ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• A breakthrough astrophysics code rapidly models stellar collisions
• Body's natural pain killers can be enhanced
• High school junior's consumer seismometer delivers low-cost earthquake early warning
• Fiber optic cable monitors microseismicity in Antarctica
• DeepShake uses machine learning to rapidly estimate earthquake shaking intensity
• Force transmission between cells orchestrates collective cellular motion
• Ankle exoskeleton enables faster walking
• Recreating the earliest stages of life
• Fossils of 'giant cloud rats' discovered in Philippine caves
• Radar satellites can better protect against bushfires and floods
• Quantum steering for more precise measurements
• Study paves the way for new photosensitive materials
• Hungry fruit flies are extreme ultramarathon fliers
• Silver ions hurry up, then wait as they disperse
• Machine learning model generates realistic seismic waveforms
• Finding new life for wine-grape residue
• Genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation
• Scientists uncover structure of light-driven enzyme with potential biofuel applications
• Immune system, not COVID virus, may pose greatest risk to pregnant women
• A new method for fighting 'cold' tumors
• Newly-discovered molecule provides dual protection against vascular inflammation
• Experimental drug shows potential against Alzheimer's disease
• Anti-aging compound improves muscle glucose metabolism in people
• Researchers trace spinal neuron family tree
• Salad or cheeseburger? Your co-workers shape your food choices
• MERS DNA vaccine induces immunity, protects from virus challenge in preclinical model
• Researchers show how 'theory of mind' influences advertising skepticism
• Stress test finds cracks in the resistance of harmful hospital bugs
• Minimally invasive retinal reattachment procedure leads to superior photoreceptor integrity
• 3D printed models provide clearer understanding of ground motion
• Scientists provide new insights into the citric acid cycle
• New therapy target for malignant melanomas in dogs
• Plant provenance influences pollinators
• SMART breakthrough in materials discovery enables 'twistronics' for bulk systems
• Unlocking Australia's biodiversity, one dataset at a time
• How is a molecular machine assembled?
• Freeze! Executioner protein caught in the act
• Scientists glimpse signs of a puzzling state of matter in a superconductor
• Poor iodine levels in women pose risks to fetal intellectual development in pregnancy

A breakthrough astrophysics code rapidly models stellar collisions Posted: 23 Apr 2021 01:28 PM PDT A new breakthrough astrophysics code, named Octo-Tiger, simulates the evolution of self-gravitating and rotating systems of arbitrary geometry using adaptive mesh refinement and a new method to parallelize the code to achieve superior speeds. This new code to model stellar collisions is more expeditious than the established code used for numerical simulations.

Body's natural pain killers can be enhanced Posted: 23 Apr 2021 01:28 PM PDT A study in cells and mice finds a opioid-receptor modifying compound works to relieve pain using the body's own pain-killers, with fewer side effects than opioids.

High school junior's consumer seismometer delivers low-cost earthquake early warning Posted: 23 Apr 2021 10:02 AM PDT A Southern California high school junior has built a low-cost seismometer device that delivers earthquake early warnings for homes and businesses. Costing less than $100 for her to make today, the seismometer could someday be a regular household safety device akin to a smart smoke detector.

Fiber optic cable monitors microseismicity in Antarctica Posted: 23 Apr 2021 10:02 AM PDT Researchers shared how they are using fiber optic cable to detect the small earthquakes that occur in ice in Antarctica.

DeepShake uses machine learning to rapidly estimate earthquake shaking intensity Posted: 23 Apr 2021 10:02 AM PDT A deep spatiotemporal neural network trained on more than 36,000 earthquakes offers a new way of quickly predicting ground shaking intensity once an earthquake is underway, researchers report.

Force transmission between cells orchestrates collective cellular motion Posted: 23 Apr 2021 10:02 AM PDT How do the billions of cells communicate in order to perform tasks? The cells exert force on their environment through movement - and in doing so, they communicate. They work as a group in order to infiltrate their environment, perform wound healing and the like. They sense the stiffness or softness of their surroundings and this helps them connect and organize their collective effort. But when the connection between cells is distrubeddisturbed, a situation just like when cancer is initiated, can appear.

Ankle exoskeleton enables faster walking Posted: 23 Apr 2021 06:54 AM PDT In lab tests, researchers found that an optimized ankle exoskeleton system increased participants' walking speed by about 40 percent compared with their regular speed. The researchers hope someday to help restore walking speed in older adults.

Recreating the earliest stages of life Posted: 23 Apr 2021 06:26 AM PDT A group of scientists has now demonstrated the presence of precursors of the placenta and the amniotic sac in synthetic embryos they created from mouse stem cells.

Fossils of 'giant cloud rats' discovered in Philippine caves Posted: 23 Apr 2021 05:57 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the fossils of three new species of giant cloud rats that lived alongside ancient humans in the Philippines. These fluffy, squirrel-like creatures may have been a source of food for the ancient humans.

Radar satellites can better protect against bushfires and floods Posted: 23 Apr 2021 05:57 AM PDT New research has revealed how radar satellites can improve the ability to detect, monitor, prepare for and withstand natural disasters in Australia including bushfires, floods and earthquakes.

Quantum steering for more precise measurements Posted: 23 Apr 2021 05:57 AM PDT Quantum systems consisting of several particles can be used to measure magnetic or electric fields more precisely. A young physicist has now proposed a new scheme for such measurements that uses a particular kind of correlation between quantum particles.

Study paves the way for new photosensitive materials Posted: 22 Apr 2021 03:19 PM PDT Scientists are investigating the molecular dynamics of titania clusters. Such research is a basic step toward the development of more efficient photocatalysts.

Hungry fruit flies are extreme ultramarathon fliers Posted: 22 Apr 2021 03:18 PM PDT New research indicates that the common fruit fly can travel tens of kilometers in a single flight when in search of food.

Silver ions hurry up, then wait as they disperse Posted: 22 Apr 2021 03:18 PM PDT Chemists quantify the release mechanism of silver ions from gold-silver nanoparticle alloys. The nanoparticles are being studied for use as catalyst in hydrogen evolution and other applications.

Machine learning model generates realistic seismic waveforms Posted: 22 Apr 2021 03:18 PM PDT A new machine-learning model that generates realistic seismic waveforms will reduce manual labor and improve earthquake detection, according to a new study.

Finding new life for wine-grape residue Posted: 22 Apr 2021 03:18 PM PDT New research finds a wealth of potentially health-enhancing compounds and sugar molecules called oligosaccharides within chardonnay wine-grape pomace.

Genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT Researchers utilized genomic tools to investigate potential health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen, as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl accident. One study found no evidence that genetic changes associated with radiation exposure are passed to children, while the second study documented the genetic changes in the tumors of people who developed thyroid cancer after being exposed as children or fetuses to the radiation released by the accident. Findings are being published close to the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Scientists uncover structure of light-driven enzyme with potential biofuel applications Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT Although many organisms capture and respond to sunlight, enzymes - proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions - are rarely driven by light. A new study captures the full cycle of complex structural changes in an enzyme called FAP as it transforms a fatty acid into alkanes or alkenes.

Immune system, not COVID virus, may pose greatest risk to pregnant women Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT Scientists investigated whether the COVID-19 virus could be affecting placental tissue of infected expectant mothers. Their analysis found that while evidence of the virus in the placenta is rare, the placenta in infected mothers tended to exhibit a much higher level of immune system activity than those of non-infected pregnant women, they report.

A new method for fighting 'cold' tumors Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT Researchers address cold tumors in new research. Working with mouse models of head and neck cancers, researchers studied the role of T cells in tumor treatment.

Newly-discovered molecule provides dual protection against vascular inflammation Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT A mitochondrial peptide called MOCCI has a surprising sidekick, and they work together to regulate inflammation and immunity, researchers reveal.

Experimental drug shows potential against Alzheimer's disease Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT Researchers have designed an experimental drug that reversed key symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice. The drug works by reinvigorating a cellular cleaning mechanism that gets rid of unwanted proteins by digesting and recycling them.

Anti-aging compound improves muscle glucose metabolism in people Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:03 PM PDT In the first clinical trial of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), researchers have found that the compound previously demonstrated to counteract aspects of aging and improve metabolic health in mice also has clinically relevant effects in people.

Researchers trace spinal neuron family tree Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:03 PM PDT Spinal cord nerve cells branching through the body resemble trees with limbs fanning out in every direction. But this image can also be used to tell the story of how these neurons, their jobs becoming more specialized over time, arose through developmental and evolutionary history. Researchers have traced the development of spinal cord neurons using genetic signatures and revealed how different subtypes of the cells may have evolved and ultimately function to regulate body movements.

Salad or cheeseburger? Your co-workers shape your food choices Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:03 PM PDT Employees' cafeteria purchases -- both healthy and unhealthy foods -- were influenced by their co-workers' food choices, found a large, two-year study of hospital employees. The study made innovative use of cash register data to gain insights into how individuals' social networks shape their health behavior. The research suggests we might structure future efforts aimed at improving population health by capitalizing on how one person's behavior influences another.

MERS DNA vaccine induces immunity, protects from virus challenge in preclinical model Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT A synthetic DNA vaccine candidate for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) induced potent immune responses and afforded protective efficacy in non-human primate models when given intradermally in abbreviated, low-dose immunization regimen.

Researchers show how 'theory of mind' influences advertising skepticism Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT Product marketers should be clear in their messaging to avoid customer skepticism that makes them feel duped, according to new research. At issue in a new study was a social-cognitive construct called theory of mind, which considers how well people assess the mental states and apparent goals of others. Turns out, it affects a person's evaluation and willingness to buy a product.

Stress test finds cracks in the resistance of harmful hospital bugs Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT Research has identified critical factors that enable dangerous bacteria to spread disease by surviving on surfaces in hospitals and kitchens.

Minimally invasive retinal reattachment procedure leads to superior photoreceptor integrity Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT A new study reinforces pneumatic retinopexy (PnR) as the better first-line retinal reattachment technique to achieve the best visual outcomes.

3D printed models provide clearer understanding of ground motion Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT It seems like a smooth slab of stainless steel, but look a little closer, and you'll see a simplified cross-section of the Los Angeles sedimentary basin. Researchers are printing 3D models like the metal Los Angeles proxy to provide a novel platform for seismic experiments.

Scientists provide new insights into the citric acid cycle Posted: 22 Apr 2021 07:28 AM PDT Researchers have new insights into the citric acid cycle: Certain bacteria can use this central metabolic pathway 'backwards', but to do so they must have very high concentrations of the enzyme citrate synthase and of carbon dioxide. This pathway may be a relic from the early development of life.

New therapy target for malignant melanomas in dogs Posted: 22 Apr 2021 07:28 AM PDT Scientists have shown that the biological molecule PD-L1 is a potential target for the treatment of metastasized oral malignant melanoma in dogs.

Plant provenance influences pollinators Posted: 22 Apr 2021 07:28 AM PDT Insect decline poses challenges for the pollination of wild and cultivated plants. Landscape ecologists have now discovered that the diversity of insects that interact with plant communities is influenced not only by plant species but also by the geographical provenance of seeds.

SMART breakthrough in materials discovery enables 'twistronics' for bulk systems Posted: 22 Apr 2021 07:28 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a new way to control light emission from materials. While recent discoveries focused on manipulation of atomically-thin 2D materials, the new breakthrough can be used to stack technologically-relevant 3D materials at a twist angle. The discovery can be significant for applications in medicine, environmental or information technologies.

Unlocking Australia's biodiversity, one dataset at a time Posted: 22 Apr 2021 07:28 AM PDT The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) - Australia's national biodiversity database - uses cutting-edge digital tools to let people share, access and analyze data about local plants, animals and fungi, as well as environmental data like rainfall and temperature.

How is a molecular machine assembled? Posted: 22 Apr 2021 06:39 AM PDT The conversion of light into chemical energy by plants and photosynthetic microorganisms is one of the most important processes in nature, removing climate-damaging CO2 from the atmosphere. Protein complexes, so-called photosystems, play the key role in this process. An international research team shed light for the first time on the structure and function of a transition state in the synthesis of photosystem II.

Freeze! Executioner protein caught in the act Posted: 22 Apr 2021 06:39 AM PDT A new molecular 'freeze frame' technique has allowed researchers to see key steps in how the protein MLKL kills cells.

Scientists glimpse signs of a puzzling state of matter in a superconductor Posted: 22 Apr 2021 06:39 AM PDT High-temperature superconductors are famous for conducting electricity with no loss, but no one knows how they do it. Now scientists have observed the signature of an exotic state of matter called 'pair density waves' in a cuprate superconductor and confirmed that it intertwines with another exotic state -- a step toward understanding how these materials work.

Poor iodine levels in women pose risks to fetal intellectual development in pregnancy Posted: 22 Apr 2021 06:38 AM PDT An increasing number of young women are at increased risk of having children born with impaired neurological conditions, due to poor iodine intake.

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