Researcher helps boost immune system memory against influenza

When humans or animals get infected, the body’s immune system tries to not only clear the infection but also build up a memory of the pathogen that caused it. So, when the pathogen comes around again for possible reinfection, the body has an army of memory T cells that can…

Healthy lifestyle can help prevent depression — and new research may explain why

A healthy lifestyle that involves moderate alcohol consumption, a healthy diet, regular physical activity, healthy sleep and frequent social connection, while avoiding smoking and too much sedentary behaviour, reduces the risk of depression, new research has found. In research published today in Nature Mental Health, an international team of researchers,…

Invasive red fire ants spreading in Europe

One of the most invasive species in the world is Solenopsis invicta, a red fire ant species with a painful sting. Native to South America, the ant has established itself across the globe. In an article publishing in the journal Current Biology on September 11, a group of ant experts…

The human lipidome reveals new indicators of health, disease and aging

The sequencing of the human genome promised a revolution in medicine, but scientists soon realized that a genetic blueprint alone does not show the body in action. That required understanding the proteome — all the proteins, expressed by our genes, forming the cellular machinery that performs the bulk of the…

New insights into the development of Parkinson’s disease in the brain

Parkinson’s disease, characterized by various motor dysfunctions, is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. It is known that specific gene mutations that are passed down through families are responsible for some cases of Parkinson’s disease. But now, researchers from Japan have found that this might open the…

Auxin signaling pathway controls root hair formation for nitrogen uptake

Root hairs represent a low-cost strategy to enhance nutrient uptake because they can significantly increase the nutrient-acquiring surface of plant roots. While primary and lateral roots are stimulated to elongate when plants grow under mild nitrogen deficiency, the existence of such a foraging response for root hairs and its underlying…

Hobbies linked to lower depression levels among older people

Having a hobby is linked to fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of happiness, self-reported health and life satisfaction among people aged 65 and over, and this holds true across 16 countries on three continents, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. The study, published…

When electronic health records are hard to use, patient safety may be at risk

New research suggests that hospital electronic health records (EHRs) that are difficult to use are also less likely to catch medical errors that could harm patients. As clinicians navigate EHR systems, alerts, reminders, and clinical guidelines pop up to steer decision making. Yet a common complaint is that these notifications…

The universe caught suppressing cosmic structure growth

As the universe evolves, scientists expect large cosmic structures to grow at a certain rate: dense regions such as galaxy clusters would grow denser, while the void of space would grow emptier. But University of Michigan researchers have discovered that the rate at which these large structures grow is slower…

Wifi can read through walls

Researchers in UC Santa Barbara professor Yasamin Mostofi’s lab have proposed a new foundation that can enable high-quality imaging of still objects with only WiFi signals. Their method uses the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction and the corresponding Keller cones to trace edges of the objects. The technique has also enabled,…

Researchers charting a sustainable course in oceanic carbon capture

As researchers around the world race against time to develop new strategies and technologies to fight climate change, a team of scientists at the University of Houston is exploring one possible way to directly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment: Negative emissions technologies (NETs). Mim Rahimi, assistant…

Antidepressants may reduce negative memories while improving overall memory

New research from Rice University finds that antidepressants may actually reduce negative memories in individuals suffering from depression while improving overall memory function. The study, “Perceived antidepressant efficacy associated with reduced negative and enhanced neutral mnemonic discrimination,” appears in the latest edition of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. It examines how…

Hybrid catalyst produces critical fertilizer and cleans wastewater

Agriculture relies on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which is made using energy- and carbon-intensive processes and creates nitrate-containing runoff. Researchers have long sought solutions to reduce emissions from the industry that accounts for 3% of energy consumption each year. A collaboration between two labs at Northwestern University, partnering with the University…

Webb discovers methane, carbon dioxide in atmosphere of K2-18 b

A new investigation with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide. Webb’s discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet, one which has…

‘A crab is never just a crab’

A herring in the North Sea, a crab in the Wadden Sea or an anemone fish on a coral reef, … biologists like to think in terms of individual species that all have their own place within food webs in ecosystems across the world. “But that is surely too simplistic…

Improving transistor performance through perovskite-cation incorporation

In the movie Avengers, superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor each contribute their unique superpower and charm. When they unite as a team, their synergy becomes a formidable force. This analogy is akin to recent findings in semiconductor research, where collaborations resembling the remarkable teamwork of…

New insights into neutrino interactions

Elusive fundamental particles called neutrinos are predicted to interact unexpectedly with photons under extreme conditions. Research at Hokkaido University has revealed that elusive particles called neutrinos can interact with photons, the fundamental particles of light and other electromagnetic radiation, in ways not previously detected. The findings from Kenzo Ishikawa, Professor…

Researchers make a significant step towards reliably processing quantum information

Using laser light, researchers have developed the most robust method currently known to control individual qubits made of the chemical element barium. The ability to reliably control a qubit is an important achievement for realizing future functional quantum computers. This new method, developed at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for…

Jackdaws switch friends to gain food — but stick with family

Jackdaws ditch old friends and make new ones if it helps them get rewards — but stick with family through thick and thin, new research shows. Scientists from the universities of Exeter and Bristol presented wild jackdaws with a task where access to tasty mealworms depended on which individuals visited…

Scientists find evidence of sea star species hybridization

Scientists have long suspected two species of sea stars — commonly referred to as starfish — along rocky European and North American coastlines of crossbreeding in the cool waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Now, according to recently analyzed genomic data, hybrid starfish are living and thriving, from the shores…

Magnetic whirls pave the way for energy-efficient computing

Researchers of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the University of Konstanz in Germany as well as of Tohoku University in Japan have been able to increase the diffusion of magnetic whirls, so called skyrmions, by a factor of ten. In today’s world, our lives are unimaginable without computers. Up until…

Ceramic tea set glazing affects health benefits of tea, finds new study

Tea contains flavonoids such as catechins, which have numerous health benefits. Now, researchers from Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan, reveal that the glazing on ceramic tea sets plays a crucial role in retaining the beneficial components of tea. By examining the effects of different glazes on the catechin content in…

Archaeologists reveal largest palaeolithic cave art site in Eastern Iberia

Archaeologists have discovered a major Palaeolithic cave art site, arguably the most important found on the Eastern Iberian Coast in Europe. Over a hundred ancient paintings and engravings, thought to be at least 24,000 years old, have been found in a 500 metre-long cave in ‘Cova Dones’ or ‘Cueva Dones’…

Climate change can alter the risk of succumbing to infectious diseases

A new Europe-wide study investigated the prevalence of protozoans, bacteria and viruses potentially pathogenic to humans and domestic animals in birds and bats in varying climatic conditions. The prevalence of many of these pathogens was associated with temperature or rainfall. The new study compiled information on the occurrence of over…

AI can help write a message to a friend — but don’t do it

Using artificial intelligence applications to help craft a message to a friend is not a good idea — at least if your friend finds out about the use of AI, a new study suggests. Researchers found that people in the study perceived that a fictional friend who used AI assistance…