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Pay Attention to Older People in Poorer Countries for COVID-19, Say Experts
Some health experts are saying COVID-19 responses largely ignore the most at risk group: older people, especially those in poorer countries. These health experts stated this in an editorial in the journal British Medical Journal. The authors in the editorial included those from the University of East Anglia (UEA), London School of Hygiene & Tropical…
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Flies Kept in Dark Lose Traumatic Long-Term Memory
Fruit flies that were kept in the dark lost long-term memory of a traumatic stress they were exposed to. Scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University also discovered the specific molecular mechanism that affected long-term memory in these flies. These findings may lead to novel treatments in humans in terms of treating, or even erasing traumatic memories.…
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Hormones Can Trigger a Plant’s Defensive Response
A hormone called jasmonic acid can trigger a plant’s defensive response through a complex communication network. This finding was reported by a research team from the Salk Institute. Their paper was published in the March 13, 2020 edition of the journal Nature Plants. Response Against Attacks and Trouble Plants have hormones just like humans and…
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COVID-19 Spreads Fast, With 1 in 10 Infected by Other People With No Symptoms
About ten percent of those who are infected for COVID-19 get infected from people with no symptoms. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin studying the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 made this finding. The team was also able to identify how quickly the virus spread. Their paper will be published in the journal…
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We Drink About Few Grams of Plastic Particles Every Month, Say Researchers
We drink close to a few grams of plastic particles every month, say researchers. Large numbers of plastic particles move through our water supply and often end up in landfills and as fertilizers. Researchers from Washington State University made these findings. They said the particles are on the nanoscale size, and move through our fresh…
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Scientists Learn How ‘Fear Memory’ Is Formed in the Brain
Scientists have found that when a ‘fear memory’ is formed, there is a strengthening of neural pathways between two areas of the brain. These two areas are called the hippocampus and the amygdala. The hippocampus responds to a particular context and encodes it, while the amygdala triggers defensive behavior, including fear responses. The Hippocampus Amygdala…
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Less Facebook Time Leads to Healthier Lifestyle and Better Well-Being, Says Study
People who reduced their Facebook time by 20 minutes a day reported a healthier lifestyle and increased happiness. Researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum reported these findings in the March 6, 2020 edition of the journal Computers in Human Behavior. The researchers recruited 286 Facebook users who spent at least 25 minutes a day on the social…
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Housekeeping Biological Mechanism in Brain May Also Regulate Sleep
Scientists have found that a housekeeping biological mechanism in the brain may also regulate sleep. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found a specific signaling pathway in fruit flies and zebrafish is required for sleep. This pathway is also important in getting rid of buildup of abnormal protein aggregates in brain cells. The researchers’ findings…
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New Flat Lens Makes Focus-Free Cameras Possible
Researchers have developed a camera that does not require focusing by using an ultra-thin single flat lens. The lens is about one-thousandth of an inch thick. The researchers said this new flat lens can make it possible to produce smartphones and cameras that are considerably lighter and cheaper. In fact, applications that require optics can…
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Babies Can Understand Grammar at 8-Month Old
Babies at 8-month old can already understand basic grammar of their language before they can even say words. This finding was made by researchers at the Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (CNRS/Université de Paris). The researchers studied 175 eight-month-old babies. They played a 4-minute recording of an artificial language to the babies. The recording contained…