Professionalisation in any field requires long-term experience and training. In the past decades, studies have demonstrated that the professionalisation of athletes and artists create differences in the behaviour of the brain while carrying out activities related to their area of expertise. To detect the effects of media professionalisation in the brain, a research team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the Instituto Ràdio Televisió Espanyola and the Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville conducted a study published in Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience in which audiovisual contents were presented to a group of media ...

Machines, thanks to novel algorithms and advances in computer technology, can now learn complex models and even generate high-quality synthetic data such as photo-realistic images or even resumes of imaginary humans. A study recently published in the international journal PLOS Genetics uses machine learning to mine existing biobanks and generate chunks of human genomes which do not belong to real humans but have the characteristics of real genomes. "Existing genomic databases are an invaluable resource for biomedical research, but they are either not publicly accessible or shielded behind long and exhausting application procedures due to valid ethical concerns. This creates a major scientific barrier for researchers. Machine-generated genomes, or artificial ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- A new technique developed by Brown University researchers reveals the forces involved at the cellular level during biological tissue formation and growth processes. The technique could be useful in better understanding how these processes work, and in studying how they may respond to environmental toxins or drug therapies. As described in the journal Biomaterials, the technique makes use of cell-sized spheres made from a highly compliant polymer material, which can be placed in laboratory cultures of tissue-forming cells. As the tissue-formation process unfolds, microscope imaging of the spheres, which are stained with fluorescent dye, reveals the extent to which they are deformed by the pressure of surrounding cells. A ...

Bird species that live in their natural habitats can help zoos learn how to manage those in captivity, according to a new review. Birds are the most diverse group housed by zoos around the world, but zoo-based research tends not to focus on birds. A new article published in the journal Birds, by Dr Paul Rose of the University of Exeter, suggests zoos can improve management of birds by looking at how species live in their natural habitats. Likewise, birds living under the care of humans can also help guide and develop conservation action for those living in the wild. "Research into wild birds is extremely useful for furthering how birds are managed in zoos," said ...

Scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the quest to understand the intricate processes that occur in the brain during seizures that are the key symptom of epilepsy. A team of scientists from the University of Exeter has studied the mechanisms behind distinctive patterns of electrical activity of neuron groups in the brain that accompany the onset of seizures. In healthy brains, networks of neurons move through states of similar behavior - known as synchronization - and dissimilar behavior, called desynchronization. These processes are also associated with both memory and attention. However, in a brain with a neurological disorder, such as epilepsy, ...

Neuroscientists at McMaster University have found a link between children who are at risk for developmental coordination disorder (DCD), a common condition that can cause clumsiness, and difficulties with time perception such as interpreting changes in rhythmic beats. Accurate time perception is crucial for basic skills such as walking and processing speech and music. "Many developmental disorders, including dyslexia or reading difficulties, autism and attention deficits have been linked to deficits in auditory time perception," says Laurel Trainor, senior author of the study and founding director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. Previous research has shown the brain ...

(Boston)--A new study recommends healthy children with symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, such as snoring or temporary cessation of breathing, should consider undergoing a sleep study (polysomnography) and should discuss the potential benefits of this with their pediatrician or otolaryngologist to possibly manage the child's symptoms medically and before surgery. Sleep disordered breathing is common in children and ranges from mild snoring to severe sleep apnea. Doing a sleep study provides more information on the severity of the condition. Often doctors suggest adenotonsillectomy ...

Utilization of renewable solar energy is crucial for addressing the global energy and environmental concerns and achieving sustainable development in our society. In this regard, photocatalytic water splitting has attracted significant interest as a cost-effective means to convert sustainable solar energy into valuable chemicals. However, efficiency is sensitive to reaction conditions and experimental setup, it is difficult to compare the results obtained by different research groups or provide a reliable guide for large-scale implementation. Due to the ...

What is common between a technology for storing energy in a solar cell and that for water purification? They both rely on the use of porous materials, or more specifically, "nanoporous" materials that can trap gas molecules within narrow spaces on their surface, called "pores", which are only nanometers (one-billionth of a meter) in size! In chemistry parlance, the phenomenon is known as "adsorption" and has played an important role in the synthesis of porous materials of different compositions, pore sizes, and even pore geometries. Traditionally, activated carbon (AC, or a porous form of carbon) has been a popular adsorbent for practical applications owing to its higher capacity of adsorption than that of other porous materials. Lately, however, porous boron ...

Treating severe COVID-19 patients with the anticancer drug bevacizumab may reduce mortality and speed up recovery, according to a small clinical study in Italy and China that was led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden between February and April 2020. On average, blood oxygen levels, body temperature and inflammatory markers significantly improved in patients treated with a single dose of bevacizumab in addition to standard care. The research is published in Nature Communications. "To reduce COVID-19 mortality, we aim to develop an effective therapeutic paradigm for treating patients with severe COVID-19," says corresponding author Yihai ...

A research team led by Prof. HE Shunping from the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered through genome sequencing that the non-teleost ray-finned fishes--bichir, paddlefish, bowfin and alligator gar--exhibit mosaic genomic features of lobe- and ray-finned fishes. The study was published in Cell. The water-to-land transition during the Devonian is one of the most prominent events in vertebrate evolution. During this transition, various organs underwent adaptive changes, particularly those related to locomotion and respiration systems. Rich fossil evidence suggests that many traits and functions related to this terrestrial evolution were present long before the ancestor of lobe- and ray-finned fishes ...

Although silicon anodes could greatly boost the capacity of Li-ion batteries, their performance rapidly degrades with use. Polymeric coatings can help solve this problem, but very few studies have explored the underlying mechanisms. In a recent study, scientists from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology investigate how a poly(borosiloxane) coating greatly stabilizes the capacity of silicon anodes, paving the way for better and more durable Li-ion batteries for electric cars and renewable energy harvesting. Since their conception, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been constantly improved and adapted so that they can become suitable for vastly different applications, from mobile devices ...

Researchers from the Department of Infection and Immunity of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) brought forward the potential of high doses of a specific adjuvant molecule, namely CpG oligonucleotide, in successfully modulating the immune system's allergic response to the main cat allergen Fel d 1, thereby inducing a tolerance-promoting reaction and reverting the main hallmarks of cat allergy. The researchers analysed the molecular mechanisms underlying this tolerance and proposed a pre-clinical allergen-specific immunotherapy approach to improve the treatment and control of this common type of allergy. The full study results ...

Sudden cardiac arrest is more often fatal in people with COVID-19, a new study shows. Those responsible for the research see the results as a wake-up call for the public and care providers alike. The survey now published in the European Heart Journal is a register-based observation study. It covers all 3,026 cases of sudden cardiac arrest that were reported to the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in the period from 1 January to 20 July 2020 -- that is, both before and during the pandemic. The Registry's statistics show that, in Sweden, there are 6,000 cases of sudden cardiac ...

Ozone is a problematic air pollutant that causes serious health problems. A newly developed material not only quickly and selectively indicates the presence of ozone, but also simultaneously renders the gas harmless. As reported by Chinese researchers in Angewandte Chemie, the porous "2-in-one systems" also function reliably in very humid air. Ozone (O(3)) can cause health problems, such as difficulty breathing, lung damage, and asthma attacks. Relevant occupational safety regulations therefore limit the concentrations of ozone allowable in the workplace. Previous methods for the detection of ozone, such as those based on semiconductors, have a variety ...

Thermoelectric generators, TEGs for short, convert ambient heat into electrical power. They enable maintenance-free, environmentally friendly, and autonomous power supply of the continuously growing number of sensors and devices for the Internet of Things (IoT) and recovery of waste heat. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed three-dimensional component architectures based on novel, printable thermoelectric materials. This might be a milestone on the way towards use of inexpensive TEGs. The results are reported in npj Flexible Electronics (DOI: 10.1038/s41528-020-00098-1) and ACS Energy Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.0c02159). "Thermoelectric generators directly convert thermal into electrical energy. This technology enables ...

The scientific novelty of the work of scientists from Ural Federal University, Institute of Solid State Chemistry and Geology and Geochemistry of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences lies in the fact that for the first time scientists solved the task of creating zircon with certain spectral properties. To this end, they have worked out the so-called sol-gel method. It is distinguished by its technological simplicity, controllability of processes and allows synthesizing a larger volume of products with high purity than with other ...

Using patient data, artificial intelligence can make a 90 percent accurate assessment of whether a person will die from COVID-19 or not, according to new research at the University of Copenhagen. Body mass index (BMI), gender and high blood pressure are among the most heavily weighted factors. The research can be used to predict the number of patients in hospitals, who will need a respirator and determine who ought to be first in line for a vaccination. Artificial intelligence is able to predict who is most likely to die from the coronavirus. In doing so, it can also help decide who should be at the front of the line for the precious vaccines now being administered across Denmark. The result is from a newly published study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Department ...

- World's wildlife, from giraffes to voles, kangaroos to coyotes being hit by aircraft. - Study identifies incidences at airports in 47 countries across the globe. - 'Runway Roadkill' increasing by up to 68% annually and has caused damage that has cost in excess of $103 million in the United States alone over a 30 year period. - It is hoped study could pave way for international efforts to protect wildlife and reduce costly aircraft damage. From giraffes to the world's smallest mammals, the world's wildlife is being increasingly struck by aircraft, a global study finds. Airports from Sydney to London and the USA to Germany were examined by researchers who ...

LEBANON, NH - Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) is the first cancer center in the world to install BeamSite Cherenkov imaging cameras in its radiotherapy treatment rooms. The camera system, invented, validated and commercialized by entrepreneurs from NCCC and Dartmouth spinoff biomed tech company, DoseOptics, LLC, captures imaging and real-time video of the beam directly on the patient, allowing the radiation oncology team to visualize treatment delivery. Cherenkov imaging makes radiation treatment a visual process. The Cherenkov effect occurs when photon or electron radiation beams interact with tissue, such as skin, producing a small light ...

University of Texas at Arlington researchers have developed a technique that programs 2D materials to transform into complex 3D shapes. The goal of the work is to create synthetic materials that can mimic how living organisms expand and contract soft tissues and thus achieve complex 3D movements and functions. Programming thin sheets, or 2D materials, to morph into 3D shapes can enable new technologies for soft robotics, deployable systems, and biomimetic manufacturing, which produces synthetic products that mimic biological processes. Kyungsuk Yum, an associate professor in the Materials ...

URBANA, Ill. ¬- Mealtimes are a central aspect of family life, affecting the health and wellbeing of both children and adults. Although the benefits of healthy mealtimes are straightforward, helping all families realize those benefits is quite complicated, new research from University of Illinois shows. The study highlights ways in which some solutions - such as an exclusive focus on improving food access or on improving mealtime preparation and organization skills - may be less effective if done in isolation, says Allen Barton, assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at ...

Researchers from Kumamoto University (Japan) have clarified the mechanism by which blood and lymph vessels remain segregated from one another after development. The characteristics and structures of these two vessel types are very similar, and how they maintain separation has remained unexplained for many years. In this study, researchers found that the molecule Folliculin (FLCN) in vascular endothelial cells acts as a gatekeeper to maintain that separation. Blood and lymphatic vessels form independent networks until the final confluence at the left and right venous angles in the neck. Blood vessels act as a pipeline that ...

We've all felt stressed at some point, whether in our personal or professional lives or in response to exceptional circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic. But until now there has been no way to quantify stress levels in an objective manner. That could soon change thanks to a small wearable sensor developed by engineers at EPFL's Nanoelectronic Devices Laboratory (Nanolab) and Xsensio. The device can be placed directly on a patient's skin and can continually measure the concentration of cortisol, the main stress biomarker, in the patient's sweat. Cortisol: A double-edged sword Cortisol is a steroid hormone ...

The group led by Dr. Enrique J. Calderón - "Clinical Epidemiology and Vascular Risk" at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville - IBiS/University Hospitals Virgen del Rocío and Macarena/CSIC/University of Seville, also a member of CIBERESP, participated in a project with researchers from CIBER-BBN, in which they developed systems to detect Pneumocystis jirovecii, an atypical fungus responsible for very severe pneumonia in immunosuppressed patients. The results have been published in the journals Nanomaterials and Journal of Fungi, and are the fruit of collaboration with the CIBER-BBN groups led by Dr. Laura Lechuga, ...