Researchers in Hong Kong will have greater opportunities to share their work with a global audience through a new open access (OA) agreement between the Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC) and Taylor & Francis. The three-year agreement enables researchers at all participating institutions to publish OA articles in over 2,000 Taylor & Francis and Routledge Open Select (hybrid) journals without payment of an OA article publishing charge. Articles will be open on publication and free to access and reuse for readers around the world, ...

Veteran male athletes who have spent years training at high intensity may be at greater risk of serious heart problems while exercising, new University of Leeds research shows.   Published today and funded by the British Heart Foundation, the study shows that male endurance athletes aged over 50 may be more likely to experience abnormal heart rhythms during training if they already have scarring in their heart.   Nine in 10 sudden cardiac deaths during sport occur in older male athletes.  The researchers’ aim ...

“We know the genes, but not their functions.” To resolve this long-standing bottleneck in microbial research, a joint research team has proposed a cutting-edge research strategy that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drastically accelerate the discovery of microbial gene functions. KAIST announced on January 12th that a research team led by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Bernhard Palsson from the Department of Bioengineering at UCSD, has published a comprehensive review paper. The study systematically analyzes and organizes the latest AI-based ...

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a suite of algorithms to automate the counting of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in chromosomes under the microscope. Conventional analysis requires trained personnel and time, with variability between different people. The team’s machine-learning-based algorithm boasts an accuracy of 84% and gives a more objective measurement. This could be a game changer for diagnosing disorders tied to abnormal numbers of SCEs, like Bloom syndrome.   DNA, the blueprint of life for all living organisms, is found packaged inside complex ...

The U.S. boasts more than 4 million miles of rivers, peppered with laws and regulations to protect access to drinking water and essential habitat for fish and wildlife. But in the first comprehensive review of river protection, research co-led by the University of Washington shows that the existing regulations account for less than 20% of total river length and vary widely by region. Freshwater conservation strategies have historically emphasized protections against land use and development on public ...

Professor Zhaohui Tang and Associate Professor Zhilin Liu from the team of Professor Xuesi Chen at the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed  ultrasound-responsive in-situ antigen nanocatchers (S-nanocatchers), achieving precise spatiotemporal capture of tumor antigens and controllable acquisition of in-situ vaccines. This system solves the key problems of traditional antigen-capturing nanocarriers, such as their tendency to non-specifically bind to serum proteins during systemic circulation and their low antigen capture efficiency, providing a novel strategy for personalized tumor ...

Environmental antimicrobial resistance is turning rivers, soils, and even the air into hidden highways for “superbugs,” according to a new review that calls for urgent, coordinated action across human, animal, and environmental health. The authors argue that protecting people from drug resistant infections now depends as much on wastewater plants and farms as it does on hospitals. A growing environmental “superbug” crisis Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria and other microbes evolve the ability to ...

Invisible pollutants in high tech greenhouses may be quietly reshaping the food on our plates and the soil beneath our feet. A new open access review maps how heavy metals, micro and nanoplastics, and antibiotic resistance genes increasingly pile up together in intensive “facility agriculture” and why this triple cocktail demands urgent attention from scientists, farmers, and regulators. The paper reviews composite pollution in facility agriculture, a fast growing form of high yield farming that relies on greenhouses and other controlled environments to produce vegetables and other crops year round. ...

  Earthworms could become unexpected allies in the global fight against antibiotic resistance, by helping farmers turn manure into safer, high-value organic fertilizer through a process called vermicomposting. Researchers report that this low energy, nature-based technology can remove antibiotic resistance genes far more consistently than conventional composting, while also improving soil health and supporting sustainable agriculture. Antibiotic resistance from farm to table The World Health Organization has named antimicrobial resistance one ...

  Artificial intelligence is quietly transforming how scientists monitor and manage invisible biological pollutants in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, and a new review explains how this technological shift could better protect ecosystems and public health.​ In a paper published in the open access journal Biocontaminant, researchers from Nanjing University outline how AI can turn water quality management from a reactive, after the fact process into a proactive early warning and control system for harmful microbes, algal toxins, parasites, and antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments. These living “biocontaminants” are highly ...

Biodegradable plastics are not always safer for rivers and oceans, according to a new study that tracked how different plastics change the risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria over time in a real river. A sharper look at “green” plastics A team from East China Normal University placed common plastics in a tidal river in Shanghai for 88 days to see how they shaped microbial “cities” on their surfaces, known as the plastisphere. The researchers compared a biodegradable plastic, polylactic acid (PLA), with two widely used conventional plastics, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS).​ “Our findings show that biodegradable plastics ...

  A team of agricultural and environmental scientists has developed a simple biochar based technology that can strip self toxic chemicals from pepper growing soils and restore healthy seed germination. The work offers a promising new tool to help farmers overcome “continuous cropping obstacles” that have long plagued high value capsicum production. “Pepper farmers often feel forced to choose between meeting market demand and protecting their soil. Our study shows they do not have to make that trade ...

Planning to save time by doing your shopping online? If so, it’s possible you’re not doing your well-being any favours. A study from Aalto University in Finland has found that online shopping is more strongly linked to stress than reading the news, checking your inbox or watching adult entertainment. The internet can be both a source and a reliever of stress though, according to research –– so do we scroll because we’re stressed, or are we stressed because we scroll? It's a complex problem to unravel, according to doctoral researcher Mohammed Belal. ‘Previous studies have shown ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Someone in the office makes a racially insensitive comment, and a white co-worker asks a Black colleague to help correct the offender. In three studies, a Cornell University researcher found that this kind of maneuver can backfire. In such scenarios, the marginalized person then views the person who asked for their help less favorably – and is less likely to want to associate with them in the future. “A marginalized person’s willingness to get involved in confronting prejudice is much more complicated than simply just trying to reduce prejudice in the workplace,” said Merrick Osborne, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell ...

Using a tiny, acid-tolerant yeast, scientists have demonstrated a cost-effective way to make disposable diapers, microplastics, and acrylic paint more sustainable through biomanufacturing. A key ingredient in those everyday products is acrylic acid, an important industrial chemical that gives disposable diapers their absorbency, makes water-based paints and sealants more weather-proof, improves stain resistance in fabric, and enhances fertilizers and soil treatments. Acrylic acid is converted from a precursor called 3-Hydroxypropanoic acid, or 3-HP, which is made almost exclusively from petroleum through chemical synthesis — an energy-intensive process. ...

Although constipation and diarrhea may seem like opposite problems, they both hinge on the same underlying issue: how much fluid moves into the gut. These common issues affect millions of people in the U.S. each year, yet scientists have not fully understood what regulates intestinal fluid balance. Now, in a new Northwestern University study, scientists have uncovered a key molecular switch that helps control the gut’s “water faucet.” By studying bisacodyl — one of the world’s most widely used laxatives — the research team discovered an ion channel, called TRPM4, acts as a master switch for controlling fluid flow in the intestine. The ...

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have transformed obesity treatment, but maintaining weight loss after the medications stop remains a challenge. George Mason University is leading a new clinical trial that may help people sustain their results.   The university is one of six research sites across the U.S. administering a Phase 2 clinical trial of ARD-201, a novel weight-maintenance drug developed by Aardvark Therapeutics that works differently from existing obesity medications. Unlike injectable medications that drive ...

A new study published in Conservation Biology examines the behavior and distributions of queen conch (Aliger gigas) to guide conservation management for the threatened sea snail. The research, which tracked adult snail movements, suggests that establishing a 330-meter spatial buffer – about the height of the Eiffel Tower by comparison – around breeding areas could help protect conch populations and serve as a practical tool for local management. Queen conch are giant herbivorous marine snails that do not crawl slowly along and leave slime trails. Instead, ...

 Both the new weight loss drugs and bariatric (weight loss) surgery improve body composition in patients with obesity by inducing a moderate loss of fat-free mass (including lean muscle) along with a substantial reduction in fat, researchers at Vanderbilt Health have found.   This is important because while a higher percentage of fat mass (FM) is associated with an elevated risk of mortality from obesity-related diseases, including adverse cardiovascular events, a higher percentage of fat-free mass (FFM) is protective against ...

445 million years ago, life on our planet was forever changed. During a geological blink of an eye, glaciers formed over the supercontinent Gondwana, drying out many of the vast, shallow seas like a sponge and giving us an ‘icehouse climate’ that, together with radically changed ocean chemistry, ultimately caused the extinction of about 85% of all marine species – the majority of life on Earth. In a new Science Advances study, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) ...

Scientists have made a discovery that helps explain why humans and animals are so susceptible to contracting tuberculosis(TB) – and it involves the bacteria harnessing part of the immune system meant to protect against infection. Despite more than 100 years of research, tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest bacterial infections in humans, resulting in 1.5 million deaths each year. Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Infection occurs when the bacteria are inhaled and taken up by specialist immune cells, such as macrophages, ...

Shantou/Turin/Leipzig. Hydroperoxides are strong oxidants that have a significant influence on chemical processes in the atmosphere. Now, an international research team involving the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) has shown that these substances also form from α‑keto acids such as pyruvic acid in clouds, rain and aerosol water when exposed to sunlight. These reactions could be responsible for 5 to 15 percent of the observed atmospheric hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the aqueous phase. This means that the photolysis of α-keto acids has now been identified as another important source of atmospheric oxidants, the researchers ...

Scientists have uncovered a new explanation for how swimming bacteria change direction, providing fresh insight into one of biology’s most intensively studied molecular machines. Bacteria move through liquids using propellerlike tails called flagella, which alternate between clockwise and counterclockwise rotation. For decades, this switching behavior has been attributed to an equilibrium ‘domino effect’ model, in which proteins lining the bacterium’s tail exert pressure on their neighbors, prompting a change in rotational direction. New research in Nature Physics from ...

About 130 years ago, American physician William Coley injected a terminally ill cancer patient with a lethal cocktail of bacteria directly into his tumour. The patient developed a high fever and, miraculously, the tumour completely regressed. Cancer immunotherapy – the use of the immune system to fight cancer – was born. Friend or foe? Our immune system offers us comprehensive protection against many foreign substances, bacteria, viruses and damaged cells. The working principle is simple: it distinguishes ‘self’ from ‘foreign’, i.e., between “healthy” ...

To the point: Tissue engineering the pancreas: Working with three-dimensional pancreatic models (organoids), derived from mouse cells, researchers combined computer simulations with experiments to find out what controls the shape of lumens (fluid-filled cavities) during the development of the pancreas. Proliferation, Pressure, Permeability: The shape of the lumen depends on the balance between the cell proliferation rate and the pressure in the lumen. Low pressure and high proliferation produce more ...