ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Snake venom complexity is driven by prey diet
• B cell activating factor possible key to hemophilia immune tolerance
• Tiny implantable tool for light-sheet imaging of brain activity
• Research inside hill slopes could help wildfire and drought prediction
• New algorithm uses online learning for massive cell data sets
• Making waves in oceanography: Upwelling defies prior theories
• Unique mode of cell migration on soft 'viscoelastic' surfaces
• Early deaths rising in workers using methylene chloride paint strippers
• DNA robots designed in minutes instead of days
• SARS-CoV-2 variants from minks evade inhibition by antibodies
• Sustainable chemical synthesis with platinum
• Understanding interfaces of hybrid materials with machine learning
• Ocean currents modulate oxygen content at the equator
• Stone Age black bears didn't just defecate in the woods - they did it in a cave too
• Two blood thinners at once: More risk with the same reward
• Gene therapy shows promise in initial trial for patients with childhood blindness
• Green hydrogen: 'Rust' as a photoanode and its limits
• Microglia, Stockholm syndrome and miraculous cures in glioblastoma patients
• Once-a-week insulin treatment could be game-changing for patients with diabetes
• Study reveals the workings of nature's own earthquake blocker
• Who is selling and trafficking Africa's wild meat?
• Attacking aortic aneurysms before they grow
• Mapping performance variations to see how lithium-metal batteries fail
• Ice cap study promises new prospects for accurate local climate projections
• Your neighborhood may affect your brain health
• Human land-use and climate change will have significant impact on animal genetic diversity
• Intellectual disability is rarely inherited -- risk for younger siblings is low
• What does the study of domesticated birds tell us about the evolution of human language?
• Defects in a specific cell type may cause ulcerative colitis
• Mountain high: Andean forests have high potential to store carbon under climate change
• Northern Red Sea corals live close to the threshold of resistance to cold temperatures
• Pandemic eviction bans found to protect entire communities from COVID-19 spread
• UK waters are home again to the bluefin tuna
• Study shows education is not enough to overcome inequality
• NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter succeeds in historic first flight
• How to make online arguments productive
• Humans are directly influencing wind and weather over North Atlantic
• New model describes the (scaling) laws of the jungle
• Gender-affirming hormone therapy may increase risk of high blood pressure
• Scientists crack 'the Brazil-nut' puzzle, how do the largest nuts rise to the top?
• Videoconferences more exhausting when participants don't feel group belonging
• Common plants and pollinators act as anchors for ecosystems

Snake venom complexity is driven by prey diet Posted: 19 Apr 2021 04:53 PM PDT Diversity in diet plays a role in the complexity of venom in pit vipers such as rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths. But new collaborative research found the number of prey species a snake ate did not drive venom complexity. Rather, it was how far apart the prey species were from each other evolutionarily.

B cell activating factor possible key to hemophilia immune tolerance Posted: 19 Apr 2021 03:21 PM PDT A group of scientists have just made a key discovery that could prevent and eradicate immune responses that lead to treatment failure in about one-third of people with severe hemophilia A.

Tiny implantable tool for light-sheet imaging of brain activity Posted: 19 Apr 2021 03:21 PM PDT Tools for optical imaging of brain activity in freely moving animals have considerable potential for expanding the scientific understanding of the brain. However, existing technologies for imaging brain activity with light have challenges. An international team of scientists has now developed an implantable probe for light-sheet imaging of the brain.

Research inside hill slopes could help wildfire and drought prediction Posted: 19 Apr 2021 03:20 PM PDT A new study has found that rock weathering and water storage appear to follow a similar pattern across undulating landscapes. The findings are important because they suggest that these patterns could improve predictions of wildfire and landslide risk and how droughts will affect the landscape.

New algorithm uses online learning for massive cell data sets Posted: 19 Apr 2021 03:20 PM PDT A new algorithm uses online learning to analyze large single-cell data sets using the amount of memory found on a standard laptop computer.

Making waves in oceanography: Upwelling defies prior theories Posted: 19 Apr 2021 01:01 PM PDT A new scientific discovery has recorded how ghost currents and sediments can 'undo' the force of gravity. The new theory helps explain obscure events in which suspended sediment particles mysteriously move upward, not downward, on the slope of submarine canyons of the deep sea.

Unique mode of cell migration on soft 'viscoelastic' surfaces Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Engineers find that cancer cells exhibit a unique mode of migration on squishy materials, which are similar to biological tissues. In contrast, cell movement - a process central to cancer metastasis and other biological processes - is typically studied on very rigid materials.

Early deaths rising in workers using methylene chloride paint strippers Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Researchers and physicians have found that early deaths of workers using methylene chloride paint strippers are on the rise. The solvent is widely used in paint strippers, cleaners, adhesives and sealants.

DNA robots designed in minutes instead of days Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Someday, scientists believe, tiny DNA-based robots and other nanodevices will deliver medicine inside our bodies, detect the presence of deadly pathogens, and help manufacture increasingly smaller electronics. Researchers took a big step toward that future by developing a new tool that can design much more complex DNA robots and nanodevices than were ever possible before in a fraction of the time.

SARS-CoV-2 variants from minks evade inhibition by antibodies Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Immune responses in SARS-CoV-2 patients might provide only incomplete protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants from minks.

Sustainable chemical synthesis with platinum Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Researchers used platinum and aluminum compounds to create a catalyst which enables certain chemical reactions to occur more efficiently than ever before. The catalyst could significantly reduce energy usage in various industrial and pharmaceutical processes. It also allows for a wider range of sustainable sources to feed the processes, which could reduce the demand for fossil fuels required by them.

Understanding interfaces of hybrid materials with machine learning Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Using machine learning methods, researchers can predict the structure formation of functionalized molecules at the interfaces of hybrid materials. Now they have also succeeded in looking behind the driving forces of this structure formation.

Ocean currents modulate oxygen content at the equator Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT A study has used long-term observations to investigate the complex interplay between fluctuations in the equatorial current system and variations in oxygen content. During the last 15 years the intensification of upper-ocean currents resulted in an increasing oxygen content in the equatorial region.

Stone Age black bears didn't just defecate in the woods - they did it in a cave too Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Scientists have sequenced ancient DNA from soil for the first time and the advance will transform what is known about everything from evolution to climate change. The findings have been described as the 'moon landings' of genomics because researchers will no longer have to rely on finding and testing fossils to determine genetic ancestry, links and discoveries - and it is thanks to Stone Age black bears who defecated in a remote cave in Mexico 16,000 years ago.

Two blood thinners at once: More risk with the same reward Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT For some patients, adding aspirin to a direct oral anticoagulant is an equation that rarely adds up.

Gene therapy shows promise in initial trial for patients with childhood blindness Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT A new gene therapy for one of the most common forms of congenital blindness was safe and improved patients' vision, according to initial data from a clinical trial.

Green hydrogen: 'Rust' as a photoanode and its limits Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT Researchers have now analyzed the optoelectronic properties of rust (haematite) and other metal oxides in unprecedented detail. Their results show that the maximum achievable efficiency of haematite electrodes is significantly lower than previously assumed. The study demonstrates ways to assess new photoelectrode materials more realistically.

Microglia, Stockholm syndrome and miraculous cures in glioblastoma patients Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:57 AM PDT University of Minnesota Medical School researchers revealed why some glioblastoma patients see exceptional benefits from chemotherapy and survive beyond expectations.

Once-a-week insulin treatment could be game-changing for patients with diabetes Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:56 AM PDT Treating people with Type 2 diabetes with a new once-a-week injectable insulin therapy proved to be safe and as effective as daily insulin injections, according to the results of two international clinical trials. The studies suggest that the once-weekly treatment could provide a convenient alternative to the burden of daily insulin shots for diabetes patients.

Study reveals the workings of nature's own earthquake blocker Posted: 19 Apr 2021 10:56 AM PDT A new study finds a naturally occurring 'earthquake gate' that decides which earthquakes are allowed to grow into magnitude 8 or greater. Sometimes, the 'gate' stops earthquakes in the magnitude 7 range, while ones that pass through the gate grow to magnitude 8 or greater, releasing over 32 times as much energy as a magnitude 7.

Who is selling and trafficking Africa's wild meat? Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:09 AM PDT A new study classifies different types of wildlife traffickers and sellers in two of Central Africa's growing urban centers, providing new insight into the poorly understood urban illegal wildlife trade.

Attacking aortic aneurysms before they grow Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:09 AM PDT New basic science research shows what happens to the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms when you inhibit JMJD3 through both genetics and pharmacology.

Mapping performance variations to see how lithium-metal batteries fail Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT Scientists have identified the primary cause of failure in a state-of-the-art lithium-metal battery, of interest for long-range electric vehicles: electrolyte depletion.

Ice cap study promises new prospects for accurate local climate projections Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT New, detailed study of the Renland Ice Cap offers the possibility of modelling other smaller ice caps and glaciers with much greater accuracy than hitherto. The study combined airborne radar data to determine the thickness of the ice cap with on-site measurements of the thickness of the ice cap and satellite data. Researchers gathered data from the ice cap in 2015, and this work has now come to fruition: More exact predictions of local climate conditions.

Your neighborhood may affect your brain health Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT Middle-age and older people living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods -- areas with higher poverty levels and fewer educational and employment opportunities--had more brain shrinkage on brain scans and showed faster decline on cognitive tests than people living in neighborhoods with fewer disadvantages, according to a new study.

Human land-use and climate change will have significant impact on animal genetic diversity Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT Researchers have made the first ever global assessment map of how future climate and land-use change impacts genetic diversity in mammals. The researchers hope the map will assist policy makers in prioritizing which areas should be preserved first.

Intellectual disability is rarely inherited -- risk for younger siblings is low Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT Intellectual disability is most often caused by changes to the genome that take place in early fetal development and are not found in the parents' DNA. This is why the risk of recurrence in the next sibling of the family is very small, as indicated by a recent study.

What does the study of domesticated birds tell us about the evolution of human language? Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT Language is one of the most notable abilities humans have. It allows us to express complex meanings and transmit knowledge from generation to generation. An important question in human biology is how this ability ended up being developed.

Defects in a specific cell type may cause ulcerative colitis Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT There are many variants of 'goblet cells' in the intestines and they seem to have different functions, according to a new study. The study indicates that defects in goblet cells of a particular type may be a factor contributing to ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease.

Mountain high: Andean forests have high potential to store carbon under climate change Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT The Andes Mountains in South America are the world's longest mountain range and a hotspot of biodiversity. But the forest that climbs up this mountain range provides another important service to humanity. Andean forests are helping to protect the planet by acting as a carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide and keeping some of this climate-altering gas out of circulation, according to new research.

Northern Red Sea corals live close to the threshold of resistance to cold temperatures Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT In the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, corals have exceptionally high tolerance to increasing seawater temperatures resulting from global warming. However, climate change will also result in more variable weather patterns, including extreme cold periods. Researchers now demonstrate that a winter even 1 degree Celsius cooler than average results in a physiological stress response similar to that seen in other corals under heat stress, detailing how perilously close they live to their lower temperature threshold.

Pandemic eviction bans found to protect entire communities from COVID-19 spread Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:01 AM PDT A new study uses computer modeling to suggest that eviction bans authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the infection rate and not only protected those who would have lost their housing but also entire communities from the spread of infections.

UK waters are home again to the bluefin tuna Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:00 AM PDT Atlantic bluefin tuna have returned to UK waters and can once again be seen during the summer and autumn months.

Study shows education is not enough to overcome inequality Posted: 19 Apr 2021 07:59 AM PDT A recent study finds that social inequality persists, regardless of educational achievement - particularly for men.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter succeeds in historic first flight Posted: 19 Apr 2021 07:01 AM PDT The small rotorcraft made history, hovering above Jezero Crater, demonstrating that powered, controlled flight on another planet is possible.

How to make online arguments productive Posted: 19 Apr 2021 06:51 AM PDT Researchers worked with almost 260 people to understand online disagreements and to develop potential design interventions that could make these discussions more productive and centered around relationship-building.

Humans are directly influencing wind and weather over North Atlantic Posted: 19 Apr 2021 06:40 AM PDT A new study provides evidence that humans are influencing wind and weather patterns across the eastern United States and western Europe by releasing CO2 and other pollutants into Earth's atmosphere.

New model describes the (scaling) laws of the jungle Posted: 19 Apr 2021 06:40 AM PDT Underneath the apparent messiness of forests lurk extraordinary regularities, governed by the biological mechanisms that drive universal forces of growth, death, and competition.

Gender-affirming hormone therapy may increase risk of high blood pressure Posted: 19 Apr 2021 05:43 AM PDT Transgender and gender-diverse people have higher rates of hypertension compared to the general population. Within two to four months of starting gender-affirming hormone therapy, transgender women had a lower average systolic blood pressure, and transgender men had a higher average systolic blood pressure.

Scientists crack 'the Brazil-nut' puzzle, how do the largest nuts rise to the top? Posted: 19 Apr 2021 05:43 AM PDT Scientists have for the first time captured the complex dynamics of particle movement in granular materials, helping to explain why mixed nuts often see the larger Brazil nuts gather at the top. The findings could have vital impact on industries struggling with the phenomenon, such as pharmaceuticals and mining.

Videoconferences more exhausting when participants don't feel group belonging Posted: 19 Apr 2021 05:42 AM PDT Videoconferences may be less exhausting if participants feel some sense of group belonging, according to new research.

Common plants and pollinators act as anchors for ecosystems Posted: 19 Apr 2021 05:42 AM PDT 'Generalist' plants and pollinators play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and may also serve as buffers against some impacts of climate change, finds new research. The findings provide valuable insights for prioritizing the conservation of species that contribute to the strength of ecological communities.

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