Developing a tool for streamlined molecular weight analysis

New world-first Griffith University-led research has streamlined the process of identifying the structure and molecular weight of compounds, which could have positive implications for scientists working in the fields of drug discovery, pollution analysis, food security and more.

Rising heat plus strenuous jobs could hurt worker health, study finds

The historic heat wave that hit the Pacific Northwest last month was not just uncomfortable and oppressive—it was deadly.

AlphaCT1 molecule may repair the skin's collagen matrix by altering how scar-forming cells behave

Surgical scars treated with a molecule called alphaCT1 showed a long-term improvement in appearance when compared to control scars, according to multicenter, controlled Phase II clinical trials—a finding that could help surgeons improve patient outcomes.

Tropical fly study shows that a mother's age and diet influences offspring health

The female tsetse fly, which gives birth to adult-sized live young, produce weaker offspring as they get older, and when they feed on poor quality blood.

Dearth of mental health support during pandemic for those with chronic health problems

A new scoping review found that those with chronic health concerns, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions, are not only at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection, they are also more likely to experience anxiety, depression or substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study finds surprising source of social influence

Imagine you're a CEO who wants to promote an innovative new product—a time management app or a fitness program. Should you send the product to Kim Kardashian in the hope that she'll love it and spread the word to her legions of Instagram followers? The answer would be 'yes' if successfully transmitting new ideas or behavior patterns was as simple as showing them to as many people as possible.

US judge rules in favor of university's vaccine mandate

A US federal judge on Monday upheld a university's decision to require its students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the first ruling on an increasingly divisive issue ahead of the new school year.

Amazon magnate Bezos ready to ride his own rocket to space

The wealthiest man on the planet Jeff Bezos will ride his own rocket to outer space on Tuesday, a key moment for a fledgling industry seeking to make the final frontier accessible to elite tourists.

Adelaide becomes latest Australian city to lock down

Adelaide will on Tuesday become the latest in a string of Australian cities to lock down, as the largely unvaccinated nation struggles to contain a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak.

Covid recovery to drive all-time emissions high: IEA

Carbon emissions are set to hit an all-time high by 2023 as just two percent of pandemic recovery finance is being spent on clean energy, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

Research: India's deaths during pandemic 10X official toll

India's excess deaths during the pandemic could be a staggering 10 times the official COVID-19 toll, likely making it modern India's worst human tragedy, according to the most comprehensive research yet on the ravages of the virus in the south Asian country.

People becoming desensitized to COVID-19 illnesses, death, research suggests

Although people in early 2020 hoarded toilet paper, washed their hands incessantly, and wouldn't leave home, 11 months later the public pushed the envelope on COVID-19 safety precautions and ignored warnings as time went on, a new University of California, Davis, study suggests.

New high-tech portal launched to speed hearing loss innovations

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) launched a new online tool that could more quickly advance medical discoveries to reverse progressive hearing loss. The tool enables easy access to genetic and other molecular data from hundreds of technical research studies involving hearing function and the ear. The research portal called gene Expression Analysis Resource (gEAR) was unveiled in a study last month in Nature Methods. It is operated by a group of physician-scientists at the UMSOM Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) in collaboration with their colleagues at other institutions.

Copper transporter potential new treatment target for cardiovascular disease

An internal transporter that enables us to use the copper we consume in foods like shellfish and nuts to enable a host of vital body functions also has the essential role of protecting the receptor that enables us to grow new blood vessels when ours become diseased, Medical College of Georgia scientists report.

Rapid screening, face masks may prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission at indoor mass-gathering events

An observational study in Barcelona, Spain found that implementation of same-day rapid screening, use of face masks, and improved ventilation was associated with very low rates of SARS-CoV-2 transmission at an indoor mass-gathering live concert without physical distancing. The brief research report is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Antibiotic prescriptions for kids plummet during pandemic

As children made fewer visits to health facilities and engaged in social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation measures, a smaller number of them also received prescription drugs, a new study suggests.

Patient case strongly suggests link between COVID-19 vaccine and Bell's palsy

The case of a patient who experienced two facial palsies—one after the first and another after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine—strongly suggests that Bell's palsy (facial nerve palsy of unknown cause) is linked to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, doctors write in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

Health impacts of lockdowns no worse than large COVID outbreaks, at least in short term

Although lockdowns are undoubtedly associated with health harms, their impact on health is unlikely to be worse than the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic itself, concludes a review published in the online journal BMJ Global Health.

High-income countries are failing to provide adequate mental health services for children

One in eight children have mental disorders that cause symptoms and impairment and therefore require treatment, but even in high-income countries most of these children will not gain access to services to treat them, reports a study published in the journal Evidence-Based Mental Health.

Size of Oregon wildfire underscores vastness of the US West

The monstrous wildfire burning in Oregon has grown to a third the size of Rhode Island and spreads miles each day, but evacuations and property losses have been minimal compared with much smaller blazes in densely populated areas of California.

Tomato fruits send electrical warnings to the rest of the plant when attacked by insects

A recent study in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems shows that the fruits of a type of tomato plant send electrical signals to the rest of the plant when they are infested by caterpillars. Plants have a multitude of chemical and hormonal signaling pathways, which are generally transmitted through the sap (the nutrient-rich water that moves through the plant). In the case of fruits, nutrients flow exclusively to the fruit and there has been little research into whether there is any communication in the opposite direction—i.e. from fruit to plant.

Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar births

Black holes with masses equivalent to millions of suns do put a brake on the birth of new stars, say astronomers. Using machine learning and three state of the art simulations to back up results from a large sky survey, the researchers resolve a 20-year long debate on the formation of stars. Joanna Piotrowska, a Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge, will present the new work today at the virtual National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2021).

Scientists create world's thinnest magnet

The development of an ultrathin magnet that operates at room temperature could lead to new applications in computing and electronics—such as high-density, compact spintronic memory devices—and new tools for the study of quantum physics.