A global team of scientists have announced the results of an unprecedented collaboration to search for the source of the largest ever seismic event recorded on Mars. The study, led by the University of Oxford, rules out a meteorite impact, suggesting instead that the quake was the result of enormous tectonic forces within Mars’ crust. The quake, which had a magnitude of 4.7 and caused vibrations to reverberate through the planet for at least six hours, was recorded by NASA’s InSight lander on May 4 2022. ...

The American residential lawn is, for many, an iconic landscape and about half of homeowners in the US use fertilizer to keep their yards green and lush. Some proportion of the nitrogen in this fertilizer enters the broader environment, with negative consequences including algal blooms and deoxygenated waters. Peter Groffman and colleagues studied residential landscapes in the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay, seeking to identify locations (hotspots) or times (hot moments) with disproportionately high rates of nitrogen export. The authors went to lawns in exurban, ...

When it comes to eye allergies, the transition from allergen contact to bothersome symptoms has always been quick, appearing within a span of a few minutes. The initial stage of allergic conjunctivitis involves the penetration of allergen through the epithelial cell layer (cells covering the outer surface of the body). However, the exact mechanism underlying the rapid allergen transfer has remained a mystery so far.   Fortunately, in a new ground-breaking study published in the journal JCI Insight on October 11, 2023, researchers from Juntendo ...

LONDON, ON., CA: Alzheimer’s disease disproportionately affects women, who represent about two-thirds of those diagnosed with the late-onset type of the disease. Previous research has shown Alzheimer’s is also more severe and progresses more rapidly in women, and women with Alzheimer’s experience a steeper cognitive decline – loss of memory, attention, and the ability to communicate and make decisions – compared to men with the disease. The biological bases for these differences between men and women with Alzheimer’s disease are not well understood. ...

Now is the time to identify the conditions that cause plants to die. Doing so will allow us to better protect plants by choosing conservation targets more strategically, UC Riverside botanists argue in a new paper.  Published in the Oxford Academic journal Conservation Physiology, the paper demonstrates how scientists can learn the limits past which plants’ vital functions shut down, and makes the case that not doing so is a mistake in this era of increasing drought and wildfires. “We can measure the amount of water loss plants ...

BALTIMORE, October 17, 2023—Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute have received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to expand access to comprehensive care for children and adolescents with long COVID-19, particularly among underserved populations. During the five-year project, researchers at the Pediatric Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic will receive up to $1 million annually to expand and strengthen its integrative services in Baltimore and the overall mid-Atlantic ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (Oct. 17, 2023) – Can lifestyle interventions such as exercise and intermittent fasting help patients with advanced breast cancer better tolerate side effects from treatment? That is the question Tracy Crane, PhD, RDN,  and Carmen Calfa, MD, at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and their collaborators will strive to answer with a $4-million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Crane, co-lead of Cancer Control and director of Lifestyle Medicine, Prevention and ...

Saitama, Japan: Plants emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere upon mechanical damages or insect attacks. Undamaged neighboring plants sense the released VOCs as danger cues to activate defense responses against upcoming threats (Figure 1). This phenomenon of airborne communication among plants through VOCs was first documented in 1983 and has since been observed in more than 30 different plant species. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying VOC perception to defense induction remain unclear.   Unveiling the Invisible Conversation   The ...

Researchers say mapping the genetic code of the brushtail possum will benefit those working to both conserve and control the animal.   In a five-year long study, just published in Nature Communications, an international group of researchers led by the University of Otago, has assembled the entire genetic code of the marsupial mammal.   The work also uncovered where and when their genes are expressed, and revealed surprising details about their population diversity, reproduction, and origins.    Study lead Associate Professor Tim Hore, of Otago’s Department of Anatomy, describes possums as “a fascinating animal that is loved ...

The factors affecting coral’s resilience — its ability to adapt to and survive environmental changes — seem to be more nuanced than scientists believed. In a study published Oct. 18 in the journal Global Change Biology, researchers reveal surprising findings about a species common to Caribbean waters. The discovery may help improve efforts to save corals from bleaching and other consequences of climate change. A team led by Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Carly Kenkel at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and ...

We live in an era of data deluge. The data centers that are operated to store and process this flood of data use a lot of electricity, which has been called a major contributor to environmental pollution. To overcome this situation, polygonal computing systems with lower power consumption and higher computation speed are being researched, but they are not able to handle the huge demand for data processing because they operate with electrical signals, just like conventional binary computing systems. The Korea Institute of Science ...

London, ON, October 17, 2023 – People experiencing homelessness accounted for an increasing proportion of fatal opioid-related deaths in Ontario, Canada, reaching one in six such deaths by 2021, according to new research from ICES, Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute. In one of the first reports to track the continuous increase in opioid-related mortality in the province among people experiencing homelessness, researchers found that the quarterly proportion of opioid-related overdose ...

Over 4,800 years in the Northern Rockies during wet periods and dry periods, subalpine forests consistently recovered from wildfires, growing back vegetation and leaving evidence of their resilience in lake sediment cores.  Kyra Clark-Wolf, now a CU Boulder postdoc with the North Central Climate Adaptation Center (NC CASC), led the study as part of her dissertation research. NC CASC is a partnership of CU Boulder and the United States Geological Survey. “I thought we might see different ecosystem responses to past fires between wet and dry periods,” said Clark-Wolf. “But ...

Rising lake water temperatures threaten the survival of marimo, unique algal balls found only in cold lakes. Kobe University researchers clarified that the warmer it gets, the more the inward decomposition outpaces the outward growth of these life forms, making them increasingly fragile. Moss balls, or “marimo” in Japanese, are popular pet water plants that are not a moss but a special growth form of filamentous algae. They are found naturally in lakes in northern Japan and cold lakes of ...

The resource utilization of waste is an important means to implement the construction of ecological civilization. Agricultural waste contains rich renewable resources and has high potential value in fertilization and energy conversion. Anaerobic digestion technology is a promising technology for treating agricultural waste. Anaerobic digestion refers to the digestion technology in which organic matter is decomposed into CH4, CO2, H2O and H2S by facultative bacteria and anaerobic bacteria under anaerobic conditions, which can transform solid organic matter into soluble organic matter. Not only does it have the advantages of stable process and low operation cost, the biogas produced can also ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — One double-helix strand of DNA could extend six feet, but it is so tightly coiled that it packs an entire sequence of nucleotides into the tiny nucleus of a cell. If that same DNA was instead split into two strands and divided into many, many short pieces, it would become trillions of uniquely folded 3D molecular structures, capable of bonding to and possibly manipulating specifically shaped molecules — if they’re the perfect fit. These short, single-stranded segments of DNA or RNA are called aptamers, also known as “chemical antibodies.” According to Penn State researchers, ...

Many people who dream of an organized, uncluttered home à la Marie Kondo find it hard to decide what to keep and what to let go. But for those with hoarding disorder — a mental condition estimated to affect 2.5% of the U.S. population — the reluctance to let go can reach dangerous and debilitating levels. Now, a pilot study by Stanford Medicine researchers suggests that a virtual reality therapy that allows those with hoarding disorder to rehearse relinquishing possessions in a simulation of their own home could help them declutter ...

A new study by Australian researchers has shown that fluctuating blood pressure can increase the risk of dementia and vascular problems in older people. Short blood pressure (BP) fluctuations within 24 hours as well as over several days or weeks are linked with impaired cognition, say University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers who led the study. Higher systolic BP variations (the top number that measures the pressure in arteries when a heart beats) are also linked with stiffening of the arteries, associated with heart disease. The findings have been published in the journal Cerebral Circulation – Cognition and ...

There are significant gaps in the UK public’s awareness of the tell-tale signs and symptoms of cancer in children and teens, with just a third of adults expressing confidence in being able to recognise them, find the results of a nationally representative survey published online in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood. Public awareness of the cancer signs and symptoms in this age group is much lower than it is in adults, suggesting the need for initiatives to plug this knowledge gap, say the researchers. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of ...

ChatGPT, the AI language model capable of mirroring human conversation, may be better than a doctor at following recognised treatment standards for clinical depression, and without any of the gender or social class biases sometimes seen in the primary care doctor-patient relationship, finds research published in the open access journal Family Medicine and Community Health. However, further research is needed into how well this technology might manage severe cases as well as potential risks and ethical issues arising from its use, say the researchers. Depression is very common, and many of those affected turn first to ...

Immersive virtual reality—digital technology that allows a person to experience being physically present in a non-physical world—seems to ease the pain and distress felt by patients with cancer, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. The technology may also have potential for people with other distressing long term conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), kidney disease, and dementia, the findings indicate. As the physical and practical costs of virtual reality technologies have fallen, interest in their use for improving patients’ quality of life has ...

Having older siblings and childhood tonsil removal are linked to a heightened risk of ankylosing spondylitis, a type of chronic inflammatory arthritis, finds a large study published in the open access journal RMD Open. The findings lend weight to the theory that childhood infections have a role in the development of the condition, which is characterised by inflammation of the spine, joints, and tendons, resulting in pain, stiffness, and fatigue. While genetic predisposition is the leading cause of the disease, early life environmental factors ...

Some strains of heavily antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Ghana are not successful at spreading outside of the hospital, suggesting that control measures can be focused on clinical settings to help curb treatment-resistant infections.  Scientists, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Oslo University Hospitals, the University for Development Studies, Ghana, and collaborators, used a One Health1 approach to understand the spread of antibiotic resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) bacteria in Ghana. It is a bacterial species ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Asian, Hispanic and Black children are much less likely to see ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors, or otolaryngologists, and receive ear tubes for recurring ear infections, according to research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2023 annual meeting. Ear tube placement (tympanostomy) is the most common outpatient procedure in U.S. children. The tubes reduce ear infections by letting air flow in and out of the middle ear and draining the fluid that builds up. The procedure requires a referral to an ENT, and if left untreated, ear infections can ...

A cheap and widely available prescription drug can improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in patients seen in GP surgeries, new research presented today at UEG Week 2023 has found.  Amitriptyline, which is commonly used at low doses for a range of health concerns, has been found to improve irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms too, according to the results of the ATLANTIS trial.  Led by researchers at the Universities of Leeds, Southampton, and Bristol and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the study was conducted in primary care. GPs prescribed the drug and patients managed their own dose based on the severity of their symptoms, ...