Sensing sweetness on a molecular level

Whether it's chocolate cake or pasta sauce, the sensation of sweetness plays a major role in the human diet and the perception of other flavors. While a lot is known about the individual proteins that signal ''sweet,'' not much is known about how the proteins work together as a receptor to accomplish this feat.

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Researchers find college football players' weight gain leads to heart problems

Weight gain and high blood pressure in college football players leads to adverse changes in cardiac structure and function, indicating monitoring and early intervention is needed for this young and otherwise healthy athletic population, according to a new study.

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Prisoner's dilemma game reveals cooperation leads to leadership

Game theory has historically studied cooperation and hierarchy, and has sought to explain why individuals cooperate, even though they might be better off not to do so. Researchers now use a specialized graph to map a social network of cooperators and their neighbors; they discovered cooperators can attract more neighbors to follow their behaviors and are more likely to become leaders, indicating different learning patterns exist between cooperators and defectors.

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Embracing sustainable practices would help some winery tasting rooms stand out

Wineries in the mid-Atlantic region should consider recycling and encouraging their customers to bring bottles to their tasting rooms for refilling to distinguish their businesses from so many others, according to a team of wine-marketing researchers who surveyed consumers.

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First identification of a heavy element born from neutron star collision

For the first time, a freshly made heavy element, strontium, has been detected in space, in the aftermath of a merger of two neutron stars. The detection confirms that the heavier elements in the Universe can form in neutron star mergers, providing a missing piece of the puzzle of chemical element formation.

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Pre-programmed microfluidic systems offer new control capabilities

Researchers have discovered how to pre-program microfluidic systems in a way that controls how fluids flow and mix throughout the micropipes. The result? A step toward smartly designed microfluidic systems that behave like a computer chip without relying on external components.

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Pacifier biosensor could help monitor newborn health

Wearable biosensors that non-invasively monitor health and fitness are growing in popularity among adults. But adapting this technology for use with babies is difficult because the devices are often bulky or have rigid surfaces that could harm infants' delicate skin. Now researchers say they have developed a pacifier-based biosensor that tracks real-time glucose levels in saliva. It could ultimately help diagnose and treat diabetes in the smallest of patients.

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Monitoring the corrosion of bioresorbable magnesium

Researchers have recently been able to monitor the corrosion of bioresorbable magnesium alloys at the nanoscale over a time scale of a few seconds to many hours. This is an important step towards accurately predicting how fast implants are resorbed by the body to enable the development of tailored materials for temporary implant applications.

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