Blog – Page 842 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Did Bone Ease Acid for Early Land Crawlers?

In a new paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists propose that the bony structures in the skin of many early four-legged creatures might have been there to relieve acid buildup in bodily fluids. Analysis of their anatomy suggests that as they ventured out of water, the animals would have had trouble getting rid of enough CO₂ to prevent acid buildup

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Here’s an anatomical packing list for making that historic trip from water to land circa 370 million years ago: Lungs? Check. Legs? Check. Patches of highly vascular bone in the skin? In a new paper, scientists propose why many of the earliest four-legged creatures that dared breathe on land carried bony skin features. (more…)

Job Slowdown in April Halts Growth in Overall Confidence

Economy

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Consumer confidence remained largely unchanged at improved levels in April as consumers were still hopeful about future job gains despite disappointing recent developments, according to economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

The Surveys, conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research, have been monitoring consumer attitudes and expectations for over 60 years. (more…)

Thinking in a Foreign Language Helps Economic Decision-Making

Economy

In a study with implications for businesspeople in a global economy, researchers at the University of Chicago have found that people make more rational decisions when they think through a problem in a non-native tongue. (more…)

Researchers Give Long Look at Who Benefits From Nature Tourism

Environment, Nature

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Using nature’s beauty as a tourist draw can boost conservation in China’s valued panda preserves, but it isn’t an automatic ticket out of poverty for the human inhabitants, a long-term study at Michigan State University shows.

The policy hitch: Often those who benefit most from nature-based tourism endeavors are people who already have resources. The truly impoverished have a harder time breaking into the tourism business. (more…)

UCLA Researchers Combat Global Disease with a Cell Phone, Google Maps and a Lot of Ingenuity

Health

In the fight against emerging public health threats, early diagnosis of infectious diseases is crucial. And in poor and remote areas of the globe where conventional medical tools like microscopes and cytometers are unavailable, rapid diagnostic tests, or RDTs, are helping to make disease screening quicker and simpler. (more…)

Research Shows Why One Bacterial Infection is So Deadly in Cystic Fibrosis

Science

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have found why a certain type of bacteria, harmless in healthy people, is so deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis.

The bacterium, Burkholderia cenocepacia, causes a severe and persistent lung infection in patients with CF and is resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. Cystic fibrosis is a chronic disorder characterized by a buildup of mucus in the lungs and other parts of the body, and various types of lung infection are responsible for about 85 percent of deaths in these patients. (more…)

New Graphene-Based Material Could Revolutionise Electronics Industry

Science

The most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity has been invented by a team from the University of Exeter (more…)

Blood Samples Show Deadly Frog Fungus at Work in the Wild

Nature

Pathogen leads to dehydration, other ill effects

The fungal infection that killed a record number of amphibians worldwide leads to deadly dehydration in frogs in the wild, according to results of a new study. (more…)