Science And Technology

Orangutans and otters strike up darling friendship at Belgium zoo A family of orangutans and a romp of river otters are the furriest of friends, according to zookeepers in Belgium who purposefully arranged for the primates' and mustelids' habitats to intersect. Photos of these curious bedfellows went viral after Pairi Daiza, a privately owned zoo and botanical garden located in Belgium's province of Hainaut, recently "The presence of a family of Asian small-clawed otters in [the orangutans'] territories is not a coincidence," Mathieu Goedefroy, Pairi Daiza spokesperson, told Live Science in an email. Orangutans (genus Pongo) share 97% of their DNA with humans, and like their Homo sapiens' cousins, orangutans "must be entertained, occupied, challenged and kept busy mentally, emotionally and physically at all times ,"  Goedefroy said.The zoo has five orangutans: a male and female couple named Gempa and Sinta, as well as a famil...

Study confirms cats can become infected with and may transmit COVID-19 to other cats Date: May 14, 2020 Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison Summary: Scientists report that in the laboratory, cats can readily become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and may be able to pass the virus to other cats.  Scientists report that in the laboratory, cats can readily become infected with SARS-CoV-2, covid19 In a study published today (May 13, 2020) in the  New England Journal of Medicine , scientists in the U.S. and Japan report that in the laboratory, cats can readily become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and may be able to pass the virus to other cats. Professor of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine Yoshihiro Kawaoka led the study, in which researchers administered to three cats SARS-CoV-2 isolated from a human patient. The following day, the researchers ...

Vitamin D levels appear to play role in COVID-19 mortality rates Patients with severe deficiency are twice as likely to experience major complications  14/5/2020  researchers have discovered a strong correlation between severe vitamin D deficiency and mortality rates in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic diseases After studying global data from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, researchers have discovered a strong correlation between severe vitamin D deficiency and mortality rates. Led by Northwestern University, the research team conducted a statistical analysis of data from hospitals and clinics across China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States. The researchers noted that patients from countries with high COVID-19 mortality rates, such as Italy, Spain and the UK, had lower levels of vitamin D compared to patients in countries that were not as severely affected. ...

COVID-19  lockdowns significantly impacting global air quality Levels of two major air pollutants have been drastically reduced since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant -- ground-level ozone -- has increased in China, according to new research.Two new studies in AGU's journal   Geophysical Research Letters  find nitrogen dioxide pollution over northern China, Western Europe and the U.S. decreased by as much as 60 percent in early 2020 as compared to the same time last year. Nitrogen dioxide is a highly reactive gas produced during combustion that has many harmful effects on the lungs. The gas typically enters the atmosphere through emissions from vehicles, power plants and industrial activities. In addition to nitrogen dioxide, one of the new studies finds particulate matter pollution (particles smaller than 2.5 microns) has decreased by 35 percent in northern China. Particulate matter is composed of solid partic...

Scientists regenerate neurons in mice with spinal cord injury and optic nerve damage Like power lines in an electrical grid, long wiry projections that grow outward from neurons -- structures known as axons -- form interconnected communication networks that run from the brain to all parts of the body. But unlike an outage in a power line, which can be fixed, a break in an axon is permanent. Each year thousands of patients confront this reality, facing life-long losses in sensation and motor function from spinal cord injury and related conditions in which axons are badly damaged or severed. New research by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Temple University (LKSOM) shows, however, that gains in functional recovery from these injuries may be possible, thanks to a molecule known as Lin28, which regulates cell growth. In a study published online in the journal  Molecular Therapy , the Temple researchers describe the ability of Lin28 -- when expressed above its...

How does the brain link events to form a memory? Study reveals unexpected mental processe A woman walking down the street hears a bang. Several moments later she discovers her boyfriend, who had been walking ahead of her, has been shot. A month later, the woman checks into the emergency room. The noises made by garbage trucks, she says, are causing panic attacks. Her brain had formed a deep, lasting connection between loud sounds and the devastating sight she witnessed. This story, relayed by clinical psychiatrist and co-author of a new study Mohsin Ahmed, MD, PhD, is a powerful example of the brain's powerful ability to remember and connect events separated in time. And now, in that new study in mice published today in  Neuron , scientists at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute have shed light on how the brain can form such enduring links. The scientists uncovered a surprising mechanism by which the hippocampus, a brain region critical for memory, builds bridges ac...

US accuses China of hacking vaccine research Vinod kushwaha  12/5/2020 two newspapers reported on Monday. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are planning to release a warning about the Chinese hacking as governments and private firms race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, the  Wall Street Journal  and  New York Times  reported. The hackers are also targeting information and intellectual property on treatments and testing for Covid-19. US officials alleged that the hackers are linked to the Chinese government, the reports say. The official warning could come within days. In Beijing Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected the allegation, saying China firmly opposes all cyber attacks. “We are leading the world in Covid-19 treatment and vaccine research. It is immoral to target China with rumors and slanders in the absence of any evidence,” Zhao said. The warning would add to a series of alerts and reports accusing gove...

Coronavirus: research reveals way to predict infection – without a test The problem is that most countries lack the resources to test and contact-trace enough people. But our app, which is called the  COVID Symptom Study  and is based on some 3.4 million users in the UK, US and Sweden logging symptoms daily, could help. In a new study, published in Nature Medicine, we show that this app can estimate whether someone has COVID-19 purely based on their symptoms – with a high degree of accuracy. The app (formerly known as the COVID Symptom Tracker) was launched by our team at King’s College London in collaboration with the health technology company  ZOE  (which one of us helped co-found) in March. Users are asked to say whether they are feeling well or experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19 every day. Within 14 days, with the help of social media, we gathered 2 million users, collecting vital information on the symptoms of coronavirus infection and ...

Researchers prepare for human challenge trials of Covid-19 vaccine Written by: vinod kushwaha 11/56/2020 Msc in Microbiology: Kanpur University The US government’s medical research arm is preparing the ground for Covid-19 “human challenge trials” that would deliberately infect healthy volunteers with coronavirus, as part of efforts to accelerate work on the development of a vaccine. Francis Collins, director of National Institutes of Health, has asked the NIH vaccines working group to “write a perspective on the scientific and practical considerations for a Covid-19 human challenge model”. The group, which includes senior vaccine developers from universities and industry, will meet on May 11 to discuss the issue. Challenge trials have a long history in medicine because deliberately infecting volunteers gives results more quickly than waiting for them to be infected in the community, but they are inevitably risky.  A growing number of scientists say the world need...