Browse Articles

Suppress that algae: Mitigating the effects of harmful algal blooms through preemptive detection & suppression

Natarajan et al. | Jul 17, 2023

Suppress that algae: Mitigating the effects of harmful algal blooms through preemptive detection & suppression
Image credit: Sharanya Natarajan

A bottleneck in deleting algal blooms is that current data section is manual and is reactionary to an existing algal bloom. These authors made a custom-designed Seek and Destroy Algal Mitigation System (SDAMS) that detects harmful algal blooms at earlier time points with astonishing accuracy, and can instantaneously suppress the pre-bloom algal population.

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Examining effects of E. muscae on olfactory function in D. melanogaster

Friedman et al. | Jul 08, 2021

Examining effects of <em>E. muscae</em> on olfactory function in <em>D. melanogaster</em>

In this article, the authors investigate the effects of fungus E. muscae on fruit fly behavior. More specifically, they investigate whether this fungus affects olfaction. Their findings contribute to a broader set of studies seeking to understand how host's central nervous systems can be affected by infections.

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The influence of implicit social pressure on prosocial behavior of adolescents

Carroll et al. | Dec 13, 2021

The influence of implicit social pressure on prosocial behavior of adolescents

In this study the authors sought to understand the influence of implicit social pressure on prosocial behavior (voluntary acts that benefit someone else) in adolescents age 12–19. They considered how participants divided money between themselves and four teammate they did a school project with. Despite being shown examples of how to divide money (social pressure), their results showed that both boys and girls were unaffected by prosocial, neutral, and antisocial pressures.

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Comparing the Effectiveness of Popular Treatments for Swelling and Scarring

Benavides et al. | Jul 08, 2020

Comparing the Effectiveness of Popular Treatments for Swelling and Scarring

Numerous specialty treatments claim to reduce swelling and scarring; however, it is unknown if these treatments are more effective than less expensive treatments. In an attempt to determine if one outperforms the other, treatments were applied to the same subject following bilateral orthopedic foot surgery. No difference was found the specialty treatments compared to more cost-effective treatments.

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Behavioral Longevity: The Impact of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Obesity on Life Expectancy

Han et al. | Oct 03, 2019

Behavioral Longevity: The Impact of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Obesity on Life Expectancy

In this article, the authors look into what is already known about the factor affecting longevity and determine the importance of behavioral factors including alcohol consumption, smoking, and obesity on longevity. The authors quantify data from over 150 countries and, interestingly, find that the impact each factor has on longevity is at least in part dependent on the country's economic development status. Overall, they conclude that an average person’s life expectancy can increase by more than 3 years if smoking and alcohol consumption is reduced by a half and weight is decreased by 10%.

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The Effect of Different Concentrations of Iron on the Growth of Egeria (Elodea) Densa

Hu et al. | Jan 08, 2015

The Effect of Different Concentrations of Iron on the Growth of <em>Egeria (Elodea) Densa</em>

Minerals such as iron are essential for life, but too much of a good thing can be poisonous. Here the authors investigate the effect of iron concentrations on the growth of an aquatic plant and find that supplementing small amounts of iron can help, but adding too much can be bad for the plant. These results should help inform decisions on allowable iron concentrations in the environment, aquatic farming, and even home aquariums.

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Investigating toxicity and antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles in Escherichia coli and Drosophila melanogaster

Ghosh et al. | Dec 01, 2025

Investigating toxicity and antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles in <em>Escherichia coli</em> and <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>
Image credit: Ghosh and Hendricks

This paper looks at the antibacterial and toxic effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on Escherichia coli bacteria and Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies. They modified the AgNPs size, concentration, and surface coating to determine the effects on each of the organisms. For both organisms, increased AgNP concentration demonstrated increased toxicity but particle size and surface coating had opposing effects.

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