(Press-News.org) The NSF Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks team, of which Professor Jian Ping Gong of the Faculty of Advanced Life Science and the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD) at Hokkaido University is a member, has won a Horizon Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)’s Prizes portfolio is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world, recognizing achievements by individuals, teams and organizations in advancing the chemical sciences. They reward those undertaking excellent work in the chemical sciences from across the world. The NSF Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks team, including Professor Gong and Professor Michael Rubinstein of Hokkaido University’s ICReDD, was awarded for demonstrating the potential and impact of embedded mechanochemical reactivity on the mechanical limits of cross-linked polymer networks.
The tread of a tire or an artificial heart valve eventually wears out due to repeated use. The team took a creative view to understanding and addressing how stretchy materials eventually break down. The key, it turns out, is to trigger small chemical reactions within the material while it is in use. When the right chemistry is used, what happens in individual chemical bonds dramatically influences the mechanical limits of the material it is embedded within. In one example, the rate at which a material tears can be slowed by roughly 100-fold, opening the way for technological advances.
“I am delighted to collaborate with so many excellent people and receive this prize from the RSC,” said Professor Gong. “My role is to contribute my expertise in double-network materials. Through this collaboration, I realized that some new phenomena could not be understood by my previous expertise. This motivated me to pursue further research on the topic for a better design of the chemistry and polymer network structure.”
"Complex modern day problems can only be solved by highly interdisciplinary teams. The NSF Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks is an example of such a team consisting of scientists with different expertise effectively working together designing networks and gels with amazing properties,” commented Prof. Rubinstein. “I enjoy working in such an interdisciplinary environment learning from different views on important scientific problems. In particular, I had the privilege of collaborating with Prof. Jian Ping Gong, the world’s top expert on polymer gels whose research revolutionized the field and made our progress in it and recent discoveries possible."
Dr. Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said, “The chemical sciences cover a rich and diverse collection of disciplines, from fundamental understanding of materials and the living world to applications in medicine, sustainability, technology and more. By working together across borders and disciplines, chemists are finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”
“Our prize winners come from a vast array of backgrounds, all contributing in different ways to our knowledge-base and bringing fresh ideas and innovations. We recognise chemical scientists from every career stage and every role type, including those who contribute to the RSC’s work as volunteers. We celebrate winners from both industry and academia, as well as individuals, teams, and the science itself.”
“Their passion, dedication and brilliance are an inspiration. I extend my warmest congratulations to them all.”
END
Hokkaido University scientist recognized in award from the Royal Society of Chemistry
2024-06-12
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Cocaine trafficking threatens critical bird habitats
2024-06-12
ITHACA, N.Y. – In addition to its human consequences, cocaine trafficking harms the environment and threatens habitats important to dozens of species of migratory birds, according to a new study.
Two-thirds of the areas that are most important to forest birds – including 67 species of migratory birds that breed in the U.S. and Canada and overwinter in Central America – are at increased risk from cocaine trafficking activities, according to the study, “Intersection of Narco-Trafficking, Enforcement and Bird Conservation ...
Humans are the elephant in the room where conservation is debated
2024-06-12
Humans are outsized actors in the world’s wild places where there are struggles to preserve and protect vital natural resources and animals, birds and plants. Yet people and their plus-sized footprint are rarely discussed in models seeking to predict and plan for trajectories of endangered species.
Sustainability scholars at Michigan State University in this week’s journal Nature Ecology and Evolution reveal the decades-long gaps in research and propose a new way of creating accurate visions for endangered species.
To map and predict species ...
No bones about it: 100-million-year-old bones reveal new species of pterosaur
2024-06-12
New Curtin University-led research has identified 100-million-year-old fossilised bones discovered in western Queensland as belonging to a newly identified species of pterosaur, which was a formidable flying reptile that lived among the dinosaurs.
Unearthed in 2021 by Kronosaurus Korner museum curator Kevin Petersen, the fossilised remains have been found to belong to Haliskia peterseni, a new genus and species of anhanguerian pterosaur.
Based on the shape of its skull, arrangement of teeth and shape of the shoulder bone, a research team led by ...
City of Hope CAR T cell therapy for advanced prostate cancer demonstrates positive results in phase 1 clinical trial
2024-06-12
City of Hope CAR T cell therapy for advanced prostate cancer demonstrates positive results in phase 1 clinical trial
• Trial results published today in Nature Medicine
• A phase 1b trial using the same CAR T cell therapy has opened
LOS ANGELES — Treating prostate cancer with immunotherapy is currently difficult to do. But results from a first in-human phase 1 trial using a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy developed by researchers from City of Hope®, ...
Exposure to heat and cold in early life may affect development of white matter in the brain
2024-06-12
Barcelona, 12 June 2024 (EMBARGOED) -. Brain scans of more than 2,000 preadolescents suggests that early life exposure to heat and cold may have lasting effects on the microstructure of white matter in the brain, especially when living in poorer neighbourhoods. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, highlights the vulnerability of foetuses and children to extreme temperatures. This research has been led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation, and IDIBELL, in collaboration with the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam ...
The role of biodiversity in mitigating rapid loss of plant community stability in drylands during changing climate
2024-06-12
An international research team undertook a study of plants in the Mongolian grasslands to evaluate the stability of these plant communities over time. They specifically looked at how the dryness of the climate impacted the plant communities and determined that the stability of the plant communities decreased more rapidly in more arid areas. This research helps in the development of effective management strategies that promote stable ecosystems in a time of changing climate.
The research is published in the journal Global Change Biology on June 12, 2024.
Scientists know that climate change affects the way biodiversity influences the stability of plant ...
Continuous vs intermittent β-lactam antibiotic infusions in critically ill patients with sepsis
2024-06-12
About The Study: The observed difference in 90-day mortality between continuous versus intermittent infusions of β-lactam antibiotics did not meet statistical significance in the primary analysis. However, the confidence interval around the effect estimate includes the possibility of both no important effect and a clinically important benefit in the use of continuous infusions in this group of patients.
Quote from corresponding author Joel M. Dulhunty, M.D., Ph.D.:
“The BLING III trial provides important evidence to guide antibiotic management and improve outcomes for patients with sepsis. This large randomized clinical trial involved over ...
Prolonged vs intermittent infusions of β-lactam antibiotics in adults with sepsis or septic shock
2024-06-12
About The Study: Among adults in the intensive care unit who had sepsis or septic shock, the use of prolonged β-lactam antibiotic infusions was associated with a reduced risk of 90-day mortality compared with intermittent infusions. The current evidence presents a high degree of certainty for clinicians to consider prolonged infusions as a standard of care in the management of sepsis and septic shock.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jason A. Roberts, B.Pharm., Ph.D., email j.roberts@uq.edu.au.
To ...
Does inflammation in mid-life affect late-life mobility?
2024-06-12
In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, having high inflammation in mid-life was associated with a clinically meaningful slower gait speed—an indicator of mobility—20 years later.
In the study, which included 4,758 community-dwelling adults, the link between high inflammation and slower late-life gait speed was especially strong for people with sustained high inflammation over the 20-plus years of follow-up. The association was evident even among the healthiest adults who never experienced other common conditions such as obesity, hypertension, ...
Does children’s sensitivity to their parents’ praise affect their future mental health?
2024-06-12
A new study published in Developmental Science found that children who were more positively sensitive to their parents’ praise when they were 3 years old had fewer behavioral and emotional problems when they were 5–7 years old. Children whose behavior did not depend on their mood also had fewer behavioral and emotional problems later.
For the study, which involved 60 children, parents sent in videos of their 3-year-olds brushing their teeth each night across 16 days. Toothbrushing time served as a measure of child behavior. Investigators also noted the amount of ...