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• Mathematical tool helps calculate properties of quantum materials more quickly
• Computer scientists set benchmarks to optimize quantum computer performance
• Versatile new material family could build realistic prosthetics, futuristic army platforms
• AI software enables real-time 3D printing quality assessment
• A light bright and tiny: Scientists build a better nanoscale LED
• Hypothesis underlying the sensitivity of mammalian auditory system overturned
• Watching changes in plant metabolism -- live
• Rewriting the recent history of productive Cascade Arc volcanoes
• One step closer to bomb-sniffing cyborg locusts
• Decline in US bird biodiversity related to neonicotinoids, study shows
• An AI algorithm to help identify homeless youth at risk of substance abuse
• Study explores the association of malaria, HIV with anemia during pregnancy
• Source of pathogen that causes bitter rot disease
• Social connection is the strongest protective factor for depression
• Linking sight and movement
• Remains of 17th century bishop support neolithic emergence of tuberculosis
• 200,000 years ago, humans preferred to kip cozy
• Scientists demonstrate how genetic variations cause eczema
• Weight between young adulthood and midlife linked to early mortality
• How people and ecosystems fit together on the Great Barrier Reef
• When will scientists learn to use fewer acronyms?
• Newly identified gut cells nurture lymph capillaries
• This online calculator can predict your stroke risk
• Many medical 'rainy day' accounts aren't getting opened or filled
• Researchers discover the microbiome's role in attacking cancerous tumors
• Seasonal flu vaccinations don't 'stick' long-term in bone marrow
• Becoming a nerve cell: Timing is of the essence
• Syphilis may have spread through Europe before Columbus

Mathematical tool helps calculate properties of quantum materials more quickly Posted: 14 Aug 2020 01:33 PM PDT Many quantum materials have been nearly impossible to simulate mathematically because the computing time required is too long. Now engineers have demonstrated a way to considerably reduce the computing time. This could accelerate the development of materials for energy-efficient IT technologies of the future.

Computer scientists set benchmarks to optimize quantum computer performance Posted: 14 Aug 2020 01:33 PM PDT Computer scientists have shown that existing compilers, which tell quantum computers how to use their circuits to execute quantum programs, inhibit the computers' ability to achieve optimal performance. Specifically, their research has revealed that improving quantum compilation design could help achieve computation speeds up to 45 times faster than currently demonstrated.

Versatile new material family could build realistic prosthetics, futuristic army platforms Posted: 14 Aug 2020 01:33 PM PDT Nature's blueprint for the human limb is a carefully layered structure with stiff bone wrapped in layers of different soft tissue, like muscle and skin, all bound to each other perfectly. Achieving this kind of sophistication using synthetic materials to build biologically inspired robotic parts or multicomponent, complex machines has been an engineering challenge.

AI software enables real-time 3D printing quality assessment Posted: 14 Aug 2020 01:33 PM PDT Researchers have developed artificial intelligence software for powder bed 3D printers that assesses the quality of parts in real time, without the need for expensive characterization equipment.

A light bright and tiny: Scientists build a better nanoscale LED Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:29 AM PDT A new design for light-emitting diodes achieves a dramatic increase in brightness as well as the ability to create laser light -- characteristics that could make it valuable in a range of applications. The device shows an increase in brightness of 100 to 1,000 times over conventional submicron-sized LED designs.

Hypothesis underlying the sensitivity of mammalian auditory system overturned Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:29 AM PDT A new study challenges a decades-old hypothesis on adaptation, a key feature in how sensory cells of the inner ear (hair cells) detect sound.

Watching changes in plant metabolism -- live Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:29 AM PDT Almost all life on Earth, e.g. our food and health, depend on metabolism in plants. To understand how these metabolic processes function, researchers are studying key mechanisms in the regulation of energy metabolism. A new method of in vivo biosensor technology has enabled them to monitor in real time what effects environmental changes have on the central metabolism of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Rewriting the recent history of productive Cascade Arc volcanoes Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:29 AM PDT Volcanic eruptions in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest over the last 2.6 million years are more numerous and closely connected to subsurface signatures of currently active magma than commonly thought, according to newly publish research.

One step closer to bomb-sniffing cyborg locusts Posted: 14 Aug 2020 11:29 AM PDT Research has determined that locusts can smell explosives and determine where the smells originated -- an important step in engineering cyborg bomb-sniffing locusts.

Decline in US bird biodiversity related to neonicotinoids, study shows Posted: 14 Aug 2020 10:10 AM PDT Bird biodiversity is rapidly declining in the US. The overall bird population decreased by 29% since 1970, while grassland birds declined by an alarming 53%. A new study points to increased use of neonicotinoid insecticides as a major factor in the decline.

An AI algorithm to help identify homeless youth at risk of substance abuse Posted: 14 Aug 2020 10:10 AM PDT While many programs and initiatives have been implemented to address the prevalence of substance abuse among homeless youth in the United States, they don't always include data-driven insights about environmental and psychological factors that could contribute to an individual's likelihood of developing a substance use disorder. Now, an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm could help predict susceptibility to substance use disorder among young homeless individuals, and suggest personalized rehabilitation programs for highly susceptible homeless youth.

Study explores the association of malaria, HIV with anemia during pregnancy Posted: 14 Aug 2020 10:10 AM PDT Pregnant women from sub-Saharan Africa with malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a higher prevalence of anemia than pregnant women without infections, according to researchers. The findings may have implications for reducing the risk of death in pregnant women and preventing low birth weights and neurocognitive impairment in their children as a result of anemia.

Source of pathogen that causes bitter rot disease Posted: 14 Aug 2020 10:10 AM PDT Fungal spores responsible for bitter rot disease, a common and devastating infection in fruit, do not encounter their host plants by chance. Turns out, they have a symbiotic association with the plant, often living inside its leaves. The new way of looking at the fungal pathogen, Colletotrichum fioriniae, as a leaf endophyte -- bacterial or fungal microorganisms that colonize healthy plant tissue -- was the outcome of a two-year study.

Social connection is the strongest protective factor for depression Posted: 14 Aug 2020 10:10 AM PDT Researchers have identified a set of modifiable factors from a field of over 100 that could represent valuable targets for preventing depression in adults. The team named social connection as the strongest protective factor for depression, and suggested that reducing sedentary activities such as TV watching and daytime napping could also help lower the risk of depression.

Linking sight and movement Posted: 14 Aug 2020 09:32 AM PDT Researchers found that image-processing circuits in the primary visual cortex not only are more active when animals move freely, but that they receive signals from a movement-controlling region of the brain that is independent from the region that processes what the animal is looking at.

Remains of 17th century bishop support neolithic emergence of tuberculosis Posted: 14 Aug 2020 09:32 AM PDT Researchers present analysis of the highest quality ancient Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome to date, suggesting the pathogen is much younger than previously believed.

200,000 years ago, humans preferred to kip cozy Posted: 14 Aug 2020 09:32 AM PDT Researchers in South Africa's Border Cave have found evidence that people have been using grass bedding to create comfortable areas for sleeping and working on at least 200,000 years ago.

Scientists demonstrate how genetic variations cause eczema Posted: 14 Aug 2020 09:32 AM PDT New research delineates how two relatively common variations in a gene called KIF3A are responsible for an impaired skin barrier that allows increased water loss from the skin, promoting the development of atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema. This finding could lead to genetic tests that empower parents and physicians to take steps to potentially protect vulnerable infants from developing atopic dermatitis and additional allergic diseases.

Weight between young adulthood and midlife linked to early mortality Posted: 14 Aug 2020 08:31 AM PDT A new study finds that changes in weight between young adulthood and midlife may have important consequences for a person's risk of early death.

How people and ecosystems fit together on the Great Barrier Reef Posted: 14 Aug 2020 08:31 AM PDT A world-first study examines the scales of management of the Great Barrier Reef. The findings have the potential to help sustain other ecosystems across the world. The study provides a new approach for diagnosing social-ecological scale mismatches and responding to them.

When will scientists learn to use fewer acronyms? Posted: 14 Aug 2020 07:17 AM PDT Researchers have analyzed 24 million scientific article titles and 18 million abstracts between 1950 and 2019, looking for trends in acronym use. Despite repeated calls for scientists to reduce their use of acronyms and jargon in journal papers, the advice has been largely ignored, their findings show.

Newly identified gut cells nurture lymph capillaries Posted: 14 Aug 2020 07:17 AM PDT IBS research team has identified new subsets of gut connective cells, which are crucial for lymphatic growth.The findings imply a crucial link between the physiology of intestinal environment and biological interactions between cell types.

This online calculator can predict your stroke risk Posted: 14 Aug 2020 07:16 AM PDT Doctors can predict patients' stroke risk by using an online tool that measures the severity of their metabolic syndrome, a conglomeration of conditions that includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and excess body fat.

Many medical 'rainy day' accounts aren't getting opened or filled Posted: 13 Aug 2020 03:20 PM PDT One-third of the people who could benefit from a special type of savings account to cushion the blow of their health plan deductible aren't doing so, a new study finds. And even among people who do open a health savings account, half haven't put any money into it in the past year. This means they may be missing a chance to avoid taxes on money they can use to pay for their health insurance deductible and other costs.

Researchers discover the microbiome's role in attacking cancerous tumors Posted: 13 Aug 2020 11:49 AM PDT Researchers have discovered which gut bacteria help our immune system battle cancerous tumors and how they do it. The discovery may provide a new understanding of why immunotherapy, a treatment for cancer that helps amplify immune response, works in some cases, but not others. The findings show combining immunotherapy with specific microbial therapy helps the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells in three forms of cancer.

Seasonal flu vaccinations don't 'stick' long-term in bone marrow Posted: 13 Aug 2020 11:23 AM PDT Seasonal flu vaccination does increase the number of antibody-producing cells specific for flu in the bone marrow. However, most of the newly generated cells are lost within one year, researchers found.

Becoming a nerve cell: Timing is of the essence Posted: 13 Aug 2020 11:23 AM PDT Researchers find that mitochondria regulate a key event during brain development: how neural stem cells become nerve cells. Mitochondria influence this cell fate switch during a precise period that is twice as long in humans compared to mice. This highlights an unexpected function for mitochondria that may help explain how humans developed a bigger brain during evolution, and how mitochondrial defects lead to neurodevelopmental diseases.

Syphilis may have spread through Europe before Columbus Posted: 13 Aug 2020 11:23 AM PDT Columbus brought syphilis to Europe -- or did he? A recent study now indicates that Europeans could already have been infected with this sexually transmitted disease before the 15th century. In addition, researchers have discovered a hitherto unknown pathogen causing a related disease. The predecessor of syphilis and its related diseases could be over 2,500 years old.

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