Curated News: Staff Picks

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Released: 15-May-2020 12:05 PM EDT
Why have nursing homes been hit harder by the coronavirus, and should you remove your relative?
University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR—Nursing home residents and workers account for about one-third of COVID-19 deaths in the United States, so far, according to media reports.Sheria Robinson-Lane, a gerontologist and assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, is an expert in palliative and long-term care and nursing administration.

     
15-May-2020 10:20 AM EDT
Global Cooling Event 4,200 Years Ago Spurred Rice’s Evolution, Spread Across Asia
New York University

A major global cooling event that occurred 4,200 years ago may have led to the evolution of new rice varieties and the spread of rice into both northern and southern Asia, an international team of researchers has found.

Released: 15-May-2020 9:00 AM EDT
New Study Suggests U.S. COVID-19 Cases Could Have Been 35 Times Higher Without These Measures
University of Kentucky

The authors found the closing of entertainment businesses — such as restaurants, movie theaters and gyms — and shelter-in-place orders — such as Gov. Andy Beshear’s “Healthy at Home” initiative — resulted in a dramatic reduction in COVID-19 cases.

Released: 14-May-2020 3:40 PM EDT
Coronavirus outbreak trending topics - See the Coronavirus Channel
Newswise

Research and experts on the symptoms and spread of COVID-19, impact on global trade and financial markets, public health response, search for an effective treatment, and more

       
Released: 14-May-2020 3:10 PM EDT
A Brave New Virtual World of Work?
University of California San Diego

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in remote work on an unprecedented scale. Elizabeth Lyons, an assistant professor of management at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, predicts this sudden transition to virtual will create a "new normal" in the world of work.

12-May-2020 7:00 AM EDT
Mouthwash Could Be a Promising Weapon in the Fight Against Coronavirus Transmission
American Physiological Society (APS)

Readily available dental mouthwashes have the potential to destroy the lipid envelope of coronaviruses, combating virus replication in the mouth and throat. The findings are presented in a new review article published today in Function, concluding that there is an urgent need to test the effectiveness of this approach in clinical trials.

Released: 13-May-2020 4:05 PM EDT
Study confirms cats can become infected with and may transmit COVID-19 to other cats
University of Wisconsin–Madison

In a study published today (May 13, 2020) in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists in the U.S. and Japan report that in the laboratory, cats can readily become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and may be able to pass the virus to other cats.

   
11-May-2020 10:55 AM EDT
Planetary Exploration Rover Avoids Sand Traps with “Rear Rotator Pedaling”
Georgia Institute of Technology

Built with wheeled appendages that can be lifted and wheels able to wiggle, a new robot known as the “Mini Rover” has developed and tested complex locomotion techniques robust enough to help it climb hills covered with granular material – and avoid the risk of getting stuck on some remote planet or moon.

8-May-2020 4:30 PM EDT
New Map Reveals Distrust in Health Expertise Is Winning Hearts and Minds Online
George Washington University

Communities on Facebook that distrust establishment health guidance are more effective than government health agencies and other reliable health groups at reaching and engaging “undecided” individuals, according to a study published today in the journal Nature.

     
Released: 13-May-2020 8:30 AM EDT
Can’t Touch This! Video Shows Blacktip Sharks Use Shallow Water to Flee Huge Predators
Florida Atlantic University

Aerial drone footage provides the first evidence of adult blacktip sharks using shallow waters as a refuge from a huge predator – the great hammerhead. Before this study, documentation of adult sharks swimming in shallower waters to avoid predation did not exist. Unmanned aerial vehicles enable scientists to unobtrusively observe behaviors in the wild, providing insight into seldom-seen predator-prey interactions. When it comes to sharks, this “hammerhead” time video proves you “can’t touch this.”

Released: 13-May-2020 7:55 AM EDT
Excess coffee consumption a culprit for poor health
University of South Australia

Cappuccino, latte or short black, coffee is one of the most commonly consumed drinks in the world. But whether it’s good or bad for your health can be clarified by genetics, as a world-first study from the University of South Australia’s Australian Centre for Precision Health shows that excess coffee consumption can cause poor health.

Released: 12-May-2020 4:05 PM EDT
Absence makes the brain grow fonder, study shows
University of Colorado Boulder

A new brain imaging study of prairie voles—which are among only about 5% of mammalian species besides humans who mate for life —found that when it comes to forming bonds, longing for one another may be as important as being together. The study also sheds light on why it's so hard to social distance.

   
7-May-2020 8:25 AM EDT
Flies sleep when need arises to adapt to new situations
Washington University in St. Louis

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that flies sleep more when they can't fly, possibly because sleeping helps them adapt to a challenging new situation.

   
Released: 8-May-2020 1:10 PM EDT
Pangolins may possess evolutionary advantage against coronavirus
Frontiers

Similar to how a smoke detector sounds off an alarm, certain genes sense when a virus enters the body, alerting of an intruder and triggering an immune response in most mammals.

Released: 8-May-2020 12:15 PM EDT
Prehistoric sea creatures evolved pebble-shaped teeth to crush shellfish
Field Museum

As bad as things might seem here in 2020, they could be worse: we could be living 252 million years ago during the Permian mass extinction.

Released: 8-May-2020 11:45 AM EDT
Air pollution, racial disparities and COVID-19 mortality
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

The combination of higher exposure to air pollution and pre-existing health disparities is contributing to higher mortality among minority populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to experts at Cincinnati Children's.

Released: 8-May-2020 11:30 AM EDT
Canadian study finds temperature, latitude not associated with COVID-19 spread
Canadian Medical Association (CMA)

Temperature and latitude do not appear to be associated with the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a study of many countries published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.200920, but school closures and other public health measures are having a positive effect.

   
Released: 8-May-2020 8:15 AM EDT
Ancient DNA paints genetic portrait of Andes civilisations
University of Adelaide

An international team of researchers including the University of Adelaide, has completed the first large-scale study of DNA belonging to ancient humans of the central Andes in South America and found early genetic differences between groups of nearby regions, and surprising genetic continuity over thousands of years. In the study, published in the journal Cell, researchers analysed the DNA of 89 ancient humans who lived in the central Andes between 500 and 9,000 years ago, and compared it with the genetic diversity of present day occupants, to shed light on the genetic changes over time.



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