Throughout much of the world, increasing numbers of women are delaying having their first child until they are in their late thirties, and even into their forties. At this age, their eggs are rapidly deteriorating and, even with IVF, their prospects of conception are far from guaranteed.
Sometimes, to see the roots, you have to look up.
Roots are normally associated with things that live underground, in the damp and the dark. Think of turnips, radishes and yams. However, many plants make their roots above ground. Ivy uses its roots to climb on buildings and the mighty ficus tree uses them to support their large branches. What makes plants form roots in the “wrong place,” so to speak? That would be like us humans sprouting legs from our shoulders.
Movement is ubiquitous across the natural world. All organisms move, actively or passively, regularly or during specific life stages, to meet energy, survival, reproductive and social demands. Movement affects a variety of ecological processes and the ability of individuals to cope with human-induced, rapid environmental changes.
A new study, published in the leading journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research’s special issue devoted to smoking and COVID-19, found that being on the COVID-19 frontlines could negatively impact hospital workers’ mental health—even during lull periods and even for ancillary hospital staff, such as maintenance workers and administrative staff.
An article published by the Nature Communications journal illustrates the innovative approach to the realization of increasingly performing sensors by researchers from the Politecnico di Torino and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Our immune systems work hard to keep us healthy and to protect us against bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and cancerous cells. When our Immune systems are weakened, we’re at risk for illnesses and dangerous infections; when they’re overactive, we’re at risk for inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, accurate monitoring of our immune systems’ activity is vital to our health.
For almost two years, newsfeeds have kept us updated on the daily battle to annihilate the coronavirus. So, it’ s easy to forget that there are also many types of bacteria threatening human health – our survival depends on the constant quest for new antibiotics that can destroy them. Recent research provides an important insight into the complex response of bacteria to antibiotics and opens up the possibility of developing a novel and more effective class of drugs to combat major bacterial diseases.
Back in the day, the Assyrians were one of the Near East’s superpowers, controlling a land mass that stretched from Iran to Egypt. They accomplished this feat with military technologies that helped them win any open-air battle or penetrate any fortified city. While today, air power and bunker busters help win the war, back in the ninth to the seventh centuries BCE, it was all about the siege ramp, an elevated structure that hauled battering ramps up to the enemy’s city walls and let the Neo-Assyrians soldiers wreak havoc on their enemies.
