Browse Articles

Reducing Crop Damage Caused by Folsomia candida by Providing an Alternate Food Source

Tamura et al. | May 28, 2018

Reducing Crop Damage Caused by Folsomia candida by Providing an Alternate Food Source

Tamura and Moché found that Folsomia candida, a common crop pest, prefers to consume yeast instead of lettuce seedlings. The authors confirmed that even with the availability of both lettuce seedlings and yeast in the same dish, Folsomia candida preferred to eat the yeast, thereby reducing the number of feeding injuries on the lettuce seedlings. The authors propose that using this preference for yeast may be a way to mitigate crop damage by this pest.

Read More...

Comparing the Effects of Different Natural Products on Reducing Tumor Growth in a Drosophila Model

Ganesh et al. | May 31, 2020

Comparing the Effects of Different Natural Products on Reducing Tumor Growth in a <i>Drosophila</i> Model

In this work, the authors compared the effects of common natural products, including sesame, cinnamon, garlic, moringa and turmeric on tumor growth in Drosophila eyes. The data showed that these natural products cannot be used to reduce tumor growth once it has completely formed. However, the data suggested that some natural products can reduce cancer cell growth when tumors are treated early.

Read More...

Reduce the harm of acid rain to plants by producing nitrogen fertilizer through neutralization

Xu et al. | Apr 25, 2023

Reduce the harm of acid rain to plants by producing nitrogen fertilizer through neutralization
Image credit: Ave Calvar Martinez, pexels.com

The phenomenon of dying trees and plants in areas affected by acid rain has become increasingly problematic in recent times. Is there any method to efficiently utilize the rainwater and reduce the harmfulness of acid rain or make it beneficial to plants? This study aimed to investigate the potential of neutralizing acid rainwater infiltrating the soil to increase soil pH, produce beneficial salts for plants, and support better plant growth. To test this hypothesis, precipitation samples were collected from six states in the U.S. in 2022, and the pH of the acid rain was measured to obtain a representative pH value for the country. Experiments were then conducted to simulate the neutralization of acid rain and the subsequent change in soil pH levels. To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of this method, cat grass was planted in pots of soil soaked with solutions mimicking acid rain, with control and experimental groups receiving neutralizing agents (ammonium hydroxide) or not. Plant growth was measured by analyzing the height of the plants. Results demonstrated that neutralizing agents were effective in improving soil pH levels and that the resulting salts produced were beneficial to the growth of the grass. The findings suggest that this method could be applied on a larger agricultural scale to reduce the harmful effects of acid rain and increase agricultural efficiency.

Read More...

Therapy dogs effectively reduce stress in college preparatory students

Ikeda et al. | Nov 27, 2023

Therapy dogs effectively reduce stress in college preparatory students
Image credit: Ryan Stone

In this article the authors looked at the effect of spending time with a therapy dog before and after stressful events. They found that interacting with a therapy before a stressful event showed more significant reduction in signs of stress compared to interacting with a therapy dog after stressful events have already occurred.

Read More...

Singlet oxygen production analysis of reduced berberine analogs via NMR spectroscopy

Su et al. | Feb 10, 2023

Singlet oxygen production analysis of reduced berberine analogs via NMR spectroscopy

Berberine is a natural product isoquinoline alkaloid derived from plants of the genus Berberis. When exposed to photoirradiation, it produces singlet oxygen through photosensitization of triplet oxygen. Through qNMR analysis of 1H NMR spectra gathered through kinetic experiments, we were able to track the generation of a product between singlet oxygen and alpha terpinene, allowing us to quantitatively measure the photosensitizing properties of our scaffolds.

Read More...

Improving measurement of reducing sugar content in carbonated beverages using Fehling’s reagent

Zhang et al. | Jul 21, 2020

Improving measurement of reducing sugar content in carbonated beverages using Fehling’s reagent

The sugar-rich modern diet underlies a suite of metabolic disorders, most common of which is diabetes. Accurately reporting the sugar content of pre-packaged food and drink items can help consumers track their sugar intake better, facilitating more cognisant and, eventually, moderate consumption of high-sugar items. In this article, the authors examine the effect of several variables on the accuracy of Fehling's reaction, a colorimetric reaction used to estimate sugar content.

Read More...

Firearm-purchase laws that limit the number of guns on the market reduce gun homicides in the South Side of Chicago

Krishnan et al. | Jan 24, 2022

Firearm-purchase laws that limit the number of guns on the market reduce gun homicides in the South Side of Chicago

Gun violence has been a serious issue in the South Side of Chicago for a long time. To intervene, regulators have passed legislation they hoped to curb -if not completely eradicate- the issue. However, there is little analysis done on how effective the various laws have been at reducing gun violence. Here the authors explore the association between firearm purchase laws passed between 1993-2018 and the incidence of gun homicide in Chicago's South Side. Their analysis suggests that some laws have been more effective than others, while some might have exacerbated the issue. However, they do not consider other contributing factors, which makes it difficult to prove causation without further investigation.

Read More...

Testing the Effects of Resveratrol, Apigenin, and Glucosamine to Effectively Reduce Prostate Cancer Cell Proliferation, Migration Levels, and Increase Apoptosis

Yang et al. | Apr 16, 2020

Testing the Effects of Resveratrol, Apigenin, and Glucosamine to Effectively Reduce Prostate Cancer Cell Proliferation, Migration Levels, and Increase Apoptosis

The current five-year survival rate of metastasized prostate cancer is only 30% and occurs in every one in nine men. Researchers have shown that people with a type of dwarfism called Laron’s Syndrome are immune to cancer due to their low levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). For this reason, experimentally modifying the level of IGF-1 could provide better insight into whether lowering the levels of IGF-1 in prostate cancer cell lines (e.g. PC-3) could be an effective treatment to reduce their rates of proliferation and migration and increase apoptosis. We selected three compounds, which researchers have shown decrease IGF-1 levels, to test and combine to determine which is the most promising.

Read More...

Don’t Waste the Medical Waste: Reducing Improperly Classified Hazardous Waste in a Medical Facility

Hemani et al. | Jun 20, 2018

Don’t Waste the Medical Waste: Reducing Improperly Classified Hazardous Waste in a Medical Facility

Hemani et al. tackled the problem of rampant hospital waste by implementing staff training to help inform hospital workers about proper waste disposal. The authors observed a significant increase in proper waste disposal after the training, showing that simple strategies, such as in-person classroom training and posters, can have a profound effect on limiting improper waste handling.

Read More...

Anonymity Reduces Generosity in High School Students

Vargas-Guerrero et al. | Nov 25, 2019

Anonymity Reduces Generosity in High School Students

The disinterested willingness a person has for helping others is known as altruism. But is this willingness to help others dependent on external factors that make you more or less inclined to be generous? We hypothesized that generosity in adolescents would depend on external factors and that these factors would change the amount of help given. To evaluate altruism and generosity, we conducted non-anonymous and anonymous variations of the dictator game and ultimatum game experiments and explored the role of anonymity, fairness, and reciprocity in high school students.

Read More...

Search Articles

Search articles by title, author name, or tags

Clear all filters

Popular Tags

Browse by school level