The California rush hour is spreading and easing with reduced peak congestion following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from 3,500 traffic sensors

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed small robotic devices that can change how they move through the air by "snapping" into a folded position during their descent. When these "microfliers" are dropped from a drone, they use a Miura-ori origami fold to switch from tumbling and dispersing outward through the air to dropping straight to the ground. To spread out the fliers, the researchers control the timing of each device's transition using a few methods: an onboard pressure ...

In a survey of cat owners, those who fed their cats vegan diets tended to report better health outcomes for their pets than those who provided meat-based diets, though the differences were not statistically significant. Andrew Knight of the University of Winchester, UK, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on September 13. Many pet foods contain cooked meat as the primary protein source, but a growing number of available products use alternative protein sources, such as plants or fungi. Some veterinary professionals ...

In a study involving several wolves and dogs, both animals performed better at finding hidden food if they had observed the food being hidden by a person—suggesting that they remembered where the food was, and did not rely solely on scent to find it. Sebastian Vetter of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on September 13. Many species transmit important information through social learning, where one individual learns by observing ...

A trained detection dog found sea turtle nests in Florida more accurately and efficiently than humans, indicating potential for dog-assisted nest monitoring ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290740 Article Title: Use of a scent-detection dog for sea turtle nest monitoring of three sea turtle species in Florida Author Countries: USA Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

A new study updates the planetary boundary framework and shows human activities are increasingly impacting the planet and, thereby, increasing the risk of triggering dramatic changes in overall Earth conditions. For over 3 billion years, the interaction between life (represented by the planetary boundary, Biosphere Integrity) and climate have controlled the overall environmental conditions on Earth. Human activities, for example replacing nature with other land uses, changing the amount of water in rivers and in soil, the introduction of synthetic chemicals to the open environment, and the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere ...

University of Liverpool researchers have secured £2.66m Medical Research Council funding to clinically test a novel immunotherapeutic strategy for non-small cell lung cancer – one of the most deadly cancers. Professor Christian Ottensmeier, and Professor Natalia Savelyeva from the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology are collaborating with industry partner Genomics England and working closely with Touchlight Genetics Ltd to develop a vaccine therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have not had sufficient benefit from standard immunotherapy. Non-small ...

A new study finds that a natural compound found in many plants inhibits the growth of drug-resistant Candida fungi — including its most virulent species, Candida auris, an emerging global health threat. The journal ACS Infectious Diseases published the discovery led by scientists at Emory University. Laboratory-dish experiments showed that the natural compound, a water-soluble tannin known as PGG, blocks 90% of the growth in four different species of Candida fungi. The researchers also discovered how PGG inhibits the growth: It grabs up iron molecules, essentially starving the fungi of an essential nutrient.   By starving the fungi rather than attacking ...

The vertebral bones that form the spine are derived from a distinct type of stem cell that secretes a protein favoring tumor metastases, according to a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The discovery opens up a new line of research on spinal disorders, helps explain why solid tumors so often spread to the spine, and could lead to new orthopedic and cancer treatments. In the study, published Sept. 13 in Nature, the researchers discovered that vertebral bone is derived from ...

“This study provides evidence that supports the belief of researchers and advocates that national policies protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people have an impact on individual development,” University of Delaware Assistant Professor Eric K. Layland said. “For LGB people, many of these identity and social milestones occur during the critical developmental period of adolescence. Results of this study add to other research showing protective policy can benefit LGB health by ...

Unruptured cerebral aneurysms of sizes and locations that require attention may be frequently missed in routine clinical care, but a machine learning algorithm could minimize missed care opportunities, according to a new study from UTHealth Houston. The research, published today in Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology, was led by senior author Sunil A. Sheth, MD, associate professor in the Department of Neurology with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, as well as co-first authors Hyun Woo Kim, MD, vascular and interventional neurology fellow at UTHealth Houston, and ...