Army Corps plans extensive review of Great Lakes tunnel plan

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it would conduct an extensive review of Enbridge Energy's plan to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath a Great Lakes channel in Michigan, which could significantly delay the project.

Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers

A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

'Crazy' ants that kill birds eradicated from Pacific atoll

An invasive species known as the yellow crazy ant has been eradicated from a remote U.S. atoll in the Pacific.

Pandemic fallout to be felt 'for years': UN drug agency

The coronavirus pandemic is pushing more people into drug use, while illicit cultivation could also get a boost, the UN said Thursday, warning that the crisis's fallout was likely to be felt "for years to come".

In Brazil favela on stilts, COVID one on a long list of woes

It's best to watch your step in Dique da Vila Gilda, a slum on stilts where the rickety walkways across the fetid water below the tin-roof shacks sometimes break beneath people's feet.

See you in 17 years: America's cicada plague winding down

They've been everywhere, crawling up trees and flitting about clumsily in search of a mate, droning loudly, causing auto accidents and even daring to land on the neck of the US president.

Brazil sets daily record for COVID cases, as pandemic third wave breaks

Brazil set a new record for COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, with 115,228 new cases identified within 24 hours, the Health Ministry said, confirming the arrival of a third wave of the pandemic.

China's crypto-miners look abroad as regulators tighten noose

When a prefecture in northwestern China's Xinjiang region ordered a halt on cryptocurrency mining projects this month, Chris Zhu scrambled to move clients' machines southward, spending over a week to reassemble in Sichuan.

'It's a plague': Croatian farmers incensed by wolf attacks

The wolf corpse hanging from a road sign outside a small Croatian town warned that farmers had been pushed too far—attacks on their livestock were driving them to desperation.

Risk of autism increases with maternal depression, but not SSRI use: study

Women with depression and other mood disorders are generally advised to continue taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy. The drugs are widely considered safe, but the effect of these medications on the unborn fetus has remained a topic of some concern. Now, researchers have found that maternal psychiatric conditions—but not the use of serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)—increased the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delay (DD) in offspring.

Increased organizational support for employees' adoption efforts yields positive benefits

When an organization supports its employees who choose to adopt children, the employees, their families, the adopted children and the organization itself experience positive benefits and outcomes, according to new research from Baylor University.

Shifting sands, creeping soils, and a new understanding of landscape evolution

A new study published in Nature Communications finds that piles of sand grains, even when undisturbed, are in constant motion. Using highly-sensitive optical interference data, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University present results that challenge existing theories in both geology and physics about how soils and other types of disordered materials behave.

Better mental health supports for nurses needed, study finds

Working in the highly charged environment of COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the mental health of nurses, according to a new survey by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto.

Physicists use electric fields to induce oscillations in tiny particles

A challenging frontier in science and engineering is controlling matter outside of thermodynamic equilibrium to build material systems with capabilities that rival those of living organisms. Research on active colloids aims to create micro- and nanoscale "particles" that swim through viscous fluids like primitive microorganisms. When these self-propelled particles come together, they can organize and move like schools of fish to perform robotic functions, such as navigating complex environments and delivering "cargo" to targeted locations.

Study highlights racial inequity in health care access, quality

A recent study finds states that exhibit higher levels of systemic racism also have pronounced racial disparities regarding access to health care. In short, the more racist a state was, the better access white people had—and the worse access Black people had.

Starting the day off with chocolate could have unexpected benefits

A new study of postmenopausal women has found that eating a concentrated amount of chocolate during a narrow window of time in the morning may help the body burn fat and decrease blood sugar levels.

Study examines 'red flag' gun laws and state efforts to block local legislation

"Red flag" gun laws—which allow law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from a person at risk of harming themselves or others—are gaining attention at the state and federal levels, but are under scrutiny by legislators who deem them unconstitutional. A new analysis by legal scholars at NYU School of Global Public Health describes the state-by-state landscape for red flag legislation and how it may be an effective tool to reduce gun violence, while simultaneously protecting individuals' constitutional rights.

With age, insufficient tryptophan alters gut microbiota, increases inflammation

With age, a diet lacking in the essential amino acid tryptophan—which has a key role in our mood, energy level and immune response—makes the gut microbiome less protective and increases inflammation body-wide, investigators report.

Food protein can eliminate pungency and bitterness of extra virgin olive oil

Researchers have been investigating the potential health-promoting qualities of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for decades, including its possible medicinal value for preventing cancer, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease, as part of the well-known Mediterranean diet. However, consumers in the U.S. have been slow to embrace it as a staple in their diet. This reluctance, say scientists, might be in part due to EVOO's bitter taste and pungency, which is caused by the presence of substances known as phenolic compounds, the very ones believed to contribute to EVOO health benefits. In 2005, researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center identified one of these compounds as an anti-inflammatory that they named oleocanthal and is mostly responsible for the oil's strong, pungent sensation localized to the throat.

COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy can reduce hospitalizations, healthcare system stress

A newly published study by the University of South Florida Health (USF Health) and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) shows that monoclonal antibodies (MABs) work well in reducing COVID-19 related emergency department visits and hospitalizations when given early to high-risk patients. If used under FDA guidelines, the researchers suggest, this treatment can ease the pandemic's continuing burden on patients and on limited health care resources.

Single dose of Pfizer or Astra Zeneca vaccine offers substantial protection to older adults in long-term care facilities

A new study to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) (9-12 July) and published this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases shows that, for residents of long-term care homes for adults aged 65 years and over, a single dose of either the Pfizer or Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine offers around 60% protection against infection from SARS-CoV-2. The study is by Dr. Madhumita Shrotri and Dr. Laura Shallcross, UCL Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, UK, and colleagues.

Dutch study finds antibiotic-resistant bacteria common in veterinary staff

New research being presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) held online this year (9-12 July), suggests that one in 10 veterinary workers in the Netherlands carries strains of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria compared to around one in 20 of the general Dutch population.

New class of compounds found to block coronavirus reproduction

A human genetic mechanism hijacked by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, to help it spread also makes it vulnerable to a new class of drug candidates, a new study finds.