Thursday 27 June 2019

New method reveals how well tuberculosis antibiotics reach their targets

Scientists have developed a new technique that enables them to visualise how well antibiotics against tuberculosis (TB) reach their pathogenic targets inside human hosts. The findings, published in the journal Science, boost our understanding of how antibiotics work and could help guide the development of new antibiotics, which are much-needed in the battle against drug-resistance.

* This article was originally published here

Police cam maker nixes facial recognition deployment

Police equipment manufacturer Axon said Thursday it decided against deploying facial recognition on its body cameras after an ethics review found the technology "is not yet reliable enough."

* This article was originally published here

Drag-and-drop data analytics

In the Iron Man movies, Tony Stark uses a holographic computer to project 3-D data into thin air, manipulate them with his hands, and find fixes to his superhero troubles. In the same vein, researchers from MIT and Brown University have now developed a system for interactive data analytics that runs on touchscreens and lets everyone—not just genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropists—tackle real-world issues.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers create multi-junction solar cells from off-the-shelf components

Multi-junction solar cells are both the most efficient type of solar cell on the market today and the most expensive type of solar cell to produce. In a proof-of-concept paper, researchers from North Carolina State University detail a new approach for creating multi-junction solar cells using off-the-shelf components, resulting in lower cost, high-efficiency solar cells for use in multiple applications.

* This article was originally published here

Rethink environmental regulations in Africa, study urges

Conflict over resource extraction is rampant in sub-Saharan Africa, with small-scale miners violently pitted against multinational mining corporations—and the state security forces that protect them—for access. Attempts to solve the problem by imposing Western environmental systems and regulations aren't working. But it's not for the reasons most experts might suspect, according to a new Illinois study.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers find fecal marker could help diagnose early signs of chronic gut conditions

Small molecules found in fecal matter could provide clues to the early inflammation found in chronic gut conditions, such as intestinal bowel disease (IBD), and serve as new biomarkers for diagnosis, according to a study led by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

* This article was originally published here

Freeze frame: Researchers solve how cells unfold proteins

A happy cell is a balanced cell, but for every stupendously twisted protein it creates, it must tear the old ones asunder. That means untangling a convoluted pretzel-like mass for recycling. Cdc48 plays a critical role in unraveling the spent proteins.

* This article was originally published here

The first soft ring oscillator lets soft robots roll, undulate, sort, meter liquids, and swallow

Soft robots can't always compete with the hard. Their rigid brethren dominate assembly lines, perform backflips, dance to Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk," fly, dive, and walk through volcanoes.

* This article was originally published here

Immediate, science-based community action can stop insect decline

This year, German environmentalists collected 1.75 million signatures for a 'save the bees' law requiring an immediate transition toward organic farming. But to create healthy ecosystems worldwide, people in communities across the globe will need to take similar action based on empathy for insects—and not only for bees and butterflies—according to entomologists Yves Basset from the Smith-sonian Tropical Research Institute and Greg Lamarre from the University of South Bohemia, writing in Science. The authors present immediate, science-based actions to mitigate insect decline.

* This article was originally published here

Greenpeace sounds alarm about North Atlantic shark fishing

Greenpeace is warning about overfishing of endangered sharks in the North Atlantic, often by Spanish and Portuguese boats.

* This article was originally published here

Trees for water quality credits

The more naturally verdant an area is, the more likely it will contribute to the general health of the habitats and the organisms in and around it. Sometimes, though, tracing these qualities to specific benefits can be a challenge.

* This article was originally published here

EU okays IBM's $34 bn buyout of Red Hat

The EU's powerful anti-trust authority on Thursday cleared the buyout by IBM of open source software company Red Hat, one of the biggest tech mergers in history which the computing giant said would enhance its cloud offerings.

* This article was originally published here

A low-temperature method for making high-performance thermoelectric materials

Some of the vast amount of wasted energy that machines and devices emit as heat could be recaptured using an inexpensive nanomaterial developed at KAUST. This thermoelectric nanomaterial could capture the heat lost by devices, ranging from mobile phones to vehicle engines, and turn it directly back into useful electricity.

* This article was originally published here

Low-carb 'keto' diet ('Atkins-style') may modestly improve cognition in older adults

In a pilot study of 14 older adults with mild cognitive problems suggestive of early Alzheimer's disease, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet may improve brain function and memory.

* This article was originally published here

Music develops the spoken language of the hearing-impaired

Finnish researchers have compiled guidelines for international use for utilising music to support the development of spoken language. The guidelines are suitable for the parents of children with hearing impairments, early childhood education providers, teachers, speech therapists and other rehabilitators of children with hearing disabilities, as well as the hearing-impaired themselves.

* This article was originally published here

Australian plant 'kangaroo paw' may hold clues to understanding biodiversity down under

A new study on kangaroo paws by The University of Western Australia and researchers at Kings Park and Botanic Gardens has challenged existing views that plants favour long distance rather than short distance pollination to reproduce.

* This article was originally published here

How you charge your mobile phone could compromise its battery lifespan

Researchers at WMG at the University of Warwick have found that use of inductive charging, whilst highly convenient, risks depleting the life of mobile phones using typical LIBs (Lithium-ion batteries)

* This article was originally published here

Researchers reach milestone in use of nanoparticles to kill cancer with heat

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed an improved technique for using magnetic nanoclusters to kill hard-to-reach tumors.

* This article was originally published here

Scientists successfully transfer first test tube rhino embryo

Scientists in Europe said Tuesday they've successfully transferred a test tube rhino embryo back into a female whose eggs were fertilized in vitro, as part of an effort to save another nearly extinct sub-species of the giant horned mammal.

* This article was originally published here

Is San Francisco's vaping ban backed by science?

San Francisco has decided to ban the sale of e-cigarettes in 2020, hoping to curb a surge in vaping among adolescents. But is the policy backed up by the available evidence?

* This article was originally published here