The surprising origin of a deadly hospital infection

Hospital staff spend a significant amount of time working to protect patients from acquiring infections while they are being cared for in the hospital. They employ various methods from hand hygiene to isolation rooms to rigorous environmental sanitation. Despite these efforts, hospital-onset infections still occur — the most common of…

New findings suggest Moon may have less water than previously thought

A team including Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Raluca Rufu recently calculated that most of the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) are at most around 3.4 billion years old and can contain relatively young deposits of water ice. Water resources are considered key for sustainable exploration of the Moon and beyond,…

Study finds significant chemical exposures in women with cancer

In a sign that exposure to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be playing a role in cancers of the breast, ovary, skin and uterus, researchers have found that people who developed those cancers have significantly higher levels of these chemicals in their bodies. While it does not prove that exposure to…

What is the carbon footprint of a hospital bed?

Researchers from the University of Waterloo completed the first-ever assessment of a Canadian hospital to reveal its total environmental footprint and specific carbon emission hotspots. Studying a hospital in British Columbia during its 2019 fiscal year, the researchers identified energy and water use and purchasing of medical products as the…

New clues to the nature of elusive dark matter

A team of international researchers, led by experts at the University of Adelaide, has uncovered further clues in the quest for insights into the nature of dark matter. “Dark matter makes up 84 per cent of the matter in the universe but we know very little about it,” said Professor…

Golden future for thermoelectrics

Thermoelectrics enable the direct conversion of heat into electrical energy — and vice versa. This makes them interesting for a range of technological applications. In the search for thermoelectric materials with the best possible properties, a research team at TU Wien investigated various metallic alloys. A mixture of nickel and…

‘Circular logic’ of RNAs in Parkinson’s disease

Researchers are gaining new insights into neurological diseases by studying circular RNAs (circRNAs) in brain cells. A new study by investigators from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, identified over 11,000 distinct RNA circles that characterized brain cells implicated in Parkinson’s…

Engineered compound shows promise in preventing bone loss in space

A new study published in a Nature Partner Journal, npj Microgravity, finds an engineered compound given to mice aboard the International Space Station (ISS) largely prevented the bone loss associated with time spent in space. The study, led by a transdisciplinary team of professors at the University of California at…

That smell: New gut microbe produces smelly toxic gas but protects against pathogens

An international team of scientists led by microbiologist Alexander Loy from the University of Vienna has discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have…

Autoimmune diseases: Protein discovered as potential new target for therapies

Autoimmune diseases are complex illnesses, the causes of which are diverse and have not yet been fully explained. A research team at MedUni Vienna has now discovered an immunoregulatory protein that could be linked to the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The identified component of the immune…

What the French Revolution can teach us about inflation

More than 200 years later, historians are still gleaning some unexpected insights from the French Revolution — not about tyranny or liberty — but rather, inflation. “Revolutionary France experienced the first modern hyperinflation,” said Louis Rouanet, Ph.D., assistant professor at The University of Texas at El Paso. “Although it happened…

Pearl Harbor: Bombed battleships’ boost for climate science

Weather data from several ships bombed by Japanese pilots at Pearl Harbor has been recovered in a rescue mission that will help scientists understand how the global climate is changing. Crew members aboard various vessels — such as the USS Pennsylvania and the USS Tennessee — died when their battleships…

Study shows nearly 300% increase in ADHD medication errors

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders. In 2019, nearly 10% of United States (U.S.) children had a diagnosis of ADHD. Approximately 3.3 million children, or roughly 5 out of every 100 children in the U.S., are currently prescribed medication for ADHD. In a new study,…

Guidelines follow advances in ALS gene discovery, ongoing gene therapy trials

Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine led the creation of evidence-based consensus guidelines for genetic testing and counseling for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that affects the cells in the brain and spine. These evidence-based, consensus guidelines provide clinicians…

Unlocking urban diversity: The magnetism of complex amenities

Diversity fuels prosperity in cities, but where do people from diverse backgrounds meet? A study from the Complexity Science Hub now indicates that locations offering a range of rare shops and services may hold the key. Extensive research consistently underscores a common factor in successful cities: diversity. Encouraging interactions between…

Atomic layer deposition route to scalable, electronic-grade van der Waals Te thin films

A research team, led by Professor Joonki Suh in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Engineering at UNIST, has made a significant breakthrough in thin film deposition technology. By employing an innovative atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, Professor Seo successfully…

EXPLAINED: How your Italian pension works

If you work in Italy you’ll pay a chunk of your income every month towards a pension – but how does the Italian pension system work, and what should you know when planning your retirement? Source link

Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine, Zelensky UNGA appearance

Ukraine has recaptured the key village of Klishchiivka in the Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday. The area southwest of Bakhmut was a focus for Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the east throughout the summer. Follow for live updates. Source link

Early treatment of child obesity is effective

The early treatment of obesity in children is effective in both the short and long term, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report in a study published in The International Journal of Obesity. The researchers followed over 170 young children in Sweden who had received treatment for diagnosed obesity. The children were…

Brain-altering parasite turns ants into zombies at dawn and dusk

It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to the tops of blades of grass where they can be eaten by cattle and deer. The common liver fluke has an exceptional life cycle as it moves through snails, ants and grass-grazing herbivores. And now, researchers from the…