Science Daily

Imagine powering your devices by walking. With new technology that possibility might not be far out of reach. An energy harvester is attached to the wearer's knee and can generate 1.6 microwatts of power while the wearer walks without any increase in effort. The energy is enough to power small electronics like health monitoring equipment and GPS devices.

Radiation levels in parts of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, where the United States conducted nearly 70 nuclear tests during the Cold War, are still alarmingly high. Researchers tested soil samples on four uninhabited isles and discovered that they contained concentrations of nuclear isotopes that are significantly higher than those found near Chernobyl and Fukushima.

Multiple violations of injection safety and infection prevention practices -- from lack of handwashing to inappropriate re-use of medication vials -- were identified after an outbreak of septic arthritis at a New Jersey outpatient facility in 2017, according to a recent investigation. Investigators found 41 patients with osteoarthritis contracted the rare, painful infection following injections in their knee joints, including 33 who required surgical removal of damaged tissue.

Apathy is the most common neuropsychiatric symptom of dementia, with a bigger impact on function than memory loss -- yet it is under-researched and often forgotten in care.

Scientists have shown that small RNA molecules occurring naturally in cells, i.e. microRNAs, are also abundant in cell nuclei. Previously, microRNAs were mainly thought to be found in cytoplasm. The scientists also discovered that microRNA concentrations in cell nuclei change as a result of hypoxia. The findings strongly suggest that microRNAs play a role in the expression of genes in the cell nucleus.

Oxidative stress could be a driving force in the spreading of aberrant proteins involved in Parkinson's disease.

Salt marshes are important habitats for fish and birds and protect coasts under sea level rise against stronger wave attacks. However, marshes themselves are much more vulnerable than previously thought. Stronger waves due to sea level rise can not only reduce the marsh extent by erosion of the marsh edge, but these waves hamper plant re-establishment on neighboring tidal flats, making it much more difficult for the marsh to recover and grow again.

Scientists found that megakaryocytes act as 'bouncers' and thus modulate bone marrow niche properties and cell migration dynamics.

Science often reflects the priorities of dominant industries and ignores the needs of disenfranchised communities, resulting in the perpetuation of historical injustices. One team of scientists in Northern California studying sudden oak death, which poses a threat to the longstanding cultural heritage of several indigenous tribes, sought to chip away at this cycle through a new collaboration with these communities.

Work-life balance and its association with life satisfaction have been garnering a lot of interest. Life satisfaction plays a crucial role in the general happiness and health of a society or nation. A new study analyzes the effects of factors on the life satisfaction of both women and men to address some unanswered questions on this topic.

A new study demonstrates that inhibition of the p38 protein boosts the formation of blood vessels in human and mice colon cancers. Known as angiogenesis, this process is critical in fueling cancer cells, allowing them to grow and to eventually develop metastases.

Knee injuries can be a scourge to collegiate and pro athletes alike, but Penn State researchers say a single measurement taken by a clinician may help predict whether a person is at risk for knee instability.

In 2016, there were 87 million people diagnosed with gonorrhea, the most antibiotic resistant of all the STIs. There is a global rise in gonorrhea rates and, until now, no one has understood why.

Gene identified in worms controls how resources are allocated for stress resilience, longevity and fertility.

Learning several new things at once increases cognitive abilities in older adults, according to new research. After just 1.5 months learning multiple tasks in a new study, participants increased their cognitive abilities to levels similar to those of middle-aged adults, 30 years younger. Control group members, who did not take classes, showed no change in their performance.

Scientists have helped unravel the protective -- and potentially harmful -- effect of iron in the body.

The style of tackling used in rugby may be associated with a lower force of impact than the style used in football, according to a preliminary study of college athletes.

A national study finds differences in the decisions to admit or transfer children with mental health emergencies based on the patients' insurance type. Children without insurance are more likely to be transferred to another hospital than those with insurance.

Could a therapy administered 30 minutes after a traumatic brain injury prevent damage that leads to seizures and other harmful effects? Researchers think so.

If China takes strong measures to reduce its ozone pollution now, it could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the long run, according to a new study.

A first-of-its-kind study has found that people entering treatment for heroin use most often called themselves 'addicts,' but preferred that others called them 'people who use drugs.'

Researchers have created a device that can determine whether targeted chemotherapy drugs are working on individual cancer patients. The portable device, which uses artificial intelligence and biosensors, is up to 95.9% accurate in counting live cancer cells when they pass through electrodes, according to a new study.

Access to family members' drugs may be a strong risk factor for overdose in individuals without their own prescriptions, according to a new study.

Women tend to have a greater immune response to a flu vaccination compared to men, but their advantage largely disappears as they age and their estrogen levels decline, suggests a new study.

A new study describes how researchers wirelessly controlled FGFR1 -- a gene that plays a key role in how humans grow from embryos to adults -- in lab-grown brain tissue. The ability to manipulate the gene, the study's authors say, could lead to new cancer treatments, and ways to prevent and treat mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

Death rates from sepsis fell faster in New York than expected -- and faster than in peer states -- following the introduction of the nation's first state-mandated sepsis regulation, according to an analysis. The finding is good news for the nearly dozen other states in varying stages of adopting similar policies to reduce deaths from sepsis, the leading cause of death in hospitalized patients.

A molecular 'trick' that kept our ancient ancestors from starving may now be contributing to the obesity epidemic, a new study finds.

Sleep disturbances are a frequent complaint of women in the menopause transition and postmenopause. A new study demonstrates that women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) who are receiving hormone therapy have poorer sleep quality and greater fatigue than women of the same age with preserved ovarian function.

A new biomedical research study finds a transcription factor called Slug contributes to breast cell fitness by promoting efficient repair of DNA damage. The absence of Slug leads to unresolved DNA damage and accelerated aging of breast cells.

The naturally occurring molecule N-acetylcysteine (NAC) shows benefit in a clinical trial for Parkinson's Disease.

Most people have probably been stung by a bee and while it can be painful, it's especially dangerous for those at risk of suffering a life threatening allergic reaction. Australian researchers have successfully completed a human trial on a vaccine designed to eliminate the risk of a severe allergic reaction to European honeybee stings.

Researchers have investigated the link between osteoarthritis and mortality in an epidemiological study. It was shown that the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was higher for people with osteoarthritis than for the rest of the population.

Researchers have carried out an analysis of the largest datasets from fertility awareness apps. Analyzing data from 200,000 users of the apps Sympto and Kindara, they have been able to make population-level observations regarding user demographics, tracking behavior patterns and accuracy in measuring menstrual health and ovulation.

In a massive new analysis of findings from 277 clinical trials using 24 different interventions, researchers say they have found that almost all vitamin, mineral and other nutrient supplements or diets cannot be linked to longer life or protection from heart disease.

A team of researchers found that immune cells undergoing stress and an altered metabolism are the reasons why some individuals become sick from viral infections while others do not, when exposed to the same virus.

Researchers may have figured out the secret to get people to buy more fresh produce: dress veggies up in black. A new study looks at how the backgrounds of grocery store displays impact the attractiveness of vegetables. After testing an array of colors and neutral shades, they found the best bet is to go back in black.

Gut microbes produce compounds that prime immune cells to destroy harmful viruses in the brain and nervous system, according to a mouse study.

Researchers identify markers that can distinguish between major subtypes of lung cancer and can accurately identify lung cancer stage.

A new research method to pinpoint the immune cells that recognise cancer could significantly change how we treat the disease.

Scientists created human pancreas on a chip that allowed them to identify the possible cause of a frequent and deadly complication of cystic fibrosis (CF) called CF-Related Diabetes, or CFRD. It may be feasible to also use the small two-chambered device, which features bioengineered human pancreatic organoids to study the causes of non-CF-related conditions such as type 1 and 2 diabetes.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungal pathogen that infects people with weakened immune systems, particularly those with advanced HIV/AIDS. New research could mean a better understanding of this infection and potentially better treatments for patients.

A global study suggests that anorexia nervosa is at least partly a metabolic disorder, and not purely psychiatric as previously thought.

Studying the association between diet quality and microbiome composition in human colonic mucosa revealed that a high-quality diet is linked to more potentially beneficial bacteria, while a low-quality diet is associated with an increase in potentially harmful bacteria.

A new study shows that the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2015 recommendation for immediate treatment of all people living with HIV has become the standard of care across HIV clinics in countries around the world. While most countries have adopted the WHO's ''Treat All'' recommendation, the extent to which these guidelines had been translated into practice at HIV clinics around the world was previously unknown.

A new study has identified a specific genetic vulnerability among Hmong people that renders them more susceptible to the disease-causing fungus.

Statins, the most commonly used effective lipid-lowering drugs, are significantly underutilized to treat lipid abnormalities in patients with and at risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), according to a retrospective study of more than 280,000 patients in Alberta, Canada. Investigators report that only two-thirds of these patients were receiving moderate/high-intensity statins, and of the ones treated, more than a third are under-treated.

One of the most commonly performed surgeries to treat stress urinary incontinence in women may have better long-term results than another common surgical technique, according to a new study. The retrospective study of more than 1,800 cases at Mayo Clinic from 2002 to 2012 found that the need for additional surgery was twice as high after a transobturator sling surgery compared with a retropubic sling procedure.

Clean cooking energy transitions are extremely challenging to achieve, but they offer enormous potential health, environmental, and societal benefits. A study provides new insights about an Indian program that aims to solve one of the most difficult developmental challenges of the 21st century -- smoky kitchens.

An Australian study has demonstrated that cannabis-based medication helps tackle dependency on cannabis, one of the most widely used drugs globally. A new article provides the first strong evidence that cannabis replacement therapy could reduce the rate of relapse. The principles are similar to nicotine replacement in that the patient is provided a safer drug and in an environment that helps break the pattern of use.

A new study argues against combined approach: Patients undergoing coordinated breast and gynecologic procedures had a significantly longer length of hospital stay, and higher complication, readmission, and reoperation rates compared with patients who underwent single site surgery.

New research brings to light for the first time the evolution of maternal roles and parenting responsibilities in one of our oldest evolutionary ancestors. Australopithecus africanus mothers breastfed their infants for the first 12 months after birth, and continued to supplement their diets with breastmilk during periods of food shortage. Tooth chemistry analyses enable scientists to 'read' more than two-million-year-old teeth. Finding demonstrates why early human ancestors had fewer offspring and extended parenting role.

Vector-borne diseases -- caused by parasites, viruses, and bacteria transmitted by insects and animals -- account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases on Earth. While many emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are preventable through informed protective measures, the way that humans alter our landscape -- such as for farming and urban growth -- is making this task more difficult.

In spite of increasing demand, the number of newly developed drugs decreased continuously in the past decades. The search for new active substances, their production, characterization, and screening for biological effectiveness are very complex and costly. One of the reasons is that all three steps have been carried out separately so far. Scientists have now succeeded in combining these processes on a chip and, hence, facilitating and accelerating the procedures to produce promising substances.

Want to smooth out your wrinkles, erase scars and sunspots, and look years younger? Millions of Americans a year turn to lasers and prescription drugs to rejuvenate their skin, but exactly how that rejuvenation works has never been fully explained. Now, researchers have discovered that laser treatments and the drug retinoic acid share a common molecular pathway.

Penguins, Asian elephants and many other animal species live in the zoos of Saarbrücken and Neunkirchen. As they come from different continents, blood is regularly taken from the animals to check their health. These blood samples have now been used by bioinformaticians and human geneticists to search for biomarkers with which diseases can be detected at an early stage.

This new study correlates a proinflamatory diet with the risk of developing colorectal cancer among the Spanish population.

Genetic analysis has revealed that the ancestors of modern humans interbred with at least five different archaic human groups as they moved out of Africa and across Eurasia.

A new study has concluded that people who wear a hearing aid for age-related hearing problems maintain better brain function over time than those who do not.

Apes' abilities have been unfairly measured, throwing into doubt the assumed belief that human infants are superior to adult chimpanzees, according to a new study by leaders in the field of ape cognition.

When a group of our neurons get activated by thinking hard about a math problem or the vibrant colors of an exotic flower, within a single second blood flow to those brain cells increases a bit.