Health Effects Of Mercury Exposure

Elemental (metallic) mercury is the shiny, silver-grey metal found in thermometers, barometers, and thermostats and other electrical switches. Mercury: Can break into droplets when spilled. The droplets spread easily and can build up in tiny cracks and spaces in your house. Can vaporize (evaporate) into the air in your house. The vapour cannot be seen or smelled. Can be … Read more

Wearable Nail Deformation Sensing For Behavioral And Biomechanical Monitoring And Human-Computer Interaction

A tiny fingernail sensor has been worked up that monitors diseases and movement disorders. IBM Research tells their prototype story in a video. The IBM team designed the tiny fingernail sensors to help clinicians detect and monitor the progression of disease via AI analysis and grip strength. Why choose fingernails as the window to what … Read more

Role Of The Plasmoid Instability In Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

The sun defies conventional scientific understanding. Its upper atmosphere, known as the corona, is many millions of degrees hotter than its surface. Astrophysicists are keen to learn why the corona is so hot, and scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have completed research that may advance the search. … Read more

The Sommerfeld Ground-Wave Limit For A Molecule Adsorbed At A Surface

Vibrating carbon monoxide molecules adsorbed at the surface of a salt crystal stop moving after a few milliseconds. Scientists now discovered this is dominantly due to the emission of electromagnetic waves. The role of the chemical bond at the surface thereby appears to be less important than previously thought. Jörg Meyer from the Leiden Institute … Read more

Immunogenicity, Safety And Tolerability Of The Measles-Vectored Chikungunya Virus Vaccine MV-CHIK: A Double-Blind, Randomised, Placebo-Controlled And Active-Controlled Phase 2 Trial

A live vaccine genetically engineered from a common measles vaccine promises to be effective against the chikungunya virus. Such is the central finding of a recently completed Phase II trial now published in the prestigious journal The Lancet. Two MedUni Vienna departments were also involved in the study: the Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical … Read more

Awareness Of What Is Learned As A Characteristic Of Hippocampus-Dependent Memory

Two Veterans Affairs researchers have explored how memory is tied to the hippocampus, with findings that will expand scientists’ understanding of how memory works. Drs. Christine N. Smith and Larry R. Squire, both with the VA San Diego Healthcare System and the University of California, San Diego, found that declarative memory—recalling facts and events—depends on … Read more

Synchronisation Of Speed, Sound And Iridescent Colour In A Hummingbird Aerial Courtship Dive

When it comes to flirting, animals know how to put on a show. In the bird world, males often go to great lengths to attract female attention, like peacocks shaking their tail feathers and manakins performing complex dance moves. These behaviours often stimulate multiple senses, making them hard for biologists to quantify. Hummingbirds are no … Read more