Reporting world updates to you
A new study led by Cambridge University confirms that planting hedges between roadsides and school playgrounds can dramatically reduce children’s exposure to traffic-related particle pollution. The research, a collaboration with Lancaster University, found that hedges can act as protective barriers against air pollution from major city roads by soaking up…
Thousands of people could be spared from a hip fracture each year if a new method to identify the risk of osteoporotic fractures were to be introduced in healthcare. This is the view of the researchers at Lund University in Sweden who are behind a new 3D-simulation method. The results…
The very first life on earth is thought to have developed from “protocells” — liquid mixtures of many different types of molecules. Researchers from the University of Göttingen have now shown that in such mixtures, small imbalances in the number of molecules of different types can have an unexpected effect.…
HIV anti-retroviral therapy is considered a treatment and not a cure because patients usually carry a reservoir of HIV-infected cells that can re-emerge if treatment stops. These reservoirs have long been thought to be dormant, but two independent groups of researchers report in the journal Cell Host & Microbe on…
By mining data from X-ray images, researchers at MIT, Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator, and the Toyota Research Institute have made significant new discoveries about the reactivity of lithium iron phosphate, a material used in batteries for electric cars and in other rechargeable batteries. The new technique has revealed several…
Glue holds the world together. Without adhesives, much of modern human civilization — including our cellphones, cars, furniture, walls and the packages arriving on our doorstep — would simply fall apart. The trouble with all those adhesives is that they are not sustainable. A team of chemists at Purdue University…
The human microbiome includes the genetic material of more than 100 trillion tiny microorganisms — fungi, yeast, bacteria, and even viruses, most of which hang out in our gastrointestinal tract to serve as guardians of our health. But when a healthy microbiome gives way to an imbalance — a “pathobiome”…
CNN — Two Russian warships were damaged after Ukraine launched an extensive assault on a Russian ship repair base in Crimea early Wednesday morning, officials said, in what appears to be Kyiv’s most ambitious strike on the port since the war began. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian armed forces attacked…
Kim Jong Un meets with Vladimir Putin in Amur province, Russia on September 13. Kremlin Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are meeting at a remote space center in Russia’s Far East, where they’re expected to discuss a potential arms deal that could see Pyongyang…
A new paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B used environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to analyze fish and zooplankton communities. The study found that the movement of water between freshwater bodies, or freshwater connectivity, can transport eDNA. This highlights the potential of eDNA to provide a…
An infectious diseases surveillance system created by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists and deployed at a UPMC hospital successfully flagged cases of a drug-resistant infection spread by eye drops months before national public health officials announced an outbreak. The findings, published today in The Journal of Infectious Diseases,…
A group of international astronomers, including researchers from Queen’s University, has identified two potential polar ring galaxies, according to results published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Queen’s researchers Nathan Deg and Kristine Spekkens (Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy) led the analysis of data obtained using…
Fires that raged in the days following the 1 September 1923 magnitude 7.9 Kantō earthquake killed roughly 90% of the 105,000 people who perished in and around Tokyo, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history — comparable to the number of people killed in the World War…
A new study by researchers from the University of Bath (UK) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) shows that flowering plants escaped relatively unscathed from the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Whilst they suffered some species loss, the devastating event helped flowering plants become…
A standard chemotherapy drug injures surrounding non-cancer cells, which can then awakens dormant cancer cells and promotes cancer growth, according to a new study publishing September 12 in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Ramya Ganesan of Emory University, US, and colleagues. The finding is important for understanding cancer…
Growing several plant varieties in the same field for disease resistance is a longstanding agricultural practice, but can have unpredictable results. A study publishing September 12 in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Jean-Benoit Morel at Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, Montpellier, France, and colleagues…
While life expectancy rates for older Americans are rising, nearly 40% of adults report living with a digestive disease of some kind. “Many people don’t realize that these conditions are very common in ambulatory care,” said Michigan Medicine gastroenterologist Shirley Ann Cohen-Mekelburg, M.D., who specializes in conditions like inflammatory bowel…
DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “Charging ahead: New electrolyte goes extra mile for faster EV charging.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 September 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230912165717.htm>. DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (2023, September 12). Charging ahead: New electrolyte goes extra mile for faster EV charging. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 12, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230912165717.htm DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory.…
Pneumonia is an infection of the lung alveoli caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. It is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, representing a clinical and economic burden and a global public health problem. The microbial ecosystem (or microbiome) of the human respiratory tract colonizes different…
Researchers have developed a non-invasive method for mapping the human auditory pathway, which could potentially be used as a tool to help clinicians decide the best surgical strategy for patients with profound hearing loss. The findings, published today in eLife, highlight the importance of early interventions to give patients the…
A University of Massachusetts Amherst resource economist finds mandated in-school Body Mass Index (BMI) assessments adopted in varying forms by 24 states to combat childhood obesity have the potential to improve the health of some students while introducing body-image issues for others. The research is believed to be the first…
Researchers have produced a comprehensive picture of insulin signalling in mice and suggest that it is shaped by entangled effects of genetics and diet. The research, published today as a Reviewed Preprint in eLife, is described by the editors as a fundamental study of substantial importance. They say the authors…
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neurological disorder characterized by repeated behaviors such as cleaning and checking despite clear objective evidence of cleanliness, orderliness, and correctness. Although the disease is often mischaracterized as a disorder of “fussiness,” the disorder actually stems from difficulty in processing uncertainty. However, the neural underpinnings of…
A review of COVID-19 studies globally has revealed reductions in breast cancer screening participation during 2020, with differences between geographic regions and healthcare settings. The findings, published today in eLife, suggest the need for continued monitoring of access to breast cancer screening and early diagnosis services, to help identify if…
Through study findings published Friday in Cell Reports, a team of scientists at VCU Massey Cancer Center discovered a previously unknown interaction between proteins that is responsible for supplying energy to tumor cells and could hold significant implications for the development of future treatments for colon cancer. “This study is…
Data from wearable health trackers uncover treatment strategies that otherwise might have gone underutilized. Advanced patients would benefit from medication formulations that increase dosing frequency and more efficiently integrates extended-release tablets. The model finds that with a recommended medication strategy using data from wearable sensors, patients could spend almost twice…
CNN — A zookeeper in Austria has died and another has been seriously injured after being attacked by a rhino, Salzburg police said on Tuesday. The rhino attacked a 33-year-old female animal keeper while she attended to her early morning work in the animal’s enclosure at Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo, police…
Australian researchers have uncovered new genetic insights into Staphylococcus aureus, revealing what makes the bacterium so dangerous when it enters the blood. While common, Staphylococcus aureus infections — known as Golden staph — can be life-threatening if the bacteria enter the bloodstream, causing sepsis. Golden staph is notorious for its…
New research co-led by Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia shows that amplified global warming in the Canadian High Arctic drove a profound shift in the structure of a river network carved into a permafrost landscape in only 60 years. Documenting a powerful interplay among climate change,…
Researchers have invented a nano-thin superbug-slaying material that could one day be integrated into wound dressings and implants to prevent or heal bacterial infections. The innovation — which has undergone advanced pre-clinical trials — is effective against a broad range of drug-resistant bacterial cells, including ‘golden staph’, which are commonly…
