Новости за 02.12.2021

Since 1978 when the first test tube baby was born, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a reasonable option for couples that have trouble getting pregnant. Originally developed to help women with obstructed tubes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as of 2018, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) such as IVF account for as many as four million births each year, or approximately 2% of the country's annual birth rate. These procedures also play an important role in livestock production.

A new research report from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations' AIinPR Panel, which has been co-authored by the University's Emeritus Professor of Corporate Communication Anne Gregory, has found that practitioners see the huge potential that artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data offers the profession but possess limited knowledge on technical aspects of both.

What would it be like if we lived in a flat two-dimensional world? Physicists predict that quantum mechanics would be even stranger in that case, resulting in exotic particles—so-called "anyons"— that cannot exist in the three-dimensional world we live in. This unfamiliar world is not just a curiosity but may be key to unlocking quantum materials and technologies of the future.

Anne S. Meyer, an associate professor of biology at the University of Rochester, and her collaborators at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands recently developed a 3D printing technique to engineer and study biofilms—three-dimensional communities of microorganisms, such as bacteria, that adhere to surfaces. The research provides important information for creating synthetic materials and in developing drugs to fight the negative effects of biofilms.

Light is an electromagnetic wave: It consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields propagating through space. Every wave is characterized by its frequency, which refers to the number of oscillations per second, measured in Hertz (Hz). Our eyes can detect frequencies between 400 and 750 trillion Hz (or terahertz, THz), which define the visible spectrum. Light sensors in cell phone cameras can detect frequencies down to 300 THz, while detectors used for internet connections through optical fibers are sensitive to around 200 THz.

Thermoelectric materials have the ability to generate electricity when a temperature difference is applied to them. Conversely, they can also generate a temperature gradient when current is applied to them. Therefore, these materials are expected to find use as power generators of electronic devices and coolers or heaters of temperature control devices. To develop these applications, a thermoelectric material showing high thermoelectric voltage (called thermopower S), even on applying low thermal energy, is required. Читать дальше...

A new study uses novel single-cell profiling techniques to reveal how plants add new cell layers that help them resist climate stressors like drought or flooding. The research focuses on corn—a critically important crop around the world—in an effort to create a cell-by-cell map of the plant's root system, which mediates drought stress and absorbs nutrients and fertilizer from the soil.

Ultra-short-period planets are small, compact worlds that whip around their stars at close range, completing an orbit—and a single, scorching year—in less than 24 hours. How these planets came to be in such extreme configurations is one of the continuing mysteries of exoplanetary science.

A collaboration of researchers from Japan, Spain and the U.S. offers a phylogenetic and ontogenetic overview of the primitive streak and its role in mediating amniote (vertebrate animals that develop on land) gastrulation, and discuss the implications of embryonic stem cell-based models of early mammalian embryogenesis on the function of this structure.

The Southern Ocean is a significant carbon sink, absorbing a large amount of the excess carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Detecting light beyond the visible red range of our eyes is hard to do, because infrared light carries so little energy compared to ambient heat at room temperature. This obscures infrared light unless specialized detectors are chilled to very low temperatures, which is both expensive and energy-intensive.

In 1973, physicist Philip W. Anderson theorized the existence of a new state of matter that has been a major focus of the field, especially in the race for quantum computers.

New parents often keep a constant ear on their children, listening for any signs of distress as their baby sleeps. Baby monitors make that possible, but they can also inundate parents with annoying background audio.

The Seattle Space Needle, a city landmark for nearly 60 years, recently underwent a renovation to enhance the visitor experience. Acoustic designers were tasked with ensuring that the new design is a quiet one.

Magnets are used in so many of our everyday objects including cell phones and in the strip of a credit card or a hotel key. They even power the engine in your vacuum.

In the grasslands of Nepal's Chitwan Valley, local farmers rely on the production of rice and other grains to generate household income. But their livelihoods are under threat, as Nepal is experiencing the effects of climate change at a much faster rate than the global average.

Endemic in Western African countries, Lassa virus is transmitted to humans through food or household items that are contaminated with the urine or feces of Mastomys rats. Even though many people who become infected with Lassa virus are asymptomatic, one in five infections results in severe haemorrhagic disease, attacking vital organs like the liver, spleen, and kidneys.

Each cell in our body needs a fuel source to grow and divide to keep us alive. Most cells prefer a fuel source of high energy-containing sugar, but there are many times when our cells find themselves in short supply and must find other sources of energy to maintain their basic functions to stay alive. As most organisms experience times of feast and famine, cells have evolved ways to respond rapidly to a changing nutrient environment. The lab of Brian Strahl, Ph.D., interim chair of the UNC Department... Читать дальше...

If you've ever had an ear infection that made you dizzy or unbalanced, the infection likely was affecting your vestibular complex—part of the intricate system of hard and soft tissues that make up the inner ear. Knowledge of this structure has been made possible through computed tomography scans—imaging technology that continues to shape our understanding of evolution across species.

Advancing our understanding of the human brain will require new insights into how neural circuitry works in mammals, including laboratory mice. These investigations require monitoring brain activity with a microscope that provides resolution high enough to see individual neurons and their neighbors.

The campaign for the 2020 U.S. presidential election was historic in many ways due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of digital watch parties to view the presidential and vice-presidential debates. This viewing method allowed people to continue interacting socially while watching the debates and remaining socially distanced in their homes.

Explaining the value of misshapen vegetables—that they are as healthful as their picture-perfect counterparts and buying them helps reduce food waste—could help improve sales of "ugly" produce, new research suggests.

A research survey of primary school teachers in England has emphasized the importance of the relationship between parents and primary schools during lockdown school closures, with teachers providing a range of practical and emotional support alongside academic assistance to parents to try and negate perceived disadvantages in home circumstances.

In food products, the natural blues tend to be moody.

An international team of scientists, in which researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participate together with other institutions from Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, UK, and Mexico, has been able to measure the masses of the giant planets of the V1298 Tau system, just 20 million year old. Masses for such young giant planets had not been obtained previously, and this is the first evidence that these objects have already reached their final size at very early stages of their evolution. Читать дальше...