Designing a soundscape to improve the quality of life for an individual is centered on putting their perception at the heart of the process. It becomes trickier for people who have diminished cognitive capacities. During the 180th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held virtually June 8-10, Arezoo Talebzadeh, from Ghent University, will show how a personalized soundscape can help those with dementia by providing clues regarding time of day and place....

Analysis of images from Mars rovers shows insect- and reptile-like fossils, creatures according to Ohio University entomologist. As scientists scramble to determine whether there is life on Mars, Ohio University Professor Emeritus William Romoser’s research shows that we already have the evidence, courtesy of photographs from various Mars rovers. Dr. Romoser, who specializes in arbovirology and general/medical entomology, has spent several years studying photographs from the red planet that are available on the Internet....

Life as we know it is based upon the elements of carbon and oxygen. Now a team of physicists, including one from North Carolina State University, is looking at the conditions necessary to the formation of those two elements in the universe. They’ve found that when it comes to supporting life, the universe leaves very little margin for error. Both carbon and oxygen are produced when helium burns inside of giant red stars....

Carrying seven experiments and fitted with a parachute to slow its descent into the atmosphere, the large probe studied the composition of Venus’ atmosphere and clouds. In addition, the large probe measured the distribution of infrared and solar radiation. The three small probes were designed without parachutes, each carrying six experiments. Each probe targeted different parts of Venus. North entered Venus at the high northern latitudes, Night targeted the night side at mid-southern latitudes, and Day targeted the day side at mid-southern latitudes....

Amyloid-clearing drug lecanemab will be a positive step in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease based on study results presented at the 15th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Lecanemab is poised for FDA approval early next year. Alzheimer’s is a complex disease with multiple underlying causes tied to the biology of aging, therefore the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) has long held that a combination drug approach is needed....

Patients with B.1.1.7 (Alpha variant/UK) and B.1.351 (Beta variant/South Africa) less likely to be asymptomatic, despite no increase in viral load. Although two SARS-CoV-2 variants are associated with higher transmission, patients with these variants show no evidence of higher viral loads in their upper respiratory tracts compared to the control group, a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine study found. The emergence and higher transmission of the evolving variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been concerning....

In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will encounter the binary planet Pluto-Charon and its coterie of small satellites. Discovered in June 2005, the satellites Nix and Hydra orbit Pluto-Charon at distances roughly 40 times (Nix) and 55 times (Hydra) larger than the radius of Pluto. Two other satellites, now known as P4 and P5, appeared on images from the Hubble Space Telescope in 2011-2012 and have similar orbits. With a planned closest approach to Pluto-Charon of only 10 Pluto radii, the New Horizons spacecraft must have a trajectory that avoids the satellites as it passes through the system....

Apparently, Neanderthals and modern humans coexisted in Europe for at least 5,000 years. However, little is known about why modern humans could increase their population size after migrating to Europe and successfully occupying new territories, while autochthonous Neanderthals went extinct ~ 40,000 years ago. The research team included 17 scientists from Italy and Japan, coordinated by the archaeologists Katsuhiro Sano (Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Tohoku University) and Adriana Moroni (Department of Environment, Earth and Physical Sciences, University of Siena), and the paleoanthropologist Stefano Benazzi (Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna)....

Now, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine describe findings that could bolster the effectiveness of immune-checkpoint therapy in a study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) on November 15. Rather than rally T cells against cancer, the Einstein research team used different human immune cells known as natural killer (NK) cells. Their dramatic results were dramatic. “We believe the novel immunotherapy we’ve developed has great potential to move into clinical trials involving various types of cancer,” said study leader Xingxing Zang, M....

Scientists studying archaeological remains at Gruta da Figueira Brava, Portugal, discovered that Neanderthals were harvesting shellfish to eat – including brown crabs, where they preferred larger specimens and cooked them in fires. Archeologists say this disproves the idea that eating marine foods gave early modern humans’ brains the competitive advantage. In a cave just south of Lisbon, archeological deposits conceal a Paleolithic dinner menu. As well as stone tools and charcoal, the site of Gruta de Figueira Brava contains rich deposits of shells and bones with much to tell us about the Neanderthals that lived there – especially about their meals....

In two separate articles in the Annals of Neurology, clinicians in India and England report cases of a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome after individuals were vaccinated against COVID-19. Both reports describe an unusual variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome characterized by prominent facial weakness. Seven cases were reported from a regional medical center in Kerala, India, where approximately 1.2 million people were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Four cases were reported from Nottingham, England, in an area in which approximately 700,000 people received the same vaccine....

A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has found that adding salt to foods at a lower frequency is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease. The study suggests that even among those following a DASH-style diet, interventions to reduce salt consumption could improve heart health. Previous research has shown that high levels of sodium in the diet can contribute to the development of high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease....

To address these limitations, electrical engineers in the Penn State College of Engineering combined electromagnets with a compliant mechanism, which is the same mechanical engineering concept behind binder clips or a bow and arrow. They published their proof-of-concept reconfigurable compliant mechanism-enabled patch antenna today (February 13, 2023) in the journal Nature Communications. “Compliant mechanisms are engineering designs that incorporate elements of the materials themselves to create motion when force is applied, instead of traditional rigid body mechanisms that require hinges for motion,” said corresponding author Galestan Mackertich-Sengerdy, who is both a doctoral student and a full-time researcher in the college’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)....

The study, published in the journal Geology, could resolve a long-standing mystery over the age of the fossilized algae, Bangiomorpha pubescens, which were first discovered in rocks in Arctic Canada in 1990. The microscopic organism is believed to be the oldest known direct ancestor of modern plants and animals, but its age was only poorly dated, with estimates placing it somewhere between 720 million and 1.2 billion years. The new findings also add to recent evidence that an interval of Earth’s history often referred to as the Boring Billion may not have been so boring, after all....

Parkinson’s occurs when brain neurons that make dopamine, a substance that helps coordinate muscle movement, become impaired or die. Symptoms, which get worse over time, include slowness of movement, rigid muscles, tremors, and loss of balance. In most cases, the exact cause of neuron failure is unclear, and there is no known cure. At least 500,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson’s every year, and the incidence is rising....

In an industry struggling to maintain profitability, it’s curious that U.S. processing sweet corn – the corn that ends up in cans and freezer bags – is falling so far below its potential. Yet, that’s what a new study in PLOS One clearly demonstrates. According to Martin Williams, an ecologist with USDA-ARS and associate professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois, processing sweet corn in the Midwest is grown at an average population of 24,000 plants per acre....

The Night Watch, an iconic masterpiece by Rembrandt is currently housed in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam in The Netherlands. The painting, completed in 1642, underwent its largest-ever research and conservation project in 2019, known as Operation Night Watch. An international team of researchers studied the chemical reactions and aging of the painting materials during this project. The team of scientists combined multi-scale imaging methods in order to chemically study the materials used by Rembrandt in The Night Watch....

The brain is highly susceptible to aging, with cognitive functions, such as learning and memory, gradually declining as we get older. Much of the body’s immune system also deteriorates with age, resulting in increased susceptibility to infection and higher levels of inflammation. In their new JEM study, however, a team of researchers led by Qi Yang and Kristen L. Zuloaga at Albany Medical College reveal that aging-related changes in a class of immune cells known as group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) could allow doctors to combat the effects of aging on the brain....

“Our findings show that the risk of myocarditis from being infected by COVID-19 is far greater than from getting the vaccine,” said Dr. Navya Voleti. “Moving forward, it will be important to monitor the potential long-term effects in those who develop myocarditis.” Voleti is a resident physician in the Department of Medicine at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Myocarditis is one of the many complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection....

Is an armed conflict imminent? As Russia masses military equipment near Ukraine borders, experts in an MIT forum express concern about possible action and its consequences. In recent weeks it has seemed increasingly possible that Russia will invade Ukraine. But why is this threat unfolding now, and what is likely to occur? An online panel of experts held by MIT last Friday warned of significant reason for concern, while searching for factors that might prevent military action or limit its consequences....