Okinawa’s mangrove forests are home to many animal species, from crabs to kingfishers; they host a diverse ecosystem teeming with life. Among the quirkier residents living there is “Minami-Tobihaze” — the barred mudskipper. “They are fish, but they can walk and live partly on land,” says Dr. Fabienne Ziadi-Künzli from the Nonlinear and Non-equilibrium Physics Unit, who is the first author of a study on mudskipper anatomy, which was recently published in the Journal of Anatomy. Adapting to a new life   The barred mudskipper, scientifically called Periophthalmus argentilineatus, has more than just one oddity. Their eyes ...

The world around us is made up of particles invisible to the naked eye, but physicists continue to gain insights into this mysterious realm. Findings published in Physical Review C by Osaka Metropolitan University researchers show that the nuclear structure of an atom likely changes depending on the distance the protons and neutrons are from the center of the nucleus. OMU graduate student Maito Okada, Associate Professor Wataru Horiuchi, and Professor Naoyuki Itagaki from the Graduate School of Science compared calculations using theoretical models with existing experimental data to determine whether titanium-48, the most common isotope of titanium with 22 protons and 26 neutrons, ...

Ever hear the old adage that time flies when you’re having fun? A new study by a team of UNLV researchers suggests that there’s a lot of truth to the trope. Many people think of their brains as being intrinsically synced to the man-made clocks on their electronic devices, counting time in very specific, minute-by-minute increments. But the study, published this month in the latest issue of the peer-reviewed Cell Press journal Current Biology, showed that our brains don’t work that way. By analyzing changes in brain activity patterns, the research team ...

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water is a key technology for achieving sustainable hydrogen production. However, the direct impact of the microscopic structure of interfacial water molecules on photocatalytic reactivity remains unexplored. In this study, the crucial roles of interfacial hydrogen bond structure and dynamics, as well as the optimal interfacial water environment for promoting H2 evolution were uncovered. These findings provide molecular-level insights that can guide the design of interfacial water conditions to enhance photocatalytic performance.     Hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting is a sustainable ...

Mill Valley, CA – July 10, 2024 – The SynGAP Research Fund 501(c)(3) announces a $190,636 grant, for work to be done in 2024 and 2025, to Professor Janos Zempleni, PhD of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, to establish data required for regulatory approval for his novel treatment using an engineered version of naturally-occurring particles called exosomes. His first grant from SRF established the engineered changes required to accumulate exosomes in the brain. SRF is pleased to support the continued development of a non-invasive and targeted delivery system for therapeutics ...

DALLAS, July 18, 2024 — Diet-related diseases account for 1 in 5 deaths around the world[1] and unsustainable industrial agricultural practices threaten to compromise the health of the planet.[2] While emerging science expands our knowledge of food composition, society still understands little about the tens of thousands of components found in food. The American Heart Association is facilitating a new research fellowship program from the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) with support from The Rockefeller Foundation. The program, called Good Food Fellows, aims to train a new ...

URBANA, Ill. – Creating fertilizers from organic waste can help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and promote sustainable production. One way of doing this is through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which converts biomass into biocrude oil through a high-temperature, high-pressure process. Two studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explore the use of a fungal treatment to convert the leftover wastewater into fertilizer for agricultural crops.  “HTL uses wet biomass from organic sources such as swine manure or food waste. The process yields wastewater, called hydrothermal liquefaction aqueous phase (HTL-AP), which is usually discarded. We ...

There is no difference in live birth rates between time-lapse imaging and other standard approaches used in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for embryo incubation and selection prior to implantation, according to the results of the largest trial of its kind.   The randomised controlled trial looked at IVF outcomes in the UK and Hong Kong. The results, published today in The Lancet, provide much-needed evidence that using time-lapse imaging (TLI) does not improve treatment outcomes for someone undergoing fertility treatment. Time-lapse imaging is a technique ...

Early riser! The Sun is already starting its next solar cycle – despite being halfway through its current one Royal Astronomical Society press release RAS PR 24/21 (NAM 7) Embargoed until 00:01 BST on Friday 19 July 2024   The first rumblings of the Sun's next 11-year solar cycle have been detected in sound waves inside our home star – even though it is only halfway through its current one. This existing cycle is now at its peak, or 'solar maximum' - which is when the Sun’s magnetic field flips and its poles swap places - until mid-2025. It affects ...

Subscribe to UCSF News  Note to Editors: Photos and renderings are available in our Media Kit UC Regents sign off on $1.5 billion project to construct a new hospital building at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, securing the future of world-class pediatric facilities in the East Bay. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals has received final approval on a $1.49 billion hospital building on its Oakland campus that will provide a state-of-the-art, child-centered medical facility for families across the Bay Area. The proposal was approved ...

Rice University’s Emilia Morosan has been selected as one of 11 scientists and engineers for the 2024 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF) to support her work on correlated topological materials. The fellowship is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most prestigious single-investigator award and supports groundbreaking basic research with the potential to transform various fields. The VBFF, a five-year fellowship with up to $3 million in funding, encourages innovative ideas where researcher creativity intersects with the unknown. Vannevar Bush Fellows represent a cadre of experts who provide invaluable direction to the DoD ...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In support of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced awards totaling $52 million for a broad range of small businesses in 39 states. The projects will work to solve a wide range of problems—from cybersecurity for electric vehicle charging infrastructure to new ways to detect radiation threats and new ways to manufacture lithium metal for batteries.   “Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has supported small businesses, prompting record ...

Ants are famous for their regimented and complex social behaviors. In the tropics, they are also famous for forming mutualisms with plants. Certain species of trees have conspicuous hollow swellings that house ants, often feeding the ants with specialized ant food. In return, the ants are pugnacious bodyguards, swarming out to aggressively defend the plant against enemies. Scientists have observed these mutualisms for centuries, but an enduring question is how these intriguing interactions evolved in the first place. That remains a mystery, but new research led by University ...

TAMPA, Fla. — The recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of lifileucel, the first commercial tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for advanced melanoma, marks a significant breakthrough in cancer therapy. In a new commentary published in Cancer Cell, Moffitt Cancer Center scientists provide a comprehensive overview of the therapy’s development and highlight its transformative potential. “TIL therapy represents a major advancement in personalized cancer treatment, offering new possibilities for patients with treatment-resistant cancers,” said Amod Sarnaik, M.D., ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 18, 2024 CONTACT: Camille Jewell, cjewell@vancomm.com or 202-248-5460   COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Neurointerventional surgeons from across the globe will gather at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 21st Annual Meeting from July 22 through July 25 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to present novel research and innovation in their field.   The conference, held at the Broadmoor Resort, will be a hybrid event with in-person and livestreamed content. Meeting sessions will cover new topics ranging from how living in coal mining areas worsens outcomes ...

Researchers from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine-Knoxville; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Office of Research understand the challenges affecting the health and wellness of Tennesseans. A new system-wide collaborative grant program led by UTHSC COM-K is supporting research and scholarly activities to pursue discoveries addressing health issues across Tennessee and beyond. The program will fund six awards totaling more than $450,000 to support teams of clinicians, faculty, and researchers from across the state to innovate in the field of medicine and biomedical research. Robert ...

A team of University of Virginia researchers released the first-ever database of hurricane evacuation orders in the United States. By examining what has worked (and hasn’t) in the face of oncoming hurricanes, leaders and government officials can increase community resilience, create better policy and, ultimately, reduce loss of life. The project, seed-funded by UVA’s Environmental Institute, teamed Majid Shafiee-Jood and Negin Alemazkoor and Harsh Anand, an engineering doctoral candidate, from the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The trio spent countless hours gathering all nationwide public-facing evacuation orders and created a database that can ...

The Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia studies the impact of car crashes on the human body, aiming to improve injury prevention. Funded by Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center, CAB’s three newest projects will study rib, lumbar and ankle injuries specifically.  Jason Forman, a UVA Engineering and Applied Science research associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is the principal investigator on two of the studies.  One study will use ...

A multitude of new genomic sequence data fills major gaps in the fruit fly tree of life, Bernard Kim from Stanford University, US, and colleagues report in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, publishing July 18th. Fruit flies are classic model organisms in biological research and were among the first species to have their whole genome sequenced. With over 4,400 species, the diversity of the fruit fly family could offer insights into evolutionary patterns and processes. But only a fraction of these species ...

A large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) using data from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Million Veterans Program (MVP) – one of the largest US-based biobanks – fills crucial gaps in our knowledge of the relationships between genes, traits, and disease across diverse populations, according to a new study. The findings underscore the importance of diversity in genetic studies and the need for expanding representation in future GWAS investigations. GWAS studies have provided foundational knowledge about the genetic basis of disease ...

When at the edges of their geographic ranges, fruit-eating birds favor foods that more closely match their beak size, researchers report, suggesting that foraging niches (the diversity of food resources a species uses) become more specialized toward the periphery of a species range. The findings may help explain geographic variation in species’ fitness and are important for accurately predicting species’ responses to continued environmental change, which is forcing many populations to live near or outside their historic range limits. Animals feed on a subset of available resources within their environment. Optical ...

In a Perspective, Daniel Drucker highlights the growing body of evidence that hints at the potential of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based medications in treating conditions other than diabetes and obesity, including cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders. GLP-1 is a hormone released from the gut after eating that enhances glucose-dependent insulin secretion. Pharmacological GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation reduces glucagon secretion and slows gastric emptying, making it an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes. Later studies found that GLP-1 administration also inhibited food intake through ...

Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have become the cornerstone of malaria treatment and control. However, the recent emergence and spread of artemisinin-resistance (ART-R) in malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasites in eastern Africa has compromised the efficacy of these crucial treatments. In a Policy Forum, Mehul Dhorda and colleagues argue that urgent action is needed to prevent a surge in malaria-related sickness and death in the region. “Success in containing ART-R in the Greater Mekong Subregion in Asia, where ART-R was first reported in 2008, suggests that a multipronged approach is needed ...

Physical exercise is associated with fewer depression symptoms in people with osteoarthritis, even - and especially - in those who experience the most pain, per Australian study. #### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0003129 Article Title: Physical activity and depression symptoms in people with osteoarthritis-related pain: A cross-sectional study Author Countries: Australia, Canada Funding: This work was supported by the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund (IL., AP., MM., VA., RL, MW.). ...

Unlocking the power of nanopores Poking holes through membranes with atomic accuracy to build pocket-sized ‘molecule detectives’ Brussels/Washington 19/07/2024 - Transmembrane β-barrel pores (TMBs) are extensively used for single-molecule DNA and RNA sequencing. They enable the miniaturization of a wide array of sensing and sequencing applications into portable USB-size devices and point-of-care technologies. A team of Belgian and American researchers has now described a general approach to design TMB pores from scratch with custom shapes and properties, opening up new opportunities for single-molecule analytics. Their results were published ...