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Breakthrough MEMS Huygens clock improves timekeeping precision and stability
Science

Breakthrough MEMS Huygens clock improves timekeeping precision and stability

In a significant development for the miniaturization of electronic devices, a new study published in Engineering has reported the creation of a Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) clock that offers improved precision and stability. The clock, which utilizes the synchronization principle discovered by the Christiaan Huygens, consists of two synchronized MEMS oscillators and a frequency compensation system. The research details how the MEMS Huygens clock enhances short-time stability, with the Allan deviation – a measure of the clock’s accuracy over time – improving by a factor of 3.73 from 19.3 ppb to 5.17 ppb at 1 second. The clock's long-term ...

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Transparent organic–inorganic hybrid photoresist with highly tunable refractive index for advanced display
Science

Transparent organic–inorganic hybrid photoresist with highly tunable refractive index for advanced display

Researchers at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) and BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. (BOE) have developed a novel type of transparent organic–inorganic hybrid photoresist with highly tunable refractive index. The study published in Engineering presents the synthesis of transparent photoresist made of titanium dioxide nanoparticle-embedded acrylic resin with a tunable refractive index of up to 2.0 (589 nm) after being cured by ultraviolet (UV) light, while maintaining both a high transparency of over 98% in the visible ...

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Science

Retraction notice of previously press released research

The research “Acupuncture for low back and/or pelvic pain during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials,” published in the open access journal BMJ Open in 2022, has been retracted. This research was press released in November 2022 under the title of “Acupuncture can relieve lower back/pelvic pain often experienced during pregnancy.” Following publication of the research, various issues concerning its design and reporting methods came to light, none of which ...

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Painful truth about knee osteoarthritis: Why inactivity may be more complex than we think
Science

Painful truth about knee osteoarthritis: Why inactivity may be more complex than we think

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of pain and joint stiffness. And while physical activity is known to ease symptoms, only one in 10 people regularly exercise. Understanding what contributes to patients’ inactivity is the focus of a world first study from the University of South Australia. Here, researchers have found that people with knee OA unconsciously believe that activity may be dangerous to their condition, despite medical advice telling them otherwise. The study found that of those surveyed, 69% of people with knee pain had stronger implicit (unconscious) beliefs that exercise ...

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New study explores the sun’s effects on the skin microbiome – it can create a damaged skin barrier

The impact of solar radiation on skin has long been understood but what about UV’s effects on our skin's hidden world – its microbiome? An article from American Society for Photobiology’s journal delved into existing knowledge on solar radiation’s impact on the skin microbiome and proposed innovative sun protection methods that safeguard both skin integrity and microbiome balance. Experts offered insights into novel sun protection products designed to shield the skin and mitigate the effects of solar ...

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States declare May 17 as NEC Awareness Day
Science

States declare May 17 as NEC Awareness Day

The NEC Society is leading the way toward a world without necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a complex and often deadly intestinal disease affecting the most vulnerable infants. By bringing together families and elected officials, the NEC Society is raising the profile of this devastating neonatal disease. States nationwide have championed NEC Awareness Day Resolutions to recognize May 17. The NEC Society’s families have partnered with elected officials to declare May 17 NEC Awareness Day in California, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, and Utah, bringing much-needed attention to this leading cause ...

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Texas A&M receives grant from Inflation Reduction Act
Science

Texas A&M receives grant from Inflation Reduction Act

Texas A&M has been announced as a recipient of a $1.5 million grant from the Inflation Reduction Act to address climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons. The grant is among the five projects funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) totaling $15 million and includes three other universities: the University of Washington, Drexel University and the University of California- Riverside, along with the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute. Dr. Faruque Hasan, associate ...

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Texas A&M researcher receives grant for work on phase separation
Science

Texas A&M researcher receives grant for work on phase separation

Chemical engineering professor Dr. Jeetain Mittal has received a National Institutes of Health grant to support his work on phase separation. Mittal’s research focuses on developing a multiscale computational framework to investigate the role of phase separation in biology, particularly in the formation of heterochromatin. Heterochromatin condensates are membraneless organelles that help control gene expression. A key aspect of the proposal is the role of phase separation in chromatin organization, highlighting the need for new models in this area. Mittal’s ...

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Science

Haiku may shine a light on humans’ relationship with insects, study suggests

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Haiku poems have reflected humans’ experiences in nature for hundreds of years, including observations of bugs and other wildlife. Recently, Penn State researchers analyzed which insects were mentioned the most in haiku — with butterflies, fireflies and singing insects such as crickets topping the list. Haiku are three-line poems with five syllables in the first and third lines, and seven syllables in the second line. In their study of nearly 4,000 haiku, recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers also found that aquatic arthropods — such as caddisflies, stoneflies and fishflies — were mentioned the ...

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CCR4-NOT complex in stress resistance and longevity in C. elegans
Science

CCR4-NOT complex in stress resistance and longevity in C. elegans

“[...] it appears that the CCR4-NOT complex can influence longevity in a multitude of manners [...]” BUFFALO, NY- June 11, 2024 – A new editorial paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 10, entitled, “CCR4-NOT complex in stress resistance and longevity in C. elegans.” The ability to mount an adaptive response to environmental stress is crucial in organismal survival and overall fitness. In the context of aging, many genes that mediate resistance to stressors are also important in longevity, and aging has been shown to cause ...

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Do traumatic life experiences impact perception of distressing imagery?
Science

Do traumatic life experiences impact perception of distressing imagery?

The human visual system is a dominant part of the brain’s processes and navigation of the world. To better understand an aspect of this system, researchers from Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions examined how life experiences impact a person’s perception of imagery – specifically decorated masks. The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, examined viewer responses to images of distressing and neutrally decorated masks and whether personal life history, particularly past ...

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Harvard, Google DeepMind researchers create realistic virtual rodent
Science

Harvard, Google DeepMind researchers create realistic virtual rodent

The agility with which humans and animals move is an evolutionary marvel that no robot has yet been able to closely emulate. To help probe the mystery of how brains control movement, Harvard neuroscientists have created a virtual rat with an artificial brain that can move around just like a real rodent. Bence Ölveczky, professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, led a group of researchers who collaborated with scientists at Google’s DeepMind AI lab to build a biomechanically realistic digital model of a rat. Using high-resolution data recorded from ...

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Research on the visual rabbit illusion takes a leap forward
Science

Research on the visual rabbit illusion takes a leap forward

Fukuoka, Japan—Researchers from Kyushu University have uncovered new variations to a traditional illusion, based on how we perceive the motion of flashing lights. Published on May 21 in i-Perception, the findings show that when three light flashes are presented in rapid succession in our side vision, our brain tends to perceive them in a straight line, with the second flash around the midpoint, no matter the actual location of the second flash. This research, which earned the journal’s Early Career Best Paper Prize this year, offers new perspectives on perceptual errors ...

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Origins of fast radio bursts come into focus through polarized light
Science

Origins of fast radio bursts come into focus through polarized light

TORONTO, ON, June 11, 2024 — What scientists previously thought about where Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) come from is just the tip of the iceberg, according to new research led by astronomers at the University of Toronto. The mysteries of the millisecond-long cosmic explosions are unfolding with a new way of analyzing data from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). Published today in The Astrophysical Journal, the study details the properties of polarized light from 128 non-repeating FRBs — those from sources that have ...

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Science

Press registration opens for ACS Fall 2024

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2024 — Journalists who register for the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) will have access to about 10,000 presentations on topics including agriculture and food, energy and fuels, health and medicine, sustainability, and more. ACS Fall 2024 is a hybrid meeting being held virtually and in person in Denver on Aug. 18-22, with the theme “Elevating Chemistry.” ACS considers requests for press credentials and complimentary meeting registration from reporters (staff and freelance) and public information officers at government, nonprofit and educational institutions. Please ...

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Science

Endocrine Society urges passage of the Right to IVF Act

WASHINGTON—The Endocrine Society endorses the Right to IVF Act, which was introduced by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), and urges the Senate to pass the Right to IVF Act on June 12th to ensure that the freedom to start and grow a family is protected and accessible to everyone in the United States. Infertility affects an increasing number of individuals. ...

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Surprisingly high levels of toxic gas found in Louisiana
Science

Surprisingly high levels of toxic gas found in Louisiana

The toxic gas ethylene oxide, at levels thousand times higher than what is considered safe, was detected across parts of Louisiana with a cutting-edge mobile air-testing lab. The concentrations found dwarfed Environmental Protection Agency estimates for the region. The findings, led by Johns Hopkins University environmental engineers, suggest significantly higher cancer risks for people who live near facilities that manufacture and use ethylene oxide, as well as a need for more accurate and reliable tools to monitor emissions. “I don’t think there’s any census track in the area that wasn’t at higher risk for cancer than we would deem acceptable,” said ...

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Human evolution and online morality
Science

Human evolution and online morality

In a Review article, Claire Robertson and colleagues explore how human morality, which evolved in the context of small in-person groups, functions on the internet with over five billion users. Evolved human responses, such as compassion for victims and urges to punish transgressors, operate differently online, the authors argue. The internet exposes users to large quantities of extreme morally relevant stimuli in the form of 24-hour news and intentionally outrageous content from sometimes physically distant locations. Subjecting human brains to this ...

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Science

Research signals major milestone in cutting harmful gases that deplete ozone and worsen global warming

A new study has revealed significant progress in the drive to reduce levels in the atmosphere of chemicals that destroy Earth’s ozone layer, confirming the success of historic regulations limiting their production. The findings, led by the University of Bristol and published today in Nature Climate Change, show for the first time a notable decline in the atmospheric levels of potent ozone-depleting substances (ODS), called hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These HCFCs are also harmful greenhouse gases, so a reduction should also lessen global warming. The Montreal Protocol was agreed to internationally in 1987 to introduce controls on the production and usage of ODS, which were once ...

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How should Japan make use of vacant homes in old new towns?
Science

How should Japan make use of vacant homes in old new towns?

During Japan’s 1960-90 population boom, new towns sprouted up across the nation. These new towns were quiet residential neighborhoods of suburban areas, many of which are now shrinking in terms of inhabitants. They have become old new towns, aging neighborhoods amid Japan’s population decline, frequently dotted with vacant homes. Dr. Haruka Kato, a junior associate professor at the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology at Osaka Metropolitan University, examined the nonlinear relationship between population decline and the urban transformation of residences to other land-use plots in old new towns. His research group wanted ...

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Large language model in electrocatalysis
Science

Large language model in electrocatalysis

Large language models, outstanding representatives of modern technology, have significant impacts on various fields of modern society. These models, constructed by billions of neurons, incorporate the extensive knowledge accumulated by humans so far, possessing the exceptional abilities to chat with people around the world fluently. Their human-like intelligence enables them to tackle various challenges of modern society and shows great potential for applications in various fields. Recently, a research team led by Prof. Ziyun Wang from the University of Auckland in New Zealand delved into the potential applications of large language models in the field ...

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Engagement key to eliminating prejudice: Uncovering the process of feeling understood
Science

Engagement key to eliminating prejudice: Uncovering the process of feeling understood

Osaka, Japan - A research group at Osaka University has uncovered how the view of other people and groups changes when individuals feel that they are understood by others by conducting an experimental study on the relationship between Japanese and Chinese people. The study shows that the role of felt understanding largely derives from a reduction in prejudice toward the other person. Feeling understood by other people is a crucial determinant for positive interpersonal and intergroup relationships; however, the psychology behind this determinant was not well understood. In ...

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Science

1 in 7 adults have experienced someone threaten to share their intimate images: new research

A global study on the prevalence of sexual extortion among adults has found the issue to be more widespread than initially thought. Sexual extortion, or sextortion, is a form of image-based sexual abuse which includes making threats to share intimate photos or videos of a victim unless they comply with the perpetrator’s behavioral or financial demands. The research, led by RMIT University in partnership with Google, surveyed over 16,000 adults across Australia, North and Central America, Europe and Asia and found 14.5% of respondents reported being victims of sextortion, while 4.8% admitted to being perpetrators. LGBTQ+ ...

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Science

Revealed: tricks used by opioid giant to mold doctors’ minds

Opioid giant Mallinckrodt, selling more than Purdue Pharma in the US, was forced by the courts to publish more than 1.3 million internal documents. In The BMJ today, researchers Sergio Sismondo and Maud Bernisson sift through nearly 900 contracts which together reveal a carefully coordinated effort to shape medical attitudes toward pain medicine. Pharmaceutical companies have a long history of managing physician and public opinion, explain the authors. For example, by recruiting physicians to serve as influencers, planting articles in scientific journals, coordinating conference presentations, and developing continuing medical education (CME) courses. Amid surging ...

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Science

MOLLER experiment baselined and moving forward

NEWPORT NEWS – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is moving forward on a project to gain new insight into the interactions of electrons. The MOLLER experiment will make an extremely precise measurement of the electron’s force field to learn about specific and rare interactions with other subatomic particles. On May 28, the experiment received approvals of both Critical Decision 2 and Critical Decision 3 from the DOE. The MOLLER research program was established at Jefferson Lab as a DOE Major Item of Equipment (MIE) project to build the equipment required to support the experiment. These ...

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