systematic recording to enable comprehensive policy advisory.
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Metformin use reduces risk of death for patients with COVID-19 and diabetes, study finds
Use of the diabetes drug metformin -- before a diagnosis of COVID-19 -- is associated with a threefold decrease in mortality in COVID-19 patients with Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. Diabetes is a significant comorbidity for COVID-19. This beneficial effect remained, even after correcting for age, sex, race, obesity, and hypertension or chronic kidney disease and heart failure.
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Teeth pendants speak of the elk's prominent status in the Stone Age
The elk was the most important animal to the people inhabiting the northern coniferous belt, with its incisors being perhaps the most coveted part of the body. Incisors were turned into pendants, which were attached using strings made of fibre or sinew. The manufacturing techniques of the thousands of elk tooth pendants discovered in the graves of hunter-gatherers who lived approximately 8,200 years ago depict a homogeneous culture and strict rules.
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New method makes better predictions of material properties using low quality data
By combining large amounts of low-fidelity data with smaller quantities of high-fidelity data, nanoengineers have developed a new machine learning method to predict the properties of materials with more accuracy than existing models. Crucially, their approach is also the first to predict the properties of disordered materials -- those with atomic sites that can be occupied by more than one element, or can be vacant.
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How plants produce defensive toxins without harming themselves
Scientists describe the biosynthesis and exact mode of action of diterpene glycosides in wild tobacco. These antiherbivory compounds attack the cell membrane. To protect themselves from their own toxins, tobacco plants store them in a non-toxic form. Autotoxicity and the protection against it seem to play a greater role in the evolution of plant defenses than previously thought.
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Galaxies hit single, doubles, and triple (growing black holes)
When three galaxies collide, what happens to the huge black holes at the centers of each? A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other telescopes reveals new information about how many black holes are furiously growing after these galactic smash ups.
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Population density and virus strains will affect how regions can resume normal life
As a new, apparently more transmissible version of the virus that causes COVID-19 has appeared in several countries, new research finds that the transmissibility of viral strains and the population density of a region will play big roles in how vaccination campaigns can help towns and cities return to more normal activities. The findings suggest that directing vaccines toward densely populated counties would help to interrupt transmission of the disease.
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Physical virology shows the dynamics of virus reproduction
The reproductive cycle of viruses requires self-assembly, maturation of virus particles and, after infection, the release of genetic material into a host cell. New physics-based technologies allow scientists to study the dynamics of this cycle and may eventually lead to new treatments.
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Micro-climate molds and reshapes northern insect communities, herbivory and predation
Climate and changes in it have direct impacts on species of plant and animals - but climate may also shape more complex biological systems like food webs. Now a research group has investigated how micro-climate shapes each level of the ecosystem, from species' abundances in predator communities to parasitism rates in key herbivores, and ultimately to damage suffered by plants. The results reveal how climate change may drastically reshape northern ecosystems.
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Scientists discover electric eels hunting in a group
Deep in the Brazilian Amazon River basin, scientists discovered a small, river-fed lake filled with more than 100 adult electric eels. Researchers witnessed the electric eels working together to herd small fish into tightly packed balls. Groups of up to 10 eels periodically split off to form cooperative hunting parties. Those smaller groups then surrounded the prey and launched simultaneous electric attacks. The findings overturn the idea that these serpentine fish are exclusively solitary preda
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Lead poisoning of children
A remediation and public education effort at an abandoned battery recycling facility in Bangladesh eliminated most lead soil contamination, but levels of the toxic metal in children living near the site did not decrease nearly as much. The discrepancy reveals the scope of other lead exposure sources and the challenge they present to public health.
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Physical frailty syndrome: A cacophony of multisystem dysfunction
Aging experts synthesize converging evidence that the aging-related pathophysiology underpinning the clinical presentation of phenotypic frailty is a state of lower functioning due to severe dysregulation of the complex dynamics in our bodies that maintains health and resilience. When severity passes a threshold, the clinical syndrome and its phenotype are diagnosable. This paper summarizes evidence meeting criteria for physical frailty as a product of complex system dysregulation distinct from
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A rift in the retina may help repair the optic nerve
In experiments in mouse tissues and human cells, researchers say they have found that removing a membrane that lines the back of the eye may improve the success rate for regrowing nerve cells damaged by blinding diseases.
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New state of matter in one-dimensional quantum gas
By adding some magnetic flair to an exotic quantum experiment, physicists produced an ultra-stable one-dimensional quantum gas with never-before-seen 'scar' states - a feature that could someday be useful for securing quantum information.
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