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Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have gained unique insight into the mechanisms behind the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves, which are crucial for sea level rise in the Northern Hemisphere. The discovery of old aerial photos has provided an unparalleled dataset that can improve predictions of sea level rise…
Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks – essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate ‘rocks’…
Dementia poses a major health challenge with no safe, affordable treatments to slow its progression. Researchers at Lawson Research Institute (Lawson), the research arm of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, are investigating whether Ambroxol — a cough medicine used safely for decades in Europe — can slow dementia in people…
In Japan, Shinrin Yoku or forest bathing has already been used for therapeutic applications, for instance, to lower blood pressure and stress levels. For their study, the researchers wanted to find out whether forest bathing – consciously immersing oneself in nature – can also be effective when done virtually, and…
An international research team led by scientists from the University of Vienna has uncovered new insights into how specialized cell types and communication networks at the interface between mother and fetus evolved over millions of years. These discoveries shed light on one of nature’s most remarkable innovations – the ability…
The Mamyshev oscillator (MO) is a type of fiber laser capable of producing high-energy laser pulses at a tunable repetition rate. It is a mode-locked laser which uses light travelling within a closed-loop cavity to produce laser emission. Harmonic mode-locking (HML) is an advanced form of mode-locking process where multiple…
In a new study, researchers demonstrated long-term, non-invasive monitoring of blood sodium levels using a system that combines optoacoustic detection with terahertz spectroscopy. Accurate measurement of blood sodium is essential for diagnosing and managing conditions such as dehydration, kidney disease and certain neurological and endocrine disorders. Terahertz radiation, which falls…
Natural crystals fascinate with their vibrant colors, their nearly flawless appearance and their manifold symmetrical forms. But researchers are interested in them for quite different reasons: among the countless minerals already known, they always discover some materials with unusual magnetic properties. One of these is atacamite, which exhibits magnetocaloric behavior…
Groundbreaking research by the University of Sydney has identified a new brain protein involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease and a way to modify it, paving the way for future treatments for the disease. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurological condition after dementia, with over 150,000 people…
These findings highlight the significance of rearing behavior and behavioral lateralization as potential behavioral markers for tracking the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Source link
Hearing loss doesn’t just affect how people hear the world — it can also change how they connect with it. A new study from the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, part of Keck Medicine of USC, published today in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck…
For years, scientists have debated whether a giant thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest ice ages. Now a new study published in Science Advances, challenges this idea as the research team found no evidence for the presence of a massive ~1km ice shelf. Instead,…
Imagine the magnificent glaciers of Greenland, the eternal snow of the Tibetan high mountains, and the permanently ice-cold groundwater in Finland. As cold and beautiful these are, for the structural biologist Kirill Kovalev, they are more importantly home to unusual molecules that could control brain cells’ activity. Kovalev, EIPOD Postdoctoral…
Researchers from Penn and Arizona State University pinpoint a lone five-particle package (a 5-plet) that could upend string theory by detecting it at the Large Hadron Collider. “Ghost” tracks that vanish mid-flight may be the smoking gun physicists are chasing. Early data squeeze the search window, but the next collider…
University of Sydney researchers have harnessed human-made lightning to develop a more efficient method of generating ammonia – one of the world’s most important chemicals. Ammonia is also the main ingredient of fertilizers that account for almost half of all global food production. The team have successfully developed a more…
Mice taught to link smells with tastes, and later fear, revealed how the amygdala teams up with cortical regions to let the brain draw powerful indirect connections. Disabling this circuit erased the links, hinting that similar pathways in humans could underlie disorders like PTSD and psychosis, and might be tuned…
A new study from the University of Bath’s School of Management has found that individuals with a higher IQ make more realistic predictions, which supports better decision-making and can lead to improved life outcomes. The research, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, shows that people with a…
A study in the journal Science presents compelling new evidence that neurons in the brain’s memory centre, the hippocampus, continue to form well into late adulthood. The research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden provides answers to a fundamental and long-debated question about the human brain’s adaptability. The hippocampus is a…
The researchers induced the senescent-like state in worms by manipulating the transcription factor TFEB. Under normal conditions, worms subjected to long-term fasting followed by refeeding regenerate and appear rejuvenated. However, in the absence of TFEB, the worm’s stem cells fail to recover from the fasting period and instead enter a…
The COVID pandemic illustrated how urgently we need antiviral medications capable of treating coronavirus infections. To aid this effort, researchers quickly homed in on part of SARS-Cov-2’s molecular structure known as the NiRAN domain — an enzyme region essential to viral replication that’s common to many coronaviruses. A drug targeting…
Washington State University researchers have discovered how the bacteria that cause anaplasmosis and Lyme disease hijack cellular processes in ticks to ensure their survival and spread to new hosts, including humans. Based in the College of Veterinary Medicine, the team found that the bacteria can manipulate a protein known as…
Ecologists are concerned that forest ecosystems will not keep pace with a rapidly changing climate, failing to remain healthy and productive. Before the rapid climate change of the past century, tree populations in the Northern Hemisphere adapted to colder and warmer periods over thousands of years. During onsets of Ice…
The future of smashed avocado might depend on patches of native vegetation preserved alongside farmland, as new Curtin research reveals the hidden role of these habitats in supporting the insects that keep crops — and brunch menus — thriving. The research, published this week, found that insect communities in avocado…
Putting the brakes on an enzyme might rescue neurons that are dying due to a type of Parkinson’s disease that’s caused by a single genetic mutation, according to a new Stanford Medicine-led study conducted in mice. The genetic mutation causes an enzyme called leucine-rich repeat kinase 2, or LRRK2, to…
A new AI model is much better than doctors at identifying patients likely to experience cardiac arrest. The linchpin is the system’s ability to analyze long-underused heart imaging, alongside a full spectrum of medical records, to reveal previously hidden information about a patient’s heart health. The federally-funded work, led by…
Researchers using cardiac MRI have found that long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with early signs of heart damage, according to a study that was published today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The research indicates that fine particulate matter in the air…
Trees in tropical forests are dying at an increased rate, with consequences for biodiversity, carbon storage, and the global climate. While deforestation is the primary cause of forest loss, intact forests are also experiencing a rise in tree death. Drought, higher temperatures, and fires have been the leading suspects, but…
The collapse of tropical forests during Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event was the primary cause of the prolonged global warming which followed, according to new research. The Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction – sometimes referred to as the “Great Dying,” happened around 252 million years ago, leading to the massive loss of…
Cancer cells have the capacity to multiply rapidly. The aggressive cancer cells undergo conversion from their tightly connected epithelial state into a mesenchymal state, which lacks contact restrictions and spreads easily to other parts of the body. Such epithelial-to-mesenchymal plasticity also makes the cancer cells resistant to elimination by anticancer…
Using nuclear magnetic resonance, researchers at ETH Zurich have studied the atomic environments of single platinum atoms in solid supports as well as their spatial orientation. In the future, this method can be used to optimize the production of single-atom catalysts. Catalysis — the acceleration of a chemical reaction by…
