Study finds meditation and aerobic exercise relieves stress in medical school students

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School student Paul Lavadera expected his career would put him on the front lines of dealing with medical emergencies.

Imaging technology allows visualization of nanoscale structures inside whole cells

Since Robert Hooke's first description of a cell in Micrographia 350 years ago, microscopy has played an important role in understanding the rules of life.

New study spotlights the dark side of venture capitalist funding

Susan Fowler turned Silicon Valley upside down in 2017 when she posted an essay on her website about the sexual harassment she experienced while working for Uber.

Study reveals single-step strategy for recycling used nuclear fuel

A typical nuclear reactor uses only a small fraction of its fuel rod to produce power before the energy-generating reaction naturally terminates. What is left behind is an assortment of radioactive elements, including unused fuel, that are disposed of as nuclear waste in the United States. Although certain elements recycled from waste can be used for powering newer generations of nuclear reactors, extracting leftover fuel in a way that prevents possible misuse is an ongoing challenge.

Warming Midwest conditions may result in corn, soybean production moving north

If warming continues unabated in the Midwest, in 50 years we can expect the best conditions for corn and soybean production to have shifted from Iowa and Illinois to Minnesota and the Dakotas, according to Penn State researchers.

How many jobs do robots really replace?

In many parts of the U.S., robots have been replacing workers over the last few decades. But to what extent, really? Some technologists have forecast that automation will lead to a future without work, while other observers have been more skeptical about such scenarios.

New guidelines for treating the sickest COVID-19 patients

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise and the deaths mount, the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) has drafted a set of recommendations for health care workers on the front lines, to help them make decisions on how to treat the most critical patients, those with severe lung or heart failure

Long-term risks of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy impact more women

Twice as many women who experienced a hypertensive disorder during any of their pregnancies were at increased risk of developing heart or kidney diseases earlier in life based on incidence per woman versus per pregnancy, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. This is one of the first studies to look at incidence of hypertensive disorders per woman vs. per pregnancy, which accounts for women who are pregnant multiple times.

PCSK9 inhibitor with statin does not cause loss in memory, mental skills in high-risk patients

Heart disease patients taking evolocumab in addition to a statin to achieve extremely low levels of cholesterol do not show increased incidence of neurocognitive impairments, including memory loss or reduction in executive functions (mental skills), while at the same time have a decrease in recurrent cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart attack, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that examined the cognitive function of the entire FOURIER cohort at two years.

Blood flows could be more turbulent than previously expected

Blood flow in the human body is generally assumed to be smooth due to its low speed and high viscosity. Unsteadiness in blood flow is linked to various cardiovascular diseases and has been shown to promote dysfunction and inflammation in the inner layer of blood vessels, the endothelium. In turn, this can lead to the development of arteriosclerosis—a leading cause of death worldwide—where arterial pathways in the body narrow due to plaque buildup. However, the source of this unsteadiness is not well understood. Now, IST Austria professor Björn Hof, together with an international team of researchers, has shown that pulsating blood flows, such as those from our heart, react strongly to geometric irregularities in vessels (such as plaque buildup) and cause much higher levels of velocity fluctuations than previously expected. The research could have implications on how we study blood flow related diseases in the future.

Climate change has been influencing where tropical cyclones rage: study

While the global average number of tropical cyclones each year has not budged from 86 over the last four decades, climate change has been influencing the locations of where these deadly storms occur, according to new NOAA-led research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

AI tool speeds up search for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines

Northwestern University researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up the search for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. The AI-powered tool makes it possible to prioritize resources for the most promising studies—and ignore research that is unlikely to yield benefits.

Intensive farming increases risk of epidemics, warn scientists

Overuse of antibiotics, high animal numbers and low genetic diversity caused by intensive farming techniques increase the likelihood of pathogens becoming a major public health risk, according to new research led by UK scientists.

Scholes finds novel magnetic field effect in diamagnetic molecules

The Princeton University Department of Chemistry publishes research this week proving that an applied magnetic field will interact with the electronic structure of weakly-magnetic, or diamagnetic, molecules to induce a magnetic-field effect that, to their knowledge, has never before been documented.

Research shows how park-like tsunami defenses can provide a sustainable alternative to towering seawalls

In tsunami preparedness, it turns out there can be strength in beauty. Rows of green hills strategically arranged along coastlines can help to fend off destruction from tsunamis while preserving ocean views and access to the shore. For some communities, they may offer a better option than towering seawalls.

Microorganisms in parched regions extract needed water from colonized rocks

In Northern Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, microorganisms are able to eke out an existence by extracting water from the very rocks they colonize.