The construction of a major railway through Kenya will have long-term environmental impacts on the area, suggesting more work needs to be done to limit the damage on future infrastructure projects, a major study reveals. The biggest impact of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), which runs from Mombasa to Nairobi, was pollution and contamination of soil, water and air, as well as disruption of natural processes. The research, led by the University of York and part of the Development Corridors Partnership project, also showed environmental issues as a result of breaking up large areas of habitat into smaller, more isolated patches, that may not be able to support long-term natural processes. The SGR project was given the go-ahead following the completion ...

A multi-institutional team became the first to generate accurate results from materials science simulations on a quantum computer that can be verified with neutron scattering experiments and other practical techniques. Researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Purdue University and D-Wave Systems harnessed the power of quantum annealing, a form of quantum computing, by embedding an existing model into a quantum computer. Characterizing materials has long been a hallmark of classical supercomputers, which encode information using a binary system of bits that are each assigned a value of either 0 or 1. But quantum computers -- in this case, D-Wave's 2000Q - rely on qubits, which can be valued at ...

Wolves are arguably the most well-studied large predators in the world, yet new research shows there is still a lot to learn about their hunting tactics. Typically, wolves hunt large mammals like moose, deer, and bison in packs by outrunning, outlasting, and exhausting their prey. However, throughout the dense boreal forests in North America and Eurasia, during the summer wolves often hunt beavers by themselves. But how does a wolf catch a semi-aquatic prey that spends little time on land and never ventures far from the safety of its pond? Turns out with patience, and a lot of waiting. In a new paper published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Voyageurs Wolf Project--which ...

CHICAGO: Elderly patients (70 years and over) with locally advanced esophageal (E) and esophagogastric junction (EGJ) cancer (located in the stomach and esophagus) should be considered for optimal therapy that has the potential to cure. This therapy regimen includes initial chemoradiotherapy (NACR) and surgical resection, an operation that removes the cancerous part of the organ. According to researchers, this recommended therapy is often not offered to elderly patients out of concern that they will not tolerate such an intensive treatment regimen. In a new study, they found that older patients who received the therapy had outcomes comparable with those of younger patients (under 70 years old). The single-institution study from the Ochsner Clinic Foundation and The University of ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- A new study finds that providing people who have recently given birth access to long-acting reversible methods of contraception, such as intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants, could help prevent them from unintentionally falling pregnant in the following months. The study -- which analyzed the effects of a 2012 Medicaid policy implemented in South Carolina -- found that expanded access to particular forms of birth control were especially helpful in preventing unintended pregnancies among adolescents who had just given birth, giving them more control over their own futures. "The ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Feb. 9, 2021) -- Scientists have devised a new approach for detecting and potentially heading off the effects of two rare pediatric diseases before birth. The study, performed in mouse models of the diseases and published today in Cell Reports, represents an important step toward much-needed early interventions for Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and Silver-Russell syndrome. Both diseases result in growth-related symptoms in children and often lead to additional problems later in life, such as increased cancer risk from Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome ...

The research team of NUST MISIS has presented an improved structure of perovskite solar cells. Scientists have modified perovskite-based solar cells using MXenes -- thin two-dimensional titanium carbides with high electrical conductivity. The MXenes-based modified cells showed superior performance, with power conversion efficiency exceeding 19% (the reference demonstrated 17%) and improved stabilized power output with respect to reference devices. The results have been published in the Nano energy international scientific journal. Perovskite solar cells ...

Women whose household drinking water contained nitrate had babies that weighed, on average, 10 grams less than babies born to mothers where household water had no detectible nitrate, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago and Aarhus University. The study, which is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, followed pregnant women living in Denmark. The researchers found that even low nitrate levels -- about half of the allowable level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA -- caused an adverse effect. "While ...

Under the Biden Administration, New Yorkers' acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine has increased significantly. In September, 55% of residents reported they would take the vaccine when it became available and this January, 64% reported they would take it. Differences in vaccine acceptance persist across racial and ethnic groups. Among Whites and Asians acceptance is 70-72%; among Blacks and Latina/os it is 57-58%. On a positive note, the largest increase in rate of acceptance was seen among Black respondents, up from 33% in September to 57% in January. These are key findings from the most recent tracking survey of public perceptions and experiences in New York City during the Covid-19 pandemic, conducted January 29-31 by the City University of New York Graduate School of ...

The colors in a flower patch appear completely different to a bear, a honeybee, a butterfly and humans. The ability to see these colors is generated by specific properties of opsins - light-sensitive proteins in the retina of our eyes. The number of opsins expressed and the molecular structure of the receptor proteins determines the colors we see. In a paper published February 9 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a team of researchers led by Harvard University develop a novel method to express long wavelength invertebrate opsin proteins in vitro and detail the molecular structure of redshift (long-wavelength) ...

In 2018, a faulty electric transmission line ignited the Camp Fire in Northern California, ultimately consuming 239 square miles and several communities, including the town of Paradise, which was 95 percent destroyed. At least 85 people died. Structures have been rebuilt, but some things are worse. In a paper published February 2, 2021 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, scientists at University of California San Diego, with colleagues elsewhere, describe chronic mental health problems among some residents who experienced the Camp Fire in varying degrees. Direct exposure to large-scale fires significantly ...

Photoionization of water involves the migration and solvation of electrons, with many transient and highly active intermediates. The process results in a large blue shift in the absorption spectrum, from the THz or gigahertz region to the visible range. While the behavior of low-density quasifree electrons excited by small pump power density has been investigated extensively, we still know little about the transient evolution of photoexcited plasma in liquid water. Valuable insights were recently provided by an international research team in a study published in Advanced Photonics. According to Liangliang Zhang, physics professor at Capital Normal University in Beijing and one of the senior authors on the study, the physical mechanism of plasma evolution on the ...

The structure of organic substances tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQ) includes a benzene ring fused with a nitrogen-containing cycle. These compounds are in high demand in the pharmaceutical industry. They are used in the synthesis of myorelaxants, antidepressants, and drugs against hypertension, cough, and insomnia. Although different variations of THIQ structures can be found in natural sources (for example, as parts of phytotoxins), modern-day pharmaceutical manufacturers are also interested in their rare types, such as spirocyclic THIQs. In their molecules, two adjacent cycles share one common atom, thus creating an unusual and very stable 3D structure. This feature ...

The development of the so-called small molecules is a promising field of the pharmaceutical industry. Small molecules are organic compounds with a small molecular mass. They are often based on heterocycles--carbon rings that also include atoms of nitrogen and other elements. The synthesis of small molecules is much cheaper than the development of drugs based on antibodies or other biological molecules; however, their properties are still understudied. Even the slightest modifications can change the characteristics of a small molecule and open a whole new range of its practical applications. Therefore, many research teams working in the field of chemical pharmacology improve synthesis methods to create libraries of ...

The COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered cities around the world did not just affect the way we work, study and socialize. It also affected our mobility. With millions of workers no longer commuting, vehicle traffic across Canada has plummeted. This has had a significant impact on the quality of air in major Canadian cities, according to a new study by Concordia researchers. A paper published in the journal Science of the Total Environment looked at downtown air quality monitoring station data from Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax ...

To achieve target delivery of drugs to cells and organs, scientists have to be able to transport the molecules of pharmaceutical substances to targets using a controllable carrier. The role of such a carrier can be played by special particles, such as lipid droplets or magnetic nanoparticles. Among the latter, the most popular are the ones based on iron oxides. Their sizes range from 1 to 100 nm, which is dozens of times smaller than animal cells, and they can be moved within a body using an external magnetic field. However, in practice, it is quite difficult to control nanoparticles with magnets, as the magnetic field quickly becomes weaker when the distance from the magnet increases. This problem ...

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2021 -- As COVID-19 spreads via respiratory droplets, researchers have become increasingly interested in the drying of droplets on impermeable and porous surfaces. Surfaces that accelerate evaporation can decelerate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from IIT Bombay show a droplet remains liquid for a much shorter time on a porous surface, making it less favorable to survival of the virus. The researchers found the coronavirus can survive for four days on glass, seven days on plastic, and seven days on stainless steel. But on paper and cloth, the virus survived for only three hours and two days, respectively. "Based on our study, we recommend that furniture in hospitals and offices, ...

What The Study Did: Researchers examined how common SARS- CoV-2 infection was among migrant workers in Singapore. Authors: Vernon J. Lee, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., of the Ministry of Health in Singapore, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2020.24071) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full article is linked to this news release. Embed ...

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2021 -- The detailed physical processes and pathways involved in the transmission of COVID-19 are still not well understood. Researchers decided to use advanced computational fluid dynamics tools on supercomputers to deepen understanding of transmission and provide a quantitative assessment of how different environmental factors influence transmission pathways and airborne infection risk. A restaurant outbreak in China was widely reported as strong evidence of airflow-induced transmission of COVID-19. But it lacked a detailed investigation about exactly how transmission occurred. Why did some people get infected while others within the same area did not? ...

What The Viewpoint Says: The missteps and miscommunications that have stymied a more effective U.S. and global response to the COVID-19 pandemic bring into sharp focus the deficiencies in governance systems of the U.S. public health and scientific institutions. Authors: K. M. Venkat Narayan, M.D., M.Sc., of the Rollins School of Public Health and School of Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study:  Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2020.23479) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest ...

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2021 -- School closures, the loss of public spaces, and having to work remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic have caused major disruptions in people's social lives all over the world. Researchers from City University of Hong Kong, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute suggest a reduction in fatal coronavirus cases can be achieved without the need for so much social disruption. They discuss the impacts of the closures of various types of facilities in the journal Chaos, from AIP Publishing. After running thousands of simulations of the pandemic response in New York City with variations in social distancing behavior at home, in schools, at public facilities, and in the workplace ...

What The Study Did: To mitigate subsequent waves of COVID-19, allocating testing resources to locations of greatest need is important. Researchers in this study examined the alignment of testing to epidemic intensity in Massachusetts. Authors: Scott Dryden-Peterson, M.D., M.Sc., of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37067) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, ...

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2021 -- Advances in the fields of biomaterials and nanotechnology could lead to big breakthroughs in the fight against dangerous viruses like the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. In APL Bioengineering, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science describe two possibilities being explored by scientists in the field to make vaccines more effective and build surfaces that could fight and kill viruses on their own. "It is important not just in terms of COVID," said author Kaushik Chatterjee. "We've seen SARS, ...

FOLSOM, Calif., February 9, 2021 - A new animal study, published in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition, suggests regular walnut consumption may be a promising intervention for reducing negative outcomes associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a widespread bacterial infection that affects more than half of the world's population. Using mice models, researchers from the CHA Cancer Prevention Research Center in Korea found preliminary evidence that eating a diet rich in walnuts may help protect against negative outcomes associated with H. pylori infection. Specifically, the research found that walnut extracts, formed from ...

Within the constellation Cygnus, an elderly star and its massive companion are having one last hurrah, flinging off mass at an incredible rate before they explode as supernovae and collapse into a black hole. Now, researchers including recent Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University graduate Laura M. Lee have mapped the elderly star's orbit around its oversized and equally ancient partner. In a scientific first, they have also determined the dynamical mass of both stars that make up a binary system called Wolf-Rayet 133. The team's findings, published Feb. 9, 2021 by Astrophysical Journal ...