Sunday 23 June 2019

Researchers use facial quirks to unmask 'deepfakes'

After watching hours of video footage of former President Barack Obama delivering his weekly address, Shruti Agarwal began to notice a few quirks about the way Obama speaks.

* This article was originally published here

UK study shows seal singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'

Researchers in Scotland say gray seals can copy the sounds of human words and songs including "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

* This article was originally published here

A miniature robot that could check colons for early signs of disease

Engineers have shown it is technically possible to guide a tiny robotic capsule inside the colon to take micro-ultrasound images.

* This article was originally published here

Ocean swimming alters skin microbiome, increasing vulnerability to infection

Swimming in the ocean alters the skin microbiome and may increase the likelihood of infection, according to research presented at ASM Microbe 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

* This article was originally published here

Experiments with salt-tolerant bacteria in brine have implications for life on Mars

Salt-tolerant bacteria grown in brine were able to revive after the brine was put through a cycle of drying and rewetting. The research has implications for the possibility of life on Mars, as well as for the danger of contaminating Mars and other planetary bodies with terrestrial microbes. The research is presented at ASM Microbe 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

* This article was originally published here

Physician, heal thyself: how depression affects cancer caregivers

Ashley Sumrall was an early career brain oncologist when she got a case that would stay with her for the rest of her career.

* This article was originally published here

US blocks more Chinese tech firms on national security concerns

The US Commerce Department blacklisted five Chinese tech entities Friday in a new move against Beijing's supercomputing industry likely to raise tensions ahead of a meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping next week.

* This article was originally published here

Indigenous oral health inequalities begin in childhood: A multi-country study

At the 97th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Dandara Haag, University of Adelaide, Australia, gave an oral presentation on "Indigenous Oral Health Inequalities Begin in Childhood: A Multi-country Study." The IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Vancouver, BC, Canada from June 19-22, 2019.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers report the origin and immunoregulatory function of monocytes

Non-classical monocytes were long thought to play a purely surveillance role in the immune system. With the aid of a novel marker (PD-L1), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) researchers in Munich have now shown that they are directly involved in the regulation of immune response.

* This article was originally published here

Reforming pharmacy benefit manager practices may lead to drug cost savings

Efforts to control health care costs in the United States often focus on the listed prescription drug prices, but a perspective published by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that unregulated pharmacy benefit manager practices also may contribute to escalating expenses.

* This article was originally published here

Hydrogen-natural gas hydrates harvested by natural gas

A hydrogen-natural gas blend (HNGB) can be a game changer only if it can be stored safely and used as a sustainable clean energy resource. A recent study has suggested a new strategy for stably storing hydrogen, using natural gas as a stabilizer. The research proposed a practical gas phase modulator based synthesis of HNGB without generating chemical waste after dissociation for the immediate service.

* This article was originally published here

Major HIV drug requires vigilance, study says

A study lead by researchers at the Institute of HIV Research, Medical Faculty of UDE and University Hospital Essen reports a potential toxicity of integrase inhibitors. Integrase inhibitors (INSTI) are a preferred drug for inclusion in anti-retroviral therapy regimens given its tolerability, efficacy and high resistance barrier. INSTI have been found to improve and prolong lives of millions of people living with HIV who suffer side-effects and resistance to treatment. However, recent laboratory data suggest that INSTI may not be as safe as suggested.

* This article was originally published here

Autoimmunity and chair-side risk assessment of temporomandibular disorders

At the 97th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), many oral and poster presentations centered around temporomandibular disorders, or TMD. The IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Vancouver, BC, Canada from June 19-22, 2019.

* This article was originally published here

SPFCNN-Miner: A new classifier to tackle class-unbalanced data

Researchers at Chongqing University in China have recently developed a cost-sensitive meta-learning classifier that can be used when the training data available is high-dimensional or limited. Their classifier, called SPFCNN-Miner, was presented in a paper published in Elsevier's Future Generation Computer Systems.

* This article was originally published here

Antibiotic resistance in spore-forming probiotic bacteria

New research has found that six probiotic Bacillus strains are resistant to several antibiotics. Genetic analysis of other Bacillus strains has shown genes that contribute to antibiotic resistance towards various types of drugs and methods in which they can still grow in their presence. The research is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

* This article was originally published here