‘We Need a Lot of Humility’: What We Heard This Week
“We need a lot of humility.” — Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, of University of California San Francisco, discussing the many unknowns surrounding whether one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine provides sufficient protection for the previously infected. “You either choose to live with it, or avoid anything that makes life meaningful.” — Alex Myers, DO, a […]
Body size, digestive systems shape ungulate foraging
Research led by a University of Wyoming graduate student involving about 50 scientists from across the globe has provided new insights into the behavior of ungulates (hoofed animals) as it relates to forage conditions and water availability. Saeideh Esmaeili, who graduated from UW’s Program in Ecology in December 2020 and is now a postdoctoral assistant […]
New framework applies machine learning to atomistic modeling: Method could lead to more accurate predictions of how new materials behave at the atomic scale
Northwestern University researchers have developed a new framework using machine learning that improves the accuracy of interatomic potentials — the guiding rules describing how atoms interact — in new materials design. The findings could lead to more accurate predictions of how new materials transfer heat, deform, and fail at the atomic scale. Designing new nanomaterials […]
3D ‘assembloid’ shows how SARS-CoV-2 infects brain cells
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine have produced a stem cell model that demonstrates a potential route of entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, into the human brain. The findings are published in the July 9, 2021 online issue of Nature Medicine. […]
Single cancer cells have different appetites for fatty acids
A new method developed by Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) and University of California, Riverside provides new insights into cancer biology by allowing researchers to show how fatty acids are absorbed by single cells. Fatty acids, along with glucose and amino acids, are a major energy source for cellular growth and proliferation, and abnormal fatty […]
Common medication used to reduce cholesterol levels may reduce COVID-19 severity
In a new study from University of California San Diego School of Medicine, researchers have confirmed that patients taking statin medications had a 41 percent lower risk of in-hospital death from COVID-19. The findings were published July 15, 2021 in PLOS ONE and expand upon prior research conducted at UC San Diego Health in 2020. […]
Combining plant-based diet and healthy microbiome may protect against multiple sclerosis: Metabolism of isoflavone by gut bacteria protects mice from MS-like inflammation
A new University of Iowa study suggests that metabolism of plant-based dietary substances by specific gut bacteria, which are lacking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), may provide protection against the disease. The study led by Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD, UI associate professor of pathology, shows that a diet rich in isoflavone, a phytoestrogen or plant-based […]
Scientists solve 40-year mystery over Jupiter’s X-ray aurora
A research team co-led by UCL (University College London) has solved a decades-old mystery as to how Jupiter produces a spectacular burst of X-rays every few minutes. The X-rays are part of Jupiter’s aurora — bursts of visible and invisible light that occur when charged particles interact with the planet’s atmosphere. A similar phenomenon occurs […]
Machine learning tool sorts the nuances of quantum data
An interdisciplinary team of Cornell and Harvard University researchers developed a machine learning tool to parse quantum matter and make crucial distinctions in the data, an approach that will help scientists unravel the most confounding phenomena in the subatomic realm. The Cornell-led project’s paper, “Correlator Convolutional Neural Networks as an Interpretable Architecture for Image-like Quantum […]
Impulsiveness tied to faster eating in children, can lead to obesity: Research also suggests cravings after sight and/or smell of food linked to inability to self-soothe in kids
Children who eat slower are less likely to be extroverted and impulsive, according to a new study co-led by the University at Buffalo and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The research, which sought to uncover the relationship between temperament and eating behaviors in early childhood, also found that kids who were highly responsive to external food […]