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Low-cost Retinal Scanner Could Help Prevent Blindness Worldwide

Jun 28, 2019 03:36 PM EDT

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a low-cost, portable optical coherence tomography (OCT) scanner that promises to bring the vision-saving technology to underserved regions throughout the United States and abroad.

Rethink Environmental Regulations in Africa, Study Urges

Jun 28, 2019 08:29 AM EDT

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.

Climate Warming Could Increase Malaria Risk in Cooler Regions

Jun 27, 2019 11:35 AM EDT

Malaria parasites develop faster in mosquitoes at lower temperatures than previously thought, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Exeter. The findings suggest that even slight climate warming could increase malaria risk to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people including travelers in areas that are currently too cold for malaria parasites to complete their development.

Multiresistant Intestinal Bacteria Spread Widely in Vietnamese Hospitals

Jun 25, 2019 01:29 PM EDT

Around half of patients admitted to hospital in Vietnam are carriers of multiresistant intestinal bacteria, which are resistant to carbapenems, a group of broad-spectrum antibiotics. This is the conclusion of a study by Swedish and Vietnamese scientists led by Linköping University, published in the Journal of Infection.

Study Funded by NIH Supports Optimal Threshold for Diagnosing COPD

Jun 25, 2019 01:25 PM EDT

A new study provides evidence to support a simple measurement for diagnosing clinically significant airflow obstruction, the key characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The study found that a 70% ratio of two indicators of lung function proved as or more accurate than other thresholds for predicting COPD-related hospitalizations and deaths.

Fresh Look at Mysterious Nasca Lines in Peru

Jun 21, 2019 02:41 PM EDT

A scientific approach has been used to re-identify huge birds etched into the desert plains of southern Peru around 2,000 years ago. The birds appear to be exotic to the region and further studies could help explain their significance. The study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

New AI system Manages Road Infrastructure Via Google Street View

Jun 19, 2019 11:28 AM EDT

Geospatial scientists have developed a new program to monitor street signs needing replacement or repair by tapping into Google Street View images.

Record-low Fertility Rates Linked to Decline in Stable Manufacturing Jobs

Jun 19, 2019 10:57 AM EDT

MADISON - As the Great Recession wiped out nearly 9 million jobs and 19 trillion dollars in wealth from U.S. households, American families experienced another steep decline -- they had fewer children.

Climate Change had Significant Impact on Amazon Communities Before Arrival of Europeans

Jun 18, 2019 11:16 AM EDT

Climate change had a significant impact on people living in the Amazon rainforest before the arrival of Europeans and the loss of many indigenous groups, a new study shows.

Gemini Planet Imager Analyzes 300 Stars

Jun 12, 2019 04:15 PM EDT

Over the past four years, an instrument attached to a telescope in the Chilean Andes - known as the Gemini Planet Imager - has set its gaze on 531 stars in search of new planets. The team, led by Stanford University, is now releasing initial findings from the first half of the survey, published June 12 in The Astronomical Journal.

Electric Electric Vehicles Would be a Breath of Fresh Air for Houston

Jun 11, 2019 02:34 PM EDT

ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell University researchers are expressing hope for the future of Houston's breathable air, despite the city's poor rankings in the American Lung Association's 2019 "State of the Air" report.

Marine oil Snow

Jun 11, 2019 02:23 PM EDT

If you were able to stand on the bottom of the seafloor and look up, you would see flakes of falling organic material and biological debris cascading down the water column like snowflakes in a phenomenon known as marine snow.

Nurses Have an Increased Risk of Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation

Jun 08, 2019 04:27 PM EDT

SAN ANTONIO - According to preliminary results of a new study, there is a high prevalence of insufficient sleep and symptoms of common sleep disorders among medical center nurses.

New Polymer Tackles PFAS Pollution

Jun 07, 2019 01:16 PM EDT

The problem of cleaning up toxic polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) pollution - commonly used in non-stick and protective coatings, lubricants and aviation fire-fighting foams - has been solved through the discovery of a new low-cost, safe and environmentally friendly method that removes PFAS from water.

Researchers Discover What Makes Deep-Sea Dragonfish Teeth Transparent

Jun 05, 2019 11:58 AM EDT

A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego have discovered what's responsible for making the teeth of the deep-sea dragonfish transparent. This unique adaptation, which helps camouflage the dragonfish from their prey, results from their teeth having an unusually crystalline nanostructure mixed with amorphous regions.