ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Smoke from nuclear war would devastate ozone layer, alter climate
• Hormone widely used as an autism treatment shows no benefit
• Quarks and antiquarks at high momentum shake the foundations of visible matter
• Underwater gardens boost coral diversity to stave off ‘biodiversity meltdown’
• Data supports early COVID-19 vaccination for essential workers
• Mosquito-based method to reduce dengue could be highly cost-effective in Singapore
• High BMI independently associated with death and longer ICU stay for COVID patients
• Solving mystery of rare cancers directly caused by HIV
• Evidence of microtubules’ mechanosensitive behavior
• Immense set of mysterious fast radio bursts
• Precise measurement of neutron lifetime
• Telehealth addiction treatment rose rapidly during pandemic; but potential benefits still unclear
• COVID testing using pooled samples showed high accuracy, low cost
• Catching malaria evolution in the act
• Immune system keeps the intestinal flora in balance
• How many people get 'long COVID'? More than half, researchers find
• Stress on mothers can influence biology of future generations
• Estimated pulse wave velocity predicts severe COVID
• Scientists develop new strategy that rapidly quantifies transmissibility of COVID-19 variants
• Longstanding magnetic materials classification problem solved
• Fluorescent spray lights up tumors for easy detection during surgery
• Primates’ ancestors may have left trees to survive asteroid
• Minutes matter: Policies to improve care for deadliest heart attacks
• Photosynthesizing algae injected into the blood vessels of tadpoles supply oxygen to their brains
• Ancient feces shows people in present-day Austria drank beer and ate blue cheese up to 2,700 years ago
• Leprosy confirmed in wild chimpanzees
• Crafting a 'sponge' for adsorbing and desorbing gas molecules
• Did Venus ever have oceans?
• How to force photons to never bounce back
• Increases in extreme humid-heat disproportionately affect populated regions
• A new single-atom catalyst can produce hydrogen from urea at an exceptional rate
• Cervical myelopathy screening focusing on finger motion using noncontact sensor
• New technique combines single-cell and metagenomic analyses to characterize microbes
• Pain relief without side effects with promising technique
• Genes and collective behavior
• Lack of power grids sealed fate for early electric cars
• Fewer frogs died by vehicles in the outset of the pandemic, study finds
• Warm milk makes you sleepy — peptides could explain why
• Illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is affecting all of us – what can we do about it?
• Troubling birth findings show importance of timely flu vaccination
• Popular theory of Native American origins debunked by genetics and skeletal biology
• Did a black hole eating a star generate a neutrino? Unlikely, new study shows
• Storing data as mixtures of fluorescent dyes
• Changes in menstrual cycle length before menopause may predict risk of heart disease
• Life expectancy declining in many English communities even before COVID-19 pandemic, study finds
• Attention-based deep neural network increases detection capability in sonar systems
• COVID-19-related parenting stress impacted eating habits of children
• Scientists discover a highly potent antibody against SARS-CoV-2
• Exposure to childhood adversity is linked to early mortality and associated with nearly half a million annual U.S. deaths, study finds
• A 5-sigma standard model anomaly is possible
• To find sterile neutrinos, think small
• Cracking the case of how one of the earliest predators hunted
• Lake formation and expansion due to sea-level rise causes freshwater resource depletion on small islands

Smoke from nuclear war would devastate ozone layer, alter climate Posted: 13 Oct 2021 02:40 PM PDT The massive columns of smoke generated by a nuclear war would alter the world's climate for years and devastate the ozone layer, endangering both human health and food supplies, new research shows. The international study draws on newly developed computer climate modeling techniques to paint an even grimmer picture of a global nuclear war's aftermath than previous analyses.

Hormone widely used as an autism treatment shows no benefit Posted: 13 Oct 2021 02:40 PM PDT Oxytocin, a naturally occurring hormone that acts as a chemical messenger in the brain, showed no evidence of helping children with autism gain social skills, according to a large national study.

Quarks and antiquarks at high momentum shake the foundations of visible matter Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:22 PM PDT Two independent studies have illuminated unexpected substructures in the fundamental components of all matter. Preliminary results using a novel tagging method could explain the origin of the longstanding nuclear paradox known as the EMC effect. Meanwhile, authors will share next steps after the recent observation of asymmetrical antimatter in the proton.

Underwater gardens boost coral diversity to stave off ‘biodiversity meltdown’ Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:22 PM PDT Researchers are building symbiotic 'underwater gardens' in the Pacific Ocean to show how different species of coral can work together to possibly restore degraded reefs.

Data supports early COVID-19 vaccination for essential workers Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:21 PM PDT In areas where COVID-19 vaccines are limited, vaccinating essential workers before older adults can reduce infections and deaths, according to a modeling study.

Mosquito-based method to reduce dengue could be highly cost-effective in Singapore Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:21 PM PDT New research suggests that dengue -- a viral infection spread by mosquitos -- could be suppressed in Singapore in a highly cost-effective manner through the release of mosquitos infected with the bacterium Wolbachia.

High BMI independently associated with death and longer ICU stay for COVID patients Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:21 PM PDT In patients with COVID-19, a high body mass index (BMI) is associated with an increased risk of death and prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay, according to a new study.

Solving mystery of rare cancers directly caused by HIV Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:21 PM PDT For nearly a decade, scientists have known that HIV integrates itself into genes in cells that have the potential to cause cancer. And when this happens in animals with other retroviruses, those animals often develop cancer. But, perplexingly and fortunately, that isn't regularly happening in people living with HIV. A new study reveals why doctors aren't seeing high rates of T cell lymphomas -- or cancers of the immune system -- in patients with HIV.

Evidence of microtubules’ mechanosensitive behavior Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:21 PM PDT Direct evidence that microtubules function as mechano-sensors and regulate the intracellular transport of molecules has been reported, leading to new possibilities in the fields of biomechanics, medicine, and biosensors.

Immense set of mysterious fast radio bursts Posted: 13 Oct 2021 10:16 AM PDT An international team of astronomers recently observed more than 1,650 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected from one source in deep space, which amounts to the largest set -- by far -- of the mysterious phenomena ever recorded. The source, dubbed FRB 121102, was observed using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in China, and represents more FRBs in one event than all previous reported occurrences combined.

Precise measurement of neutron lifetime Posted: 13 Oct 2021 10:16 AM PDT Physicists have made the most precise measurement of the neutron's lifetime, which may help answer questions about the early universe.

Telehealth addiction treatment rose rapidly during pandemic; but potential benefits still unclear Posted: 13 Oct 2021 10:16 AM PDT During the COVID-19 pandemic, addiction treatment providers rapidly pivoted to providing services via telehealth. New research highlights the potential for telehealth delivery to increase patient engagement by improving access and convenience. However, it also finds limited evidence that telehealth results in better retention or other outcomes relative to in-person treatment.

COVID testing using pooled samples showed high accuracy, low cost Posted: 13 Oct 2021 10:15 AM PDT Testing pooled saliva samples twice weekly for SARS-CoV-2 on a residential college campus yielded a greater than 95 percent agreement with the gold standard for accuracy -- nasopharyngeal diagnostic samples tested singly.

Catching malaria evolution in the act Posted: 13 Oct 2021 09:27 AM PDT Researchers can now detect brand new mutations in individual malaria parasites infecting humans. Such high resolution could help us understand how parasites develop drug resistance and evade immune responses, and suggest potential treatment targets.

Immune system keeps the intestinal flora in balance Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:41 AM PDT Trillions of benign bacteria live in the intestine. They are kept in a continuous balance by the immune system, which thereby makes them harmless to humans. Researchers have been able to show how certain natural antibodies keep these bacteria in check. The findings could make an important contribution to the development of superior vaccines.

How many people get 'long COVID'? More than half, researchers find Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:41 AM PDT More than half of the 236 million people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide since December 2019 will experience post-COVID symptoms -- more commonly known as 'long COVID' -- up to six months after recovering, according to researchers. The research team said that governments, health care organizations and public health professionals should prepare for the large number of COVID-19 survivors who will need care for a variety of psychological and physical symptoms.

Stress on mothers can influence biology of future generations Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:41 AM PDT Biologists have found that mother roundworms can pass stress signals to future generations. The biologists report a mother roundworm exposed to a stressor can even under certain conditions pass the memory of that exposure to their grandchildren.

Estimated pulse wave velocity predicts severe COVID Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:41 AM PDT Researchers found that estimated Pulse Wave Velocity (ePWV), a readily available marker of arterial stiffness, has been shown to be an effective addition in identifying patients at risk of mortality in hospital due to COVID-19.

Scientists develop new strategy that rapidly quantifies transmissibility of COVID-19 variants Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new nanomechanical technique for fast, one-step, immune-affinity tests, which can quantify the immune response induced by different COVID-19 variants in serum. Their technique provides a new tool for tracking infection immunity over time and for analysing new vaccine candidates.

Longstanding magnetic materials classification problem solved Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT For over 100 years, physicists, chemists, and materials scientists have developed extensive theoretical and experimental machinery to predict and characterize the electronic properties of magnetic materials, but even the most successful classification system, developed almost 75 years ago by Lev Shubnikov, was incomplete. An international team of researchers announced this week that it has finally been completed.

Fluorescent spray lights up tumors for easy detection during surgery Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT The prognosis for a cancer patient who undergoes surgery is better if the surgeon removes all of the tumor, but it can be hard to tell where a tumor ends and healthy tissue begins. Now, scientists report that they have developed a fluorescent spray that specifically lights up cancerous tissue so it can be identified readily and removed during surgery.

Primates’ ancestors may have left trees to survive asteroid Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT When an asteroid struck 66 million years ago and wiped out dinosaurs not related to birds and three-quarters of life on Earth, early ancestors of primates and marsupials were among the only tree-dwelling (arboreal) mammals that survived, according to a new study.

Minutes matter: Policies to improve care for deadliest heart attacks Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT Converting advances in scientific knowledge and innovations in cardiac care into improvements in patient outcomes requires comprehensive cardiac systems of care optimize cardiac care delivery. New recommendations support policies that standardize the delivery of cardiac care, lower barriers to emergency care for STEMI heart attacks, ensure patients receive care at appropriate hospitals in a timely manner and improve access to secondary prevention and rehabilitation and recovery resources after a heart attack.

Photosynthesizing algae injected into the blood vessels of tadpoles supply oxygen to their brains Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT Leading a double life in water and on land, frogs have many breathing techniques -- through the gills, lungs, and skin -- over the course of their lifetime. Now scientists have developed another method that allows tadpoles to 'breathe' by introducing algae into their bloodstream to supply oxygen. The method provided enough oxygen to effectively rescue neurons in the brains of oxygen-deprived tadpoles.

Ancient feces shows people in present-day Austria drank beer and ate blue cheese up to 2,700 years ago Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT Human feces don't usually stick around for long -- and certainly not for thousands of years. But exceptions to this general rule are found in a few places in the world, including prehistoric salt mines of the Austrian UNESCO World Heritage area Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut. Now, researchers who've studied ancient fecal samples (or paleofeces) from these mines have uncovered some surprising evidence: the presence of two fungal species used in the production of blue cheese and beer.

Leprosy confirmed in wild chimpanzees Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT Leprosy has been found in wild chimpanzees. Researchers have confirmed cases of the disease among two unconnected West African populations of chimpanzees, in Guinea-Bissau and the Ivory Coast.

Crafting a 'sponge' for adsorbing and desorbing gas molecules Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT A group of researchers have created an unusual material -- a soft crystal made of molecules known as a catenanes-- that behaves in a novel way that could be used in applications such as films that capture carbon dioxide molecules.

Did Venus ever have oceans? Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT The planet Venus can be seen as the Earth's evil twin. At first sight, it is of comparable mass and size as our home planet, similarly consists mostly of rocky material, holds some water and has an atmosphere. Yet, a closer look reveals striking differences between them: Venus' thick CO2 atmosphere, extreme surface temperature and pressure, and sulphuric acid clouds are indeed a stark contrast to the conditions needed for life on Earth. This may, however, have not always been the case. Previous studies have suggested that Venus may have been a much more hospitable place in the past, with its own liquid water oceans. A team of astrophysicists investigated whether our planet's twin did indeed have milder periods. The results suggest that this is not the case.

How to force photons to never bounce back Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT Scientists have developed a topology-based method that forces microwave photons to travel along on way path, despite unprecedented levels of disorder and obstacles on their way. This discovery paves the way to a new generation of high-frequency circuits and extremely robust, compact communication devices.

Increases in extreme humid-heat disproportionately affect populated regions Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT The world is not only getting hotter but also more humid and new research shows people living in areas where humid-heat extremes are already a significant hazard are bearing the brunt of the impact.

A new single-atom catalyst can produce hydrogen from urea at an exceptional rate Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT A new single-atom catalyst can produce hydrogen from urea at an exceptional rate. Liquid nitrogen quenching introduces tensile-strain on the surface of oxide support, stabilizing ultra-high loading of single metal atom sites.

Cervical myelopathy screening focusing on finger motion using noncontact sensor Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT Researchers have developed a simple screening tool using a non-contact sensor for Cervical myelopathy (CM) combining a finger motion analysis technique and machine learning. The tool allows for non-specialists to screen people for the possibility of having CM. The screening test results can be used to encourage those with suspected CM to seek specialist's attention for early diagnosis and early treatment initiation.

New technique combines single-cell and metagenomic analyses to characterize microbes Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT Metagenomic analysis has greatly advanced our understanding of the complex human microbiome without the need for extensive bacterial isolation and culturing. However, metagenome-assembled genomes may be imprecise and insufficiently differentiate closely related species. Now, researchers have developed a novel integrated framework that combines conventional metagenomics and single-cell genomics and can complement the lacunae in each approach, thus yielding better genome recovery and accurate resolution of complex microbial populations.

Pain relief without side effects with promising technique Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT Researchers have developed a completely new stimulation method, using ultra-thin microelectrodes, to combat severe pain. This provides effective and personalized pain relief without the common side effects from pain relief drugs.

Genes and collective behavior Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT The targeted manipulation of individual genes in zebrafish larvae changes their behavioral responses to visual stimuli and thus affects the collective behavior of the animals.

Lack of power grids sealed fate for early electric cars Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT New research shows that insufficient infrastructure was key in American car manufacturers choosing gasoline cars over electric cars in the early 20th century. If electricity grids had spread just 15 or 20 years earlier, a majority of producers would have likely opted for electric cars, according to the study.

Fewer frogs died by vehicles in the outset of the pandemic, study finds Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT Researchers discovered that 50 percent fewer frogs died from vehicle collisions in Maine in spring 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, that during the season in other recent years. They also found a broader decline in animal road fatalities in spring 2020, but not noble change in vehicle-related mortality among salamanders.

Warm milk makes you sleepy — peptides could explain why Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT According to time-honored advice, drinking a glass of warm milk at bedtime will encourage a good night's rest. Milk's sleep-enhancing properties are commonly ascribed to tryptophan, but scientists have also discovered a mixture of milk peptides, called casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH), that relieves stress and enhances sleep. Now, researchers have identified specific peptides in CTH that might someday be used in new, natural sleep remedies.

Illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is affecting all of us – what can we do about it? Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:46 AM PDT Illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity, ecosystem services, people's livelihood, and economies all over the world. Worldwide experts warn about the perils related to this activity and provide a roadmap for curbing its growth.

Troubling birth findings show importance of timely flu vaccination Posted: 13 Oct 2021 06:41 AM PDT Poor timing of influenza vaccination campaigns in the semi-arid region of Brazil led to an increase in premature births, lower birth-weight babies and the need to deliver more babies by cesarean section.

Popular theory of Native American origins debunked by genetics and skeletal biology Posted: 13 Oct 2021 05:16 AM PDT A widely accepted theory of Native American origins coming from Japan has been attacked in a new scientific study, which shows that the genetics and skeletal biology 'simply does not match-up.'

Did a black hole eating a star generate a neutrino? Unlikely, new study shows Posted: 13 Oct 2021 05:16 AM PDT New calculations show that a black hole slurping down a star may not have generated enough energy to launch a neutrino.

Storing data as mixtures of fluorescent dyes Posted: 13 Oct 2021 05:15 AM PDT As the world's data storage needs grow, new strategies for preserving information over long periods with reduced energy consumption are needed. Now, researchers have developed a data storage approach based on mixtures of fluorescent dyes, which are deposited onto an epoxy surface in tiny spots with an inkjet printer. The mixture of dyes at each spot encodes binary information that is read with a fluorescent microscope.

Changes in menstrual cycle length before menopause may predict risk of heart disease Posted: 13 Oct 2021 05:09 AM PDT As women near menopause, their menstrual cycle length often becomes longer. The timing of these changes could provide clues about a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

Life expectancy declining in many English communities even before COVID-19 pandemic, study finds Posted: 12 Oct 2021 03:57 PM PDT A substantial number of English communities experienced a decline in life expectancy from 2010-2019, researchers have found.

Attention-based deep neural network increases detection capability in sonar systems Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:48 PM PDT In underwater acoustics, deep learning may improve sonar systems to help detect ships and submarines in distress or in restricted waters. However, noise interference can be a challenge. Researchers now explore an attention-based deep neural network to tackle this problem. They tested two ships, comparing their results with a typical deep neural network, and found the ABNN increases its predictions considerably as it gravitates toward the features closely correlated with the training goals.

COVID-19-related parenting stress impacted eating habits of children Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:48 PM PDT The incredible stress parents experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on the eating habits of their children, according to a new study.

Scientists discover a highly potent antibody against SARS-CoV-2 Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:48 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a highly potent monoclonal antibody that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and is effective at neutralizing all variants of concern identified to date, including the delta variant.

Exposure to childhood adversity is linked to early mortality and associated with nearly half a million annual U.S. deaths, study finds Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:48 PM PDT The findings of a new study suggest that childhood adversity is a major contributor to early and preventable causes of mortality and a powerful determinant of long term physical and mental health. Researchers found that childhood adversity is associated with elevated risk for chronic disease including heart disease and cancer.

A 5-sigma standard model anomaly is possible Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:47 PM PDT One of the best chances for proving beyond-the-standard-model physics relies on something called the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix. The standard model insists that the CKM matrix, which describes the mixing of quarks, should be unitary. But growing evidence suggests that during certain forms of radioactive decay, the unitarity of the CKM matrix might break.

To find sterile neutrinos, think small Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:47 PM PDT Experiments have spotted anomalies hinting at a new type of neutrino, one that would go beyond the standard model of particle physics and perhaps open a portal to the dark sector. But no one has ever directly observed this hypothetical particle.

Cracking the case of how one of the earliest predators hunted Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:47 PM PDT Early in animal evolution, complex life was mostly limited to the sea floor. But a few organisms evolved to move through the water, giving them a big competitive advantage over those left scuttling around in the mud.

Lake formation and expansion due to sea-level rise causes freshwater resource depletion on small islands Posted: 12 Oct 2021 12:47 PM PDT Coastal regions and small ocean islands face significant risks from rising sea levels due to climate change, because waters can flood and inundate low-lying land surfaces.

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