Indian business owners from the stigmatized Dalit group experience a business income gap of around 16% compared to others

An archaeological strategy adapted for space used daily photos to reveal how astronauts actually use areas aboard the International Space Station – and how this differs from intended uses. Justin Walsh of Chapman University, California, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on August 7, 2024. More than 270 people from 23 countries have visited the International Space Station (ISS) over more than two decades. Crew member interviews can reveal how people adapt to a novel environment—one featuring isolation, confinement, and microgravity—that is far removed ...

Researchers have developed an inexpensive bandage that uses an electric field to promote healing in chronic wounds. In animal testing, wounds that were treated with these electric bandages healed 30% faster than wounds treated with conventional bandages. Chronic wounds are open wounds that heal slowly, if they heal at all. For example, sores that occur in some patients with diabetes are chronic wounds. These wounds are particularly problematic because they often recur after treatment and significantly increase the risk of amputation and death. One of the challenges associated ...

A new study published in Science Advances reveals how early mammals grew and developed during their pivotal Jurassic radiation. Using a technique called synchrotron X-ray tomography to image growth rings in fossilised tooth roots, the researchers were able to estimate lifespans, growth rates, and even the timing of sexual maturity in these ancient creatures.  “This is the first time we've been able to reconstruct the growth patterns of these early mammals in such detail,” said Dr Elis Newham, a Postdoctoral Research Associate ...

By Leah Shaffer Researchers at Wash U have spent the better part of the decade studying the ins and outs of how locusts smell, including how odors affect the insect’s behavior. In research recently published in eLife, Barani Raman, a professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, starts to map out just how olfactory circuits are altered in driving different behavior in locusts. Neuromodulator serotonin is a key factor in triggering how locusts can go from being a “loner” to “gregarious” — otherwise known as swarming ...

Immunotherapy pioneer Dr. Antoni Ribas, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the tumor immunology program at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been inducted into the 2024 Class of Fellows of the Academy of Immuno-Oncology by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. The recognition is one of the highest honors bestowed by the society and is given to scientists who have made seminal contributions in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Ribas, an internationally renowned physician-scientist, has dedicated his career to improving the lives of people with cancer worldwide. His discoveries have led to the development of ...

URBANA, Ill. -- Digital technologies on the farm improve efficiency, productivity, and profits, but few farmers are taking full advantage of available tools. According to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers, communication channels play an important role in farmers’ decision-making process around technology adoption. A new study in the journal Agriculture looks at how traditional media, social media, and interpersonal meetings influence soybean farmers in the U.S. and Brazil, both world leaders in soybean production. “Like everyone ...

An interdisciplinary team of scholars have received a $2.43 million dollar grant from the John Templeton Foundation to create a “Southern California Quantum Foundations Hub” at Chapman University. This unique collaboration includes theoretical physicists, experimental physicists and philosophers, who will apply the methods of their respective disciplines to provide deeper insights into the nature of reality that quantum theory is silent about. The Templeton Foundation has identified the area of quantum foundations ...

A new study published in Nature Communications by researchers from the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome (Crnic Institute) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reports a significant breakthrough. The research, part of the ongoing Crnic Institute Human Trisome Project, identifies distinct molecular and immune subtypes across individuals with Down syndrome, offering new insights that could lead to personalized medicine approaches for the clinical management of this condition. The Crnic Institute team analyzed the expression of genes encoded on chromosome 21, which is triplicated in those ...

ROCKVILLE, MD – Karen Fleming has been elected President-elect of the Biophysical Society (BPS). She will assume the office of President-elect at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, California and begin her term as President during the 2026 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California.  Fleming is a Professor of Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame before going on to achieve a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Georgetown University Medical Center. In addition to her commitment to research, Fleming has dedicated significant time ...

Pain management is an important component of caring for adults with cerebral palsy.  However, it's the least understood comorbidity in the adult cerebral palsy population.  A study led by Mark Peterson, Ph.D., M.S., FACSM, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at University of Michigan Health, found that adults living with cerebral palsy had a very high occurrence of pain, with 90% having a pain history and 74% having multiple diagnoses of pain coming from different origins such as the lower back, irritable bowels, joint arthritis and chronic ...