Studies Suggest Why Omicron Is Less Severe: It Spares the Lungs
A spate of new studies on lab animals and human tissues are providing the first indication of why the Omicron variant causes milder disease than previous versions of the coronavirus. From a report: In studies on mice and hamsters, Omicron produced le.....»»
How harmful are microplastics to human health?
Microplastics have been found throughout the human body -- including inside lungs, blood and brains -- and while it is not yet clear how harmful they are to our health, some researchers are sounding the alarm......»»
Ecologists suggest animal alcohol consumption more common than thought
Anecdotes abound of wildlife behaving "drunk" after eating fermented fruits, but despite this, nonhuman consumption of ethanol has been assumed to be rare and accidental. Ecologists challenge this assumption in a review published October 30 in Trends.....»»
Sinuses prevented prehistoric crocodile relatives from deep diving, paleobiologists suggest
An international team of paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean-dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins......»»
A global imbalance in reference genomes: Research highlights need for sequencing resources in biodiversity-rich areas
Montana State University and Universidad de los Andes researchers have detected a significant imbalance in the distribution of tetrapod reference genomes. They find a disproportionate concentration of studies in high-latitude regions compared to wher.....»»
New insights into cancer risks from chemicals in fire smoke
Derek Urwin has a special stake in his work as a cancer control researcher. After undergraduate studies in applied mathematics at UCLA, he became a firefighter. His inspiration to launch a second career as a scientist was the loss of his brother, Isa.....»»
Anosmia, the Inability to Smell, Changes How People Breathe
A small study of people with congenital anosmia found changes in breathing that suggest the condition may affect more than just the ability to smell.....»»
Bacterial pathogen must balance between colonizing airways and developing antibiotic tolerance, study reveals
Imagine trying to settle into a new home while constantly being attacked. That's what the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa faces when it infects the lungs, and it can't both spread and protect itself from antibiotics at the same time......»»
A poor year for juvenile striped bass in Virginia waters in 2024
Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by researchers at William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS suggest that a poor year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2024.....»»
An analysis of Storm Boris and European flooding during September 2024
Between Friday, 13 and Monday, 16 September 2024, a low-pressure system named Boris brought record-breaking rainfall to central Europe, leading to severe flooding in parts of Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Hungary. The flooding cause.....»»
iOS 18.2 beta shows that the Apple Intelligence rollout isn’t as slow as some suggest
While the narrative around Apple Intelligence is that the company is leaning heavily on “coming later” asterisks, and we’ll have to wait a long time for any of it to actually launch, yesterday’s iOS 18.2 beta release tells a somewhat differen.....»»
River flow responses to heat waves may change more rapidly under climate change, research finds
A pair of studies by researchers in Simon Fraser University's School of Environmental Science examine how climate change could alter the way Canadian rivers respond to extreme heat events......»»
Polar bears" exposure to pathogens is increasing as their environment changes, blood samples suggest
As the Arctic warms, polar bears now face a greater risk of contracting several pathogens than bears three decades ago. Karyn Rode and Caroline Van Hemert of the U.S. Geological Survey report these findings in a new study published October 23, 2024,.....»»
Atlanta neighborhood hired case manager to address rising homelessness. It"s improving health and safety for everyone
Homelessness has surged across the United States in recent years, rising 19% from 2016 through 2023. The main cause is a severe shortage of affordable housing. Rising homelessness has renewed debates about the use of public space and how encampments.....»»
Mobile phone networks and Bluetooth technology could help researchers improve animal tracking
Animal tracking studies for ecology and conservation all face technological limitations, such as high costs or the need for tags to remain in close proximity to detectors. In research published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution, investigators descr.....»»
Gurman: Apple internally believes that it’s at least two years behind in AI development
According to the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, some employees at Apple believe that the company is around two years behind in artificial intelligence development. We also get some insight on a few internal studies, and a look.....»»
Tracks left by a bird-sized dinosaur suggest it used wings to run faster
A small international team of biologists, geologists and paleontologists has found evidence that a bird-sized dinosaur from the early Cretaceous used its wings to run faster. In their study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scie.....»»
Promising triazole molecular catalyst enables efficient electroreduction of carbon dioxide to methane
The efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2)—one of the main compounds contributing to climate change—into useful fuels and chemicals is a long sought-after research goal. Recent studies have introduced various catalysts that could be used to.....»»
Studies of migraine’s many triggers offer paths to new therapies
One class of drugs has already found success in treating the painful, common attacks. For Cherise Irons, chocolate, red wine, and aged cheeses are dangerous. So are certain sounds.....»»
Attribution studies reveal increasing effects of global warming on fire dynamics and public health
Climate change is increasingly influencing fire behavior worldwide and intensifying fire smoke, endangering public health from air pollution caused by fires. These are the results of two new climate change impact attribution studies, both published i.....»»
Chemical trick activates antibiotic directly at the pathogen
Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic that is usually only used for severe infections with resistant bacteria. This is due to its severe kidney-damaging side effects, which occur in about 30% of treated patients. A research team at the Helmholtz Cente.....»»