White-nose syndrome caused millions of bat deaths, and scientists are sounding the alarm that a second fungus could be disastrous if it reaches American wildlife
Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.
Fossil fungi trapped in amber reveal ancient origin of parasitic zombie-ants
Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers report that fossilized entomopathogenic fungi from mid-Cretaceous amber reveal some of the oldest direct evidence of parasitic relationships between fungi and insects, suggesting that Ophiocordyceps fungi originated approximately 133 million years ago and underwent early host shifts that shaped their evolution.
Implantable bioelectronics and wearable sensors for kidney health and disease
Advances in biosensor technology have the potential to enable continuous, non-invasive monitoring of kidney health through wearable and implantable systems. Non-invasive microfluidic systems have demonstrated utility in the detection of kidney-relevant biomarkers in peripheral body fluids such as sweat, interstitial fluid, tears and saliva, whereas implantable systems permit the direct measurement of biophysical tissue properties including tissue oxygenation, perfusion and temperature.
Can A Brain Be Preserved And Uploaded? Neuroscientist Survey Reveals “Surprising” 40 Percent Probability That Yes, It Could
“That’s a substantial chunk of neuroscientists who think there’s a very real chance that it will work,” said neuroscientist Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston to IFLScience.
Heavy Drinkers Face Higher Risk of Brain Lesions And Alzheimer’s Markers
Alcohol is notoriously bad for health, and a recent study might add “long-term effects on brain health” to the growing list of ways drinking can cause harm.
The research, led by scientists at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, investigated the impact of regular drinking by examining brain autopsy data from 1,781 individuals, correlating findings with their reported drinking habits.
After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables, like smoking and physical activity, the team found that the heaviest drinkers had a 133 percent higher risk of developing vascular brain lesions compared to non-drinkers.
Texas law gives grid operator power to disconnect data centers during crisis
The advance warning period is key for this sort of voluntary program, especially one counting on participation from hyperscale data centers with sensitive IT equipment worth billions, Kavulla said.
“This should not be the kind of demand response where you’re calling it with no notice and curtailing the customer straight off,” he said.
AI-generated podcasts open new doors to make science accessible
The first study to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to generate podcasts about research published in scientific papers has shown the results were so good that half of the papers’ authors thought the podcasters were human.
In research published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (EJCN), researchers led by Professor Philip Moons from the University of Leuven, Belgium, used Google NotebookLM, a personalized AI research assistant created by Google Labs, to make podcasts explaining research published recently in the EJCN.
Prof. Moons, who also presented the findings at the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (ACNAP) conference in Sophia Antipolis, France, said, In September 2024, Google launched a new feature in NotebookLM that enables users to make AI-generated podcasts. It made me think about how it could be used by researchers and editors.
