Science news roundup: COVID-detecting bubbles, bike safety, a vaccine for breast cancer - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Science & Environment

This month’s apical 5 Pacific Northwest subject stories from “All Science. No Fiction.”

All Science, No Fiction

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In this new, monthly rundown from OPB, “All Science. No Fiction.” Creator Jes Burns features the astir interesting, wondrous and hopeful subject coming retired of the Pacific Northwest.

And remember: Science builds connected the subject that came before. No 1 survey tells the full story.

A vaccine for bosom cancer

It’s not often anyone tin accidental they’ve cured cancer, but researchers astatine the University of Washington School of Medicine could beryllium getting truly close. They’re starting a signifier 2 objective proceedings connected humans for a vaccine that targets alleged “HER2″ bosom cancers — a peculiarly assertive benignant that accounts for 20%-30% of bosom cancers. The vaccine is designed to stimulate the body’s immune strategy to equine an onslaught connected the crab cells.

The 13-year signifier 1 proceedings involving 66 women showed promising results: The vaccine was connected par with COVID vaccines successful presumption of broadside effects, and anecdotally, it improved endurance rates significantly. Given these results, the researchers accidental the vaccine has the imaginable to forestall oregon dainty these cancers. The assemblage is presently recruiting a larger cohort for the signifier 2 trial; a signifier 3 would past travel if the results proceed to amusement promise.

Read the insubstantial from the diary JAMA Oncology here.

Bike Boxes FTW

This virtual reality-esque setup allowed researchers to place the safest intersection for bikes riding successful traffic

David Hurwitz, OSU College of Engineering

Heaps of radical successful the Pacific Northwest commute via bike. Eugene, Portland and Corvallis person immoderate of the highest numbers successful the country. It’s large for the environment, but bike accidents aren’t uncommon.

Researchers astatine Oregon State University and Portland State University are trying to fig retired however to marque that commute safer. They looked astatine 3 antithetic types of bike-friendly intersections: mixing zones wherever bikes and vehicles usage the aforesaid lane, motorcycle signals that let lone bikes to cross, and motorcycle boxes that conception disconnected the beforehand of a lane with overgarment to promote vehicles to bent back. Using a virtual reality-esque setup with a stationary bike, the researchers tracked cyclists’ oculus movements, accent levels and paths arsenic they went done each benignant of intersection.

Turns retired motorcycle boxes provided the champion equilibrium of information without lulling the cyclist into a mendacious consciousness of security.

Read the insubstantial from the diary Accident Analysis & Prevention here.

How bash we hear? No really. How bash we hear?

What really happens connected a molecular level erstwhile the interior receptor converts vibrations into sounds? Truth is, nary 1 knew … until now.

Researchers astatine Oregon Health and Science University precocious recovered the reply by studying roundworms, which connected a cardinal level person precise akin proceeding bits to humans. Five years and 60 cardinal worms later, the squad was capable to uncover and picture the “molecular machinery” that’s liable for our consciousness of equilibrium and what we comprehend arsenic sound.

The find opens up a full caller satellite of imaginable treatments for proceeding loss, which affects astir a half-billion radical worldwide.

Read the insubstantial from the diary Nature here.

Tiny bubbles … marque maine consciousness fine

Researchers astatine the Pacific Northwest National Lab person developed a method to observe ambient COVID-19 viruses successful the air. Tiny specially designed bubbles popular connected interaction with the virus, creating a faint electrical pulse that's acold easier to observe than the microorganism alone.

Sara Levine/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Detecting viruses has been a situation — they’re tiny, dispersed and necessitate truly delicate sensors. But wouldn’t it beryllium bully to cognize if determination were, say, COVID-19 viruses floating astir successful the country you’re in?

Researchers astatine the Pacific Northwest National Lab person figured retired a mode to bash conscionable this — with teeny-tiny bubbles (200 bubbles = width of a quality hair). When COVID interacts with the specially designed aboveground of a bubble, it causes the bubble to pop, releasing salts that were trapped inside. These salts, and the physics awesome they generate, are overmuch easier to observe than the microorganism alone.

The scientists accidental their exertion is faster, much delicate and much close than different methods retired there. And yet the bubbles could beryllium modified to observe different substances successful the aerial arsenic well.

Read the insubstantial from the diary MRS Communications here.

A cure for the “Oh Dears!”

More than 11,000 cervid and elk are deed by Oregon and Washington drivers each year. That’s a batch of harm to ungulates, radical and cars alike. A research squad astatine the University of Washington has identified a mode to trim those numbers: instrumentality to daylight savings clip year-round.

The squad looked astatine trends successful vehicle-deer collisions and however they corresponded with the twice-annual clip change. The earlier it gets dark, the much cervid get hit. This holds particularly existent successful the autumn successful the week aft we “fall back.” Collisions emergence by 16%, successful portion due to the fact that cervid rutting season’s successful afloat swing. The investigation showed that collisions could beryllium decreased by 2.3% — that’s approaching 40,000 cervid nationwide — conscionable by sticking to DST.

Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California person each indicated they privation to chopped retired the clip changes, but they request legislature support to marque it happen.

Read the insubstantial from the diary Current Biology here.

Watch much videos from “All Science. No Fiction.” connected the subject of sleep, a drone that tin odor things and however star panels tin assistance sheep and the farmers who rise them.