Assuming e-cigarettes are equal to cigarettes could lead to misguided research and policy initiatives, argue experts in a new commentary, which distills articles and published studies that compare e-cigarettes to cigarettes and supports the importance of investigating e-cigarettes as a unique nicotine delivery system.

Scientists have created a unique system that pairs light-absorbing semiconductors with anaerobic bacteria to capture light and fix carbon dioxide: an artificial leaf. The bacteria turn carbon dioxide into chemicals useful in space colonies. One problem is that the process generates reactive oxygen species that kill the bacteria. To shield them from damage, the researchers developed a 'spacesuit' of metal-organic framework (MOF) that extends the microbes' lifetimes to that seen in the wild.

The Intensive Care Unit is a stressful place, and conflicts invariably arise. To better understand the relationships between physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and advanced practitioners, researchers created a conflict management education intervention. The study paid close attention to diagnosing the conflict type and cause, recognizing the internal dialogue, introducing conflict management modes used in conflict situations, and developing self and other awareness.

In North America, 20 to 25 percent of women and 18 to 21 percent of men of reproductive age report daily psychological stress. Although previous research has suggested that stress can decrease the odds of conception, few studies have examined this association among couples from the general population. Now, a new study finds higher levels of stress are associated with lower odds of conception for women, but not for men.

Critical care ultrasound (CCUS) is an important skill for all critical care physicians to understand. However, currently there is no standard approach to how to teach CCUS. Researchers aimed to investigate the feasibility of implementing a CCUS curriculum via a social platform in order to evaluate the impact it has on fellow's self-perceived competency. Results found that utilizing a social media platform, like Facebook, provides benefits such as spaced learning, active participation, and an informal and personal learning environment.

When patients present to providers in North Carolina for a possible tick bite, clinicians are not testing them for Ehrlichia, a tick-borne illness that occurs more frequently than Lyme disease and as frequently as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Many US cities have established goals to increase local food self-reliance, suggesting that metropolitan areas do not produce enough food to support local household demand. However, a new study found this isn't the case for many metropolitan areas.

Researchers explore the choice overload effect, a phenomenon that hampers the brain's ability to make a decision when there are too many options.

Experiencing extreme weather is not enough to convince climate change skeptics than humans are damaging the environment, a new study shows.

Researchers studied nitrogen levels in the skeleton of a 130-year-old brain coral living 620 miles from the North American mainland and found that the nitrogen from human sources was less than had been estimated.

Researchers have obtained data from recent next-generation satellites in a numerical weather-prediction model used to provide guidance for tornadic thunderstorm forecasting.

Deep observations made with the MUSE spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope have uncovered vast cosmic reservoirs of atomic hydrogen surrounding distant galaxies. The exquisite sensitivity of MUSE allowed for direct observations of dim clouds of hydrogen glowing with Lyman-alpha emission in the early Universe -- revealing that almost the whole night sky is invisibly aglow.

Researchers know memory retrieval is beneficial for learning, but their new meta-analysis found there are limits. The research shows the frequency and difficulty of questions can reverse the effect and be detrimental to learning. It also is not enough to simply ask a question; students must respond to see a positive effect on learning.

Cattle ranching and conservation may seem an unusual pair in the American West, but new research reveals a clear link between the economic health of ranches and the ability to maintain habitat for an iconic wild bird that for years has been at the center of public land policy debate: the greater sage grouse.

Scientists are developing an analytical methodology able to quickly differentiate cannabinoids in plant material and in waste remaining after being manipulated.

Researchers have identified an important step in the process that allows our bodies to fight viruses. Their work also explains how mutations that derail this process cause autoimmune disorders. This research provides the framework to develop new treatments for viral infections.

Delaying pregnancy may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in both women and their children, with boys at higher risk of disease, according to a new study.

Scientists have boosted a carbon-craving enzyme called RuBisCO to turbocharge photosynthesis in corn. The discovery promises to be a key step in improving agricultural efficiency and yield, according to new research.

On the island of Torcello, at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice excavation site, some protagonists of the island's thousand-year history have begun to emerge. A tomb datable to around 700 A.D. has recently been unearthed by the site's team of scholars.

The majority of Bavaria's watercourses are in poor ecological condition. A team has now conducted the first systematic analysis of long-term data on fish stocks in the Upper Danube, Elbe and Main rivers. The team concluded that native fish species are on the verge of extinction, while the populations of some invasive species are increasing.

Researchers examined a national data sample of risk-taking behaviors and sleep duration self-reported by high school students over eight years and found an association between sleep duration and personal safety risk-taking actions.

From the DNA of nearly 300,000 veterans, scientists have singled out a handful of genetic mutations that not only govern levels of cholesterol, but may also inform the development and use of drugs for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to researchers.

Researchers broke a world record: DUT-60 is a new crystalline framework with the world's highest specific surface and the highest specific pore volume measured so far among all known crystalline framework materials.

Researchers have found a way to implement an optical sensing system by using spatial multiplexing, a technique originally developed in optical-fiber communication. The method, which produces three independent streams of ultrashort optical pulses using a single continuous-wave laser and a single optical microresonator, is far simpler than existing technologies.

By combining genomics and gene editing, researchers have figured out how to rapidly bring a plant known as the groundcherry toward domestication.

The genetic differences in phyloplankton living in close geographic proximity can be great, something which long has surprised researchers. Now new research shows that the ability of phyloplankton to generate resting stages can be an important part of the explanation.

Violent crimes against children are especially abhorrent. New research will help law enforcement learn more from juvenile and infant remains in order to help bring perpetrators to justice.

An international research team has found they can increase corn productivity by targeting the enzyme in charge of capturing CO2 from the atmosphere.

The immune system's macrophage cells are critical to growing muscle tissues in a lab, say the biomedical engineers who earlier reported the world's first self-healing lab-grown muscles. The discovery is expected to play important roles in developing platforms for studying degenerative muscle diseases and enhancing the survival of engineered tissue grafts in future cell therapy applications.

A single leukemia cell, unknowingly engineered with the leukemia-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) lentivirus and infused back into a patient, was able to reproduce and cause a deadly recurrence of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Research has revealed that bold male birds focus on forming strong relationships with their future breeding partners while shy male birds play the field.

A new technique overcomes the noise and color limitations of super-resolution microscopy by creating three-dimensional reconstructions from single-color two-dimensional images of protein complexes.

By investigating how genetic variations drive the expression of genes within the filtering cells of the kidney, researchers have found new pathways to explain CKD development and could inform its treatment.

A new study points to one way to make American football safer: move the kickoff line.

For the first time, researchers have created, within a single generation, a new crop from a wild plant -- the progenitor of our modern tomato -- by using a modern process of genome editing. Starting with a 'wild tomato' they have, at the same time, introduced a variety of crop features without losing the valuable genetic properties of the wild plant.

A new method enables non-invasive monitoring of oxygen metabolism in cells that are 3-D-bioprinted into complex living structures. This has great implications for studies of cell growth and interactions e.g. under tissue-like conditions, as well as for the design of 3-D printed constructs facilitating higher productivity of microalgae in biofilms or better oxygen supply for stem cells used in bone and tissue reconstruction efforts.

A combination of a diabetes drug and a high blood pressure medication may effectively treat all symptoms of postmenopausal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Lack of estrogen may play a role in the development of anxiety and memory problems, according to a new rodent study.

Physicians who specialize in a devastating and aggressive immune disorder called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) report in a new study that extra care should be taken to ensure an HLH diagnosis doesn't obscure possible underlying cancers. They caution that expediting HLH treatment may miss underlying malignancies that could end up being fatal to the patient.

Devising a source of ultra-fast X-ray pulsating in the attosecond range is no mean feat. It enables physicists to probe dynamic processes in matter with unprecedented time resolution. Now, a team of physicists has exploited an optical phenomenon, opening the door to creating high-order oscillations in existing light sources and a beam source pulsating in an ultra-fast manner to reach the attosecond range.

In a proof-of-principle study, researchers report that a certain liver immune cell called a macrophage contains only defective or inert HIV-1 copies, and aren't likely to restart infection on their own in HIV-1-infected people on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART).

A new material that is as stiff as metal but flexible enough to withstand strong vibrations could transform the car manufacturing industry, say experts.

Scientists have modeled the phylogeographic relationships and demographic changes of Castanopsis sieboldii, which is a dominant tree of the broadleaved evergreen forests of Japan, dating back to about 100,000 years ago. The model strongly suggested that C. sieboldii survived in at least 4 areas through the last glacial maximum (LGM). The results present new evidence concerning conservation of genetic diversity of C. sieboldii.

A study investigated the effect of ciprofloxacin on mitochondria, the important cell organelles in our body that produce the energy for cellular function. Ciprofloxacin stopped normal maintenance and transcription of mitochondrial DNA by changing mtDNA topology, causing impaired mitochondrial energy production and blocking cellular growth and differentiation.

Evidence is mounting that a poor diet plays an important role in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the United States.

Microtubules help to regulate cell structure throughout our bodies. A group of researchers have used cryo-electron microscopy to shed light on how a certain protein keeps microtubules stable, and regulates microtubule-based transport within cells. The new insights could help to develop medical treatment for diseases such as dementia and heart failure.

The collaborative study indicated relative toxicity of six artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, neotame, advantame, and acesulfame potassium-k) and 10 sport supplements containing these artificial sweeteners. The bacteria found in the digestive system became toxic when exposed to concentrations of only one mg./ml. of the artificial sweeteners.

Researchers have developed a nanoparticle type for novel use in artificial photosynthesis by adding zinc sulfide on the surface of indium-based quantum dots. These quantum dots produce clean hydrogen fuel from water and sunlight -- a sustainable source of energy. They introduce new eco-friendly and powerful materials to solar photocatalysis.

By focusing on nervous system circuits of nociception, the body's sensing of tissue damge, anesthesiologists can achieve unconsciousness in patients using less drug and manage post-operative pain better, leading to less need for opioids.

Up to half of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) use a psychotropic drug, and one in five uses two or more psychotropics concomitantly, according to a new study.

Researchers have identified genes in a parasite that could help clinicians predict drug treatment outcomes for patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

Using Virtual Reality (VR) headsets while exercising can reduce pain and increase how long someone can sustain an activity, according to new research.

When levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rise, most plants do something unusual: They thicken their leaves. Now scientists have shown that this reaction by plants will actually worsen climate change by making the global 'carbon sink' contributed by plants less productive.

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is being awarded jointly to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.

Scientists' research on perovskite solar cells indicates a promising future towards sustainability.

When invasive species enter the picture, things are rarely black and white. A new article has revealed that some plant invaders could help fight climate change by making it easier for ecosystems to store 'blue carbon' -- the carbon stored in coastal environments like salt marshes, mangroves and seagrasses. But other invaders, most notably animals, can do the exact opposite.

People who think dogs are exceptionally intelligent are barking up the wrong tree, new research shows.

For those in the habit of getting their neck adjusted by a chiropractor, there's an interesting case to know about: High velocity neck manipulation has been shown to create stress on the eye and lead to spotty vision.

An international team of scientists has identified a way to create quantum bits that emit photons that describe their state at wavelengths close to those used by telecom providers. These qubits are based on silicon carbide in which molybdenum impurities create color centers.

People with fluctuating weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and/or blood sugar levels are at higher risk of heart attack and stroke than those with more stable readings. Having more measures that fluctuate adds to the risk.