'Programmable droplets' could enable high-volume biology experiments
MIT researchers have developed hardware that uses electric fields to move droplets of chemical or biological solutions around a surface, mixing them in ways that could be used to test thousands of reactions in parallel.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/miot-dc011918.php
Infant mortality rates in Texas vary dramatically from one zip code to the next
Infant mortality rates in Texas vary dramatically even across neighboring zip codes, according to a new analysis and mapping tool from researchers at The University of Texas System and UT Health Northeast. The analysis and searchable map, which are the first of their kind in Texas, use data from Texas Vital Statistics Linked Birth and Death Records from 2011-2014.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/tuot-imr011918.php
Cells lacking nuclei struggle to move in 3-D environments
A study led by UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and published in the Journal of Cell Biology examined the role of the physical structure of the nucleus in cell movement through different surfaces.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/ulcc-cln011918.php
Breakthrough study shows how plants sense the world
Plants lack eyes and ears, but they can still see, hear, smell and respond to environmental cues and dangers. They do this with the aid of hundreds of membrane proteins that sense microbes or other stresses. Researchers now have created the first network map for 200 of these proteins. The map shows how a few key proteins act as master nodes critical for network integrity, and the map also reveals unknown interactions.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/uoaa-bss011918.php
Length of opioid prescription spell highest risk for misuse after surgery
With opioid overdoses now a leading cause of nonintentional death in the United States, data show most of these deaths can be traced back to an initial prescription opioid. A new study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) sheds light on the possible link between physicians' opioid prescription patterns and subsequent abuse.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/bidm-loo011918.php
Radioactivity from oil and gas wastewater persists in Pennsylvania stream sediments
More than seven years after Pennsylvania officials requested that the disposal of radium-laden fracking wastewater into surface waters be restricted, a new Duke study finds that high levels of radioactivity persist in stream sediments at three disposal sites. Radioactivity at these sites is 650 times higher than at unaffected sites upstream. The contamination comes from conventional, or non-fracked, oil and gas wastewater, which, under current state regulations, can still be treated and discharged into streams.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/du-rfo011918.php
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/
