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Astronauts Often Experience Back Pain – Leading to Treatment Insights for Those of Us on Earth

Lead Image: Spinal column on Earth and in space. Credit: Johns Hopkins Medicine Research reviews show back pain affects more than 50% of space travelers. As more people travel into space, Johns Hopkins Medicine experts expect more physicians will see patients with space travel-related pain. Although most back pain in space disappears on its own, space travelers are at higher risk for sciatica — a form of back pain that can radiate down the legs. Humans can “grow” up to 3 inches in space as the spine adapts to microgravity. Stress, trauma, and changes in nutrition likely contribute to back…

New Way To Generate Light Through Pre-Existing Defects in Semiconductor Materials

Lead Image: A new method of quantum dot fabrication has been demonstrated by making use of intrinsic defects in LED materials. Through the formation of pyramids, localized bright luminescence emanates from the pyramid apexes containing indium-rich quantum dots. Credit: SMART The discovery demonstrates a practical method to overcome current challenges in the manufacture of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) LEDs with considerably higher indium concentration, through the formation of quantum dots that emit long-wavelength light. The researchers have uncovered a new way to generate long-wavelength visible light by making use of intrinsic defects in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are used in…

Scientists Target Next Pandemic With Powerful New “Map” to Victory Over Viruses

An international team of scientists has created a powerful new resource to speed the development of vaccines and treatments to battle the next pandemic. University of Virginia School of Medicine researcher Wladek Minor, PhD, and collaborators in China and Poland have developed an Internet information system, called virusMED, that lays out all we know about the atomic structure and potential vulnerabilities of more than 800 virus strains from 75 different virus families, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, Ebola and HIV-1. Several of the collaborators, including the lead investigator, Heping Zheng, are former students and members of Minor’s lab at UVA. This new…

Breakthrough Listen: Mysterious Signal “From” Proxima Centauri Probably Not Alien Civilization

The Parkes radio telescope in Australia. Credit: CSIRO An intriguing candidate signal picked up last year by the Breakthrough Listen project has been subjected to intensive analysis that suggests it is unlikely to originate from the Proxima Centauri system. Instead, it appears to be an artifact of Earth-based interference from human technologies, the Breakthrough Initiatives announced today. Two research papers, published in Nature Astronomy, discuss both the detection of the candidate signal and an advanced data analysis process that can finely discern “false positives.” “The significance of this result is that the search for civilizations beyond our planet is now…

New Nutrition Research: 10 Features of a Heart-Healthy Eating Pattern

In a new statement on diet and heart health, the American Heart Association presents 10 key features of a heart-healthy eating pattern that can help reduce heart disease and stroke risk at all stages of life. The new statement emphasizes an overall dietary pattern to support cardiovascular health and general wellbeing that accommodates personal preferences, ethnic and religious practices, and life stages. For the first time, the Association summarizes evidence that addresses sustainability, noting that heart-healthy eating patterns are also good for the environment. Also for the first time, the statement enumerates several challenges including societal factors that make it…