ScienceDaily: All - June 11, 2024
Today's top research news
Feeling rough after your COVID shot? Congrats, it's working!
One of the most common reasons for bypassing the COVID vaccine is concern about side effects like tiredness, muscle and joint pain, chills, headache, fever, nausea and feeling generally unwell. But a new study has found that the symptoms indicate a robust immune response that is likely to lessen the chances of infection.
Image: Viacheslav Lopatin/Shutterstock.com
Lone Star State: Tracking a low-mass star as it speeds across the Milky Way
Astronomers have discovered a rare hypervelocity L subdwarf star racing through the Milky Way. More remarkably, this star may be on a trajectory that causes it to leave the Milky Way altogether.
NASA's Webb opens new window on supernova science
Peering deeply into the cosmos, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is giving scientists their first detailed glimpse of supernovae from a time when our universe was just a small fraction of its current age. A team using Webb data has identified 10 times more supernovae in the early universe than were previously known. A few of the newfound exploding stars are the most distant examples of their type, including those used to measure the universe's expansion rate.
Four-legged, dog-like robot 'sniffs' hazardous gases in inaccessible environments
Nightmare material or truly man's best friend? A team of researchers equipped a dog-like quadruped robot with a mechanized arm that takes air samples from potentially treacherous situations, such as an abandoned building or fire. The robot dog walks samples to a person who screens them for potentially hazardous compounds.
Two can play that game: juvenile dolphins who play together are more successful as adults
Juvenile social play predicts adult reproductive success in male bottlenose dolphins, a new study has found.
Protocol for creating 'wired miniature brains'
Researchers have developed -- and shared -- a process for creating brain cortical organoids -- essentially miniature artificial brains with functioning neural networks.
Researchers demonstrate the first chip-based 3D printer
Researchers have demonstrated the first chip-based 3D printer, a tiny device that emits reconfigurable beams of visible light into a well of resin that rapidly cures into a solid shape. The advance could enable a 3D printer small enough to fit in the palm of a person's hand.
Webb telescope reveals asteroid collision in neighboring star system
Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity.
Researchers create skin-inspired sensory robots to provide medical treatment
Scientists have created innovative soft robots equipped with electronic skins and artificial muscles, allowing them to sense their surroundings and adapt their movements in real-time.
Optimism wards off procrastination
People with an optimistic outlook on the future are less likely to be severe procrastinators, according to new research. While procrastinators often admonish themselves for their 'bad habit,' it turns out that their worries for the future are more to blame. Through a survey of nearly 300 young people, researchers found that those who had a positive view about their stress levels decreasing in the future, compared to the past or present, were less likely to experience severe procrastination. Views on personal well-being didn't appear to have an effect. Improving people's outlook and readiness for the future could help them overcome procrastination and achieve a less stressful lifestyle.
Improved prime editing system makes gene-sized edits in human cells at therapeutic levels
Scientists have improved a gene-editing technology that is now capable of inserting or substituting entire genes in the genome in human cells efficiently enough to be potentially useful for therapeutic applications. The advance could one day help researchers develop a single gene therapy for diseases such as cystic fibrosis that are caused by one of hundreds or thousands of different mutations in a gene. Using this new approach, they would insert a healthy copy of the gene at its native location in the genome, rather than having to create a different gene therapy to correct each mutation using other gene-editing approaches that make smaller edits.
Lung organoids unveil secret: How pathogens infect human lung tissue
How do pathogens invade the lungs? Using human lung microtissues, a team has uncovered the strategy used by a dangerous pathogen. The bacterium targets specific lung cells and has developed a sophisticated strategy to break through the lungs' line of defense.
Astrophysicists calculate the likelihood that Earth was exposed to cold, harsh interstellar clouds, a phenomenon not previously considered in geologic climate models.
Interventions against misinformation also increase skepticism toward reliable sources
Efforts to tackle false information through fact-checking or media literacy initiatives increases the public's skepticism toward 'fake news'. However, they also breed distrust in genuine, fact-based news sources, a new study using online survey experiments in the US, Poland and Hong Kong shows.
Splitting hairs: Science of biomechanics to understand of bad hair days
Academics are often accused of 'splitting hairs', but a team has now devised a machine to do just that. We all have a bad hair day from time to time, and split ends are a common problem. However, the science behind this kind of hair damage is poorly understood, which is why scientists are investigating this knotty problem.
Planetary Health Diet associated with lower risk of premature death, lower environmental impact
People who eat a healthy, sustainable diet may substantially lower their risk of premature death in addition to their environmental impact, according to a new study. This large study directly evaluates the impacts of adherence to recommendations in the landmark 2019 EAT-Lancet report. The researchers have named the dietary pattern outlined in the report -- which emphasizes a variety of minimally processed plant foods but allows for modest consumption of meat and dairy foods -- the Planetary Health Diet (PHD).
Clinical trial shows promising results in a two-drug combination that curbs methamphetamine use
A clinical trial on a two-drug therapy for methamphetamine use disorder reduced use of the highly addictive drug for up to 12 weeks after initiation of treatment. Participants in the ADAPT-2 clinical trial who received a combination of injectable naltrexone plus extended-release oral bupropion (NTX+BUPN) had a 27% increase in methamphetamine-negative urine tests, indicating reduced usage. By contrast, the placebo group had an 11% increase in negative tests. To date there is no FDA-approved medication for it.
Gut microbes from aged mice induce inflammation in young mice, study finds
When scientists transplanted the gut microbes of aged mice into young 'germ-free' mice -- raised to have no gut microbes of their own -- the recipient mice experienced an increase in inflammation that parallels inflammatory processes associated with aging in humans. Young germ-free mice transplanted with microbes from other young mice had no such increase.
Novel Genetic Clock discovers oldest known marine plant
An international research team has discovered the oldest known marine plant using a novel genetic clock. This 1400-year-old seagrass clone from the Baltic Sea dates back to the Migration Period. The research project is a significant step towards better understanding and protecting marine ecosystems.
Benefits of failure are overrated
The platitude that failure leads to success may be both inaccurate and damaging to society, according to new research.
Testing immune cells in the placenta may indicate the health of fetal brain immune cells
Immune activation in a pregnant woman can occur in response to metabolic diseases like obesity, infections in pregnancy, exposure to pollution and environmental toxins, or even stress and can have negative effects on fetal brain immune cells (microglia). It's not possible to monitor microglia within the fetal brain, but new research indicates that macrophages in the placenta can act as an indicator of these cells' health.
Does a beet a day keep heart disease away?
After women go through menopause, their risk of heart disease increases dramatically. Researchers studied whether beetroot juice, which is rich in nitrate, can improve how blood vessels function. The results showed that daily consumption of beetroot juice by postmenopausal women may improve blood vessel function enough to reduce future heart disease risk.
Discovery unveils key to heart development in womb, unravels cause of spongy heart disease
Having explored how the heart is formed in utero, a researcher is reporting how cells and molecules act during that early formation and what might cause the heart disease called left ventricular non-compaction or spongy heart, for which patients often require heart transplants.
Bartonella DNA Found in Blood of Patients With Psychosis
A new study has found that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder are three times more likely to have Bartonella DNA in their blood than adults without these disorders. The work further supports the idea that pathogens -- particularly vector-borne pathogens -- could play a role in mental illness.
'Quantum optical antennas' provide more powerful measurements on the atomic level
A multi-institutional team has created atomic optical antennas in solids. The team used germanium vacancy centers in diamonds to create an optical energy enhancement of six orders of magnitude, a regime challenging to reach with conventional atomic antenna structures.
Multicenter clinical study supports safety of deep general anesthesia
New research supports earlier findings that indicate that anesthesia is no more hazardous for the brain at higher doses than at lower doses.
Elephants have names for each other like people do, new study shows
Wild African elephants address each other with name-like calls, a rare ability among nonhuman animals, according to a new study. Researchers used machine learning to confirm that elephant calls contained a name-like component identifying the intended recipient, a behavior they suspected based on observation. The study suggests elephants do not imitate the receiver's call to address one another but instead use arbitrary vocal labels like humans.
In a significant first, researchers detect water frost on solar system's tallest volcanoes
An international team of planetary scientists has detected patches of water frost sitting atop the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars, which are not only the tallest volcanic mountains on the Red Planet but in the entire solar system.
Galactic bloodlines: Many nearby star clusters originate from only three 'families'
Astronomers have deciphered the formation history of young star clusters, some of which we can see with the naked eye at night. The team reports that most nearby young star clusters belong to only three families, which originate from very massive star-forming regions. This research also provides new insights into the effects of supernovae (violent explosions at the end of the life of very massive stars) on the formation of giant gas structures in galaxies like our Milky Way.
Super-chilled brain cell molecules reveal how epilepsy drug works
By super cooling a molecule on the surface of brain cells down to about minus 180 degrees Celsius -- nearly twice as cold as the coldest places in Antarctica -- scientists say they have determined how a widely-used epilepsy drug works to dampen the excitability of brain cells and help to control, although not cure, seizures.
Small, cool and sulfurous exoplanet may help write recipe for planetary formation
Astronomers observing exoplanet GJ 3470 b saw evidence of water, carbon dioxide, methane and sulfur dioxide. Astronomers hope the discovery of this exoplanet's sulfurous atmosphere will advance our understanding of how planets forms.
Researchers demonstrate new way to 'squeeze' infrared light
Researchers have for the first time demonstrated that a specific class of oxide membranes can confine, or 'squeeze,' infrared light -- a finding that holds promise for next generation infrared imaging technologies. The thin-film membranes confine infrared light far better than bulk crystals, which are the established technology for infrared light confinement.