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Paralyzing effects of CO2 and hypothermia on Madagascar hissing and dubia cockroaches

Gapon et al. | Dec 08, 2024

Paralyzing effects of CO<sub>2</sub> and hypothermia on Madagascar hissing and dubia cockroaches
Image credit: Jesper Aggergaard

Here the authors sought to find a more ethical and efficient way to temporary paralyze a cockroach by comparing the results of two methods. By comparing immobilization through immersion in cold water and exposure to a 100 % CO2 environment, they found that cockroaches could be immobilized and recovered significantly faster when exposed to CO2.

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Qualitative tracking of human and animation motions reveals differences in their walking gaits

Baily et al. | Oct 04, 2024

Qualitative tracking of human and animation motions reveals differences in their walking gaits

In their attempt to evoke a greater emotional connection with viewers, animators have strived to replicate human movements in their animations. However, animation movements still appear distinct from human movements. With a focus on walking, we hypothesized that animations, unaffected by real external forces (e.g. gravity), would move with a universally distinct, gliding gait that is discernible from humans.

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Antibacterial activity of homemade Indian tomato tamarind soup (rasam) against common pathogens

Eswaran et al. | Oct 04, 2024

Antibacterial activity of homemade Indian tomato tamarind soup (rasam) against common pathogens

Systematic consumption of traditional foods is a popular way of treating diseases in India. Rasam, a soup of spices and tomato with a tamarind base, is a home remedy for viral infections such as the common cold. Here, we investigate if rasam, prepared under household conditions, exhibits antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, two common pathogenic bacteria. Our results show rasam prepared under household conditions lacks antibacterial activity despite its ingredients possessing such properties.

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Investigating the inhibition of catabolic enzymes for implications in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes

Gandhi et al. | Aug 25, 2024

Investigating the inhibition of catabolic enzymes for implications in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes
Image credit: The authors

Enzymes that metabolize carbohydrates and lipids play a key role in our health, including global health challenges like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. To learn more about these important enzymes, Gandhi and Gandhi test whether various natural substances (ginger, Aloe vera, lemon, and mint leaves) affect the activity of α-amylase and lipase enzymes.

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Does language familiarity affect typing speed?

Shin et al. | Aug 23, 2024

Does language familiarity affect typing speed?

In cognitive psychology, typed responses are used to assess thinking skills and creativity, but research on factors influencing typing speed is limited. This study examined how language familiarity affects typing speed, hypothesizing that familiarity with a language would correlate with faster typing. Participants typed faster in English than Latin, with those unfamiliar with Latin showing a larger discrepancy between the two languages, though Latin education level did not significantly impact typing speed, highlighting the role of language familiarity in typing performance.

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Male Feminization of the Common Pillbug Armadillidium vulgare by Wolbachia bacteria

Ramanan et al. | Jun 30, 2024

Male Feminization of the Common Pillbug <i>Armadillidium vulgare</i> by <i>Wolbachia</i> bacteria
Image credit: Ramanan et al. 2024

Wolbachia pipientis (Wolbachia) is a maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacterium that infects over 50% of arthropods, including pillbugs, and acts as a reproductive parasite in the host. In the common terrestrial pillbug Armadillidium vulgare (A. vulgare), Wolbachia alters the sex ratio of offspring through a phenomenon called feminization, where genetic males develop into reproductive females. Previous studies have focused on the presence or absence of Wolbachia as a sex ratio distorter in laboratory cultured and natural populations mainly from sites in Europe and Japan. Our three-year study is the first to evaluate the effects of the Wolbachia sex ratio distorter in cultured A. vulgare offspring in North America. We asked whether Wolbachia bacteria feminize A. vulgare isopod male offspring from infected mothers and if this effect can be detected in F1 offspring by comparing the male/female offspring ratios. If so, the F1 offspring ratio should show a higher number of females than males compared to the offspring of uninfected mothers. Over three years, pillbug offspring were cultured from pregnant A. vulgare females and developed into adults. We determined the Wolbachia status of mothers and counted the ratios of male and female F1 progeny to determine feminization effects. In each year sampled, significantly more female offspring were born to Wolbachia-infected mothers than those from uninfected mothers. These ratio differences suggest that the Wolbachia infection status of mothers directly impacts the A. vulgare population through the production of reproductive feminized males, which in turn provides an advantage for further Wolbachia transmission.

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Genetic underpinnings of the sex bias in autism spectrum disorder

Lee et al. | Mar 29, 2024

Genetic underpinnings of the sex bias in autism spectrum disorder
Image credit: Louis Reed

Here, seeking to identify a possible explanation for the more frequent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in males than females, they sought to investigate a potential sex bias in the expression of ASD-associated genes. Based on their analysis, they identified 17 ASD-associated candidate genes that showed stronger collective sex-dependent expression.

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The optical possibilities of gelatin

Parikh et al. | Mar 28, 2024

The optical possibilities of gelatin
Image credit: Lensabl

Here the authors investigated the optical possibilities of gelatin and acrylic in regards to potential implementations at soft contact lenses. They fabricated lenses of different shapes and evaluated the refraction of laser light finding that gelatin needed to be thickened or increased in curvature to account for its lower refractive index compared to plastics, or used in a mixture to strengthen the lens.

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