In the 1995 movie "Outbreak," Dustin Hoffman's character realizes, with appropriately dramatic horror, that an infectious virus is "airborne" because it's found to be spreading through hospital vents. The issue of whether our real-life pandemic virus, SARS-CoV-2, is "airborne" is predictably more complex. The current body of evidence suggests that COVID-19 primarily spreads through respiratory droplets - the small, liquid particles you sneeze or cough, that travel some distance, and fall to the floor. But consensus is mounting that, under the right circumstances, smaller floating particles called aerosols can carry the virus over longer distances and remain ...

Amyloid plaques are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) -- clumps of misfolded proteins that accumulate in the brain, disrupting and killing neurons and resulting in the progressive cognitive impairment that is characteristic of the widespread neurological disorder. In a new study, published March 2, 2021 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and elsewhere have identified a new drug that could prevent AD by modulating, rather than inhibiting, a key enzyme involved ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- When quantum computers become more powerful and widespread, they will need a robust quantum internet to communicate. Purdue University engineers have addressed an issue barring the development of quantum networks that are big enough to reliably support more than a handful of users. The method, demonstrated in a paper published in Optica, could help lay the groundwork for when a large number of quantum computers, quantum sensors and other quantum technology are ready to go online and communicate with each other. The team deployed a programmable switch to adjust how much data goes to each ...

Scientists regularly use remote sensing drones and satellites to record how climate change affects permafrost thaw rates -- methods that work well in barren tundra landscapes where there's nothing to obstruct the view. But in boreal regions, which harbor a significant portion of the world's permafrost, obscuring vegetation can stymy even the most advanced remote sensing technology. In a study published in January, researchers in Germany and at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute developed a method of using satellite imagery to measure the depth of thaw directly above permafrost in boreal ecosystems. Rather than trying to peer past ...

They can hear well up to about forty years old, but then suddenly deafness strikes people with DFNA9. The cells of the inner ear can no longer reverse the damage caused by a genetic defect in their DNA. Researchers at Radboud university medical center have now developed a "genetic patch" for this type of hereditary deafness, with which they can eliminate the problems in the hearing cells. Further research in animals and humans is needed to bring the genetic patch to the clinic as a therapy. Hereditary deafness can manifest itself in different ways. Often the hereditary defect (mutation) immediately causes deafness from birth. Sometimes, as with DFNA9, you experience the initial ...

Philadelphia, March 2, 2021--Taking the first deep dive into how the immune system is behaving in patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that children with this condition have highly activated immune systems that, in many ways, are more similar to those of adults with severe COVID-19. The results, published today in Science Immunology, show that better understanding the immune activation in patients with MIS-C could not only help better treat those patients but also improve treatment for adults with ...

A new study of patients with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare but severe complication of COVID-19 in children, reveals distinct immune features of COVID-19 not seen in adults that may clue scientists in to why SARS-CoV-2 infection manifests differently in children compared with adults. Their results showed that although the immune landscape in pediatric COVID-19 was similar to that in adults, MIS-C patients uniquely exhibited increased activation of a blood vessel-patrolling CD8+ killer T cell subset, and all pediatric COVID-19 patients harbored greater B cell frequencies for a more prolonged period of time than observed in healthy adults. MIS-C is characterized by pervasive inflammation, an array of symptoms ranging from fever ...

Orange, Calif. - Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, college students were reporting record levels of stress and anxiety. According to the American College Health Association END ...

The Deepwater Horizon disaster began on April 20, 2010 with an explosion on a BP-operated oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers. Almost immediately, oil began spilling into the waters of the gulf, an environmental calamity that took months to bring under control, but not before it became the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Nearly 10 years have passed since then, and the oil slick has long since dispersed. Yet, despite early predictions, area wildlife are still feeling the effects of that oil, and research published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry has shown that negative health impacts have befallen not only dolphins alive at the time of the spill, but also in their young, born years later. A team of researchers, including ...

When central nervous system cells in the brain and spine are damaged by disease or injury, they fail to regenerate, limiting the body's ability to recover. In contrast, peripheral nerve cells that serve most other areas of the body are more able to regenerate. Scientists for decades have searched for molecular clues as to why axons -- the threadlike projections which allow communication between central nervous system cells -- cannot repair themselves after stroke, spinal cord damage, or traumatic brain injuries. In a massive screen of 400 mouse genes, Yale School of Medicine ...

Disruptions in the circadian rhythms in lung cells may explain why adults who survived premature birth are often more at risk of severe influenza infections, suggests a study in mice published today in eLife. Dramatic improvements in the care of infants born prematurely have allowed many more to survive into adulthood. Yet ex-preemies can face several long-term side effects of the life-saving care they received. The study suggests potential new approaches to treating lasting lung problems in those born prematurely. Many premature infants are not able to breathe on their own and require oxygen to survive. ...

College course syllabi written in a warm, friendly tone are more likely to encourage students to reach out when they are struggling or need help, a new study from Oregon State University found. Conversely, when a syllabus is written in a more cold, detached tone, students are less likely to reach out. The study also compared the effect of syllabus tone with the effect of a deliberate "Reach out for help" statement included in the document. "The instructor has to ask themselves, what's the first point of contact with the class for the student? In an online class and in remote learning, the syllabus is often the ...

The United States experiences more tornadoes than any other country, with a season that peaks in spring or summer depending on the region. Tornadoes are often deadly, especially in places where buildings can't withstand high winds. Accurate advanced warnings can save lives. A study from the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes a new way to rate and possibly improve tornado warnings. It finds that nighttime twisters, summer tornadoes and smaller events remain the biggest challenges for the forecasting community. "This new method lets us measure how forecast skill is improving, decreasing or staying the same in different situations," said Alex ...

A recent study of how human resources professionals review online information and social media profiles of job candidates highlights the ways in which so-called "cybervetting" can introduce bias and moral judgment into the hiring process. "The study drives home that cybervetting is ultimately assessing each job candidate's moral character," says Steve McDonald, corresponding author of the study and a professor of sociology at North Carolina State University. "It is equally clear that many of the things hiring professionals are looking at make it more likely for ...

p> Boulder, Colo., USA: Several new articles were published online ahead of print for Geology in February. Topics include stress in survivor plants following the collapse of land ecosystems, the Gulf of Aden, whether the Denali fault is still active, the first reported Burgess Shale-type fauna rediscovered, and redefining the age of the lower Colorado River. These Geology articles are online at END ...

Researchers from Skoltech's Intelligent Space Robotics Lab have proposed a novel method for customer behavior analytics and demand distribution based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) stocktaking. Their research was published in the proceedings of the International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV). Autonomous robotic systems that already pervade our daily lives are faced with a host of challenging tasks, such as stocktaking in a rapidly changing environment. A Skoltech team led by Professor Dzmitry Tsetserukou from the Skoltech Space Center (Intelligent Space Robotics Lab) has proposed a novel method that helps ...

EUGENE, Ore. - March 2, 2021 - High-resolution imaging and 3D computer modeling show that the dendrites of neurons weave through space in a way that balances their need to connect to other neurons with the costs of doing so. The discovery, reported in Nature Scientific Reports Jan. 27, emerged as researchers sought to understand the fractal nature of neurons as part of a University of Oregon project to design fractal-shaped electrodes to connect with retinal neurons to address vision loss due to retinal diseases. "The challenge in our research has been understanding how the neurons we want to target in the retina will connect to our electrodes," said Richard Taylor, a professor and head ...

An analysis of law enforcement seizures of illegal drugs in five key regions of the United States revealed a rise in methamphetamine and marijuana (cannabis) confiscations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seizures of the two drugs were higher at their peak in August 2020 than at any time in the year prior to the pandemic. While investigators found that trends in heroin, cocaine and fentanyl seizures were not affected by the pandemic, provisional overdose death data show that the increased drug mortality seen in 2019 rose further through the first half of 2020. The findings suggest that the pandemic and its related restrictions may ...

Washington, DC-- March 2, 2021 -- Detecting COVID-19 outbreaks before they spread could help contain the virus and curb new cases within a community. This week in mSystems, an open-access Journal of the American Society for Microbiology, researchers from the University of California San Diego describe a mostly-automated early alert system that uses high-throughput analysis of wastewater samples to identify buildings where new COVID-19 cases have emerged--even before infected people develop symptoms. The approach is fast, cost-effective, and sensitive enough to detect a single ...

Today, we can say without a shadow of doubt that an alternative to fossil fuels is needed. Fossil fuels are not only non-renewable sources of energy but also among the leading causes of global warming and air pollution. Thus, many scientists worldwide have their hopes placed on what they regard as the fuel of tomorrow: hydrogen (H2). Although H2 is a clean fuel with incredibly high energy density, efficiently generating large amounts of it remains a difficult technical challenge. Water splitting--the breaking of water molecules--is among the most explored methods to produce H2. While there are many ways ...

Pesticides used in forestry may threaten species in downstream rivers and estuaries, but little is known about the extent to which this occurs. A new study by researchers at Portland State University found mussels, clams and oysters in watersheds along the Oregon Coast are exposed to pesticides used in managing forests. The results of this study, published in the journal Toxics, have implications for developing better forest management practices that are less likely to negatively affect aquatic life. The study was led by Kaegan Scully-Engelmeyer, PhD student in the Earth, Environment and Society program at Portland ...

The coronavirus pandemic has drawn new attention to the digital divide, as the need for online schooling and working from home has disproportionately hurt those without computer equipment and skills. Research by Paul A. Pavlou, dean of the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, found that people with basic Information Technology (IT) skills - including the ability to use email, copy and paste files and work with an Excel spreadsheet - are more likely to be employed, even in jobs that aren't explicitly tied to those skills. People with more advanced IT skills generally earned higher salaries, the researchers found. The work is described in Information Systems Research. "Unemployment and low wages remain pressing societal challenges in the wake of increased ...

A new study has shown that gentle streams of water carrying sound and microscopic air bubbles can clean bacteria from salad leaves more effectively than current washing methods used by suppliers and consumers. As well as reducing food poisoning, the findings could reduce food waste and have implications for the growing threat of anti-microbial resistance. Salad and leafy green vegetables may be contaminated with harmful bacteria during growing, harvesting, preparation and retail leading to outbreaks of food poisoning which may be fatal in vulnerable groups. Because there is no cooking process to ...

Healthcare sex discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community may be expanded under the Biden Administration, including safeguards against verbal abuse, physical abuse and the denial of bedside care, according to West Virginia University College of Law experts. In a report published in California Law Review, Professor Valarie Blake and students Ashley Stephens and Amy Post examined whether gender identity and sexual orientation should be included in healthcare sex discrimination laws, on the heels of the historic 2020 Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County. In that case, the Court ruled that sex discrimination includes gender identity and sexual orientation when it comes to employment standards. Yet the interpretation of whether ...

Scientists at the University of Bath in the UK have found a way to bind together two photons of different colours, paving the way for important advancements in quantum-electrodynamics - the field of science that describes how light and matter interact. In time, the team's findings are likely to impact developments in optical and quantum communication, and precision measurements of frequency, time and distances. APPLE AND WAVE: THEY BOTH HAVE A MASS An apple falling from a tree has velocity and mass, which together give it momentum. 'Apple energy' derived from motion depends on the fruit's momentum and mass. Most people find ...