Finding one's way in the rainforest

Knowing which direction to go in order to reach food or home is important for many animal species, including humans. For human foragers who travel long distances every day for hunting and gathering, orientation skills are essential. Haneul Jang and her colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology set out to study how the Mbendjele BaYaka people in Republic of the Congo orient themselves in the dense rainforest. The researchers conducted more than 600 pointing tests with 54 Mbendjele BaYaka men, women and children aged between six and 76 years, in which the participants were asked to point to an out-of-sight target in more than 60 different rainforest locations (including the camp).

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/finding-ones-way-in-the-rainforest

Modeling exoplanet atmospheres

All atoms and molecules emit distinctive spectral lines across the spectrum, the details of which depend on the internal structures of the species (for example, the vibration and rotation properties of molecules) and how they are excited by their environments. Measurements of the features' brightnesses, relative intensities, and shapes enable astronomers, at least in principle, to reconstruct most of the essential properties of these environments, including species abundances, temperatures, densities, and motions. But in order to be successful, scientists need to know quantitatively exactly how the temperature, density, and so forth, affect the excitation of each atom or molecule, and then how each species emits light in response. A collision between oxygen and nitrogen molecules, for example, will affect an oxygen molecule differently than its collision with hydrogen.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/modeling-exoplanet-atmospheres

ExoMars radio science instrument readied for Red Planet

An ambitious instrument for ESA's ExoMars 2020 mission has passed its testing in conditions resembling those on the Red Planet. It will now be transported to Russia for its acceptance review, followed by integration onto the Kazachok Surface Platform, scheduled for launch this time next year.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/exomars-radio-science-instrument-readied-for-red-planet

Microfluidics device helps diagnose sepsis in minutes

A novel sensor designed by MIT researchers could dramatically accelerate the process of diagnosing sepsis, a leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals that kills nearly 250,000 patients annually.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/microfluidics-device-helps-diagnose-sepsis-in-minutes

How stimulant treatment prevents serious outcomes of ADHD

An analysis of three previous studies of children and young adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) quantifies for the first time the extent to which stimulant treatment reduces the development of mood disorders, school problems, conduct disorders, substance use disorders and other problems. The study led by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators is being published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/how-stimulant-treatment-prevents-serious-outcomes-of-adhd

Rise of Candida auris blamed on global warming

Global warming may have played a pivotal role in the emergence of Candida auris, according to a new study published in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. C. auris, which is often multi-drug resistant and is a serious public health threat, may be the first example of a new fungal disease emerging from climate change.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/rise-of-candida-auris-blamed-on-global-warming

The properties of composites for constructing reliable trains

Composite materials are increasingly popular. One of the primary composite materials for modern structures is glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), which is commonly used in aviation, modern transport and wind power plants. Scientists of South Ural State University have carried out extensive studies of ballistic properties of GFRP to improve the efficiency of its use.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/the-properties-of-composites-for-constructing-reliable-trains

How did Africa's grasslands get started?

Between 10 million and 6 million years ago, vegetation across much of the world underwent a transformation, as warmth-adapted grasses displaced previously dominant plants, shrubs and trees. The new grasses carried out the chemical reactions required for photosynthesis in a distinct new way. Scientists have labeled this new process the C4 pathway. In East Africa, the changeover coincided with the evolution of mammal lineages that we recognize today, including early human ancestors. Today, C4 plants comprise about one-quarter of the Earth's vegetation, from the Great Plains of North America to western China, Australia and much of sub-Saharan Africa.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/how-did-africas-grasslands-get-started

Rejected and unfilled prescriptions for new, more expensive cholesterol drugs tied to higher heart, stroke risk

Patients appear to be at higher risk of heart problems or stroke when prescriptions for the newest cholesterol-lowering drugs are rejected by insurance companies or unfilled by patients, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/rejected-and-unfilled-prescriptions-for-new-more-expensive-cholesterol-drugs-tied-to-higher-heart-stroke-risk

North Carolina coastal flooding is worsening with climate change, population growth

A historic 120-year-old data set is allowing researchers to confirm what data modeling systems have been predicting about climate change: Climate change is increasing precipitation events like hurricanes, tropical storms and floods.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/north-carolina-coastal-flooding-is-worsening-with-climate-change-population-growth

Spontaneous magnetization in a non-magnetic interacting metal

Over the past decade, numerous physics studies have explored how oscillating electric fields produced by lasers or microwave sources can be used to dynamically alter the properties of materials on demand. In a new study featured in Nature Physics, two researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), in Singapore, have built upon the findings of these studies, uncovering a mechanism through which a non-magnetic interacting metal can spontaneously magnetize.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/spontaneous-magnetization-in-a-non-magnetic-interacting-metal

Scientists discover new chemistry that may help explain the origins of cellular life

Before life began on Earth, the environment likely contained a massive number of chemicals that reacted with each other more or less randomly, and it is unclear how the complexity of cells could have emerged from such chemical chaos. Now, a team led by Tony Z. Jia at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Kuhan Chandru of the National University of Malaysia has shown that simple α-hydroxy acids, like glycolic and lactic acid, spontaneously polymerize and self-assemble into polyester microdroplets when dried at moderate temperatures followed by rehydration. This could be what happened along primitive beaches and river banks, or in drying puddles. These form a new type of cell-like compartment that can trap and concentrate biomolecules like nucleic acids and proteins. These droplets, unlike most modern cells, are able to merge and reform easily, and thus could have hosted versatile early genetic and metabolic systems potentially critical for the origins of life.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/scientists-discover-new-chemistry-that-may-help-explain-the-origins-of-cellular-life

Garlic on broccoli: A smelly approach to repel a major pest

Agricultural insect pests seek out familiar scents to find their plant hosts. However, they can also be repelled by odors from other plant species.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/garlic-on-broccoli-a-smelly-approach-to-repel-a-major-pest

Protests spread as activists fight telescope in Hawaii

Demonstrations against a giant telescope planned for Hawaii's tallest peak have spread to New York, Las Vegas and Honolulu's tourist mecca of Waikiki as Native Hawaiians push to protect what they say is a sacred place.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/protests-spread-as-activists-fight-telescope-in-hawaii

How fat prawns can save lives

Before bite-sized crustaceans like crayfish, shrimp and prawns land on our dinner plates, they first have to get fat themselves—and it turns out they relish the freshwater snails that transmit the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, the second most devastating parasitic disease worldwide, after malaria.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/how-fat-prawns-can-save-lives