This news release is available in Japanese. How does the Campi Flegrei caldera, or subsurface rock, near Naples, Italy, withstand more uplift than other calderas without erupting? A new study shows that the caprock underlying this particular caldera closely resembles ancient Roman concrete -- and that the rock's microstructures, characterized by intertwining fibrous minerals, lead to its exceptionally high strength. The findings help to explain how the caldera has been able to withstand tremendous deformation, such as the large uplift episode that began in 1982 and raised ...

This news release is available in Japanese. While the geographic ranges of many animals are expanding northward in response to climate change, those of North American and European bumblebee species are shrinking, a new study shows. These insects are failing to migrate northward, the study reveals, and in their southern territories, their ranges are compressing -- with range losses up to 300 kilometers in both North America and Europe. The findings reveal the vulnerability of these pollinators, which play key roles in agriculture, to a warming world, hinting that they ...

This news release is available in Japanese. Researchers have designed a more efficient jumping robot with three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques and a combination of hard and soft materials. Inspired by designs in nature, such as snakes or insect larvae, soft-bodied robots are safer, more adaptable, and more resilient than their traditionally rigid counterparts, but molding and powering them has proved challenging. Now, Nicholas Bartlett and colleagues report a technique for designing and manufacturing untethered, frog-like jumping machines with ...

Traditional industrial robots are rigid -- mostly metal -- and are fast, precise and powerful. Their speed and precision comes at the cost of complexity and can often pose a danger to humans who get too close. Soft robots are adaptable and resilient but slow, difficult to fabricate, and challenging to make autonomous because most motors, pumps, batteries, sensors, and microcontrollers are rigid. But what if you could combine the autonomy and speed of a rigid robot with the adaptability and resiliency of a soft robot -- and do it relatively cheap and fast? Harvard engineers ...

Monterey, CA - Thousands of feet below the ocean's surface lies a hidden world of undiscovered species and unique seabed habitats--as well as a vast untapped store of natural resources including valuable metals and rare-earth minerals. Technology and infrastructure development worldwide is dramatically increasing demand for these resources, which are key components in everything from cars and modern buildings to computers and smartphones. This demand has catalyzed interest in mining huge areas of the deep-sea floor. In a paper published this week in Science, researchers ...

Engineers at Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego, have created the first robot with a 3D-printed body that transitions from a rigid core to a soft exterior. The robot is capable of more than 30 untethered jumps and is powered by a mix of butane and oxygen. Researchers describe the robot's design, manufacturing and testing in the July 10 issue of Science magazine. "We believe that bringing together soft and rigid materials will help create a new generation of fast, agile robots that are more robust and adaptable than their predecessors and can ...

New York, 9 July - Investing up to 3.5% of a nation's GDP in science, technology and innovation - including basic science and education - is a key benchmark for advancing sustainable development effectively, leading experts say. In papers released July 9 in New York, international scientists advising UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon say closing the gap between developed and developing countries depends on first closing international science, technology and innovation (STI) investment gaps. According to the UN SG's 26-member Scientific Advisory Board: "While a target ...

Black holes can be found at the centres of most galaxies. Most have little mass compared with their host galaxy. ETH researchers, however, have discovered a particularly massive black hole, which clearly grew so quickly that the host galaxy was not able to keep pace. This calls into question previous thinking on the co-evolution of galaxies and their central black holes. Benny Trakhtenbrot, a researcher at ETH Zurich's Institute for Astronomy, together with an international team of astrophysicists, was hunting for ancient massive black holes using the 10 meter Keck telescope ...

Many areas of fundamental research are interested in graphene owing to its exceptional characteristics. It is made of one layer of carbon atoms, which makes it light and sturdy, and it is an excellent thermal and electrical conductor. Despite its apparently limitless potential, however, few applications have been demonstrated to date. Scientists at EPFL's Bionanophotonic Systems Laboratory (BIOS) together with researchers from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO, Spain) have now added another one. They have harnessed graphene's unique optical and electronic properties ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. - A new review analyzing three decades of research on the historic effects of melting polar ice sheets found that global sea levels have risen at least six meters, or about 20 feet, above present levels on multiple occasions over the past three million years. What is most concerning, scientists say, is that amount of melting was caused by an increase of only 1-2 degrees (Celsius) in global mean temperatures. Results of the study are being published this week in the journal Science. "Studies have shown that both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets ...

Scientists at the University of East Anglia, University of Barcelona, University Pompeu Fabra and several other European institutions have found a way to separate the medical benefits of cannabis from some of its unwanted side effects. The research comes from the team that had previously discovered how the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, known as tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, reduces tumour growth in cancer patients. Their latest findings, publishing on July 9th in the Open Access journal PLOS Biology, reveal how some detrimental cognitive effects of THC are ...

Many animals actively touch objects in their environment and respond to them by appropriate movement sequences. Jan Ache and Volker Dürr from Bielefeld University in Germany present a model in PLOS Computational Biology that captures key properties of a wide variety of descending neurons that are part of an "active touch system". Goal-directed actions require neurons that descend from the brain to lower parts of the nervous system, for example: to distribute sensory information to local modules of movement control. Stick insects actively explore the near-range environment ...

In a genome-sequencing study of pancreatic cancers and blood in 101 patients, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists say they found at least one-third of the patients' tumors have genetic mutations that may someday help guide precision therapy of their disease. Results of blood tests to detect DNA shed from tumors, they say, also predicted cancer recurrence more than half a year earlier than standard imaging methods. "Pancreatic cancer has one of the highest death rates among cancer types. Many people think there are no treatment options, but our study shows that ...

Washington, DC--People who have diabetes and experience high rates of complications are more likely to develop dementia as they age than people who have fewer diabetic complications, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. An individual develops diabetes when the pancreas doesn't produce enough of the hormone insulin or the body can't use insulin properly to process sugar. When blood sugar levels remain high due to uncontrolled diabetes, serious complications can develop, including blindness, kidney ...

Washington, DC--Men who have ejaculatory disorders and low testosterone levels did not experience improved sexual function after undergoing testosterone replacement therapy, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Estimates indicate between 10 percent and 18 percent of men have problems with inability to ejaculate, decreased volume of ejaculation, decreased force of ejaculation and delayed time to ejaculation. This is a separate neurobiological problem from erectile dysfunction, and there is no FDA-approved ...

PITTSBURGH, July 9, 2015 - Starting anti-HIV treatment within two weeks of the diagnosis of tuberculosis, or TB, improved survival among patients with both infections who had very low immune-cell counts, according to an analysis by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Health. Those with strong immune systems, however, might benefit from waiting until after the end of the six-month TB treatment before initiating anti-HIV therapy, they found. In a study published in the current issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the team recommended updating ...

In Borneo, some insectivorous bats have developed a rather intriguing relationship with carnivorous pitcher plants. The plants offer the bats a relatively cool place to roost, free of parasites and competition from other bats. In return, the bats keep the plants well fertilized with their droppings. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on July 9 show that the plants rely on special structures to reflect the bats' ultrasonic calls back to them. That adaptation of the plants makes it easier for bats to find their plant partners in the cluttered ...

A new technique that uses light to activate chemotherapy drugs in specific cells shows promise as a way to improve the effectiveness of cancer therapies while preventing severe side effects, according to a study published July 9 in Cell. The so-called photopharmacology approach could be used to treat a broad range of tumors with unprecedented precision simply by making existing cancer drugs sensitive to light--an approach that requires less time and effort compared with traditional drug discovery programs. "We hope that our compounds will one day be used in medicine to ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The "friendly" bacteria inside our digestive systems are being given an upgrade, which may one day allow them to be programmed to detect and ultimately treat diseases such as colon cancer and immune disorders. In a paper published today in the journal Cell Systems, researchers at MIT unveil a series of sensors, memory switches, and circuits that can be encoded in the common human gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. These basic computing elements will allow the bacteria to sense, memorize, and respond to signals in the gut, with future applications ...

While human activities have caused extinctions across the globe, your favourite beach or diving site may actually be home to as many, or more, species then it was a few decades ago. That's the conclusion of a synthesis of 50 years of marine biodiversity data conducted by University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers. But there is a catch. Like other studies of its kind, the synthesis relies on species population time series from sites that haven't been subject to intense human development. "Much as you'd expect, our study shows human impacts like pollution and ...

A study to examine recessively inherited genome-wide DNA sequences has for the first time discovered a potential link with Britain's biggest killer - Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). The research led by a team from the University of Leicester was the first time that recessively inherited DNA sequences in the whole genome called Runs of homozygosity (ROHs) were examined for a connection to the disease. The study appears in the American Journal of Human Genetics. CAD is a terminal clinical manifestation of cardiovascular disease and is the leading cause of death worldwide ...

Danish researchers are the first in the world to have used our genes to investigate the impact of coffee on the body. The new study shows that coffee neither increases nor decreases the risk of lifestyle diseases. We love coffee - and we drink a lot of it. New research from the University of Copenhagen and Herlev and Gentofte Hospital shows that coffee neither increases nor decreases the risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes. The researchers have based their study on genes, as our genes play a role in how much coffee we drink in the course ...

DENVER (July 9, 2015) - A new study from the University of Colorado Denver finds that male exotic dancers, or strippers, remain committed to stripping because it enhances their self-concept. The study by Maren Scull, an instructor of Sociology in the CU Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was published online this month in Deviant Behavior, the only scientific journal that specifically addresses behaviors that violate social norms. Scull's research focuses on how exotic dancing influences the way male strippers view themselves. "Because stripping is a stigmatizing ...

This news release is available in French. Since the treatment has become available, HIV is often described as "undetectable" and the risk of transmission has been drastically reduced. However, the epidemic is still quite present in the lives of many gay and bisexual men... and in public spaces. This often overlooked dimension of the disease has been brought to light by Gabriel Girard of the University of Montreal's Public Health Research Institute (IRSPUM) - HIV is still alive in the city, especially in the Village, Montreal's gay district. "Urban traces are significant ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A key set of immune cells that protect the body from infection would be lost without directions provided by vitamin A, according to a recent study. A team of researchers from Purdue University found retinoic acid, a metabolite that comes from digested vitamin A, is necessary for two of the three types of innate immune cells that reside in the intestine to find their proper place. "It is known that vitamin A deficiencies lead to increased susceptibility to disease and low concentrations of immune cells in the mucosal barrier that lines the intestines," ...