House cats’ noses may function like highly efficient chemical analysis equipment

Parallels between cat noses and gas chromatography provide new insights into mammalian evolution

04-Jul-2023 - A new computer simulation of domestic cats’ noses suggests that the convoluted nasal structures involved in their sense of smell function similarly to parallel coiled gas chromatographs—laboratory equipment used for highly efficient analysis of the chemical makeup of substances. Zhenxing Wu of ...

Can smartphones predict mortality risk?

At population level, passive monitoring of walking activity using smartphones offers a pathway toward national screening for health and mortality risk, researchers conclude

01-Nov-2022 - Passive smartphone monitoring of people’s walking activity can be used to construct population-level models of health and mortality risk, according to a new study in the open access journal PLOS Digital Health by Bruce Schatz of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, and ...

Machine learning model uses blood tests to predict COVID-19 survival

Levels of 14 proteins in the blood of critically ill COVID-19 patients are associated with survival

21-Jan-2022 - A single blood sample from a critically ill COVID-19 patient can be analyzed by a machine learning model which uses blood plasma proteins to predict survival, weeks before the outcome, according to a new study published in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health by Florian Kurth and Markus ...

Characterization of grapevine transposons furthers understanding of in vino variety

04-Sep-2008 - The grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is a widely cultivated crop that has been subjected to intensive breeding since the Neolithic period (from ~10,500 to ~6,000 years ago). The domestication of grapevine has undergone a selection for traits important for its cultivation and usage. The recent ...