Category: Global News

Researchers have successfully demonstrated a spectrometer that is orders of magnitude smaller than current technologies and can accurately measure wavelengths of light from ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The technology makes it possible to create hand-held spectroscopy devices and holds promise for the development of devices that incorporate an array of…

Regular walking is widely recognized for its significant benefits to overall health and well-being. Previous research has primarily focused on middle-to-high-income White populations. Now, a novel analysis using data from the Southern Community Cohort Study, involving 79,856 predominantly low-income and Black individuals across 12 southeastern US states, confirms the benefits…

High levels of a hormone found in cells in the gut could underlie many cases of chronic diarrhea and help explain up to 40% of cases of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Cambridge. The research, published…

It’s hard to tell when — and why — our ancestors got down from trees and started walking on two legs. Many early hominins capable of bipedal walking were also well-adapted for climbing, and we lack fossil evidence from a key period when climate change turned forests into open, dry…

Electrochemical cells – or batteries, as a well-known example – are complex technologies that combine chemistry, physics, materials science and electronics. More than power sources for everything from smartphones to electric vehicles, they remain a strong motivation for scientific inquiry that seeks to fully understand their structure and evolution at…

Researchers from Columbia Engineering have established a framework for the design of bioactive injectable hydrogels formulated with extracellular vesicles (EVs) for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Published on July 25 in Matter, Santiago Correa, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, and his collaborators describe an injectable hydrogel platform…

Recently, Professor Dong Eon Kim from POSTECH’s Department of Physics and Max Planck Korea-POSTECH Initiative and his research team have succeeded in unraveling for the first time the mystery of the ‘electron tunneling’ process, a core concept in quantum mechanics, and confirmed it through experiments. This study was published in…

Neutrinos are cosmic tricksters, paradoxically hardly there but lethal to stars significantly more massive than the sun. These elementary particles come in three known “flavors”: electron, muon and tau. Whatever the flavor, neutrinos are notoriously slippery, and much about their properties remains mysterious. It is almost impossible to collide neutrinos…

Experts say quantum computing is the future of computers. Unlike conventional computers, quantum computers leverage the properties of quantum physics such as superposition and interference, theoretically outperforming current equipment to an exponential degree. When a quantum computer is able to solve a problem unfeasible for current technologies, this is called…

Frailty is a medically defined condition in older adults that increases vulnerability to everyday stresses, leading to a higher risk of falls, hospitalization and loss of independence. Warning signs of frailty include: Unintentional weight loss Moving slowly Feeling weak Persistent tiredness Low levels of physical activity Because most of these…

From poached to panfried, when it comes to eggs, it’s all sunny side up, as new research from the University of South Australia confirms that this breakfast favourite won’t crack your cholesterol. Long blamed for high cholesterol, eggs have been beaten up for their assumed role in cardiovascular disease (CVD).…

Most people have heard of St John’s Wort and omega-3s. But did you know there are a lot more over-the-counter herbal products and supplements out there targeting depression?In our review of clinical trials of these products, we found 64 different over-the-counter (OTC) products that have been evaluated for depression –…

People with dementia are diagnosed an average of 3.5 years after symptoms are first noticed, or even longer (4.1 years) for those with early-onset dementia, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, is the first systematic review and meta-analysis…

Speeding up chemical reactions is key to improving industrial processes or mitigating unwanted or harmful waste. Realizing these improvements requires that chemists design around documented reaction pathways. Now, a team of Penn State researchers has found that a fundamental reaction called oxidative addition can follow a different path to achieve…

For over a century, the well-known 18-electron rule has guided the field of organometallic chemistry. Now, researchers at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have successfully synthesized a novel organometallic compound that challenges this longstanding principle. They have created a stable 20-electron derivative of ferrocene, an iron-based metal-organic complex,…

Jadarite has been likened to Superman’s ‘kryptonite’ based on their similar chemical compositions. It was discovered in the Jadar Valley of Serbia and officially recognized as a new mineral in 2006. Whilst lacking any actual superpowers, jadarite has great potential as an important resource of lithium and boron. Kryptonite’s twin…

In the same vein as weather forecast models that predict developing storms, researchers now have developed a method to predict the cell activity in tissues over time. The new software combines genomics technologies with computational modeling to predict cell changes in behavior, such as communication between cells that could cause…

Thanks to vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2 in the period 2020-2024 2.533 million deaths were prevented at global level, one death was avoided for every 5,400 doses of vaccine administered. The 82% of the lives saved by vaccines involved people vaccinated before encountering the virus, 57% during the Omicron period, and 90%…

A new study offers the first direct evidence that deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish, which account for up to 94 percent of global fish biomass, excrete carbonate minerals at rates comparable to shallow-water species. The findings validate previous global models suggesting that marine fish are major contributors to biogenic carbonate production in…

UCSF scientists have discovered how microglia engulf and break down amyloid beta, a protein that builds up in Alzheimer’s, with devastating consequences for the brain. In Alzheimer’s disease, proteins like amyloid beta form clumps, known as plaques, that damage the brain. But in some people, immune cells called microglia break…

Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Saudi Arabia) have uncovered a critical molecular cause keeping aqueous rechargeable batteries from becoming a safer, economical option for sustainable energy storage. Their findings, published in Science Advances, reveal how water compromises battery life and performance and how the addition…

New findings from studying over two decades of satellite observations reveal that the Earth’s continents have experienced unprecedented freshwater loss since 2002, driven by climate change, unsustainable groundwater use and extreme droughts. The study, led by Arizona State University and published on July 25 in Science Advances, highlights the emergence of…

A new material developed by researchers from University of Toronto Engineering could offer a safer alternative to the non-stick chemicals commonly used in cookware and other applications. The new substance repels both water and grease about as well as standard non-stick coatings — but it contains much lower amounts of…

When a multimillion-dollar extraterrestrial vehicle gets stuck in soft sand or gravel — as did the Mars rover Spirit in 2009 — Earth-based engineers take over like a virtual tow truck, issuing a series of commands that move its wheels or reverse its course in a delicate, time-consuming effort to…

An analysis of studies incorporating data from almost 30 million people has highlighted the role that air pollution – including that coming from car exhaust emissions – plays in increased risk of dementia. Dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease are estimated to affect more than 57.4 million people worldwide, a number…

A major new study led by the University of Sydney suggests that walking 7000 steps a day offers similar health benefits across several outcomes as walking 10,000. il 7000 steps, at which point the benefits began to taper off A major new study led by the University of Sydney suggests…

The global marine heatwaves (MHWs) of 2023 were unprecedented in their intensity, persistence, and scale, according to a new study. The findings provide insights into the region-specific drivers of these events, linking them to broader changes in the planet’s climate system. They may also portend an emerging climate tipping point.…

Ivermectin administered to the whole population significantly reduces malaria transmission, offering new hope in the fight against the disease. The BOHEMIA trial, the largest study on ivermectin for malaria to date, showed a 26% reduction in new malaria infection on top of existing bed nets, providing strong evidence of ivermectin’s…

Researchers investigating atomic-scale phenomena impacting next-generation electronic and quantum devices have captured the first microscopy images of atomic thermal vibrations, revealing a new type of motion that could reshape the design of quantum technologies and ultrathin electronics. Yichao Zhang, an assistant professor in the University of Maryland Department of Materials…

Stevia may provide more benefits than as a zero-calorie sugar substitute. When fermented with bacteria isolated from banana leaves, stevia extract kills off pancreatic cancer cells but doesn’t harm healthy kidney cells, according to a research team at Hiroshima University. The researchers published their findings in the International Journal of…