AI-aided search for single-atom-alloy catalysts yields more than 200 promising candidates

Scientists have successfully treated flies displaying behavioural problems linked to newly discovered schizophrenia-associated genes in humans, using common anti-psychotics. Schizophrenia is a severe long-term mental health condition that is historically poorly understood and treated. It is relatively common, affecting one to two per cent of the population, and is known to be up to 80 per cent genetic in origin. Recent advances in sequencing genomes of people with schizophrenia have identified a list of novel genes and mutations associated with the disease. Many ...

NEW YORK, NY (May 19, 2021)--A new study from Columbia University and an international team of researchers identifies multiple ways to achieve the same health benefits from exercise--as long as the exercise "cocktail" includes plenty of light physical activity. "For decades, we've been telling people that the way to stay healthy is to get at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week," says Keith Diaz, PhD, assistant professor of behavioral medicine and director of the exercise testing laboratory at the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. "But even if you're one of the few adults who can stick to this advice, 30 minutes represents ...

The work was conducted under the auspices of the Russian Science Foundation; the project "Synthesis and research of a new class of nanocomposite ceramics with degenerate dielectric constant for optoplasmonic applications" is headed by Professor Sergey Kharintsev (KFU's Institute of Physics). Professor Kharintsev, the first co-author, comments, "Under the influence of light, collective oscillations of electrons can be excited in metallic nanostructures, and as a result the electric field in the vicinity of the nanostructures strongly increases. The field of physics that studies the effects of generation and propagation of such electromagnetic excitations is ...

Computed tomography -- CT scanning -- which combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around an organism and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images of its bones, is providing new insight into an old initiative to characterize fishes in Africa's Lake Malawi. The process, demonstrated in a new study using the high-resolution X-ray computer system in Penn State's Center for Quantitative X-Ray Imaging, is important because it will lead to the identification and management of more of the fish species in Africa's second largest lake, according to lead researcher Jay Stauffer Jr., distinguished professor of ichthyology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. "Before they can effectively ...

"I think you're on mute." This was the most-used phrase of 2020, according to Human Resources Online. Emblazoned on T-shirts and embossed on coffee-mugs, we used the meme to make fun of ourselves while learning video-conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft's Teams. But for the more than 7 million Americans who suffer from vocal disorders, not being heard is a serious matter. Many people who have normal speaking skills have great difficulty communicating when their voice box, the larynx, fails. This can occur if the vocal cords, the two bands of smooth muscle tissue in the larynx, suffer damage from an accident, surgical procedure, viral infection or cancer. There is no replacement for the ...

SARS-CoV-2 has evolved to acquire mutations on the spike protein--the part of the virus that protrudes from its surface and latches onto cells to infect them--that enhance the coronavirus' ability to bind to human cells or evade antibodies. A new study from the Centers for Genomics and Systems Biology at New York University and NYU Abu Dhabi uses computational modeling to assess the biological significance of spike protein mutations, uncovering versions of the virus that bind more tightly or resist antibodies and offering a promising public health surveillance tool. The study, which appears in the Journal of Molecular Biology, also suggests that these mutations on the spike protein are a key ...

Press release - ESE statement: COVID-19 and endocrine and metabolic diseases. An updated statement from the European Society of Endocrinology New expert statement confirms strong links between our hormones and COVID-19 The endocrine system is strongly involved in SARS-Cov-2 infection - so much so that evidence of an "endocrine phenotype" of COVID-19 has emerged, according to a statement by the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) published in the journal Endocrine in April 2021. Leading endocrinology researchers looked into the evidence that has accumulated over the past year since the pandemic emerged, and consistently found evidence ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- The field of mathematical topology is often described in terms of donuts and pretzels. To most of us, the two differ in the way they taste or in their compatibility with morning coffee. But to a topologist, the only difference between the two is that one has a single hole and the other has three. There's no way to stretch or contort a donut to make it look like a pretzel -- at least not without ripping it or pasting different parts together, both of which are verboten in topology. The different number of holes make two shapes that are fundamentally, inexorably different. In recent years, researchers have drawn on mathematical topology to help explain a range of phenomena like phase transitions in matter, aspects of Earth's climate and even how zebrafish ...

One-quarter to one-third of young, active patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction experience a second ACL injury after they return to sport (RTS). New research indicates that young athletes who feel confident about their knee health at the time of medical clearance for sports participation after ACL surgery have a higher likelihood of meeting all RTS criteria related to physical function but also have a higher likelihood of experiencing a second ACL injury within 2 years after RTS. The study, which included 159 participants with an average age of 17 years, is published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. "These data suggest that as health care providers, we may need to re-evaluate the tools we currently use to determine readiness to return ...

The rhythmic motions of hair-like cilia move liquids around cells or propel the cells themselves. In nature, cilia flap independently, and mimicking these movements with artificial materials requires complex mechanisms. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have made artificial cilia that move in a wave-like fashion when a rotating magnetic field is applied, making them suitable for versatile, climbing soft robots and microfluidic devices. Watch a video of the artificial cilia here. Replicating movements found in nature -- for example, the small, whip-like movements of cilia -- could ...