Many areas of scientific research — Earth’s weather, ocean currents, the outpouring of magnetic energy from the sun — require mapping out the large-scale features of a complex system and its intricate details simultaneously. Describing such systems accurately, relies on numerous kinds of input, beginning with observations of the system, incorporating mathematical equations to approximate those observations, running computer simulations to attempt to replicate observations, and cycling back through all the steps to refine and improve the models until they jibe with what’s seen....

Last December, an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China. Recent studies have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) — the virus that causes COVID-19 — could have originated in bats. But SARS-CoV-2 may have spilled over to humans from another intermediate host, and the source of this virus is still unknown. To effectively control the disease and prevent new spillovers, it is critical to identify the animal origin of this newly emerging coronavirus....

New genetic modification techniques have allowed geneticists to engineer cows that secrete allergen-free milk and pigs that can serve as models for atherosclerosis. The cows lack an allergy-inducing protein, which was blocked accurately using RNA interference. In the pigs, scientists used the TALEN enzyme to scramble a gene that would normally help remove cholesterol. Researchers published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. RNA interference and TALENs are far more accurate than earlier techniques....

The material then requires only water and air to convert the captured gas into nitric acid for industrial use. The mechanism for the record-breaking gas uptake by the MOF, characterized by researchers using neutron scattering at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, could lead to air pollution control and remediation technologies that cost-effectively remove the pollutant from the air and convert it into nitric acid for use in producing fertilizer, rocket propellant, nylon, and other products....

New video recorded during NASA’s Orion return through Earth’s atmosphere provides viewers a taste of what the vehicle endured as it returned through Earth’s atmosphere during its December 5 flight test. Among the first data to be removed from Orion following its uncrewed December 5 flight test was video recorded through windows in Orion’s crew module. Although much of the video was transmitted down to Earth and shown in real time on NASA Television, it was not available in its entirety....

An investigational COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax was found to be 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 illness, according to results from a Phase 3 clinical trial published on December 15, 2021, in the New England Journal of Medicine. The University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health served as one of the trial sites, and Karen Kotloff, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at UMSOM, served as Co-Chair for the trial protocol....

Our DNA is a daily target for a barrage of damage caused by radiation or toxic substances such as alcohol. When alcohol is metabolized, acetaldehyde is formed. Acetaldehyde causes a dangerous kind of DNA damage — the interstrand crosslink (ICL) — that sticks together the two strands of the DNA. As a result, it obstructs cell division and protein production. Ultimately, an accumulation of ICL damage may lead to cell death and cancer....

In the UK, 1.1 million children (1 in 11) are currently receiving treatment for asthma and most adult asthma begins in childhood. The NHS spends around £1 billion a year treating and caring for people with asthma. Senior author, Professor Seif Shaheen from Queen Mary University of London, said: “Asthma is the most common chronic condition in childhood and we currently don’t know how to prevent it. It is possible that a poor diet may increase the risk of developing asthma, but until now most studies have taken ‘snap-shots’, measuring diet and asthma over a short period of time....

A new research study at the University of Chicago Medicine has found that when it comes to COVID-19, having vitamin D levels above those traditionally considered sufficient may lower the risk of infection, especially for Black people. The study, published today (March 19, 2021) in JAMA Network Open, retrospectively examined the relationship between vitamin D levels and likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19. While levels of 30 ng/ml or more are usually considered “sufficient,” the authors found that Black individuals who had levels of 30 to 40 ng/ml had a 2....

Rhesus macaques develop promising immune response to SARS-CoV-2; Results suggest lasting immunity after infection. In a promising result for the success of vaccines against COVID-19, rhesus macaque monkeys infected with the human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 developed protective immune responses that might be reproduced with a vaccine. The work was carried out at the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis and is published today (January 22, 2021) in the journal Nature Communications....

Reliable, accurate and non-invasive, the Soterius Scout sensor can deliver results within a minute to provide the all-clear for someone to enter their work environment or alert them if they need to undertake a medical COVID test and self-isolate. The successful prototype is now being further developed by Soterius in partnership with RMIT, MIP Diagnostics, the Burnet Institute, D+I and Vestech, towards commercial release early 2022. The technology will be manufactured in Australia and will initially be delivered to hospitals, with future applications in other essential worker and high-traffic settings including aged care, quarantine hotels, airports, and schools....

This has led many to question if human activity played a role in the extinction of mammoths over 10,000 years ago. A University of Cincinnati paleontologist refutes the latest timeline published in 2021 in the journal Nature that suggested mammoths met their end much more recently than we believed. An international team of researchers examined the environmental DNA of mammoth remains and more than 1,500 arctic plants to conclude that a wetter climate quickly changed the landscape from tundra grassland steppe to forested wetlands that could not support many of these big grazing animals, driving mammoths to extinction as recently as 3,900 years ago....

Within the inner ear, thousands of hair cells detect sound waves and translate them into nerve signals that allow us to hear speech, music, and other everyday sounds. Damage to these cells is one of the leading causes of hearing loss, which affects 48 million Americans. Each of us is born with about 15,000 hair cells per ear, and once damaged, these cells cannot regrow. However, researchers at MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear have now discovered a combination of drugs that expands the population of progenitor cells (also called supporting cells) in the ear and induces them to become hair cells, offering a potential new way to treat hearing loss....

Within the inner ear, thousands of hair cells detect sound waves and translate them into nerve signals that allow us to hear speech, music, and other everyday sounds. Damage to these cells is one of the leading causes of hearing loss, which affects 48 million Americans. Each of us is born with about 15,000 hair cells per ear, and once damaged, these cells cannot regrow. However, researchers at MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear have now discovered a combination of drugs that expands the population of progenitor cells (also called supporting cells) in the ear and induces them to become hair cells, offering a potential new way to treat hearing loss....

A new signaling pathway utilized by cells to protect their DNA during replication has been uncovered by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine. The findings, published in Molecular Cell, indicate that targeting this pathway could enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatments. “A cell that can’t protect its genome is going to die,” said senior author Zhongsheng You, Ph.D., a professor of cell biology & physiology. “This entire pathway we found exists to protect the genome so the cell can survive in the face of replication stress....

The discovery, published today (February 17, 2020) in Nature Energy, overcomes the issue faced by high-powered, fast-charging supercapacitors — that they usually cannot hold a large amount of energy in a small space. First author of the study, Dr. Zhuangnan Li (UCL Chemistry), said: “Our new supercapacitor is extremely promising for next-generation energy storage technology as either a replacement for current battery technology, or for use alongside it, to provide the user with more power....

Researchers at Uppsala University have found that an effective way of treating the coronavirus behind the 2003 SARS epidemic also works on the closely related SARS-CoV-2 virus, the culprit in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The substance concerned is nitric oxide (NO), a compound with antiviral properties that is produced by the body itself. The study is published in the journal Redox Biology. “To our knowledge, nitric oxide is the only substance shown so far to have a direct effect on SARS-CoV-2,” says Åke Lundkvist, a professor at Uppsala University, who led the study....

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder indicates air pollution in the form of nitrogen compounds emanating from power plants, automobiles and agriculture is changing the alpine vegetation in Rocky Mountain National Park. The emissions of nitrogen compounds to the atmosphere are being carried to remote areas of the park, altering sensitive ecosystems, said CU-Boulder Professor William Bowman, who directs CU-Boulder’s Mountain Research Station west of Boulder and who led the study....

Engineering, biochemistry, and medical researchers from across campus have combined their skills to create a hand-held rapid test for bacterial infections that can produce accurate, reliable results in less than an hour, eliminating the need to send samples to a lab. Their proof-of-concept research, published on June 24, 2021, in the journal Nature Chemistry, specifically describes the test’s effectiveness in diagnosing urinary tract infections from real clinical samples. The researchers are adapting the test to detect other forms of bacteria and for the rapid diagnosis of viruses, including COVID-19....

The scientists published their findings in the journal Emotion. The scientists recruited college students to participate in five basic studies centering around nostalgia and warmth. One study involved keeping a journal of nostalgic feelings for 30 days, which was compared to the weather. In another study, students were placed in rooms ranging from cold to comfortable to over-heated and then asked how nostalgic it felt. In an online study, they listened to music and were asked how nostalgic it made them feel and how warm they felt....