Though prescribed burns reduce wildfire threats and even improve habitat for some animals, new research shows these fires also spread stinknet, an aptly named weed currently invading superblooms across the Southwestern U.S.  Stinknet, also called globe chamomile, is native to South Africa, but is commonly seen in photos of California’s colorful superblooms. “Not all flowering plants are indicative of a healthy ecosystem,” said Loralee Larios, UC Riverside assistant botany professor and study co-author. “This one isn’t.” In addition ...

A joint investigation published today by The BMJ and The Guardian finds that NHS trusts recorded more than 35,000 cases of rape, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and abusive remarks, between 2017 and 2022. The findings, which show that NHS trusts are failing to protect staff and patients, have led to calls for an independent inquiry. The data, based on responses to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from 212 NHS trusts and 37 police forces in England, show that a total of 35,606 sexual safety incidents were recorded ...

Argonne supports students’ ongoing engagement with the lab and scientific research by helping them secure a graduate fellowship. Three students who have completed their participation in the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships Program at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory were accepted into the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Their achievements highlight the important role Argonne plays in students’ continued engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (science, technology, ...

On May 21, 2023, scientists at University of California San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute launched several new nanobioreactor experiments onto the International Space Station (ISS) via the second Axiom Space Private Astronaut Mission, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2). The latest experiments expand their research on human stem cell aging, inflammation and cancer in low Earth orbit. Increasing evidence shows that microgravity conditions can accelerate aging, inflammation and immune dysfunction in human stem cells. Understanding this process is not only helpful for keeping astronauts healthy — it could also teach us how to better treat ...

Regular diagnostic testing and self-isolation can be more effective than school and business closures when it comes to combating infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, according to a new study by University of Wyoming researchers. The findings appear today (Monday) in Scientific Reports, an online, open access journal from the publishers of Nature. UW Department of Economics faculty members Stephen Newbold, David Finnoff, Jason Shogren and Linda Thunstrom, along with recent Ph.D. graduate Madison Ashworth, developed an epidemiological and economic model to compare the effectiveness of physical distancing mandates with policies encouraging regular testing and ...

A new analysis led by a University of Wyoming researcher shows that brackish or salty groundwater has the potential to replace fresh water to cool coal- and natural gas-fired power plants and strengthen resilience in the energy infrastructure, although there’s a cost associated with doing so. With freshwater supplies threatened due to drought, climate change and rapid socioeconomic growth, water competition is increasing between the electric power sector and other sectors. While transitioning to a low-carbon energy future, decarbonization of fossil fuel-fired power plants by carbon capture and storage would significantly ...

Analysis of over 30 years of data has shown the number of cases of low back pain is growing, with modelling suggesting by 2050, 843 million people will be affected by the condition largely due to population increases and ageing of populations. The continued lack of a consistent approach on back pain treatment, and limited treatment options have researchers concerned that this will lead to a healthcare crisis, as low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world. In Australia, there will be a nearly 50 percent increase ...

19% of respondents to a survey of academics report that they or someone they know have witnessed unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) — observations of the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or as known natural phenomena — and 37% report some degree of interest in conducting research into UAP. The findings, which are based on a survey of 1,460 US academics, are published in Humanities and Social Science Communications and highlight that many academics consider the evaluation of UAP to be worthy of academic scrutiny. Marissa Yingling, Charlton Yingling and Bethany Bell surveyed professors, ...

Rising material prices, labour shortages, interest rate hikes and rainy weather have created a perfect storm for the construction industry in the past 12 months, sending many builders to the wall. Of all these factors, weather is the one that most people would cite as being beyond human control. However, a new study out of the UK and Australia suggests this may not be the case. Engineers from Aston University, Birmingham, and the University of South Australia (UniSA) have calculated the potential cost savings for ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 23, 2023) — With children more plugged in to social media than ever before, a wave of new image editing apps and filters along with trends related to appearance have parents concerned about damage to body image. According to a new national survey conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of The On Our Sleeves Movement For Children’s Mental Health, 69% of parents of children younger than 18 think social media image editing apps and filters have a negative influence on their child(ren)’s body image. In ...

Support among military veterans for extremist groups and extremist ideals appears similar to or less than levels seen among the U.S. public in general, despite fears that it could be higher, according to a new RAND Corporation report.   Surveying a nationally representative group of military veterans, researchers found that support for extremist groups such the Proud Boys and Antifa was generally lower than rates derived from previous representative surveys of the general U.S. population.   Assessing support among veterans for extremist beliefs, researchers found results that were more mixed. Support for QAnon was lower than the public at large, while support for political ...

Cryptocurrency transactions may be costing more than just transaction fees. The electricity used for these transactions is more than what some countries, like Argentina and Australia, use in an entire year. Published estimates of the total global electricity usage for cryptocurrency assets such as Bitcoin are between 120 and 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year, according to the White House Office of Science and Technology. The United States leads these numbers. Finance and business experts have debated the ramifications of cryptocurrency and mining, but ...

Weill Cornell Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $11.6 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health to study the effects cannabis, including marijuana and compounds derived from it, may have on the brains of those living with HIV.  “We know that the virus may cause changes within the brain, but it’s not clear yet how the use of cannabis might interact with the infection,” said principal investigator Dr. Lishomwa Ndhlovu, a professor of immunology in medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Weill Cornell Medicine.  Cannabis ...

A team of researchers at Duke University and their collaborators have uncovered the atomic mechanisms that make a class of compounds called argyrodites attractive candidates for both solid-state battery electrolytes and thermoelectric energy converters. The discoveries—and the machine learning approach used to make them—could help usher in a new era of energy storage for applications such as household battery walls and fast-charging electric vehicles. The results appeared online May 18 in the journal Nature Materials. “This is a puzzle that has not been cracked before because of how big and complex each building block of the material is,” said Olivier ...

Sacramento, California – The Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Society is grateful to announce that California has declared May 17th as NEC Awareness Day with ACR 69. This resolution reflects the tireless dedication and advocacy by the NEC Society, its founder, Jennifer Canvasser (Davis, CA), and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who represents the 4th California Assembly District. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating intestinal disease that affects medically fragile infants in their first ...

Fertilized chicken eggs can be sexed by “sniffing” volatile chemicals emitted through the shell, according to new work by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Sensit Ventures Inc., a startup company in Davis. The work is published May 22 in PLOS ONE.  The study shows that it is feasible to sort eggs by sex, early in incubation, based on volatile organic chemicals, said Professor Cristina Davis, associate vice chancellor for interdisciplinary research and strategic initiatives at UC Davis and co-author on the paper.  Hatcheries for laying hens sort chicks by sex a day after hatching, with male chicks being culled immediately. If hatcheries ...

People giving birth report more positive experiences when cared for by midwives in both hospitals and in community settings than by physicians, according to a new study published in the journal Reproductive Health. Additionally, those receiving midwifery care at home or at birth centers reported better experiences than those in hospital settings. The majority of U.S. births (88%) are attended by physicians, while midwives attend 12% of births. Most births occur in the hospital, with less than 2% of all births occurring in community settings, including homes and freestanding birth centers. Most community births are attended by midwives. Measures of ...

In the U.S. military, the use of sensors can make the difference between life or death and success or failure on the battlefield. In everyday life, sensors perform indispensable roles in our health, safety and security. Optoelectronic sensors — those that use the physics of light particles to interact with electrons to produce a beautiful TV picture, allow a soldier to see at night or detect invisible radiation — rely on semiconductor materials to operate. The quest for optoelectronics with improved performance and new ...

Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health disorders in the United States, but more than half of people struggling with the conditions are not diagnosed and treated. Hoping to find simple ways to detect such disorders, mental health professionals are considering the role of popular wearable fitness monitors in providing data that could alert wearers to potential health risks. While the long-term feasibility of detecting such disorders with wearable technology is an open question in a large and diverse population, a team of researchers ...

Forward markets—over-the-counter marketplaces that set the price of a financial instrument or asset—are used to trade a variety of instruments, including securities and commodities. In a new study, researchers measured the extent to which forward prices and spot prices (the current market price at which a given asset can be bought or sold for immediate delivery) agreed in markets with transaction costs in California, studying time periods before and after the state introduced financial trading ...

Researchers from Newcastle Business School, The University of Newcastle, and UNSW Business School, University of New South Wales, published a new paper in the Journal of Consumer Psychology that provides a comprehensive review of consumer research journals from both marketing and non-marketing disciplines. By identifying gaps in the literature, the paper offers guidance for those seeking to further progress consumer research. The article, recently published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, “’Inside’ ...

Researchers from, Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, Harvard University’s Harvard Business School, and University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, published a new paper in the Journal of Consumer Psychology that provides novel insights about how consumers make trade-offs between experience quality and togetherness. The paper offers sheds new light on the choices people make when presented with the option of improving an activity separately (with first-class airline tickets, for ...

Researchers from Fudan University’s School of Management published a new paper in the Journal of Consumer Psychology that provides original insights about the impact different types of feedback consumers have on consumers’ psychological state. Specifically, the research examines “piecemeal” feedback informing consumers of their progress or performance during each step of an online process such as making a purchase, playing a computer game, or customizing a product. The work compares intermittent feedback with “lump sum” feedback offered at the end of a ...

Illustrations of scientific experiments play a fundamental role in both science education and the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the general public. Confirming the adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” these depictions of famous experiments remain in the minds of those who study them and become definitive versions of the scientific process. Archimedes in the bath discovering the law of buoyancy; Newton refracting sunlight with a prism and defining the principles of modern optics; Mendel cultivating peas and laying the foundations of genetics – these are just a few well-known ...

  ATS 2023, Washington, DC – For children with asthma residing in urban areas, the neighborhood they live in is a stronger predictor of whether they will have exacerbations (asthma attacks) than their family’s income or their parents’ level of educational attainment, according to research published at the ATS 2023 International Conference.   “Research has shown that social determinants of health underlie significant health disparities among children with asthma,” said the study’s corresponding author Emily Skeen, MD, pediatric pulmonary fellow, University of Colorado at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora. ...