Curated News: Staff Picks

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A group of scientists from ITMO University in Saint Petersburg, Russia has developed a novel approach to the construction of quantum communication systems for secure data exchange. The experimental device based on the results of the research is capable of transmitting single-photon quantum signals across distances of 250 kilometers or more, which is on par with other cutting edge analogues. The research paper was published in the Optics Express journal.

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Columbia Engineering researchers have developed a novel sheet camera that can be wrapped around everyday objects to capture images that cannot be taken with one or more conventional cameras. They designed and fabricated a flexible lens array that adapts its optical properties when the sheet camera is bent. This optical adaptation enables the sheet camera to produce high quality images over a wide range of sheet deformations. (To be presented at ICCP 5/13-15)

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Since the recent link to severe neurological defects in infants born to mothers infected during pregnancy, Zika virus (ZIKV) has become a public health and research priority. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases reports details from the 2015 Zika outbreak in Rio de Janeiro--the first with a high proportion of cases confirmed by molecular diagnosis--and proposes changes to the current diagnostic criteria for ZIKV disease.

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You can never predict what treasure might be hiding in your own basement. We didn't know it a year ago, but it turns out that a 1917 image on an astronomical glass plate from our Carnegie Observatories' collection shows the first-ever evidence of a planetary system beyond our own Sun.

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Prehistoric humans may have developed social norms that favour monogamy and punish polygamy thanks to the presence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and peer pressure, according to new research from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

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Older adults, who are Facebook's fastest growing demographic, are joining the social network to stay connected and make new connections, just like college kids who joined the site decades ago, according to Penn State researchers.

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UM College of Arts & Sciences psychology researchers find that dopamine genes could shine a light on early communication.

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Computer model sheds light on how male homosexuality remains present in populations throughout the ages.

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In groundbreaking new work, Natalie Wright, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Montana, has discovered a predictable trend in the evolution of bird shape.

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If you go out after a rain, you may notice spider webs glistening with water droplets. The soggy webs resemble human-made meshes for fog collection: They both have thin fibers that collect water from droplets in the air. Now researchers have developed a model to predict whether a falling droplet will stick to a thin fiber, and how much water residue will remain on the fiber, discussing their findings in this week’s Physics of Fluids.

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There are six components to an apology – and the more of them you include when you say you’re sorry, the more effective your apology will be, according to new research.

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Scientists at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) are set to use computer models to investigate NASA tests to develop an engineering tool to design missions using a new type of long-distance space propulsion.

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A University of Wyoming researcher contributed to a paper that has apparently solved an age-old riddle of how constituent continents were arranged in two Precambrian supercontinents -- then known as Nuna-Columbia and Rodinia. It's a finding that may have future economic implications for mining companies.

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Researchers at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory warn that the extinction to two amphibian species—the southern toad and the southern leopard frog—may be hastened by the combined effects of climate change and copper-contaminated wetlands.

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Tested in both mice and human cells and produced in the energy-producing mitochondria of cells, the proteins may lead to greater understanding of aging-related diseases from diabetes to Alzheimer's to cancer.

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The massive icefield that feeds Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier may be gone by 2200 if warming trend predictions hold true, according to University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers.

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Planet-hunting is an ongoing process that's resulting in the discovery of more and more planets orbiting distant stars. But as the hunters learn more about the variety among the tremendous number of predicted planets out there, it's important to refine their techniques. New work led by Carnegie's Jonathan Gagné, Caltech's Peter Gao, and Peter Plavchan from Missouri State University reports on a technological upgrade for one method of finding planets or confirming other planetary detections. The result is published by The Astrophysical Journal.

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Past research has indicated that Latino families, particularly Mexican-origin families, tend to be more family oriented and place a significant emphasis on family time. New research from the University of Missouri found that a father's family values can predict family values held by Mexican-origin youth as well as family time for late adolescents. Research also indicated that the link between family time and young adults' depressive symptoms depended on parental acceptance and warmth.

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Research finds massive phosphorus buildup.

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Study reveals how African American mothers parent young sons -- via 'bias-preparation' strategies -- to navigate 'Thug' image and vulnerabilities of African American masculinity.

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Newly identified mechanism may offer ways to enhance the immune response to fight cancer or strengthen long-term protection provided by vaccines

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Just like humans, when plants are cut they clot at the site of the wound. Just how they do it is has been a botanical mystery until now. Two University of Delaware researchers have uncovered the enzymes that produce this response. The findings will be published on Monday in Nature Plants.

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Results of a small study of people with tingling pain in their hands and feet have added to evidence that so-called prediabetes is more damaging to motor nerves than once believed, in a report on the study published online in JAMA Neurology on April 11.

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T cells are the 'foot soldiers' that fight cancer inside the body. Cancer cells can fight the foot soldiers back by pushing a brake on the T cells that will turn them off. This 'brake' is a molecule on the surface of T cells called CTLA-4. Until now, most scientists agreed that CTLA-4 was only present on T cells and other cells of the same lineage. But Baylor College of Medicine researchers have discovered that CTLA-4 is also produced and secreted by dendritic cells, which are the 'generals' of the T cells in the battle against cancer. The results appear in Stem Cells and Development.

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Robots do many things formerly done only by humans - from bartending and farming to driving cars - but a Dartmouth researcher and his colleagues have invented a "smart" paint spray can that robotically reproduces photographs as large-scale murals.

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Protective role for SHARPIN, a protein involved in regulating inflammation, according to report in The American Journal of Pathology.

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In a general sense, medical studies support the popular intuition -- a staple of movies and literature -- that suicidal behavior and substance misuse are linked. But the relationship between the two is not so simple. A new study of hundreds of suicidal emergency department (ED) patients from around the U.S. found that the significance of the link varied with age, gender and race. Across the board, however, the use of cocaine and alcohol together was a red flag.

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In a joint North European and North American study led by Umeå researcher Christer Nilsson, a warning is issued of underdocumented results of ecological restorations. The researchers show that continuous and systematic evaluations of cost-efficiency, planning, implementations and effects are necessary in order to make use of experiences in future projects. The results have been published in the journal Ecology and Society.

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It's been known for more than a century that acetaminophen is an effective painkiller, but according to a new U of T study it could also be impeding error-detection in the brain.

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Instead of reading a label, consumers could be interacting with an electronic screen on packaging in the future.

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A new University at Buffalo-led study suggests that the moral response produced by the initial exposure to a video game decreases as experience with the game develops.

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There may be a hidden cost to the old adage of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps: Research out of the University of Georgia suggests the unintended stress spurred by upward mobility can pose an unintended health risk later down the road.

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The blood-brain barrier has stymied direct treatment of brain disorders. In a recently published study, a Cornell researcher reports finding a way to pass therapeutics through the barrier, using readily-available agents.

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Experts needed to explain which countries provide tax havens and do not comply with international regulations. How did investigative journalists examine the millions of files from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca and trace them back to prominent world leaders?

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Genetic attribution lessened stereotypical judgements of homosexuality, gay marriage.

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New research into the effectiveness of group support programmes for men is set to be presented by academics at Leeds Beckett University at the British Sociological Association annual conference taking place in Birmingham this week.

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In assessing attractiveness, females judge men and women with higher BMI as less attractive; Men do not judge a man with a higher weight negatively, but still see heavier women as less attractive; First study of its kind to assess the relationship between gender, BMI and notion of 'attractiveness', providing insight into associated wage inequality

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Crisp, clear images of a “hot Jupiter” system captured by a University of Notre Dame physicist were vital in determining that a newly found planet inhabits a three-star system, a phenomenon documented only a few times before.

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Men on Tinder think they have a "licence to use women as they see fit" if their date's appearance is less attractive than her profile photograph, research says.

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Bioengineers determine textile manufacturing processes ideal for engineering tissues needed for organ and tissue repair.

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The addition of sound waves offers the potential to better manipulate qubit communications within a quantum system, researchers say.

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How should athletes at increased risk of major cardiac events during competitive sports be detected? Suggestions for interim screening programs in Canada & call for development of Canadian-specific guidelines, in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology

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The world has more carbon dioxide than it needs, and a team of Brown University chemists has come up with a potential way to put some of it to good use.

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Sequencing the genomes of hundreds of strains of the wine yeast S. cerevisiae has revealed little genetic diversity and high levels of inbreeding. In many cases, yeast strains sold by different companies were almost genetically identical. The results, published in the April issue of G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, a publication of the Genetics Society of America, suggest that winemakers attempting to develop improved wine yeasts will need to look to creating hybrids with more exotic strains.

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Scientists have found evidence that rising river waters deliver a feast of carbon to hungry microbes where water meets land, triggering increased activity and altering the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

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A metabolic pathway that is up-regulated in some breast cancers promotes the disease’s progression by activating a signaling protein called Arf6, according to a paper published in The Journal of Cell Biology. The study, “P53- and mevalonate pathway–driven malignancies require Arf6 for metastasis and drug resistance” by Ari Hashimoto and colleagues, suggests that statin-like drugs may be effective treatments for breast cancer patients whose tumors express high levels of Arf6 signaling proteins.

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Since 1980, the number of adults with diabetes worldwide has quadrupled from 108 million to 422 million in 2014, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The findings provide the most comprehensive estimates of worldwide diabetes trends to date and show that diabetes is fast becoming a major problem in low and middle income countries.

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The United States is more likely to use force in a military dispute when the president is a Southerner, according to a new study coauthored by a Yale political scientist.

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An international team that includes University of Montana researcher Jesse Johnson has learned that the Earth's internal heat enhances rapid ice flow and subglacial melting in Greenland.

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Engineers have created a new material with an unusual chemical structure that makes it incredibly hard and yet elastic.