Learning to navigate social relationships is a skill that is critical for surviving in human societies. For babies and young children, that means learning who they can count on to take care of them.
Jan 20, 2022
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Researchers at the University of Arizona are developing a COVID-19 testing method that uses a smartphone microscope to analyze saliva samples and deliver results in about 10 minutes.
Jan 29, 2021
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Self-conscious about your age? Careful where you spit. UCLA geneticists now can use saliva to reveal how old you are.
Jun 22, 2011
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Recent research from CU Boulder may have finally revealed why humans tend to get sick from airborne viral diseases more often in drier environments.
Feb 23, 2023
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Saliva samples could soon be key to predicting the severity of someone's case of COVID-19, allowing hospitals to triage patients effectively, according to new research from the University of Surrey.
Sep 28, 2022
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A new University of Florida study has found that bacteria in the saliva of college students who reported recent thoughts of suicide differed in significant ways from those found in students who had not experienced recent ...
Aug 25, 2022
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A scientific development from the Tel Aviv and Haifa Universities may facilitate speedy, objective and accurate diagnosis of people suffering from PTSD using saliva samples. As part of the study, the researchers characterized ...
Aug 10, 2022
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At-home COVID-19 tests have become an easy way to self-diagnose. But current tests have drawbacks, such as the length of time it takes to get an answer, or how accurately the test can identify a positive case. And most of ...
Aug 3, 2022
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In the fall of 2020, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign welcomed students back for in-person instruction amid the powerful first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The university successfully maintained operations throughout ...
Jun 9, 2022
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A molecule in mosquito spit has been identified as a potential new target for vaccination against a range of diseases for which there is no protection or medicine.
Jun 8, 2022
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Saliva (also referred to as spit , spittle or slobber) is the watery and usually frothy substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is produced in and secreted from the salivary glands. Human saliva is composed mostly of water, but also includes electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds, and various enzymes. As part of the initial process of food digestion, the enzymes in the saliva break down some of the starch and fat in the food at the molecular level. Saliva also breaks down food caught in the teeth, protecting them from bacteria that cause decay. Furthermore, saliva lubricates and protects the teeth, the tongue, and the tender tissues inside the mouth. Saliva also plays an important role in tasting food by trapping thiols produced from odourless food compounds by anaerobic bacteria living in the mouth.
Various species have evolved special uses for saliva that go beyond predigestion. Some swifts use their gummy saliva to build their nests. Some Aerodramus swiftlet nests are made only from saliva and used to make bird's nest soup. Cobras, vipers, and certain other members of the venom clade hunt with venomous saliva injected by fangs. Some arthropods, such as spiders and caterpillars, create thread from salivary glands.
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