Mental health a major factor in NZ police shootings

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0922 AEDT | 1122 NZDT

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry

A significant number of police shootings in New Zealand have involved a mental health event, an analysis of 258 Independent Police Conduct Authority reports reveal. Between 1995 and 2019 while only 18 per cent of the cases analysed involved mental Read more about Mental health a major factor in NZ police shootings

New method to assist fast-tracking of vaccines for pre-clinical tests

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0700 AEDT | 0900 NZDT

PNAS

A tuberculosis vaccine demonstrated a strong immune response in mice; and the method can be applied to other respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. Scientists in Australia have developed a method for the rapid synthesis of safe vaccines, an Read more about New method to assist fast-tracking of vaccines for pre-clinical tests

This brain region is a bit of a narcissist

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0500 AEDT | 0700 NZDT

JNeurosci

We're great at noticing information about ourselves and remembering it thanks to a brain region called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), which is involved in processing information about the self, according to Chinese and US scientists. Read more about This brain region is a bit of a narcissist

Climate models suggest humans have caused 0.9 - 1.3°C warming since 1850-1900

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

Nature Climate Change

International scientists, including an Australian, used computer climate simulations to estimate the human contribution to global warming, and say we've caused between 0. 9 and 1. 3°C of warming to global air temperatures when comparing 2010-2019 Read more about Climate models suggest humans have caused 0.9 - 1.3°C warming since 1850-1900

New discovery in breast cancer treatment

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

Nature Medicine

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have found new evidence about the positive role of androgens in breast cancer treatment with immediate implications for women with estrogen receptor-driven metastatic disease. Researchers at the University Read more about New discovery in breast cancer treatment

Can the lessons of the past help us build a better future?

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

Nature Ecology & Evolution

Does information from the past hold the keys to help us build a better future? Australian and international researchers suggest that we can learn from days-gone-by as we enter the Anthropocene; a new geological era in which human activity is driving Read more about Can the lessons of the past help us build a better future?

Zebra stripes, leopard spots and other patterns on the skin of frozen metal alloys defying conventional metallurgy

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

Nature Nanotechnology

“Stripy zebra, spotty leopard…” Pattern formation and pattern recognition entertains children and scientists alike. Alan Turing’s 1950s model explaining patterns in two-substance systems is used by metallurgists to explain microscopic Read more about Zebra stripes, leopard spots and other patterns on the skin of frozen metal alloys defying conventional metallurgy

Electrical stimulation may help lessen obsessive-compulsive disorders

Publicly released: Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

Nature Medicine

Low-frequency electrical stimulation to the brain may be a potential non-invasive and personalised treatment for people with obsessive-compulsive disorders. The U. S. research team stimulated specific networks in the brain that deal with learning Read more about Electrical stimulation may help lessen obsessive-compulsive disorders

Bio-inspired: How lobsters can help make stronger 3D printed concrete

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 2201 AEDT | Tue 19 Jan 2021 at 0001 NZDT

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

New research shows that patterns inspired by lobster shells can make 3D printed concrete stronger, to support more complex and creative architectural structures. New research shows that patterns inspired by lobster shells can make 3D printed Read more about Bio-inspired: How lobsters can help make stronger 3D printed concrete

Why you should desex your cat before four months old

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 2100 AEDT | 2300 NZDT

Scientific Reports

Australians are being urged to get their cat desexed before the age of four months, instead of the standard six months, to close the “pregnancy gap” between puberty and surgery. Routine early-age desexing of cats could lessen the impact of Read more about Why you should desex your cat before four months old