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Machine learning can help us understand conversations about death

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Some of the most important, and difficult, conversations in healthcare are the ones that happen amid serious and life-threatening illnesses. Discussions of the treatment options and prognoses in these settings are a delicate balance for doctors and nurses who are dealing with people at their most vulnerable point and may not fully understand what the … Read more

Many pregnancies are shorter as climate change causes more 90-degree days

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A UCLA study suggests that climate change is causing many women to have shorter pregnancies than they would normally, which could pose risks for infant health and child development. According to research published today in Nature Climate Change, birth rates were 5% higher on days when the temperature exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit. And, perhaps more concerning, births … Read more

Jelly invention can heal itself like human skin

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Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have invented a new jelly material that mimics biological matter such as skin, ligaments and bone, and which is very strong, self-healing and able to change shape. The team say the hydrogel could enable a new class of medical implants or artificial muscles for next-generation robots that could one … Read more

Nanocontainer ships titan-size gene therapies and drugs into cells

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Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they have created a tiny, nanosize container that can slip inside cells and deliver protein-based medicines and gene therapies of any size – even hefty ones attached to the gene-editing tool called CRISPR. If their creation – constructed of a biodegradable polymer – passes more laboratory testing, it could … Read more

Move over Jules Verne — scientists deploy ocean floats to peer into Earth’s interior

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The release of more than 50 floating sensors, called Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers (MERMAIDs), is increasing the number of seismic stations around the planet. Scientists will use the floating array to clarify the picture of the massive mantel plume in the lower mantel lying below the South Pacific Ocean. This … Read more

Stormquakes: Powerful storms cause seafloor tremors

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Stormquakes are a recently discovered phenomenon characterized by seismic activity originating at the ocean floor due to powerful storms. Catherine de Groot-Hedlin, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, was part of the group that first observed stormquakes. She will discuss their properties and meteorological significance during … Read more

As farmers protest, ANU experts offer stark water warning

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A convoy of farmers and other community members affected by drought are heading to Canberra today to protest about water management in the Murray Darling Basin. They say it’s failing communities. Water experts Professor Jamie Pittock and Professor Quentin Grafton from The Australian National University (ANU) are available to speak to media on the issue, … Read more

Australia’s got mussels (but it could be a problem)

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One of the world’s most notorious invasive species has established itself on Australia’s coastlines, according to research from The University of Queensland.UQ School of Biological Sciences researcher Dr Iva Popovic said the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis – identified as one of the ‘100 World’s Worst Invasive Species’ by the IUCN Global Invasive Species Database – had steadily … Read more

When space travel is a blur

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Canadian scientists are working on a new way to measure the mechanics of the human eye to better identify astronauts at risk of developing ocular damage before they go into space. Collaborating with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA, Université de Montréal researchers Santiago Costantino and Mark Lesk hope to use their expertise in measuring … Read more