ScienceDaily

Researchers analyzed urine samples from pregnant women to look for the presence of DINCH, which is short for di(isononyl)cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate. They found concentrations of DINCH in most of the urine samples but no evidence of effects in lab assays on…

Laboratory tests of surgical and N95 masks show that they do cut down the amount of aerosolized particles emitted during breathing, talking and coughing. Tests of homemade cloth face coverings, however, show that the fabric itself releases a large amount of…

A new study finds that rude emails at work can lead to significant distress for employees. Researchers say that 'active' email rudeness is overloaded with strong negative emotions. By comparison, 'passive' email rudeness leaves people struggling with…

A new study into the causes of sensorimotor impairments prevalent among autistic people could pave the way for better treatment and management in the future, say psychologists.

A new fault simulator maps out how interactions between pressure, friction and fluids rising through a fault zone can lead to slow-motion quakes and seismic swarms.

All viruses can only do damage by replicating inside the cells of another organism, their host. Researchers have now shown an important mechanism in this host-attacking process, at the single-molecule level in living cells.

Since these early days of quantum mechanics, it is known that photons also possess momentum. The photon's ability to transfer momentum was used in a novel approach by scientists to observe a fundamental process in the interaction of x-rays with atoms.

In the United States, individual state laws barring 18- to 20-year-olds from buying or possessing a handgun make little difference in the rate of homicides involving a gun by people in that age group, a new study has found.

A new study looks at how Americans' attitudes and responses have changed during the time of the pandemic and how to many people, the virus is not a biological agent but instead a malicious actor.

A clinical trial provides evidence that 3D-printed alternative nasal swabs work as well for COVID-19 diagnostic testing as commercial synthetic flocked nasal swabs. Given the ongoing need for widespread COVID-19 testing, the researchers conclude that 3D…

A cocktail of powerful antibodies identified in recovered patients locks the coronavirus infection machinery, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 attachment to host cells, and protects animals challenged with the pandemic coronavirus.

Some birds can perform amazing cognitive feats - even though their forebrains seem to just consist of lumps of grey cells, while mammalian forebrains harbour a highly complex neocortex. A study reveals for the first time amazing similarities between the…

A research team has systematically investigated the cognitive abilities of lemurs, which have relatively small brains compared to other primates. Conducting systematic tests with identical methods revealed that cognitive abilities of lemurs hardly differ from…

Heatwaves in the world's oceans have become over 20 times more frequent due to human influence. This is what researchers are now able to demonstrate. Marine heatwaves destroy ecosystems and damage fisheries.

Researchers create a quantum algorithm that removes spin contaminants while making chemical calculations on quantum computers. This allows for predictions of electronic and molecular behavior with degrees of precision not achievable with classical computers…

Researchers have found that marine bacteria exploit resource patches efficiently by switching between attached and planktonic lifestyles, and fine-tuning the time spent on patches depending on their quality. Bacteria stayed longer on higher-quality patches, as…

The severe droughts in the USA and Australia are the first sign that the tropics, and their warm temperatures, are apparently expanding in the wake of climate change.

In China, approximately 10 billion online food orders were served to over 400 million customers in 2018. All of these orders came in single-use plastic packaging, with single-use plastic tableware. Environmental scientists found that reusable tableware can…

A new paper found that adherence to infection control processes, especially proper wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and cohorting strategies, such as grouping residents based on their risk of infection or whether they tested positive for…

During the initial phase of COVID-19 lockdown, rates of loneliness among people in the UK were high and were associated with a number of social and health factors, according to a new study.

New research found that while the increased wildfire activity is causing widespread changes in the structure and composition of these mid-to-high elevation forests, the new landscapes are also likely more resilient to projected upward trends in future fire…

Tectonic processes are thought to have triggered past ice ages, but how? A new analysis of mountain building in the maritime tropics of Southeast Asia attributes the last ice age, which reached a maximum 15,000 years ago, to increasing rock weathering in the…

A new study suggests that star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes could be as important to the regulation of sleep as neurons. The study builds new momentum toward ultimately solving the mystery of why we sleep and how sleep works in the brain. The…

There is wide variation in the performance of commercial kits for detecting antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), according to a new study.

Carbon-based computers have the potential to be a lot faster and much more energy efficient than silicon-based computers, but 2D graphene and carbon nanotubes have proved challenging to turn into the elements needed to construct transistor circuits. Graphene…

Researchers have sequenced the genome of Alexander Fleming's penicillin mould for the first time and compared it to later versions.

Two new studies offer an explanation for why COVID-19 cases can be so variable. A subset of patients has mutations in key immunity genes; other patients have auto-antibodies that target the same components of the immune system. Both circumstances could…

Scientists have mapped and described the function of cells in six regions of the adult heart, providing a new foundation for studying heart disease.

Talcum powder, a coconut oil-cocoa butter beeswax mixture, and petroleum jelly provide the best skin protection for long-term PPE use, say scientists.

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells, generating energy that supports life. A giant molecular proton pump, called complex I, is crucial: It sets in motion a chain of reactions, creating a proton gradient that powers the generation of ATP, the cell's…