People--who get lost easily in the extraordinary darkness of a tropical forest--have much to learn from a bee that can find its way home in conditions 10 times dimmer than starlight. Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's (STRI) research station on Barro Colorado Island in Panama and the University of Lund in Sweden reveal that sweat bees (Megalopta genalis), find their way home based on patterns in the canopy overhead using dorsal vision. This first report of dorsal navigation in a flying insect, published in Current Biology, may be of special interest to makers of drones and other night-flying vehicles. "One of the pioneers of studies on homing behaviors in bees was Charles H. Turner, an African-American scientist from the University ...

Bacteria do not sexually reproduce, but that does not stop them from exchanging genetic information as it evolves and adapts. During conjugal transfer, a bacterium can connect to another bacterium to pass along DNA and proteins. Escherichia coli bacteria, commonly called E. coli, can transfer at least one of these gene-containing plasmids to organisms across taxonomic kingdoms, including to fungi and protists. Now, researchers from Hiroshima University have a better understanding of this genetic hat trick, which has potential applications as a tool to promote desired characteristics or suppress harmful ones across genetic hosts. They published their results on ...

Young people with poor mental health took a turn for the better during the pandemic but those with good mental health saw a considerable decline, new research reveals. The first nationally representative evidence regarding the diverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health in the UK was led by researchers at Lancaster University working with the University of British Columbia in Canada. Adolescents (aged 10 to 16) with better than average mental health before the pandemic experienced an increase in their emotional and conduct problems, hyperactivity, and problems interacting with their peers and friends, but a decrease in their prosocial ...

Scientists have identified key molecular events in the developing human embryo between days 7 and 14 - one of the most mysterious, yet critical, stages of our development. The second week of gestation represents a critical stage of embryo development, or embryogenesis. Failure of development during this time is one of the major causes of early pregnancy loss. Understanding more about it will help scientists to understand how it can go wrong, and take steps towards being able to fix problems. The pre-implantation period, before the developing embryo implants into the mother's womb, has been studied extensively in human embryos ...

Ikoma, Japan - The katana, a Japanese sword, may be thought of solely as a weapon used by the samurai. But researchers from Japan have discovered that not only do plants wield their own katanas within their cells, they recruit them to specific locations within those cells to do their work. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from Nara Institute of Science and Technology have revealed that the enzyme katanin, which is named after the katana, is used by an anchoring complex to cut microtubules at specific locations of the framework within individual plant cells. Katanin ...

NEW YORK (June 17, 2021)--New York City neighborhoods that had higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage experienced more COVID-19 infections and deaths, according to Mount Sinai scientists who created a neighborhood-level COVID-19 inequity index. The index measured factors that fueled inequities in the residents' lives, such as employment and commuting patterns, population density of their neighborhood, food access, socioeconomic status, and access to health care. This allowed the scientists to compare between neighborhoods the contributions of these social factors in facilitating disease transmission during the first wave of the pandemic in a study published in Nature Communications in June. "Much of the early rhetoric around COVID-19 ...

As almost all our private information is digitalized, it is increasingly important that we find ways to protect our data and ourselves from being hacked. Quantum Cryptography is the researchers' answer to this problem, and more specifically a certain kind of qubit - consisting of single photons: particles of light. Single photons or qubits of light, as they are also called, are extremely difficult to hack. However, in order for these qubits of light to be stable and work properly they need to be stored at temperatures close to absolute zero - that is minus ...

AI is used in an array of extremely useful applications, such as predicting a machine's lifetime through its vibrations, monitoring the cardiac activity of patients and incorporating facial recognition capabilities into video surveillance systems. The downside is that AI-based technology generally requires a lot of power and, in most cases, must be permanently connected to the cloud, raising issues related to data protection, IT security and energy use. CSEM engineers may have found a way to get around those issues, thanks to a new system-on-chip they have developed. It runs on a tiny ...

Bottom Line: Genetic mutations indicative of DNA damage were associated with high red meat consumption and increased cancer-related mortality in patients with colorectal cancer. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research Author: Marios Giannakis, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Background: "We have known for some time that consumption of processed meat and red meat is a risk factor for colorectal cancer," ...

The unique mechanical and optical properties found in the exoskeleton of a humble Asian beetle has the potential to offer a fascinating new insight into how to develop new, effective bio-inspired technologies. Pioneering new research by a team of international scientists, including Professor Pete Vukusic from the University of Exeter, has revealed a distinctive, and previously unknown property within the carapace of the flower beetle - a member of the scarab beetle family. The study showed that the beetle has small micropillars within the carapace - or the upper section of the exoskeleton - that give the insect both strength and flexibility to withstand damage very effectively. Crucially, these micropillars are incorporated into highly regular layering in the exoskeleton ...

Sophia Antipolis - 17 June 2021: People living with obesity who attended a non-judgemental and personalised lifestyle modification programme improved their cardiovascular and mental health during just 10 weeks, according to a study presented today at EuroHeartCare - ACNAP Congress 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Participants lost weight and achieved benefits in anxiety and depression and physical measurements including blood pressure. "We focus on changing behaviours and improving people's relationship with food," said study ...

The fast-food industry spent $5 billion on advertising in 2019, and the advertisements disproportionately targeted Black and Hispanic youth, according to new research published today by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. The new report, Fast Food FACTS 2021, finds that the industry's annual ad spending in 2019 increased by over $400 million since 2012, and that children and teens were viewing on average more than two fast food TV ads per day. Frequent and widespread exposure to fast-food marketing increases young people's preferences for, and consumption ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The price tag for giving birth in America may bring some families sticker shock - even for those with private insurance. And when delivering moms require caesarians or their newborns need neonatal care, some families may spend as much as $10,000 out-of-pocket, according to a new Michigan Medicine-led study. "Childbirth is the most common reason for hospitalization in the U.S.," said lead author Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D.,a pediatrician and researcher at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center. "Our findings show that some privately insured families are shouldering ...

A recent study by Nagoya University researchers revealed that microRNAs in urine could be a promising biomarker to diagnose brain tumors. Their findings, published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, have indicated that regular urine tests could help early detection and treatment of brain tumors, possibly leading to improved patient survival. Early diagnosis of brain tumors is often difficult, partly because most people undergo a brain CT or MRI scan only after the onset of neurological deficits, such as immobility of limbs, and incapability of speech. When brain tumors are detected by CT or MRI, in many cases, they have already grown too large to be fully removed, which could lower patients' survival rate. From this perspective, accurate, easy, and inexpensive ...

Green hydrogen, a source of clean energy that can be generated without using fossil fuels, has recently gained immense attention as it can be potentially used to promote carbon neutrality. Korean researchers have succeeded in improving the efficiency of unitized regenerative fuel cells that can be used to efficiently produce green hydrogen and generate power. The unitized regenerative fuel cells boast of hydrogen production and fuel cell modes. They are eco-friendly, cost-effective, and independent energy storage and power generation devices that require less space for ...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Many people likely lost sleep over COVID-19. A study of twins led by Washington State University researchers found that stress, anxiety and depression during the first few weeks of the pandemic were associated with less and lower quality sleep. In a survey of more than 900 twins taken shortly after COVID-19 lockdown measures began, about half of the respondents reported no change in their sleep patterns, but around a third, 32.9%, reported decreased sleep. Another 29.8% reported sleeping more. In the analysis, the researchers found that any change in sleep was connected to self-reported mental health issues, though it was more strongly associated with decreased ...

Ireland, June 17 2021: Popular video games have the potential to provide low-cost, easy access, effective and stigma-free support for some mental health issues, researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, have found. The team at Lero, a world leader in connected-health research, said video games could be used where conventional therapies are not available because of cost or location, or as an addition to traditional therapeutic treatments for depression or anxiety. Lero researcher Dr Mark Campbell said there is mounting scientific ...

Researchers have designed a device that delivers two medications that help stop HIV transmission. Although condom usage is the best strategy for preventing HIV transmission, the researchers are working to design a device that can be used by sex workers and in situations where women are not in a position to negotiate condom use. The device is an intravaginal ring (IVR ) that can be inserted into the female genital tract where it will deliver medications known to decrease the transmission of HIV. The researchers examined how effectively their IVR delivered two medications - hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an FDA approved medication, and a nanomedicine gene therapy developed by the team in previous research. Their results were published in a ...

New research published in BMJ Open shows that community pharmacy could play a 'key clinical role' in the future role of COVID-19 vaccination programmes, according to a study led by Aston University in Birmingham, UK, in collaboration with UK and international researchers. The team found that community pharmacists, as a 'skilled clinical workforce', could positively contribute, supporting the community in which they serve - by playing a critical role in ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. The researchers working on the PERISCOPE study found that community pharmacy is uniquely placed to support individuals, because it is seen by the public as a credible, trustworthy service, which could be key to any future clinical ...

The role of people infected with malaria without showing symptoms presents a hidden risk to efforts to control the disease after they were found to be responsible for most infections in mosquitoes, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Researchers from the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Radboud university medical center and University of California, San Francisco, found asymptomatic children in the Uganda study were the biggest source of malaria parasites transmitted to mosquitoes. This could provide a new opportunity for control efforts by targeting this infectious reservoir. ...

Corticosteroids may be an effective treatment for children who develop a rare but serious condition after COVID-19 infection. This is the finding of an international study of 614 children, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, led by Imperial College London. All children in the study developed a serious disorder following COVID-19 infection. This condition, called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), is thought to affect 1 in 50,000 children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The new disorder, which is also called paediatric inflammatory multi-system syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection (PIMS-TS), affects children of all ages but is more common in older children ...

During the first several months of the pandemic -- when communities locked down, jobs were lost, PPE was scarce and store shelves were cleared --thousands of people turned to online crowdfunding to meet their needs. But a new University of Washington analysis of requests and donations to the popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe, along with Census data, shows stark inequities in where the money went and how much was donated. A study published June 15 in Social Science & Medicine found more than 175,000 COVID-19-related GoFundMe campaigns in the U.S., raising more than $416 million, from January through July 2020. Researchers found that affluent and educated ...

'God forbid we need this, but we'll be ready' Medication would be taken early in the disease, so you don't get as sick Future drug could also treat common cold CHICAGO --- Scientists are already preparing for a possible next coronavirus pandemic to strike, keeping with the seven-year pattern since 2004. In future-looking research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine scientists have identified a novel target for a drug to treat SARS-CoV-2 that also could impact a new emerging coronavirus. "God forbid we need this, but we will be ready," said Karla Satchell, professor of microbiology-immunology at Feinberg, who leads an international team of scientists to analyze the important structures of the virus. The Northwestern team previously ...

An innovative underwater robot known as Mesobot is providing researchers with deeper insight into the vast mid-ocean region known as the "twilight zone." Capable of tracking and recording high-resolution images of slow-moving and fragile zooplankton, gelatinous animals, and particles, Mesobot greatly expands scientists' ability to observe creatures in their mesopelagic habitat with minimal disturbance. This advance in engineering will enable greater understanding of the role these creatures play in transporting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the deep sea, as well as how commercial exploitation of twilight ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Human-caused wildfire ignitions in Central Oregon are expected to remain steady over the next four decades and lightning-caused ignitions are expected to decline, but the average size of a blaze from either cause is expected to rise, Oregon State University modeling suggests. Scientists including Meg Krawchuk of the OSU College of Forestry and former OSU research associate Ana Barros, now of the Washington Department of Natural Resources, say the findings can help local decision-makers understand how a changing climate might affect natural and human-caused fire regimes differently and inform ...