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51 news posts in Frontiers in Physiology

Engineering

03 Nov 2023

Wearable devices may prevent astronauts getting ‘lost’ in space

by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image/Shutterstock.com Losing your sense of where you are can be fatal enough for aircraft pilots: spatial disorientation is a leading cause of fatal aircraft accidents. But losing your orientation in space itself is even more dangerous. Scientists have now developed wearable devices called vibrotactors that, combined with specialized training, improve people’s ability to fight spatial disorientation and could help astronauts correct themselves when their perceptions can no longer be relied upon. The sky is no longer the limit — but taking flight is dangerous. In leaving the Earth’s surface, we lose many of the cues we need to orient ourselves, and that spatial disorientation can be deadly. Astronauts normally need intensive training to protect against it. But scientists have now found that wearable devices which vibrate to give orientation cues may boost the efficacy of this training significantly, making spaceflight slightly safer. “Long duration spaceflight will cause many physiological and psychological stressors which will make astronauts very susceptible to spatial disorientation,” said Dr Vivekanand P. Vimal of Brandeis University in the United States, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Physiology. “When disoriented, an astronaut will no longer be able to rely […]

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Environment

17 Jul 2023

Soil dwellers thrive in between solar panels: Here are five Frontiers articles you won’t want to miss

By Deborah Pirchner, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, it’s impossible to cover all of them. Here are just five amazing papers you may have missed. Solar parks can house semi-natural grassland communities Solar parks are sustainable ways to ensure clean energy. The ecosystems in which they are built are often sites that are excessively managed and affected by habitat destruction. This land management, however, also offers opportunity to restore or even create semi-natural grasslands. Researchers in France have studied 10 solar parks in the south of the country to examine plant community composition, soil biodiversity, and soil functioning under and outside of solar panels to test whether they hamper soil health. They have now published their results in Frontiers in Environmental Science. Their results indicate that the microclimate under panels influenced the abundance of soil megafauna, fungi biomass, and bacteria. Plant communities under panels tended to be made up of more shade-tolerant species, which reduced plant diversity and vegetation cover. Between panels, however, the researchers found more trophic interactions than outside or under solar panels. This suggested […]

Featured news

15 Feb 2023

Brain changes in fighter pilots may cast light on astronauts during space travel

By Conn Hastings, science writer Understanding the effects of space travel will help us to plan long-haul space flights, but getting access to astronauts is not easy. A new study investigates whether F16 fighter pilots demonstrate brain connectivity changes that could be expected in astronauts, based on similar exposure to changes in g-forces. The study found that the pilots showed key changes in brain connectivity and they may function as suitable test subjects to learn more about space travel. One cannot explore the profound mysteries of space without being changed by it. This is the message underlying a new study in Frontiers in Physiology. The study examined the brains of F16 fighter pilots, which have a lot in common with those of astronauts in terms of adapting to altered gravity levels and rapidly processing conflicting sensory information. MRI scans revealed that pilots with more flight experience showed specific brain connectivity patterns in areas related to processing sensorimotor information. They also showed differences in brain connectivity compared with non-pilots. The study will help us to understand the effects of space flight on the brain and may aid in providing better training programs for pilots or astronauts. Spaceships: a rollercoaster for the […]

Featured news

06 Dec 2022

10 Frontiers articles that caught the world’s attention in 2022

By Frontiers’ science writers Image: Shutterstock.com As part of Frontiers’ passion to make science available to all, we highlight just a small selection of the most fascinating research published with us each month to help inspire current and future researchers to achieve their research dreams. 2022 was no different, and saw many game-changing discoveries contribute to the world’s breadth of knowledge on topics ranging from the climate crisis to robotics, and exercise to the lives of our ancestors. So to round of the year, here are 10 Frontiers articles from this year that got the world’s top media talking. 1. This illusion, new to science, is strong enough to trick our reflexes Have a look at the image below. Do you perceive that the central black hole is expanding, as if you’re moving into a dark environment, or falling into a hole? If so, you’re not alone: a study published to Frontiers in Human Neuroscience showed that this ‘expanding hole’ illusion, which is new to science, is perceived by approximately 86% of people. The researchers don’t yet know why a minority seem unsusceptible to the ‘expanding hole’ illusion. Nor do they know whether other vertebrate species, or even nonvertebrate animals […]

Environment

23 Sep 2022

Bees, blue light, and bacteria in beetles’ ‘back pockets’: Most viewed articles of August 2022

Image: Shutterstock.com by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Each month, Frontiers shines a spotlight on some of the leading research across a wide range of topics. Here are just some of the highlights that resonated strongly with readers on our news site in the month of August. 1. Modern pesticides make it hard for bees to keep on the straight and narrow Research published in Frontiers in Insect Science showed that common pesticides affected bees’ brains so that they couldn’t orient themselves properly. Bees exposed to sulfoxaflor and imidacloprid were tested on their ability to respond to stimuli that tricked them into thinking they’d been blown off course, a situation which required them to use their optomotor response to reorient themselves. Compared to control bees, they performed very poorly, reacting inappropriately or not at all to the stimuli. The problem seems to be caused by damage to the nervous system, but the exact mechanism is unclear. Since bees need this optomotor response to travel between different sources of pollen, and since these insecticides are widely used, this is a source of significant concern. The authors tested the optomotor response in walking bees rather than flying bees, so further research […]

Environment

12 Sep 2022

Scientists eavesdrop on minke whale ‘boing’ calls in Hawai’i, and 4 other articles you don’t want to miss

By Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image: Annie Leblanc/Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, many often fly under the radar. Here are just five amazing papers you may have missed. Scientists eavesdrop on minke whale conversations in Hawai’i Scientists writing in Frontiers in Marine Science used hydrophones to study hard-to-spot minke whales in Hawai’i, learning that they use their ‘boing’ calls more frequently when they are close to other members of the same species. Minke whales who visit this area are hard to study because they are small, solitary, and visit outside the times when most ship-based surveys are conducted. Passive acoustic monitoring, using hydrophones mounted on the sea bed, allows scientists to listen in on whales all year round. The authors used 47 hydrophones to record thousands of calls between 2012 and 2017. These calls were analyzed to detect individual whales and monitor their behavior in the study area. The minke whales used their ‘boing’ calls only between fall and spring, and called more rapidly when other minke whales were nearby. Because minke whales are so enigmatic, it isn’t […]

Featured news

30 Aug 2022

Beetles rely on unique ‘back pockets’ to keep bacterial symbionts safe during metamorphosis

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Lagria villosa adult. Image credit: RS Janke Researchers show that beetles in the genus Lagria have evolved unique ‘back pockets’ on their larvae and pupae to house bacterial symbionts, which protect the immature life stages against fungi. But in adult females, the symbionts exclusively occur in the accessory glands, next to the oviduct, from where they are deposited onto eggs. When the adult beetles emerge, friction shuffles the symbionts out of the pockets and backwards to the genital area. They then colonize the accessory glands by an unknown mechanism. Beetles of the genus Lagria need a little help from their bacterial friends throughout their immature life stages. But keeping them in the same spot throughout life isn’t feasible. This is because beetles are holometabolous insects, which undergo an overall bodily reorganization (metamorphosis) as pupae. Here, scientists show for the first time that the beetles have evolved an ingenious solution to this problem: female pupae keep their symbiotic bacteria in specialized pockets on their back. When they emerge as adults, they shuffle the bacteria out of these pockets, backwards and then on into their genital area. These results are published in Frontiers in Physiology. ► Read […]

Featured news

09 Jun 2022

Could cranberries help us prevent dementia? Check out 5 fascinating Frontiers articles you don’t want to miss

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers Science Communications Manager Image: Jean Beaufort At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, many often fly under the radar. Here are just five amazing papers you may have missed. Daily eating of cranberries may give us a memory boost and lower ‘bad’ cholesterol The famous proverb says that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but a recent study published to Frontiers in Nutrition has found that significant health benefits may come from eating a cup of cranberries a day. A team of researchers from the UK, the Netherlands, and Italy set out to see what benefits this daily dose of the popular berry would have on those aged between 50 and 80. Of those taking part in the study, half ate freeze-dried cranberry powder equivalent to 100g of fresh cranberries, while the other half were given a placebo. The results showed that those who were eating cranberries daily saw a significant improvement in their memory of everyday events, neural functioning, and delivery of blood to the brain. The researchers hope that their findings could have implications for […]

Featured news

03 Jun 2022

Most read article of May 2022: Surprising finding shows children grow faster during the school year than summer vacation

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers Science Communications Manager Image: Shutterstock.com Each month, Frontiers shines a spotlight on some of the leading research across a wide range of topics. Here are just some of the highlights that resonated strongly with readers on our news site in the month of May. Children grow faster during school year than during summer holidays It has been long recognized that in western countries, children are more likely to become overweight or obese over the summer. Causes of this include changes in kids’ physical activity and diet over the summer period, including the summer holidays. But in a study in Frontiers in Physiology, scientists from the US show that this ‘obesogenicity’ of summers has another unexpected cause: children grow faster over the school year than over the summer. And because body mass index (BMI) is the ratio of body weight in kilograms and height in meters squared, faster vertical growth during the school leads to increased BMI during summers. “Here we show seasonality in standardized body mass index (BMIz), with children gaining height at a greater rate during the school year compared to the summer,” said Dr Jennette P Moreno, an assistant professor at the USDA/ARS Children’s […]

Featured news

31 May 2022

When should I schedule my exercise? The question is more important than you think

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer A randomized controlled trial shows for the first time that for physical exercise, the time of day affects its effectiveness. Whether morning or evening exercise is more effective depends on type of exercise and training objectives, and differs between women and men. But even when time of day isn’t taken into account, the new multimodal weekly exercise program presented here improves health and performance for both sexes. When should I fit exercise within my daily schedule? For most, the answer depends on our family’s schedule and working hours, and perhaps on whether we’re ‘larks’ or ‘night owls’. But over the past decade, researchers have found that much more hangs on this question than these constraints. That’s because recent findings suggest that the effectiveness of exercise depends on the time of day (Exercise Time Of Day, ETOD). Now, a randomized controlled trial not only confirms convincingly that ETOD affects the effectiveness of exercise, but also shows that these effects differ between types of exercise, and between women and men. The results are published in Frontiers in Physiology. ► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) Principal investigator Dr Paul J Arciero, a professor at the Health and […]

Featured news

10 May 2022

Children grow faster during school year than during summer holidays

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Image credit: MIA Studio / Shutterstock.com Children grow faster during the school year than during the summer period, show scientists. In contrast to the strong seasonality of vertical growth, there is little seasonality in increase in body weight over time. Slower vertical growth affects the BMI and contributes to the “obesogenicity” of the summer period. It has been long recognized that in Western countries, children are more likely to become overweight or obese over the summer. Causes of this include changes in kids’ physical activity and diet over the summer period, including the summer holidays. But in a new study in Frontiers in Physiology, scientists from the US show that this ‘obesogenicity” of summers has another unexpected cause: children grow faster over the school year than over the summer. And because Body Mass Index (BMI) is the ratio of body weight in kg and height in meters squared, faster vertical growth during the school leads to increased BMI during summers. “Here we show seasonality in standardized body mass index (BMIz), with children gaining height at a greater rate during the school year compared to the summer,” said Dr Jennette P Moreno, an assistant professor […]

Featured news

09 Nov 2021

Off-world colony simulation reveals changes in human communication over time with Earth

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Image: SciePro/Shutterstock.com Future planetary colonists will experience isolation like no other group in human history, which is why scientists on Earth are attempting to see how we communicate in the most extreme situations. In a paper published with Frontiers, researchers in Russia observed volunteers in isolation attempting to replicate life in deep space to see how it would impact their mood and communication styles. Despite some initial differences, the eventual cohesion of the team offers hope for future moon and Mars colonists. Elton John famously sang that Mars “ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids”, but one day space agencies across the globe hope to prove him wrong by seeing the first human establishing the first colony on the Red Planet, and elsewhere in the solar system. However, those who make the journey will not only have to survive on a freezing planet with no breathable atmosphere, but live in isolation unlike any other explorers in human history. At its closest proximity, Mars is still almost 55m km away from Earth, making communication delays and supply issues between the two worlds unavoidable. This requires crew members to effectively cope with stressful conditions […]

Featured news

30 Sep 2021

Living at high altitudes may lower chance of having a deadly stroke

By Conn Hastings, science writer A town in the Ecuadorian Andes mountains. Image: ireneuke/Shutterstock.com Researchers in Ecuador are the first to investigate the risk of stroke-related death and hospitalization in people living at four different altitude ranges. They found that those living at higher altitudes have a reduced risk of death or hospitalization because of a stroke, and tend to experience strokes at a greater age. This protective effect was greatest between 2,500 and 3,500 meters.  Could living at high altitudes affect your chance of suffering a stroke? This intriguing question is at the heart of a new study in open-access journal Frontiers in Physiology. The study is the first to examine the incidence of stroke-related hospitalization and death in people living at four different elevations in Ecuador, and includes data gathered over 17 years on more than 100,000 stroke patients. Strikingly, the study finds that people living at higher altitudes have a lower risk of stroke and stroke-related death, and that this protective effect is strongest at between 2,000 and 3,500 meters. ► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) Having the right altitude Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. A stroke typically occurs because of a […]