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

Incentivising physicians to improve after-hours access may reduce ED visits

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 1601 AEDT | 1801 NZDT

CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)

Hospital emergency departments can be overwhelmed by people visiting them for non-urgent health issues. A Canadian study found that in Ontario, incentive payments to encourage primary care practices to see patients after hours helped reduced Read more about Incentivising physicians to improve after-hours access may reduce ED visits

Flaxroots rethinking - non-Western approaches to digital research

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 1452 AEDT | 1652 NZDT

Journal of Data Mining & Digital Humanities

Iwi and hapu from around Aotearoa face land issues, when they are unable to reach missing shareholders, or are presented with fragmented and conflicting data sources. A collaboration between Victoria University of Wellington, Parininihi ki Read more about Flaxroots rethinking - non-Western approaches to digital research

Hook, line and sinker: Is your fishing trip injuring coastal raptors?

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 1400 AEDT | 1600 NZDT

Journal of Raptor Research

Fishing equipment is the deadliest threat faced by coastal birds of prey a new study published in the Journal of Raptor Research has found. Fishing equipment is the deadliest threat faced by coastal birds of prey a new study published in the Journal Read more about Hook, line and sinker: Is your fishing trip injuring coastal raptors?

EXPERT REACTION: Deaths in elderly Norwegians after Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 1246 AEDT | 1446 NZDT

Norway has reported a number of deaths and side effects in elderly people after being given the Pfizer vaccine. According to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), of 40,000 people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine in Norway, there Read more about EXPERT REACTION: Deaths in elderly Norwegians after Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

One-dimensional quantum nanowires fertile ground for Majorana zero modes

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 1201 AEDT | 1401 NZDT

Nature Communications

One-dimensional quantum ‘nanowires’ – which have length, but no width or height – provide a unique environment for the formation and detection of a quasiparticle known as a Majorana zero mode, which are their own antimatter particle. A new Read more about One-dimensional quantum nanowires fertile ground for Majorana zero modes

Kidney disease drug shows potential as an MS therapy

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 0500 AEDT | 0700 NZDT

Clinical and Translational Immunology

A drug that’s used in Japan to treat chronic kidney disease may also have a therapeutic potential for multiple sclerosis - an autoimmune disease that attacks the sheath that insulates nerve cells in the brain. In studies using mice New Zealand Read more about Kidney disease drug shows potential as an MS therapy

Virus receptor may help explain why older people and men are more at risk from COVID-19

Publicly released: Mon 18 Jan 2021 at 0500 AEDT | 0700 NZDT

Respirology

The virus which causes COVID-19 gets into our cells through a receptor called ACE2, and now Australian researchers have shown that older people and men tend to have more of this receptor on the cells of their lower lungs, which may go some way to Read more about Virus receptor may help explain why older people and men are more at risk from COVID-19

Diamonds are a cell’s best friend

Publicly released: Sat 16 Jan 2021 at 0600 AEDT | 0800 NZDT

Science Advances

Scientists have used tiny diamonds, or nanodiamonds, to measure heat transfer inside living cells, potentially leading to new diagnostic tools and therapies for cancer. Scientists have used tiny diamonds, or nanodiamonds, to measure heat transfer Read more about Diamonds are a cell’s best friend

COVID-19 increases risks for women giving birth

Publicly released: Sat 16 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

JAMA Internal Medicine

The risks of dying in hospital, venous thromboembolism (where a blood clot lodges in the lungs), and preeclampsia (pregnancy-related high blood pressure), were considerably higher among women who gave birth with COVID-19 than in those without Read more about COVID-19 increases risks for women giving birth

Centenarian study finds some remain mentally sharp despite signs of Alzheimer's in their brains

Publicly released: Sat 16 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

JAMA Network Open

A Dutch study of 330 people over the age of 100 who considered themselves cognitively healthy found they maintained high levels of cognitive performance for up to four years, despite a slight decline in memory. Post mortems of 44 participants found Read more about Centenarian study finds some remain mentally sharp despite signs of Alzheimer's in their brains

Keep your nose out of it: Saliva tests may be just as good as nose swabs for COVID-19

Publicly released: Sat 16 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

JAMA Internal Medicine

A review of studies has found that saliva sample-based tests are just as good as nose swab based tests when it comes to detecting the virus that causes COVID-19, raising all our hopes that we could one day say goodbye to that uncomfortable nose poke. Read more about Keep your nose out of it: Saliva tests may be just as good as nose swabs for COVID-19

Aspirin may help breast and bladder cancer patients live longer

Publicly released: Sat 16 Jan 2021 at 0300 AEDT | 0500 NZDT

JAMA Network Open

A US study of nearly 140,000 people looked at the effects of aspirin use on developing and surviving bladder, breast, esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and uterine cancers, and found that while aspirin use was not associated with preventing cancers, Read more about Aspirin may help breast and bladder cancer patients live longer

That ‘instinctive gut feeling’ comes from your brain

Publicly released: Fri 15 Jan 2021 at 1730 AEDT | 1930 NZDT

Nature Scientific Reports.

New research from The University of Queensland (UQ) illustrates, to a certain extent, why we can take someone at 'face value' and why we develop ‘gut feelings’ about a person within a split-second. New research from The University of Read more about That ‘instinctive gut feeling’ comes from your brain

Are partially protected areas the ‘red herrings’ of marine conservation?

Publicly released: Fri 15 Jan 2021 at 1617 AEDT | 1817 NZDT

Conservation Biology

Partially protected marine areas create confusion and don’t meet their broad conservation objectives, UNSW researchers have found. Partially protected areas – marine reserves that allow some forms of fishing – are no more effective socially or Read more about Are partially protected areas the ‘red herrings’ of marine conservation?

WMO confirms 2020 was one of the warmest years on record as La Niña failed to tame the global heat

Publicly released: Fri 15 Jan 2021 at 1200 AEDT | 1400 NZDT

The year 2020 was one of the three warmest on record, and rivalled 2016 for the top spot, according to a consolidation of five leading international datasets by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The warmest six years have all been since Read more about WMO confirms 2020 was one of the warmest years on record as La Niña failed to tame the global heat