(Press-News.org) BROOKLYN, New York, Weekday, Month xx, 2021 - The remarkable structural properties of the Venus' flower basket sponge (E. aspergillum) might seem fathoms removed from human-engineered structures. However, insights into how the organism's latticework of holes and ridges influences the hydrodynamics of seawater in its vicinity could lead to advanced designs for buildings, bridges, marine vehicles and aircraft, and anything that must respond safely to forces imposed by the flow of air or water.
While past research has investigated the structure of the sponge, there have been few studies of the hydrodynamic fields surrounding and penetrating the organism, and whether, besides improving its mechanical properties, the skeletal motifs of E. Aspergillum underlie the optimization of the flow physics within and beyond its body cavity.
A collaboration across three continents at the frontiers of physics, biology, and engineering co-led by END
How a unique sponge 'goes with the flow' could improve man-made structures
Collaborative project taps one of the world's most powerful supercomputers to reveal the water-bending skills of the Venus basket sponge. Insights could have implications for man-made craft and structures
2021-07-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Team streamlines neural networks to be more adept at computing on encrypted data
2021-07-21
BROOKLYN, New York, Wednesday, July 21, 2021 - This week, at the 38th International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 21), researchers at the END ...
Dynamic heart model mimics hemodynamic loads, advances engineered heart tissue technology
2021-07-21
Efforts to understand cardiac disease progression and develop therapeutic tissues that can repair the human heart are just a few areas of focus for the Feinberg research group at Carnegie Mellon University. The group's latest dynamic model, created in partnership with collaborators in the Netherlands, mimics physiologic loads on engineering heart muscle tissues, yielding an unprecedented view of how genetics and mechanical forces contribute to heart muscle function.
"Our lab has been working for a long time on engineering and building human heart muscle tissue, so we can better ...
Researchers find immune component to rare neurodegenerative disease
2021-07-21
UT Southwestern researchers have identified an immune protein tied to the rare neurodegenerative condition known as Niemann-Pick disease type C. The END ...
New study confirms relationship between toxic pollution, climate risks to human health
2021-07-21
For more than 30 years, scientists on the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have focused on human-induced climate change. Their fifth assessment report led to the Paris Agreement in 2015 and, shortly after, a special report on the danger of global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Nobel Prize-winning team stressed that mitigating global warming "would make it markedly easier to achieve many aspects of sustainable development, with greater potential to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities."
In a first-of-its-kind study that combines assessments of the risks of toxic emissions (e.g., fine particulate matter), ...
Exoskeletons have a problem: They can strain the brain
2021-07-21
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Exoskeletons - wearable devices used by workers on assembly lines or in warehouses to alleviate stress on their lower backs - may compete with valuable resources in the brain while people work, canceling out the physical benefits of wearing them, a new study suggests.
The study, published recently in the journal Applied Ergonomics, found that when people wore exoskeletons while performing tasks that required them to think about their actions, their brains worked overtime and their bodies competed with the exoskeletons rather than working in harmony with them. The study indicates that exoskeletons may place enough burden on the brain that potential benefits to the body are negated.
"It's almost like dancing with a really bad partner," said ...
New approach eradicates breast cancer in mice
2021-07-21
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A new approach to treating breast cancer kills 95-100% of cancer cells in mouse models of human estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers and their metastases in bone, brain, liver and lungs. The newly developed drug, called ErSO, quickly shrinks even large tumors to undetectable levels.
Led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the research team reports the findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
"Even when a few breast cancer cells do survive, enabling tumors to regrow over several months, the tumors that regrow remain completely ...
Study finds calcium precisely directs blood flow in the brain
2021-07-21
Unlike the rest of the body, there is not enough real estate in the brain for stored energy. Instead, the brain relies on the hundreds of miles of blood vessels within it to supply fresh energy via the blood. Yet, how the brain expresses a need for more energy during increased activity and then directs its blood supply to specific hot spots was, until now, poorly understood.
Now, University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Vermont researchers have shown how the brain communicates to blood vessels when in need of energy, and how these blood vessels respond by relaxing or constricting to direct blood flow to specific brain regions.
In their new paper, published on July 21 in Science Advances, ...
Powerline failures and wind speeds are strongest drivers of land area burned by Santa Ana wind fires
2021-07-21
Every year, Santa Ana Winds drive some of the largest wildfires in Southern California during autumn and winter, and a new analysis of 71 years of data suggests that the total amount of land burned is determined more by wind speed and power line ignitions than by temperature and precipitation. The findings suggest that maintaining utility lines and carefully planning urban growth to reduce powerline ignitions may help to reduce future losses from Santa Ana-driven autumn and winter fires, which occur far less frequently than summer fires but account for the largest blazes annually. While California's summer fires are typically driven by an abundance of fuels such as dry twigs and logs, and are often ignited by lightning in remote areas, the state's autumn and winter fires are typically ...
New algorithm flies drones faster than human racing pilots
2021-07-21
To be useful, drones need to be quick. Because of their limited battery life they must complete whatever task they have - searching for survivors on a disaster site, inspecting a building, delivering cargo - in the shortest possible time. And they may have to do it by going through a series of waypoints like windows, rooms, or specific locations to inspect, adopting the best trajectory and the right acceleration or deceleration at each segment.
Algorithm outperforms professional pilots
The best human drone pilots are very good at doing this and have so far always outperformed autonomous systems in drone racing. Now, a research group at the University of Zurich (UZH) has created an algorithm that can find the quickest ...
Study finds lifting advice doesn't stand up for everyone
2021-07-21
Commonly accepted advice to keep a straight back and squat while lifting in order to avoid back pain has been challenged by new Curtin University research.
The research examined people who had regularly performed manual lifting through their occupation for more than five years and found those who experienced low back pain as a result were more likely to use the recommended technique of squatting and keeping a straight back, while those without back pain tended not to adhere to the recommended lifting advice.
Lead researcher PhD candidate Nic Saraceni from the Curtin School of Allied Health said the study required participants to each perform 100 lifts using two differently weighted boxes, with researchers ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Study finds link between colorblindness and death from bladder cancer
Tailored treatment approach shows promise for reducing suicide and self-harm risk in teens and young adults
Call for papers: AI in biochar research for sustainable land ecosystems
Methane eating microbes turn a powerful greenhouse gas into green plastics, feed, and fuel
Hidden nitrogen in China’s rice paddies could cut fertilizer use
Texas A&M researchers expose hidden risks of firefighter gear in an effort to improve safety and performance
Wood burning in homes drives dangerous air pollution in winter
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: January 23, 2026
ISSCR statement in response to new NIH policy on research using human fetal tissue (Notice NOT-OD-26-028)
Biologists and engineers follow goopy clues to plant-wilting bacteria
What do rats remember? IU research pushes the boundaries on what animal models can tell us about human memory
Frontiers Science House: did you miss it? Fresh stories from Davos – end of week wrap
Watching forests grow from space
New grounded theory reveals why hybrid delivery systems work the way they do
CDI scientist joins NIH group to improve post-stem cell transplant patient evaluation
Uncovering cancer's hidden oncRNA signatures: From discovery to liquid biopsy
Multiple maternal chronic conditions and risk of severe neonatal morbidity and mortality
Interactive virtual assistant for health promotion among older adults with type 2 diabetes
Ion accumulation in liquid–liquid phase separation regulates biomolecule localization
Hemispheric asymmetry in the genetic overlap between schizophrenia and white matter microstructure
Research Article | Evaluation of ten satellite-based and reanalysis precipitation datasets on a daily basis for Czechia (2001–2021)
Nano-immunotherapy synergizing ferroptosis and STING activation in metastatic bladder cancer
Insilico Medicine receives IND approval from FDA for ISM8969, an AI-empowered potential best-in-class NLRP3 inhibitor
Combined aerobic-resistance exercise: Dual efficacy and efficiency for hepatic steatosis
Expert consensus outlines a standardized framework to evaluate clinical large language models
Bioengineered tissue as a revolutionary treatment for secondary lymphedema
Forty years of tracking trees reveals how global change is impacting Amazon and Andean Forest diversity
Breathing disruptions during sleep widespread in newborns with severe spina bifida
Whales may divide resources to co-exist under pressures from climate change
Why wetland restoration needs citizens on the ground
[Press-News.org] How a unique sponge 'goes with the flow' could improve man-made structuresCollaborative project taps one of the world's most powerful supercomputers to reveal the water-bending skills of the Venus basket sponge. Insights could have implications for man-made craft and structures