Curated News: Scientific Reports

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Released: 28-Jun-2017 6:05 PM EDT
What’s On Your Skin? Archaea, That’s What
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

It turns out your skin is crawling with single-celled microorganisms – ¬and they’re not just bacteria. A study by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Medical University of Graz has found that the skin microbiome also contains archaea, a type of extreme-loving microbe, and that the amount of it varies with age.

Released: 27-Jun-2017 10:05 AM EDT
Sensitive Faces Helped Dinosaurs Eat, Woo and Take Temperature, Suggests Study
University of Southampton

Dinosaurs' faces might have been much more sensitive than previously thought, and crucial to tasks from precision eating and testing nest temperature to combat and mating rituals, according to a University of Southampton study.

Released: 26-Jun-2017 2:05 PM EDT
Novel Platform Uses Nanoparticles to Detect Peanut Allergies
University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame researchers have developed a novel platform to more accurately detect and identify the presence and severity of peanut allergies, without directly exposing patients to the allergen.

Released: 21-Jun-2017 9:00 AM EDT
Wild Monkeys Use Loud Calls to Assess the Relative Strength of Rivals
University of Michigan

Gelada males—a close relative to baboons—pay attention to the loud calls of a rival to gain information about his relative fighting ability compared to themselves, a new study indicated.

16-Jun-2017 12:00 PM EDT
Wet and Stormy Weather Lashed California Coast…8,200 Years Ago
Vanderbilt University

An analysis of stalagmite records from White Moon Cave in the Santa Cruz Mountains shows that 8200 years ago the California coast underwent 150 years of exceptionally wet and stormy weather. It is the first high resolution record of how the Holocene cold snap affected the California climate.

14-Jun-2017 5:00 AM EDT
Researchers Create 3-D Printed Tensegrity Objects Capable of Dramatic Shape Change
Georgia Institute of Technology

A team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a way to use 3-D printers to create objects capable of expanding dramatically that could someday be used in applications ranging from space missions to biomedical devices.

Released: 5-Jun-2017 6:05 PM EDT
Study: Collateral Damage from Cosmic Rays Increases Cancer Risks for Mars Astronauts
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

The cancer risk for a human mission to Mars has effectively doubled following a UNLV study predicting a dramatic increase in the disease for astronauts traveling to the red planet or on long-term missions outside the protection of Earth's magnetic field. New predictive model, published in Scientific Reports, shows radiation from cosmic rays extends from damaged to otherwise healthy 'bystander' cells.

   
Released: 5-Jun-2017 6:05 AM EDT
Understanding Tungsten “Fuzz”
Department of Energy, Office of Science

New work seeks to explain a strange phenomenon occurring in fusion reactor materials.

Released: 1-Jun-2017 9:00 AM EDT
Artificial Intelligence Predicts Patient Lifespans
University of Adelaide

A computer's ability to predict a patient's lifespan simply by looking at images of their organs is a step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to new research led by the University of Adelaide.

Released: 31-May-2017 10:05 AM EDT
Texas A&M Research Suggests Strokes May Cause Increased Preference for Alcohol
Texas A&M University

Brain changes after stroke may lead to increase in alcohol-seeking behavior, at least in animal models, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Scientific Reports.

Released: 22-May-2017 4:30 PM EDT
A Possible Alternative to Antibiotics
American Technion Society

Technion researchers say a combination of metals and organic acids is an effective way to eradicate cholera, salmonella, pseudomonas, and other pathogenic bacteria. The combination also works on bacteria that attack agricultural crops.

Released: 17-May-2017 4:55 PM EDT
Rare Feline Genetic Disorders Identified Through Whole Genome Sequencing at MU
University of Missouri Health

Whole genome sequencing (WGS), which is the process of determining an organism’s complete DNA sequence, can be used to identify DNA anomalies that cause disease. Identifying disease-causing DNA abnormalities allows clinicians to better predict an effective course of treatment for the patient. Now, in a series of recent studies, scientists at the University of Missouri are using whole genome sequencing through the 99 Lives Cat Genome Sequencing Consortium to identify genetic variants that cause rare diseases, such as progressive retinal atrophy and Niemann-Pick type 1, a fatal disorder in domestic cats. Findings from the study could help feline preservationists implement breeding strategies in captivity for rare and endangered species such as the African black-footed cat.

   
Released: 17-May-2017 11:05 AM EDT
Current Stimulation May Keep Visual Neurons Alive After Injury – but at a Cost
Institute for Medical Psychology, Otto-v.-Guericke University Magdeburg

In a study published in Scientific Reports, researchers from Magdeburg University (Germany) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong report that for rats and mice, repetitive transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS) may help preserve visual neurons from cell death after injury.

28-Apr-2017 3:05 PM EDT
First Large-Scale Population Analysis Reinforces Ketamine’s Reputation as Antidepressant
UC San Diego Health

Researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego mined the FDA Adverse Effect Reporting System (FAERS) database for depression symptoms in patients taking ketamine for pain. They found that depression was reported half as often among the more than 41,000 patients who took ketamine, as compared to patients who took any other drug or drug combination for pain.

Released: 1-May-2017 11:05 AM EDT
New Technique May Prevent Graft Rejection in High-Risk Corneal Transplant Patients
Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Treating donor corneas with a cocktail of molecules prior to transplanting to a host may improve survival of grafts and, thus, outcomes in high-risk corneal transplant patients, according to a new study led by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.

Released: 27-Apr-2017 2:00 PM EDT
Engineers Investigate a Simple, No-Bake Recipe to Make Bricks From Martian Soil
University of California San Diego

Explorers planning to settle on Mars might be able to turn the planet’s red soil into bricks without needing to use an oven or additional ingredients. Instead, they would just need to apply pressure to compact the soil—the equivalent of a blow from a hammer. These are the findings of a study published in Nature Scientific Reports on April 27, 2017. The study was authored by a team of engineers at the University of California San Diego and funded by NASA.

Released: 27-Apr-2017 10:05 AM EDT
Researchers Reveal Turmeric’s Health Benefits Extend Beyond Curcumin
Baylor Scott and White Health

A new study by researchers at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute is the first to compare anti-inflammatory benefits of curcumin against a combination of both curcumin and essential turmeric oils.

Released: 26-Apr-2017 1:05 PM EDT
Study Offers New Theoretical Approach to Describing Non-Equilibrium Phase Transitions
Argonne National Laboratory

Two physicists at Argonne offered a way to mathematically describe a particular physics phenomenon called a phase transition in a system out of equilibrium. Such phenomena are central in physics, and understanding how they occur has been a long-held and vexing goal; their behavior and related effects are key to unlocking possibilities for new electronics and other next-generation technologies.

25-Apr-2017 9:30 AM EDT
Common Pesticide Damages Honey Bee’sAbility to Fly
University of California San Diego

Biologists at UC San Diego have provided the first evidence that a widely used pesticide can significantly impair the ability of otherwise healthy honey bees to fly. The study, which employed a bee “flight mill,” raises concerns about how pesticides affect honey bee pollination and long-term effects on the health of honey bee colonies.

Released: 25-Apr-2017 1:05 PM EDT
Managing Disease Spread Through Accessible Modeling
Los Alamos National Laboratory

A new computer modeling study from Los Alamos National Laboratory is aimed at making epidemiological models more accessible and useful for public-health collaborators and improving disease-related decision making.

Released: 20-Apr-2017 1:05 PM EDT
Making Batteries From Waste Glass Bottles
University of California, Riverside

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have used waste glass bottles and a low-cost chemical process to create nanosilicon anodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The batteries will extend the range of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and provide more power with fewer charges to personal electronics like cell phones and laptops.

Released: 20-Apr-2017 10:40 AM EDT
Can Virtual Reality Help Us Prevent Falls in the Elderly and Others?
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Every year, falls lead to hospitalization or death for many elderly Americans. Standard clinical techniques generally cannot diagnose balance impairments before they lead to falls. But researchers now think virtual reality could be a big help in detecting and possibly reversing balance impairments.

Released: 20-Apr-2017 6:45 AM EDT
In a Flash! A New Way for Making Ceramics
Department of Energy, Office of Science

A new process controllably but instantly consolidates ceramic parts, potentially important for manufacturing.

Released: 19-Apr-2017 3:55 PM EDT
Chesapeake Bay Pollution Extends to Early 19th Century
University of Alabama

Humans began measurably and negatively impacting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay in the first half of the 19th century, according to a study of eastern oysters by researchers at The University of Alabama.

17-Apr-2017 12:05 PM EDT
The Tale Teeth Tell About the Legendary Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo
Vanderbilt University

Analysis of the microscopic wear on the teeth of the legendary man-eating lions of Tsavo reveals that shortage of normal prey did not drive them to begin killing and eating people.

Released: 12-Apr-2017 1:05 PM EDT
A Simple Sniff
Washington University in St. Louis

A team of engineers from Washington University in St. Louis has combined nanoparticles, aerosol science and locusts in new proof-of-concept research that could someday vastly improve drug delivery to the brain, making it as simple as a sniff.

   
Released: 10-Apr-2017 3:00 AM EDT
Weather-Forecast Tool Adapted to Evaluate Brain Health of Oxygen-Deprived Newborns
UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern Medical Center pediatric researchers have harnessed an analytical tool used to predict the weather to evaluate the effectiveness of therapies to reduce brain injury in newborns who suffer oxygen deprivation during birth.

6-Apr-2017 12:00 AM EDT
Honey Bees Have Sharper Eyesight Than We Thought
University of Adelaide

Research conducted at the University of Adelaide has discovered that bees have much better vision than was previously known, offering new insights into the lives of honey bees, and new opportunities for translating this knowledge into fields such as robot vision.

Released: 3-Apr-2017 8:05 AM EDT
Copper-Bottomed Deposits
Université de Genève (University of Geneva)

The world’s most valuable copper deposits, known as porphyry deposits, originate from cooling magma. But how can we predict the size of these deposits? What factors govern the amount of copper present?

Released: 23-Mar-2017 9:00 AM EDT
Penn State Develops First of a Kind Model to Research Post-Malaria Epilepsy
Penn State College of Medicine

A first of its kind mouse model could lead to an understanding of how cerebral malaria infection leads to the development of epilepsy in children and to the prevention of seizures.

Released: 23-Mar-2017 6:05 AM EDT
Ravens: Non-Breeders Live in Highly Dynamic Social Groups
University of Vienna

Ravens have impressive cognitive skills when interacting with conspecifics – comparable to many primates, whose social intelligence has been related to their life in groups. An international collaboration of researchers led by Thomas Bugnyar, Professor at the Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, could uncover for the first time the group dynamics of non-breeding ravens. The results help to understand the evolution of intelligence in this species and were published in the scientific journal "Scientific Reports".

Released: 22-Mar-2017 1:30 AM EDT
Sinking of Seal Beach Wetlands Tied to Ancient Quakes
California State University, Fullerton

When geologists went in search for evidence of ancient tsunamis along Southern California’s coastal wetlands, they found something else. Their discoveries have implications for seismic hazard and risk assessment in coastal Southern California.

Released: 20-Mar-2017 6:00 AM EDT
Piece of Mind
University of Utah

With just an inexpensive micro-thin surgical needle and laser light, University of Utah engineers have discovered a minimally invasive, inexpensive way to take high-resolution pictures of an animal brain, a process that also could lead to a much less invasive method for humans.

20-Mar-2017 6:00 AM EDT
Lust for Power
University of Utah

University of Utah engineers have discovered a new material made from a combination of the chemical elements calcium, cobalt and terbium that can create an efficient, inexpensive and bio-friendly material that can generate electricity through a thermoelectric process involving heat and cold air.

Released: 17-Mar-2017 4:05 PM EDT
For Female Mosquitoes, Two Sets of Odor Sensors Are Better Than One
Vanderbilt University

A team of Vanderbilt biologists has found that the malaria mosquito has a second complete set of odor receptors that are specially tuned to human scents.

15-Mar-2017 9:05 AM EDT
Untreated Sleep Apnea in Children Can Harm Brain Cells Tied to Cognition and Mood
University of Chicago Medical Center

A study comparing children 7 to 11 years old with moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea to children the same age who slept normally found significant reductions of gray matter – brain cells crucial to most cognitive tasks – in several regions of the brains of children with sleep apnea. The finding points to connections between this common sleep disturbance and the loss of neurons or delayed neuronal growth in the developing brain.

Released: 16-Mar-2017 2:05 PM EDT
Empathy From the Sick May Be Critical to Halting Disease Outbreaks
Georgia Institute of Technology

A little empathy can go a long way toward ending infectious disease outbreaks. That’s a conclusion from researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who used a networked variation of game theory to study how individual behavior during an outbreak of influenza – or other illness – affects the progress of the disease, including how rapidly the outbreak dies out.

   
Released: 15-Mar-2017 8:05 AM EDT
Volcano Breath: Measuring Sulfur Dioxide From Space
Michigan Technological University

A number of volcanoes around the world continuously exhale gases. Of these, sulfur dioxide is the easiest to detect from space and now researchers have created the first global map of SO2 plumes from volcanoes.

Released: 8-Mar-2017 11:05 PM EST
Cedars-Sinai Neuroscientists Pinpoint Key Gene Controlling Tumor Growth in Brain Cancers
Cedars-Sinai

Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified a stem cell-regulating gene that affects tumor growth in patients with brain cancer and can strongly influence survival rates of patients. The findings, published in the online edition of Nature Scientific Reports, could move physicians closer to their goal of better predicting the prognosis of patients with brain tumors and developing more personalized treatments for them.

Released: 8-Mar-2017 1:45 PM EST
Probiotic Found in Yogurt Can Reverse Depression Symptoms
University of Virginia Health System

Researchers have reversed depression symptoms in mice simply by feeding them a probiotic bacteria found in yogurt. They also discovered a specific mechanism for how the bacteria affect mood, providing a direct link between gut health and mental health.

Released: 8-Mar-2017 9:05 AM EST
Tackling Some of the Basic Building Blocks of Cancer
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Research by Rutgers University investigators – including a number from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey – has resulted in the development of small molecule inhibitors that block a protein involved in the development of some cancers. At focus are TAM receptors, which when overexpressed can make too many proteins leading to cancer development, drug resistance and overall poor patient survival.

7-Mar-2017 5:00 PM EST
FSU Researchers Take Big Step Forward in Nanotech-Based Drugs
Florida State University

In an article published today in Scientific Reports, FSU Associate Professor of Biological Science Steven Lenhert takes a step forward in the understanding of nanoparticles and how they can best be used to deliver drugs.

Released: 7-Mar-2017 2:05 PM EST
The Cold Exterminated All of Them
Université de Genève (University of Geneva)

The Earth has known several mass extinctions over the course of its history. One of the most important happened at the Permian-Triassic boundary 250 million years ago. But researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, working alongside the University of Zurich, discovered that this extinction took place during a short ice age which preceded the global climate warming.

Released: 7-Mar-2017 11:05 AM EST
Study Examines Tungsten in Extreme Environments to Improve Fusion Materials
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Chad Parish of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is senior author of a study that explored degradation of tungsten under reactor-relevant conditions. Learning how energetic atomic bombardment affects tungsten microscopically helps engineers improve nuclear materials.

Released: 3-Mar-2017 7:05 AM EST
Study Sheds New Light on How Species Extinction Affects Complex Ecosystems
University of Southampton

Research by the University of Southampton has found that methods used to predict the effect of species extinction on ecosystems could be producing inaccurate results. This is because current thinking assumes that when a species vanishes, its role within an environment is lost too. However, scientists working on a new study have found that when a species, (for example a group of sea creatures), is wiped out by a catastrophic event, other species can change their behaviour to compensate, exploiting the vacant role left behind.

22-Feb-2017 2:05 PM EST
Lack of Oxygen, Not Excessive Stimulation, Cause for Half of Seizure-Related Brain Damage in Epilepsy
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Neuronal degeneration is the most severe long-term consequence of repetitive seizures in patients with epilepsy, which until now was thought to be primarily caused by excitotoxicity, or over-stimulation of the neurons. New findings indicate hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, due to abnormal blood flow may be to blame for as much as half the neuronal death caused by the condition.

Released: 20-Feb-2017 11:05 AM EST
Biomarker Predicts Poor Prognosis in African-Americans with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Study Finds
Georgia State University

Having high levels of a certain biomarker is linked to poor prognosis in African-American patients with triple-negative breast cancer, while the same biomarker doesn’t influence disease outcomes in white patients, according to a new study.

Released: 15-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
Is Preeclampsia a Risk or a Protective Factor in Retinopathy of Prematurity?
University of Utah Health

Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, MD, and colleagues at the John A. Moran Center and Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, were looking for a way to tease apart the effects of preeclampsia on the risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disease found in premature infants. Their results, and the model they developed, were published February 14, 2017, in Scientific Reports.

Released: 15-Feb-2017 12:05 PM EST
Mental Shortcuts
Harvard Medical School

Clinical decision-making and treatment choice is a complex cognitive process influenced by multiple variables.

Released: 10-Feb-2017 10:05 AM EST
New Study of Ferroelectrics Offers Roadmap to Multivalued Logic for Neuromorphic Computing
Argonne National Laboratory

Research published Wednesday in Nature Scientific Reports lays out a theoretical map to use ferroelectric material to process information using multivalued logic – a leap beyond the simple ones and zeroes that make up our current computing systems that could let us process information much more efficiently.



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