Science casa

Scientists have used the principles that guide a mosquito's nocturnal flight to develop a quadcopter equipped with an elegant collision-avoidance sensory system. Their research, published in  Science , demonstrates how the mosquito avoids obstacles in the dark by sensing changes in the airflows generated by its flapping wings. The international collaborative research group, which includes Dr. Simon Walker from the University of Leeds and was led by Professor Richard Bomphrey at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), used the understanding of the sensory mechanism in the male Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito to develop a bio-inspired collision avoidance system for an autonomous quadcopter—which encodes aerodynamic information on the fly. The research also featured collaboration with Toshiyuki Nakata from Chiba University, Patrício Simões and Ian Russell from the University of Brighton. Nocturnal mosquitoes navigate in the dark without crashing into surfaces. When they lan...

Although detailed mechanics of the immune response are beyond the scope of this site, it is useful, in the context of developing a custom antibody, to have an overview of how antibodies are produced by the immune system.  When an organism’s immune system encounters a foreign molecule (typically a protein) for the first time, specialized cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells capture the molecule and begin breaking it down so that it can present these antigens to B cell lymphocytes. Once  Antigen  Presentation to the B cell lymphocytes has occurred, a process known as Somatic Hypermutation allows the B cell to begin coding for a new antibody that will contain a unique Antigen Binding Site in the variable region that is capable of binding specifically to an epitope from the antigen. Each B cell lymphocyte produces one unique antibody against one unique epitope. Once antibodies with sufficient specificity to the epitope can be encoded, the B ce...

You may have heard  a pesky little rumor  that the COVID-19 pandemic *might* die down in spring/summer, since the spread of other types of coronavirus tends to peak between December and March. But, again, “it’s hard to know which way this virus will go,” says  Sandra Kesh , MD, an infectious disease specialist and deputy medical director at Westmed Medical Group in Purchase, New York's. At this point, experts simply don't know enough about how COVID-19 spreads, and how shifting weather and temperatures may or may not affect it, according to the center   for disease control and prevention (CDC) Annotherreality is that changing seasons tend to have *less* of an impact on new viruses, says Dr. Kesh, so you can still get sick outside of the typical winter season. And, remember: This is global, so it’s always winter somewhere. As such, the situation could potentially improve in one hemisphere when summer arrives and simultaneously get worse in anothe...

COVID-19 , which is caused by the new coronavirus, has been dominating the news lately. However, you may have first become familiar with the term coronavirus during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003. Both COVID-19 and SARS are caused by coronaviruses. The virus that causes SARS is known as SARS-CoV, while the virus that causes COVID-19 is known as SARS-CoV-2. There are also other types of human coronaviruses. Despite their similar name, there are several differences between the coronaviruses that cause COVID-19 and SARS. Keep reading as we explore coronaviruses and how they compare to each other. What is coronavirus? Coronaviruses are a very diverse family of viruses. They have a large host range, which includes humans. However, the greatest amount of coronavirus diversity is seen in batsTrusted Source. Coronaviruses have spiky projections on their surface that look like crowns. Corona means “crown” in Latin — and that’s how this family of viruse...

    Currently, 16 vaccines are covered under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) in the United States: influenza, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella, human papillomavirus, meningitis, diphtheria, chicken pox, polio, rotavirus, haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and the pneumonia conjugate vaccine.Some of the more common injuries associated with vaccination are anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction), vasovagal syncope (fainting), and SIRVA (shoulder injuries related to vaccine administration).To be eligible for compensation through the VICP, injuries must be deemed severe, defined as symptoms lasting for at least six months or that have caused you to go to a hospital for surgery, or have resulted in death.Vaccine injuries are defined as developing a new illness or aggravating an illness or condition that you already have as a result of receiving a vaccine.Individuals can file VICP claims on behalf of them...