Engineers at Duke University have devised a system for manipulating particles approaching the miniscule 2.5 nanometer diameter of DNA using sound-induced electric fields. Dubbed "acoustoelectronic nanotweezers," the approach provides a label-free, dynamically controllable method of moving and trapping nanoparticles over a large area. The technology holds promise for applications in the fields ranging from condensed matter physics to biomedicine. The research appears online on June 22 in Nature Communications. Precisely controlling nanoparticles is a crucial ...

Until recently, data on criminal victimization did not include information on the status--immigrant or citizen--of respondents. In a recent study, researchers used new data that include respondents' status to explore the association between citizenship status and risk of victimization. They found that for many, a person's foreign-born status, but not their acquired U.S. citizenship, protects against criminal victimization. The study, by researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) at College Park and the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), is forthcoming in Criminology, a publication of the American Society of Criminology. "Understanding how patterns of victimization vary ...

New Orleans, LA - An analysis conducted by a group of investigators including Tamara Bradford, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, found that children and adolescents with Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) initially treated with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) plus glucocorticoids had a lower risk of new or persistent cardiovascular dysfunction than IVIG alone. The research was part of the Overcoming COVID-19 Study, a nationwide collaboration of physicians at pediatric hospitals and the Centers for Disease ...

HOUSTON - (June 22, 2021) - We can't detect them yet, but radio signals from distant solar systems could provide valuable information about the characteristics of their planets. A paper by Rice University scientists describes a way to better determine which exoplanets are most likely to produce detectable signals based on magnetosphere activity on exoplanets' previously discounted nightsides. The study by Rice alumnus Anthony Sciola, who earned his Ph.D. this spring and was mentored by co-author and space plasma physicist Frank Toffoletto, shows that while radio emissions from the daysides of exoplanets appear to max out during high solar activity, those that emerge from the nightside are likely to add significantly to the signal. This interests the exoplanet ...

New research examined the effect of different parenting styles during adolescence on crime among African American men. The study found that parenting styles characterized by little behavioral control placed youth at significant risk for adult crime, even though some of those styles included high levels of nurturance. In contrast, youth whose parents monitored them, were consistent in their parenting, and had high levels of behavioral control were at lowest risk for adult crime. The study, by researchers at the University of Georgia and Mississippi State University, is forthcoming in Criminology, a publication of the American Society of Criminology. "We examined parenting styles rather than parenting ...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Sunday church service in Amish country is more than just belting out hymns, reading Bible passages and returning home an hour later to catch a football game or nap. It's an all-day affair: A host family welcomes church members - between 20 to 40 families - into their home to worship and have fellowship with one another from morning to night. Church is a biweekly activity; each gathering takes place in a member's home and is a key ritual in the Amish community which values in-person communication. New research from West Virginia University sociologists suggests this face-to-face interaction, coupled with a distrust ...

A new study by Penn State researchers, who looked at emergency room admissions across the U.S. over a recent five-year period in a novel way, suggests that the agriculture industry is even more dangerous than previously believed. The research revealed that from Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2019, more than 60,000 people were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal, agricultural-related injuries. Significantly, nearly a third of those injured were youths, according to study author Judd Michael, Nationwide Insurance Professor of Agricultural Safety and Health and professor of agricultural and biological engineering, College of Agricultural Sciences. "This study revealed the true magnitude of the agricultural-related injury problem," he said. "We were slightly ...

Interstate highway systems and networks of dense urban roads typically receive top billing on maps, in infrastructure legislation and in travelers' daily commuting routes. However, more than 80% of all US roads are considered low-volume roads - defined as those that carry fewer than 1000 vehicles per day. According to a new report published by the Ecological Society of America, "The Ecology of Rural Roads: Effects, Management and Research," this less-traveled road network can have an outsized impact on surrounding ecosystems, altering the local hydrology, affecting wildlife populations and shuttling ...

WASHINGTON--More than half of the structures in the contiguous United States are exposed to potentially devastating natural hazards--such as floods, tornadoes and wildfires--according to a new study in the AGU journal Earth's Future, which publishes interdisciplinary research on the past, present and future of our planet and its inhabitants. Increasing temperatures and environmental changes contribute to this trend, and the research also shines the light on another culprit: the way humans develop open land, towns and cities. "We know that climate ...

Large thunderstorms in the Southern Great Plains of the U.S. are some of the strongest on Earth. In recent years, these storms have increased in frequency and intensity, and new research shows that these shifts are linked to climate variability. Co-authored by Christopher Maupin, Courtney Schumacher and Brendan Roark, all scientists in Texas A&M University's College of Geosciences, along with other researchers, the findings were recently published in END ...

Managing type 2 diabetes typically involves losing weight, exercise and medication, but new research by Dr. Makoto Fukuda and colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine and other institutions suggests that there may be other ways to control the condition through the brain. The researchers have discovered a mechanism in a small area of the brain that regulates whole-body glucose balance without affecting body weight, which suggests the possibility that modulating the mechanism might help keep blood sugar levels in a healthy range. "A growing body of evidence strongly suggests that the brain is a promising yet unrealized ...

Philadelphia, June 22, 2021 - Vivid photos of the red "COVID arm" rash and reports of facial swelling in patients who have received dermatological fillers after Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccination for COVID-19 may increase patients' concerns about mRNA vaccine side effects and contribute to vaccine hesitancy. A comprehensive review in Clinics in Dermatology, conducted by University of Connecticut School of Medicine researchers and published by Elsevier, confirms that almost all cutaneous reactions are largely self-limited and should not discourage getting the vaccine. The authors reviewed ...

A research team from Northwestern Engineering and the University of Messina in Italy have developed a new magnetic memory device that could lead to faster, more robust Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Composed of antiferromagnetic materials, the memory technology is immune to external magnetic fields and could one day improve a variety of computing systems, including AI hardware, cryptocurrency mining, and space exploration programs. A paper outlining the work, titled "Observation of Current-induced Switching in Non-collinear Antiferromagnetic IrMn3 by Differential Voltage Measurements," was published June 22 in the journal Nature Communications. Pedram Khalili, associate ...

Poll of 1,161 Ontario students shows attitudes toward cannabis differ from alcohol, creating potentially risky and dangerous driving behaviour Ontario students are more likely to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after smoking cannabis than drinking alcohol, a new study from researchers at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Medicine has revealed. The study, published in Preventive Medicine, found 10 percent of licensed Ontario high school students reported driving within an hour of cannabis use. Driving after drinking alcohol was much less prevalent, with 3.5 percent of students doing so. The study, led by master's student Nathan Cantor, found that students who favour cannabis ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Political institutions such as the timing of elections and presidentialism had a larger influence on COVID-19 strategies than the institutions organizing national healthcare, according to a research team led by a professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Olga Shvetsova, a political scientist at Binghamton University, and fellow researchers explored policy strategies on public health by the federal incumbents worldwide. Specifically, they looked at whether national incumbents led the charge as the pandemic unfolded ...

Dietary protein is needed to supply essential amino acids for the synthesis of the structural and functional components of living cells. Thus, food protein quantity and quality are both essential for good health. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) published an "ounce equivalents" recommendation to help consumers meet protein requirements with a variety of protein food sources. For example, the DGAs present a variety of "ounce equivalents" in the protein food groups stating that 1 ounce of meat is equivalent to 1 cooked egg, ¼ cup of red kidney beans, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 2 ounces of tofu, ...

Irvine, CA - June 22, 2021 - A new University of California, Irvine-led study reveals albumin (Alb), among the most abundant proteins in the body, activates a proton channel (hHv1), also widespread in the body, giving sperm the ability to penetrate and fertilize an egg, and allowing white blood cells to secrete large amounts of inflammatory mediators to fight infection. The study titled, "Direct activation of the proton channel by albumin leads to human sperm capacitation and sustained release of inflammatory mediators by neutrophils," was published today in Nature Communications. Researchers examined the physiological ...

Machine learning algorithms do a lot for us every day--send unwanted email to our spam folder, warn us if our car is about to back into something, and give us recommendations on what TV show to watch next. Now, we are increasingly using these same algorithms to make environmental predictions for us. A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota, University of Pittsburgh, and U.S. Geological Survey recently published a END ...

In a cancer that has not seen new targeted therapies for over 20 years, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher and oncologist Nancy Klauber-DeMore, M.D., is pioneering new discoveries. Using a combination of personal passion and expertise, Klauber-DeMore shifted her knowledge of the pro-angiogenic protein SFRP2 in breast cancer to address the lack of treatment options for patients with aggressive metastatic osteosarcoma. The results of the combination treatment with SFRP2 and PD-1 antibodies in a preclinical model were published in Cancers. Osteosarcoma expert William Tap, M.D., chief of the Sarcoma Medical Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering ...

Changes in climate resulting from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the Earth's atmosphere are not equal to the climate changes from deliberate CO2 removals--and assuming such a balance could lead to different climate outcomes that may skew climate targets, according to new Simon Fraser University-led research. "Because of the complexity of the Earth's system, things are not as simple as "one ton of CO2 in, equals one ton of CO2 out," says Kirsten Zickfeld, a distinguished professor of climate science in SFU's Department of Geography, and lead author of a new paper published ...

The shift to home working brought about by the pandemic could cost the UK economy up to £32bn a year in lost personal income tax. Highly paid workers who live abroad but work in the UK will pay their income tax in their country of residence, rather than to HMRC - which researchers say could cost billions each year. This new mobility of the workforce can also affect where corporate income tax is paid and value created, as well as VAT and where goods and services are purchased. Professor Rita de la Feria, Chair in Tax Law in the University of Leeds' School of Law, co-led the new research with Dr Giorgia Maffini, Tax Policy expert, at PWC, ...

Legend has it that Marie Antoinette's hair turned gray overnight just before her beheading in 1791. Though the legend is inaccurate--hair that has already grown out of the follicle does not change color--a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is the first to offer quantitative evidence linking psychological stress to graying hair in people. And while it may seem intuitive that stress can accelerate graying, the researchers were surprised to discover that hair color can be restored when stress is eliminated, a finding that contrasts with a recent study in mice that suggested that stressed-induced gray hairs are permanent. The ...

WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- It's cold in the depths of the world's oceans; most of the seafloor is at a chilly 4°C. Not so the seafloor of Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California. Here, tectonic plates drift apart and heat from Earth's interior can rise up -- so far up that it bakes large areas of the seafloor sediments, turning buried organic matter into methane and other energy-rich compounds. What kinds of organisms thrive in this oceanic hotspot? In two new studies, MBL Assistant Scientist END ...

Looking for better ways to treat patients with esophageal cancer, University of Colorado Cancer Center member Martin McCarter, MD, is investigating whether a new treatment sequence will result in better outcomes. As they await the results of a group of clinical trials -- including one at the CU Cancer Center -- McCarter and other University of Colorado researchers (led by surgery resident Bobby Torphy, MD, PhD) looked at data from the National Cancer Database to see if they could identify other patients who have undergone the new sequence, and what the outcomes for those patients were. The group published a paper in the Annals of Surgical Oncology in April ...

Rainfall associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the belt of converging trade winds and rising air that encircles the Earth near the Equator, affects the food and water security of approximately 1 billion people worldwide. They include about 11% of the Brazilian population, concentrated in four states of the Northeast region - Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí, and Maranhão. Large swathes of these states have a semi-arid climate, and about half of all their annual rainfall occurs in only two months (March and April), when the tropical rain belt reaches its southernmost position, over the north of the Northeast region. During the rest of the year, the tropical ...