Bluesky Facebook Reddit Email

Science News Archive April 2017


Page 19 of 37

Powered stretchers could reduce injuries, keep paramedics on the job

Paramedics using powered stretchers experience a significant reduction in musculoskeletal injuries, with injury rates dropping from 20 to 4.3 per 100 workers. The study suggests that the added cost of powered stretchers can be recovered within seven years due to reduced injury-related costs.

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer rapidly prototypes brackets, adapters, and fixtures for instruments and classroom demonstrations at large build volume.

Monitoring troubles of the heart

A mobile sensing system developed by researchers at USC can detect conflict in relationships and send alerts or meditation prompts to reduce stress. The algorithm achieved an accuracy of up to 86% in detecting conflict episodes, using data from wearables, phones, and bio-signals.

SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB

SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB transfers large imagery and model outputs quickly between field laptops, lab workstations, and secure archives.

Houston's gourmet food trucks cooperate, compete to elevate group's prestige

Researchers at Rice University found that gourmet food trucks in Houston cooperate to meet central tendencies, such as good ingredients and cleanliness, while competing to strive for ideal prototypes like the best food. This cooperation leads to new firms entering the market and improves the group's excellence.

Cover crops may be used to mitigate and adapt to climate change

A recent study found that cover crops can mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing soil carbon sequestration. The research suggests that cover cropping can be an effective adaptive management tool to maintain yields and minimize nitrogen losses as the climate warms.

Eat, prey, move

Researchers found that competition among grazers, such as herbivorous fishes and algae, structures the space use patterns and feeding behaviors of bulletheads. The study suggests that predation risk has a limited impact on prey foraging behaviors in areas with high levels of competition.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Apple iPhone 17 Pro delivers top performance and advanced cameras for field documentation, data collection, and secure research communications.

LifeCourse meets Triple Aim for late life care

The LifeCourse model fulfills the Triple Aim by addressing patients' medical and non-medical needs during late-stage care. Analysis of 900 intervention and usual care patients shows significant improvements in cost reduction and quality of life.

NASA spots short-lived Tropical Cyclone Maarutha

Tropical Cyclone Maarutha formed quickly and strengthened into a tropical storm in the Northern Indian Ocean. The storm made landfall in Burma (Myanmar) on April 16, dropping high rainfall totals in south central Myanmar. Remnants of the cyclone were dissipating over land by April 17.

Electronics to control plant growth

Scientists from Linköping University successfully applied an ion pump device to a small flowering plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, allowing them to control root growth and auxin response. This breakthrough enables localized application of hormones to study their impact on plant growth and development at tissue and cellular resolution.

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro)

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro) powers local ML workloads, large datasets, and multi-display analysis for field and lab teams.

NASA spots Tropical Cyclone 02W's remnants in South China Sea

NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone 02W's remnants in the South China Sea on April 17, revealing an elongated area of clouds. The remnant low pressure area weakened after passing over Eastern Visayas and the Philippines, with wind shear preventing re-intensification.

Banned industrial solvent sheds new light on methane mystery

A new paper investigates an alternative possibility: a rise and fall in the concentration of the hydroxyl radical, which destroys methane in the atmosphere. The team's findings suggest that emissions may have risen more gradually over the last couple of decades.

Columbia engineers invent method to control light propagation in waveguides

Researchers developed a technique to efficiently control light in waveguides by decorating them with nano-antennas, achieving record-small footprints and broad wavelength ranges. This innovation has the potential to transform optical communications and signal processing, enabling faster and more powerful optical chips.

Termite gut holds a secret to breaking down plant biomass

A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that termite gut efficiently breaks down lignin, a hard-to-degrade polymer. The termites' symbiotic system with fungus breaks down biomass in just 3.5 hours, holding a key to improving biofuel and paper production.

Pinning down abuse on Google maps

Researchers identified a new form of blackhat search engine optimization targeting local listing services like Google Maps. Scammers exploit location-based search to make fake businesses appear in users' searches.

Aranet4 Home CO2 Monitor

Aranet4 Home CO2 Monitor tracks ventilation quality in labs, classrooms, and conference rooms with long battery life and clear e-ink readouts.

Pancreatic cancer project scores in research 'lightning round'

Researchers Melissa Skala and Matthew Vander Heiden won a $250,000 award to study the interaction between tumor cells and healthy supporting cells in pancreatic cancer. The project aims to create molecular changes that shut down the tumor's ability to scavenge nutrients, potentially leading to a new type of metabolic cancer therapy.

Mission Control for the body's salt and water supplies

Researchers found that consuming more salt led to reduced water intake and conserved body water by triggering a mechanism in the kidneys. The study suggests that urea plays a crucial role in maintaining proper water balance and challenges previous assumptions about its function.

Synthetic carbohydrates against autoimmune diseases

Researchers at the University of Basel have created a treatment approach using customized synthetic glycopolymers that act as molecular sponges to neutralize disease-causing antibodies. This innovative method has potential applications for treating other antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases.

GoPro HERO13 Black

GoPro HERO13 Black records stabilized 5.3K video for instrument deployments, field notes, and outreach, even in harsh weather and underwater conditions.

Nice moves: First dancing, then mating in songbirds

A new study from Hokkaido University found that duet-dancing plays a crucial role in mating success among Java Sparrows, even more so than male-singing. Females often give a copulation solicitation display before males start singing.

Immunotherapy for glioblastoma well tolerated; survival gains observed

A phase one study of 11 patients with glioblastoma who received injections of an investigational vaccine therapy and an approved chemotherapy showed the combination to be well tolerated while also resulting in unexpectedly significant survival increases. The researchers found that the combination significantly slowed the progression of...

Immunity against melanoma is only skin deep

A new study by Dartmouth researchers reveals that resident memory T cells reside in the skin, where they can quickly eliminate melanoma cells. This finding suggests that these immune cells play a crucial role in protecting against future tumors and may serve as a target for future cancer therapies.

Meta Quest 3 512GB

Meta Quest 3 512GB enables immersive mission planning, terrain rehearsal, and interactive STEM demos with high-resolution mixed-reality experiences.

Understanding money reduces worry about old age

A study by Hiroshima University and Nagoya University found that financial literacy decreases anxiety about life in old age. Financially literate individuals earn more, accumulate assets, and are less anxious about retirement, thanks to better risk perception and planning.

Hubble sees starbursts in Virgo

Astronomers study starburst galaxies to understand their evolution. Hubble's observations of NGC 4536 reveal high rates of star formation driven by gas supply, which fuels the creation of colorful ionized hydrogen clouds.

SAVI camera ditches long lens for distant images

The SAVI camera uses laser light to capture high-resolution images of distant objects, eliminating the need for a long lens. The technology has potential applications in visible light imaging, with researchers envisioning real-time, high-resolution capture using this synthetic aperture approach.

Garmin GPSMAP 67i with inReach

Garmin GPSMAP 67i with inReach provides rugged GNSS navigation, satellite messaging, and SOS for backcountry geology and climate field teams.

Study unravels long-held Fermi puzzle tied to nonlinear systems

An international team of scientists found that strongly nonlinear systems can reach equilibrium, provided certain conditions are met. The breakthrough was made by examining the collisions between solitary waves in a chain of solid spheres and comparing the results with dynamical computer simulations.

3-D-printed patch can help mend a 'broken' heart

Researchers have developed a 3D-bioprinted patch that can heal scarred heart tissue after a heart attack. The patch was made from cells and structural proteins native to the heart and showed significant improvement in functional capacity in mice after just four weeks.

Assessing heart disease risk is within arm's reach

Researchers at New York Institute of Technology found that the radial artery may be useful for assessing heart disease risk, as it exhibits positive correlations with key risk factors. This discovery could lead to a new way to measure systemic atherosclerosis and improve cardiovascular health monitoring.

Fluke 87V Industrial Digital Multimeter

Fluke 87V Industrial Digital Multimeter is a trusted meter for precise measurements during instrument integration, repairs, and field diagnostics.

High stakes, high risk, and a bad bet

Gambling addiction is characterized by excessive risk-taking despite negative results, according to Kyoto University research. The study found that addicts have a poor ability to assess and adapt to high-risk situations, leading to an unhealthy bent towards risky choices.

Plant genes may lack off switch, but have volume control

Scientists discovered that genetic material known as introns can play a dramatic role in plant gene activity. Introns act as volume control for some essential genes, making them silent when removed. This finding suggests that many genes may not have a traditional on/off switch.

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, USB-C)

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, USB-C) provide clear calls and strong noise reduction for interviews, conferences, and noisy field environments.

Computers create recipe for two new magnetic materials

Researchers at Duke University have created two new magnetic materials using high-throughput computational models. The success marks a new era for the large-scale design of new magnetic materials, with potential applications in motors, MRI machines and beyond.

Th17 cells could facilitate wider clinical use of adoptive immunotherapy

Researchers at MUSC found that Th17 cells can be expanded outside the body without losing effectiveness, providing a promising alternative to classic T cells used in adoptive immunotherapy. This breakthrough enables longer window periods for obtaining effective T cells via expansion outside the body.

Traces of Zika Found in Asian tiger mosquito in Brazil

Research detects fragments of Zika virus RNA in Asian tiger mosquito eggs collected in Brazil, highlighting potential role in Zika transmission. The findings emphasize the need for further research into additional vector species.

New method for tapping vast plant pharmacopeia to make more effective drugs

Vanderbilt University scientists developed a new approach to identify gene networks responsible for producing biologically active compounds in plants. The method uses co-expression analysis of over 22,000 gene expression studies and identifies dozens of pathways producing small metabolites, including previously identified ones.

Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars

Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars deliver bright, sharp views for wildlife surveys, eclipse chases, and quick star-field scans at dark sites.

Helping students learn by sketching

Researchers at Northwestern University developed Sketch Worksheets, a software that analyzes and provides feedback on student sketches to help them learn various subjects. The software uses CogSketch's visual processing algorithms and analogy model to compare student and instructor sketches, providing immediate feedback on mistakes.

Lice and bacteria, partners in parasitism

Scientists sequenced the genomes of symbiotic bacteria from human lice and their closely related monkey lice counterparts. The data revealed a single-trunked tree suggesting the bacteria have been associated with lice for millions of years.

GQ GMC-500Plus Geiger Counter

GQ GMC-500Plus Geiger Counter logs beta, gamma, and X-ray levels for environmental monitoring, training labs, and safety demonstrations.

ATV-related injuries in children remain large public health problem

Children are more severely injured from ATV-related accidents than adults, with data showing an estimated 99,600 injuries requiring emergency treatment in the US. The primary causes of these injuries include vehicle rollover, collision with stationary objects, and ejection from the vehicle.

Researchers design coatings to prevent pipeline clogging

A new coating system developed at MIT can effectively prevent the buildup of hydrates in oil and gas pipelines, which can slow or block flow. The system creates a barrier film between water and the pipe wall, keeping hydrates away.

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm)

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) tracks health metrics and safety alerts during long observing sessions, fieldwork, and remote expeditions.

New infrared-emitting device could allow energy harvesting from waste heat

Researchers have developed a new reconfigurable device that can emit thermal infrared light in a fully controlled manner, enabling efficient energy harvesting from waste heat. The technology has potential applications in thermophotovoltaics and could be used to convert heat into energy for various purposes.