Science and Technology

  This summer, heat waves are prevalent across many U.S. regions, including the South and Pacific Northwest. In reality, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are relatively uncommon. Days that are too hot may have an adverse effect on general bodily functions, mental health, and even cause kidney stones. Medical professionals and city officials are both on high alert to prevent and lessen the negative effects that heat waves can have on our health as temperatures rise to record highs in several parts of the United States. Aaron Bernstein, director of The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital, disagrees with the widespread belief that heat exhaustion and heat stroke are the only health risks associated with extreme heat. Bernstein even characterized the public's receiving more attention to these concerns as a disservice in an interview with Changing America. Although heat exha...

Researchers from the University of Calgary have discovered a potentially effective new method for treating bacterial skin infections. First author Dr. Rachel Kratofil, Ph.D., co-senior authors Drs. Paul Kubes, Ph.D., and Justin Deniset, Ph.D., and their research team present new insights that could result in improvements in the treatment of bacterial infections and wounds in a study that was recently published in Nature. It is exciting that we have made a fundamental discovery that could improve infections and tissue repair in humans, especially in difficult-to-treat cases, says Kratofil. However, moving our research from the bench to the bedside will necessitate many more experiments and involve a model more closely related to human disease. Neutrophils and monocytes, two types of white blood cells, are typically believed to be called upon to remove bacteria from an infected site on the skin. These cells function as the body's first line of defense for the immune system when they ...

                          image: credit to Thirdman On the surface, that might seem like a contentious comparison, but according to a recent study, thinking too hard or for too long can actually exhaust your brain, just like working out can. Hard physical work is undoubtedly exhausting, but a person's perspiration or trembling muscles reveal nothing about how hard they may be thinking We just have to take people at their word when they claim they're mentally worn out. As a result, researchers are still puzzled as to why sustained thought leads to cognitive fatigue. It isn't really a feeling of being sleepy; rather, it is the impression that tasks are becoming more difficult to finish or to concentrate on. The brain's most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter, according to some studies, may be to responsible for this lack of mental stamina. Even though glutamate is a component of more than 90% of neuron-to-neuron transmiss...

Recently, researchers from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology (SIBET) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed a technique for hand-in-hand structured DNA construction.  PAGE analysis and reaction process standard free energy (G) Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, source of the image (SIBET) Additionally, they have developed an electrochemical/fluorescent dual-mode biosensor for circulating tumor DNA based on carbon nanodots that emit methylene blue and red light. The new sensor, according to the researchers, combines features of electrochemical and fluorescence sensors, whose signal sources and manufacturing processes are normally highly different. An electrochemical sensor is a qualitative or quantitative method based on the correlation between concentration or other physical properties and the electrical signal change produced by the target. A fluorescence sensor is a device that uses a specific target and recognition combina...

Microparticles clustering around a Janus particle. The dashed line delineates the lasing area, and the pink/yellow lines show the tracks of several microparticles. Credit: Imperial College London Microparticles cluster around a Janus particle. Credit: Imperial College London By imitating characteristics of organic systems, self-organizing lasers may result in novel materials for sensing, computation, light sources, and displays. Although many artificial materials offer cutting-edge qualities, they still have a long way to go before they can match the adaptability and variety of organic materials. Bones and muscles, for instance, continuously rearrange their composition and structure in the human body to better sustain shifting weight and activity levels. The first spontaneously self-organizing laser gadget has now been proven by scientists, and it can change configuration as the environment changes. The invention will make it possible to create intelligent photonic materials that can m...

  Red Planet with Blue Ripples Despite being the Red Planet, Mars can teach us about its climate and geology through the use of false-color photographs. Near the middle of Gamboa Crater, this view of Mars exhibits a variety of wind-related characteristics. Sinuous crests and individual domes are formed by larger sand dunes. On top of the dunes, there are minute ripples that span barely a few feet. In the direction of the sand dunes, they combine form bigger mega-ripples that are spaced roughly 30 feet apart. The bigger, brighter structures that are almost parallel are known as "Transverse Aeolian Ridges" (TAR). Sand that is quite gritty is spread over these TAR. On one side of a cutout with increased colors, the mega-ripples are seen as blue-green, while the TAR is seen as a brighter blue. It's possible that this is happening because the TAR are actively moving against the wind's force, removing dust that makes them darker and making them brighter. The direction of th...