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6 January, 2020 - 22:53

MIT scientists made a shape-shifting material that morphs into a human face using 4D printing

The next big thing in 3D printing just might be so-called "4D materials" that employ the same manufacturing technique but are designed to deform over time in response to changes in the environment, like humidity and temperature. They're also sometimes known as active origami or shape-morphing systems. MIT scientists successfully created flat structures that can transform into much more complicated structures than had previously been achieved, including a human face. They published their results last fall in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Submitted by FacultyPage Admin(110)
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5 January, 2020 - 09:37

Study shows soaring rates of use of methamphetamines and fentanyl, often used together in potentially lethal ways

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A study of over 1 million urine drug tests from across the United States shows soaring rates of use of methamphetamines and fentanyl, often used together in potentially lethal ways.

The drug test results came primarily from clinics dealing with primary care, pain management or substance abuse disorders.

The results showed that between 2013 and 2019, urine samples testing positive for methamphetamine -- "meth" -- have skyrocketed sixfold, from about 1.4 percent of samples testing positive in 2013 to about 8.4 percent in 2019.

Submitted by FacultyPage Admin(110)
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3 January, 2020 - 21:07

How cells learn to 'count'

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One of the wonders of cell biology is its symmetry. Mammalian cells have one nucleus and one cell membrane, and most humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Trillions of mammalian cells achieve this uniformity—but some consistently break this mold to fulfill unique functions. Now, a team of Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have found how these outliers take shape.

Submitted by FacultyPage Admin(110)
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3 January, 2020 - 21:02

A way to store medical information under the skin

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Every year, a lack of vaccination leads to about 1.5 million preventable deaths, primarily in developing nations. One factor that makes vaccination campaigns in those nations more difficult is that there is little infrastructure for storing medical records, so there’s often no easy way to determine who needs a particular vaccine.

MIT researchers have now developed a novel way to record a patient’s vaccination history: storing the data in a pattern of dye, invisible to the naked eye, that is delivered under the skin at the same time as the vaccine.

Submitted by FacultyPage Admin(110)
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3 January, 2020 - 20:58

Diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing

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A new expert review confirms that diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing, but cautions that the evidence for many diets is comparatively weak. This, the most up to date overview of the new field of Nutritional Psychiatry, is produced, by the Nutrition Network of the ECNP and is published in the peer-reviewed journal European Neuropsychopharmacolo

Read more at: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/econ-hda010320.php

Submitted by FacultyPage Admin(110)
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3 January, 2020 - 20:56

Why turkeys circle dead things—the creepy vigil, explained

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There's certainly something compelling about what seems to be an avian black mass afoot. But what's really going on, according to a 2017 blog post from the National Wild Turkey Federation's Mark Hatfield, has more in common with an Instagram influencer's half-hearted attempt at a full moon ritual than any true witchery. In Hatfield's words, “turkeys are very basic.”

Submitted by FacultyPage Admin(110)
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3 January, 2020 - 20:53

Your pup doesn’t have to have a stressful holiday.

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Fireworks make scaredy-cats out of many canines. That’s because dogs, like humans, are hardwired to be afraid of sudden, loud noises. It is what keeps them safe. Some dogs, though, take that fear to the extreme with panting, howling, pacing, whining, hiding, trembling, and even self-injury or escape. And, unlike humans, they don’t know that the fanfare on the Fourth and New Year’s Eve is not a threat. Dogs hear the fireworks and process it as if their world is under siege.

Submitted by FacultyPage Admin(110)
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2 January, 2020 - 21:01

Gene regulation mediated by lactate, a metabolic product accumulated in cancer cells

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A new study published in the journal Nature reports the discovery of a new mechanism of gene regulation mediated by lactate, a metabolic product accumulated in cancer cells. The researchers show that histones are lactylated in the presence of lactate.

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