ScienceDaily: Top News


New CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 uses a smartphone camera

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 12:54 PM PST

In a new study, a team of researchers outlines the technology for a CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 that uses a smartphone camera to provide accurate results in under 30 minutes.

The climate changed rapidly alongside sea ice decline in the north

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 10:13 AM PST

Researchers have shown that abrupt climate change occurred as a result of widespread decrease of sea ice. This scientific breakthrough concludes a long-lasting debate on the mechanisms causing abrupt climate change during the glacial period. It also documents that the cause of the swiftness and extent of sudden climate change must be found in the oceans.

Researchers urge priority vaccination for individuals with diabetes

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 10:13 AM PST

Researchers have discovered individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes infected with COVID-19 are three times more likely to have a severe illness or require hospitalization compared with people without diabetes.

Researchers define immune system's requirements for protection against COVID-19

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 10:13 AM PST

Researchers shed light on the role of antibodies and immune cells in protection against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in rhesus macaques.

Protein storytelling to address the pandemic

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 10:13 AM PST

Computer molecular physics has contributed to the understanding of protein behavior by creating 3D models of molecular machines and setting them in motion. Researchers at Stony Brook University are using the Frontera supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center to make structure predictions for 19 proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus about which little is known. Their team uses a method they developed, called MELD, that accelerates the structure prediction process by orders of magnitude.

COVID-19 pandemic responsible for decrease in hepatitis C testing

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 10:13 AM PST

New research finds that the COVID-19 emergency systemic changes made to decrease in-person visits during the pandemic have led to a decrease in hospital-wide Hepatitis C (HCV) testing by 50 percent, and a reduction in new HCV diagnoses by more than 60 percent.

Research confirms crucial monitoring assessment is effective for patients with COVID-19

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

New research shows that an assessment score used to measure a patient's severity of illness can be applied to patients with COVID-19 without modification.

Findings about cilia on cells of the vessel wall may be relevant for diabetes treatment

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

A new study shows that primary cilia, hair-like protrusions on endothelial cells inside vessels, play an important role in the blood supply and delivery of glucose to the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreatic islets. The findings may be relevant for transplantation therapies in diabetes, as formation of functional blood vessels is important for the treatment to be successful.

Biological diversity evokes happiness

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

A high biodiversity in our vicinity is as important for life satisfaction as our income, scientists found. All across Europe, the individual enjoyment of life correlates with the number of surrounding bird species. An additional 10% of bird species therefore increases the Europeans' life satisfaction as much as a comparable increase in income. Nature conservation thus constitutes an investment in human well-being.

Detecting solar neutrinos with the Borexino experiment

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

New research documents the attempts of the Borexino experiment to measure low-energy neutrinos from the sun's carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) cycle for the first time.

Hidden network of enzymes accounts for loss of brain synapses in Alzheimer's

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

A new study on Alzheimer's disease has revealed a previously unknown biochemical cascade in the brain that leads to the destruction of synapses, the connections between nerve cells that are responsible for memory and cognition.

Electrical spin filtering the key to ultra-fast, energy-efficient spintronics

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

A new study is a step towards even-faster, more energy-efficient 'spintronic' technology - an exciting, beyond-CMOS technology. The new study applies 'spin-filtering' to separate spin orientation, allowing generation and detection of spin via electrical (rather than magnetic) means, because electric fields are a lot less energetically costly to generate than magnetic fields.

Baby's first breath triggers life-saving changes in the brain

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

A new discovery reveals how something amazing happens when a baby takes a first breath. The finding could shed light on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Gestational age linked to ADHD in children with Down syndrome

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:02 AM PST

A new study finds a connection between gestational age and ADHD in children with Down syndrome. An earlier gestational age is linked to higher ADHD symptoms later in childhood.

Characterizing complex flows in 2D bubble swarms

Posted: 04 Dec 2020 08:01 AM PST

Research shows that in 2D simulated fluids, upward-flowing swarms of bubbles, a mathematical relationship describing the nature of flows in their wake, previously thought to be universal, actually changes within larger-scale flows in less viscous fluids.

Drinking linked to a decline in brain health from cradle to grave

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 05:06 PM PST

The evidence for the harmful effects of alcohol on brain health is compelling, but now experts have pinpointed three key time periods in life when the effects of alcohol are likely to be at their greatest.

People with rare autoimmune diseases at increased risk of dying during COVID-19 pandemic

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 05:06 PM PST

A new study has shown that people with rare autoimmune rheumatic diseases are at a greater risk of dying at a younger age during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peanut treatment lowers risk of severe allergic reactions in preschoolers, study finds

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 02:34 PM PST

A new study demonstrates that exposing children to a small, regular dose of an allergen (in this case, peanuts) in a real-world setting (outside of a clinical trial) is effective in reducing the risk of allergic reactions.

Dark excitons hit the spotlight

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 11:42 AM PST

Heralding the end of a decade-long quest, in a promising new class of extremely thin, two-dimensional semiconductors, scientists have for the first time directly visualized and measured elusive particles, called dark excitons, that cannot be seen by light. The powerful technique, described in Science, could revolutionize research into two-dimensional semiconductors and excitons, with profound implications for future technological devices, from solar cells and LEDs to smartphones and lasers.

Outbreak investigation reveals 'super-spreader' potential of Andes virus

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 11:41 AM PST

'Super-spreader' events and extensive person-to-person contact propelled an outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in a small village in Argentina from 2018-2019, according to new research. An international scientific team reports the genetic, clinical, and epidemiologic features of the outbreak caused by the Andes virus, a member of the hantavirus family. Their analysis could aid in managing outbreaks of other viral diseases with similar transmission patterns, including COVID-19.

Can we make bones heal faster?

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 11:41 AM PST

A new article describes for the first time how minerals come together at the molecular level to form bones and other hard tissues, like teeth and enamel.

Genetically engineered T cells could lead to therapies for autoimmune diseases

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 11:41 AM PST

Immunobiologists have created a five-module chimeric antigen receptor T cell that is showing early potential to fight Type 1 diabetes.

A new view of how the brain decides to make an effort

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 10:39 AM PST

New research gives the first detailed view of ventral striatum activity during three phases of effort-based decision-making -- the anticipation of initiating an effort, the actual execution of the effort and the reward, or outcome, of the effort.

Gut microbiome snapshot could reveal chemical exposures in children

Posted: 03 Dec 2020 10:39 AM PST

Researchers have completed the most comprehensive study to date on how a class of persistent pollutants called semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are associated with the gut microbiome in human children. The results provide a potential mechanism for measuring exposure to a wide variety of these substances and suggests exposure to toxic halogenated compounds may create a niche for bacteria not usually found in the human gut.

Birth defects linked to greater risk of cancer in later life

Posted: 02 Dec 2020 04:27 PM PST

People born with major birth defects face a higher risk of cancer throughout life, although the relative risk is greatest in childhood and then declines, finds a new study.