New Research Sheds Light on Potentially Negative Effects of Cannabis

 Overbaked: assessing and predicting acute adverse reactions to CannabisJournal of Cannabis Research, 2020; 2 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s42238-019-0013-x

Coughing fits, anxiety and paranoia are three of the most common adverse reactions to cannabis, according to a recent study by Washington State University researchers. They surveyed > 1,500 college students on the type and frequency of adverse reactions they had experienced while using cannabis for their study in the Journal of Cannabis Research. They also collected information on the students’ demographics, personality traits, cannabis use patterns and motives for using the drug.

“There’s been surprisingly little research on the prevalence or frequency of various adverse reactions to cannabis and almost no research trying to predict wh...

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Reusable Respirators may be a suitable Alternative to Disposable Respirators

A reusable respirator on a table
credit: NIOSH / CDC
A reusable respirator.

Researchers have found that reusable respirators may be a suitable alternative to disposable N95 respirators currently in high demand. Shortages of respiratory protective devices for healthcare personnel are major concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Emory University, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that reusable respirators may be a suitable alternative to disposable N95 respirators currently in high demand. The study appears in the journal JAMA.

“Training and fit testing healthcare providers on respirators can be time consuming, a...

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ALMA resolves Gas impacted by Young Jets from Supermassive Black Hole

Reconstructed images of what MG J0414+0534 would look like if gravitational lensing effects were turned off. The emissions from dust and ionized gas around a quasar are shown in red. The emissions from carbon monoxide gas are shown in green, which have a bipolar structure along the jets.
Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), K. T. Inoue et al.

Astronomers obtained the first resolved image of disturbed gaseous clouds in a galaxy 11 billion light-years away by using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The team found that the disruption is caused by young powerful jets ejected from a supermassive black hole residing at the center of the host galaxy. This result will cast light on the mystery of the evolutionary process of galaxies in the early Universe.

It is commonly k...

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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Is The Inspiration We Need Right Now

Color image of a black metal plaque, depicting line art of the Earth, Mars, and the Sun, on a strut on a Mars rover.
The plaque offers a stylistic nod to the Voyager record covers and the Pioneer plates.
NASA

NASA’s Perseverance rover is on track to launch this summer, and when it does, it will carry the names of nearly 11 million people to Mars.

Earlier this month, as communities around the country locked themselves down in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, a team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida started the process of packing the rover for launch. They lowered and locked the rover’s mast, stowed away its robotic arm, and retracted its wheels. But first, they fixed the rover up with the ultimate vanity license plate.

Last year, NASA asked people around the world to submit their names to its “Send Your Name to Mars” program, and 10,932,295 people responded...

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