-
HIV drug stops Zika infection, strategy could halt infections caused by related viruses
Researchers report that a drug used in the treatment of HIV also suppresses Zika virus infection. In cell and animal models, they show that rilpivirine stops Zika virus by targeting enzymes that both HIV and Zika virus depend on for their replication. These enzymes occur in other viruses closely related to Zika, including the viruses…
-
Proactive conservation of New Zealand blue whales
Researchers have developed a method for forecasting the locations where a distinct population of New Zealand blue whales are most likely to occur up to three weeks in advance. This ability to forecast is a significant advance in conservation management for a species whose habitat overlaps with a wide range of commercial activities, including oil…
-
Southern Ocean storms cause outgassing of carbon dioxide
Storms over the waters around Antarctica drive an outgassing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a new international study. The research group used advanced ocean robots for the study, which provides a better understanding of climate change and can lead to better global climate models. The world’s southernmost ocean, the Southern Ocean that…
-
Synchrotron X-ray experiment reveals a small nudge with big consequences
QUT researchers have used experimental x-ray techniques at the Australian Synchrotron to gain fundamental insights into how gypsum dehydrates under pressure and the processes that create earthquakes. In the study published in the Nature Research journal Communications Materials, QUT researchers Dr Christoph Schrank, Dr Oliver Gaede, from the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and…
-
Dogs (not) gone wild: DNA tests show most ‘wild dogs’ in Australia are pure dingoes
A new dingo study collates the results from over 5000 DNA samples of wild canines across Australia. It found that 99 per cent of animals tested were pure dingoes or dingo-dominant hybrids — and that there were almost no feral dogs in the country. The study, published today in Australian Mammalogy, collates the results from…
-
Well-preserved fossils could be consequence of past global climate change
Climate change can affect life on Earth. According to new research, it can also affect the dead. A study of exceptionally preserved fossils has found that rising global temperatures and a rapidly changing climate 183 million years ago may have created fossilization conditions in the world’s oceans that helped preserve the soft and delicate bodies…
-
Amateur drone videos could aid in natural disaster damage assessment
It wasn’t long after Hurricane Laura hit the Gulf Coast Thursday that people began flying drones to record the damage and posting videos on social media. Those videos are a precious resource, say researchers who are working on ways to use them for rapid damage assessment. By using artificial intelligence, the researchers are developing a…
-
Nano-sized plastics may enter and permeate cell membranes
Researchers have used molecular modelling methods to investigate the movement of nano-sized plastics in membrane structures. The results indicate that for some microplastics, passive transport through the cell membrane may be a significant gateway into the cell. The occurrence of microplastics in nature has been studied extensively, also at the University of Eastern Finland. However,…
-
Novel indicator of influenza immunity
A study of influenza virus transmission in Nicaraguan households reveals new insights into the type of immune responses that may be protective against influenza virus infection, report investigators. The findings could help scientists design more effective influenza vaccines and lead to the development of novel universal influenza vaccines. The research team included scientists from the…
-
Protecting coral reefs more effectively from climate change
Identifying and researching different heat stress response patterns in corals will help to protect the world’s reefs better from the effects of climate change. A new study describes the necessary test procedures and initial results. Death of corals worldwide caused by warming oceans As a result of climate change, corals all over the world are…