ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

See live cells with seven times greater sensitivity using new microscopy technique
Traditional Ghanaian medicines show promise against tropical diseases
Desalination breakthrough could lead to cheaper water filtration
Stretching diamond for next-generation microelectronics
Spontaneous robot dances highlight a new kind of order in active matter
Multiple mosquito blood meals accelerate malaria transmission
New virtual screening strategy identifies existing drug that inhibits COVID-19 virus
Asian tiger mosquito poses low risk for Zika virus outbreaks
Social media safety messages: Pictures should match the words
Study points the way to boost immunotherapy against breast cancer, other solid tumors
Blood vessel cells implicated in chronic inflammation of obesity
Transfusions with higher red blood cell levels do not improve preterm baby outcomes
Largest study of Asia's rivers unearths 800 years of paleoclimate patterns
Protein twist and squeeze confers cancer drug resistance

See live cells with seven times greater sensitivity using new microscopy technique

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 04:51 PM PST

Experts in optical physics have developed a new way to see inside living cells in greater detail using existing microscopy technology and without needing to add stains or fluorescent dyes.

Traditional Ghanaian medicines show promise against tropical diseases

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:38 AM PST

The discovery of new drugs is vital to achieving the eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Africa and around the world. Now, researchers have identified traditional Ghanaian medicines which work in the lab against schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis, three diseases endemic to Ghana.

Desalination breakthrough could lead to cheaper water filtration

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:15 AM PST

Producing clean water at a lower cost could be on the horizon after researchers solved a complex problem that has baffled scientists for decades, until now.

Stretching diamond for next-generation microelectronics

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:15 AM PST

Diamond is the hardest material in nature. It also has great potential as an excellent electronic material. A research team has demonstrated for the first time the large, uniform tensile elastic straining of microfabricated diamond arrays through the nanomechanical approach. Their findings have shown the potential of strained diamonds as prime candidates for advanced functional devices in microelectronics, photonics, and quantum information technologies.

Spontaneous robot dances highlight a new kind of order in active matter

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:15 AM PST

Researchers have proposed a new principle by which active matter systems can spontaneously order, without need for higher level instructions or even programmed interaction among the agents. And they have demonstrated this principle in a variety of systems, including groups of periodically shape-changing robots called 'smarticles.'

Multiple mosquito blood meals accelerate malaria transmission

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:14 AM PST

Multiple bouts of blood feeding by mosquitoes shorten the incubation period for malaria parasites and increase malaria transmission potential, according to a new study.

New virtual screening strategy identifies existing drug that inhibits COVID-19 virus

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:14 AM PST

A novel computational drug screening strategy combined with lab experiments suggest that pralatrexate, a chemotherapy medication originally developed to treat lymphoma, could potentially be repurposed to treat COVID-19.

Asian tiger mosquito poses low risk for Zika virus outbreaks

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:14 AM PST

The Asian tiger mosquito does not pose a major risk for Zika virus epidemics, according to a new study.

Social media safety messages: Pictures should match the words

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 07:07 AM PST

When using social media to nudge people toward safe and healthy behaviors, it's critical to make sure the words match the pictures, according to a new study. After looking at social media posts, parents of young children were better able to recall safety messages such as how to put a baby safely to sleep when the images in the posts aligned with the messages in the text.

Study points the way to boost immunotherapy against breast cancer, other solid tumors

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 07:07 AM PST

Researchers report that adding a small molecule to a chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy can help immune system T cells to effectively attack solid tumors, such as breast cancers. The boost helps recruit more immune cells into battle at the tumor site, according to the new study.

Blood vessel cells implicated in chronic inflammation of obesity

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 06:10 AM PST

When fat cells in the body are stuffed with excess fat, the surrounding tissue becomes inflamed. That chronic, low-level inflammation is one of the driving factors behind many of the diseases associated with obesity. Now, scientists have discovered a type of cell responsible, at least in mice, for triggering this inflammation in fat tissue. Their findings could eventually lead to new ways to treat obesity.

Transfusions with higher red blood cell levels do not improve preterm baby outcomes

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 06:10 AM PST

A randomized clinical trial is the largest study to-date to compare thresholds for blood transfusions in premature babies, offers guidance for health care providers.

Largest study of Asia's rivers unearths 800 years of paleoclimate patterns

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 06:42 AM PST

The SUTD study will be crucial for assessing future climatic changes and making more informed water management decisions.

Protein twist and squeeze confers cancer drug resistance

Posted: 29 Dec 2020 05:02 AM PST

Scientists have revealed how a transporter protein twists and squeezes compounds out of cells, including chemotherapy drugs from some cancer cells.