A new analysis of satellite data finds that the record surge in atmospheric methane emissions from 2020 to 2022 was driven by increased inundation and water storage in wetlands, combined with a slight decrease in atmospheric hydroxide (OH). The results have implications for efforts to decrease atmospheric methane and mitigate its impact on climate change. “From 2010 to 2019, we saw regular increases – with slight accelerations – in atmospheric methane concentrations, but the increases that occurred from ...

Saskatchewan education sector workers are experiencing disturbing levels of workplace violence and harassment, says a new report spotlighting a situation that has reached “a breaking point,” according to its authors. Testimonies catalogued by University of Ottawa researchers found Saskatchewan schools are far from offering a safe and violence-free environment as workplace violence becomes increasingly normalized. “I’ve been punched in the face, had push pins held to my eyeballs, and scissors held to my throat,” the report quotes one ...

Spintronics – devices that use microscopic magnetism in conjunction with electric current – could lead to computing technology as fast as conventional electronics but much more energy efficient. As such devices are developed and studied, an important unresolved question is how device operation is affected by heating. A new experimental technique, reported by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the journal APL Materials, directly measures heating in spintronic devices, allowing direct comparison to other effects. The researchers say that this technique can be used to select spintronic materials whose magnetic behavior is minimally impacted by heating, ...

September 24, 2024-- The rate of e-bike and powered scooter injuries surged between 2019 and 2022-- by 293 percent and 88 percent, respectively, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The research adds to the existing information and gap in knowledge on the sociodemographic and risk factor variables that might be contributing to micromobility vehicle–related injuries. The findings are published in the American Journal of Public Health. Micromobility generally refers to any small, low-speed, human- or electric-powered transportation device. Between 2019 and 2022, e-bike sales increased by 269 ...

September 24, 2024-- New research conducted at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and Mount Sinai School of Medicine shows a link between prediabetes among young people and adverse pregnancy outcomes later in life. The findings could alter how doctors routinely screen or counsel youth on blood glucose levels, and subsequently, minimize potential maternal and neonatal risks. The results are published in JAMA Network Open.   “This study is an important step in tying lifecourse cardiometabolic health to optimal pregnancy outcomes,” said Teresa Janevic, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and senior author. ...

The eye is an immune-privileged tissue because of the need to keep blood vessels away from the central pathway of light and to restrict entry of inflammatory cells that could cause damage. This has prompted questions about how the eye manages inflammation when it occurs. A new study led by Thomas Jefferson University researchers has revealed insights into how the eye handles inflammation, particularly in autoimmune uveitis, an inflammatory disease that bypasses the eye’s immune privilege and can damage healthy eye tissue. Previous studies by Jefferson researcher Sue Menko, PhD, revealed that immune cells ...

ROCKVILLE, MD – The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce that Daniel R. Larson, PhD, of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute within the National Institutes of Health, will receive the 2025 Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award. Larson will be honored at the Society’s 69th Annual Meeting, being held in Los Angeles, California from February 15-19, 2025. Larson is being recognized for his pioneering contributions to the field of gene regulation using single-cell and single-molecule biophysical ...

ROCKVILLE, MD – The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce that James A. Glazier, PhD, of Indiana University, Bloomington, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Klaus Schulten and Zaida Luthey-Schulten Computational Biophysics Lecture Award. Glazier will be honored at the Society’s 69th Annual Meeting, being held in Los Angeles, California from February 15-19, 2025. Glazier will be recognized for his development of algorithms, software, and models describing the emergent multicellular organization of development, homeostasis, and disease. “I am delighted that the Biophysical Society is recognizing James’s pioneering work the ...

Many human medications can directly inhibit the growth and alter the function of the bacteria that constitute our gut microbiome. EMBL Heidelberg researchers have now discovered that this effect is reduced when bacteria form communities. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from EMBL Heidelberg's Typas, Bork, Zimmermann, and Savitski groups, and many EMBL alumni, including Kiran Patil (MRC Toxicology Unit Cambridge, UK), Sarela Garcia-Santamarina (ITQB, Portugal), André Mateus (Umeå University, ...

The "popcorn planet" is back in the spotlight! Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of international astronomers has discovered new atmospheric details on WASP-107b, an exoplanet with a puffed-up atmosphere due to tidal heating. Previously described as an extremely low-density "popcorn planet" by researchers, WASP-107b has once again proven to be an intriguing subject, revealing even more surprising characteristics about its inflated and dynamic atmosphere. WASP-107b, a gas giant about the size of Jupiter but with just one-tenth of its mass, has ...

The lifeblood of any battery is the electrolyte. It is the medium through which positively charged elements (cations) migrate en masse between the positive and negative electrodes. By this means, batteries discharge to provide energy and charge to store energy. Scientists call this an electrochemical process. Electrolytes are central to the development of different electrochemical processes, as well. For example, they could be used in converting iron ore into purified iron metal or iron alloys. A challenge is that the electrolyte must remain stable under extreme operating conditions and avoid side reactions that reduce energy efficiency. The payoff ...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals that were introduced in the 1940s. PFAS are used to create a variety of products including water-resistant clothing, non-stick cookware, and firefighting foams. Unfortunately, PFAS can have negative effects on health, including increases in cholesterol levels and changes to liver function. Using PFAS-containing products can lead to their presence in the treated wastewater and treated sludge (referred to as biosolids).  When grown on biosolid-amended farmland soils or irrigated with treated wastewater, crops can bioaccumulate PFAS.  The PFAS-accumulated crops can be consumed directly by the public or indirectly ...

Fruit bats generate more diverse antibodies than mice, but overall have a weaker antibody response, according to a new study published September 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dan Crowley from Cornell University, USA, and colleagues. Bats are well-known reservoirs for viruses with pandemic potential. While these viruses typically do not cause disease in bats, they can prove deadly in humans. Spillover events—transmission of a virus from a reservoir population (eg, bats) to a new host population ...

New findings argue against a direct causal role for dopamine during the experience of a treatment effect in the establishment of positive treatment expectations and placebo analgesia in healthy volunteers, according to a study published September 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Ulrike Bingel from University Hospital Essen, Germany, and colleagues.  Dopamine-based reward and learning mechanisms have been suggested to contribute to placebo effects. However, the exact role of the brain messenger molecule dopamine in their generation and maintenance is still unclear. ...

Guideline highlights: The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology joint guideline addressing cardiovascular evaluation and management of patients before, during and after noncardiac surgery reviews a decade of new evidence and provides updates since the last guideline in 2014. The updates in the guideline are intended for patients scheduled for noncardiac surgery from preoperative evaluation through postoperative care and include appropriate use of cardiovascular testing and screening, management of cardiovascular conditions and risks, and recommendations for those taking sodium-glucose ...

ROCKVILLE, MD – The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce that Silvia Cavagnero, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Emily M. Gray Award. Cavagnero will be honored at the Society’s 69th Annual Meeting, being held in Los Angeles, California from February 15-19, 2025. Cavagnero is being honored for developing courses, innovating instructional methods, mentoring students at all levels, and promoting diversity in biophysics. “Silvia is an accomplished biophysicist and a born educator,” ...

The European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) is delighted to announce the launch of two new multidisciplinary, open-access journals, Environmental Endocrinology and Obesity and Endocrinology. The Journals will be published by Oxford University Press, with the launch issues scheduled for Q2 2025.  Submissions are now being welcomed via the Journals' websites.      Environmental Endocrinology will publish high-quality clinical, translational, and basic research on all aspects of environmental impacts on hormone systems in humans and living systems, incorporating the One Health perspective. The Journal will welcome submissions from a broad range ...

Northeast Greenland is home to the 79° N Glacier – the country’s largest floating glacier tongue, but also one seriously threatened by global warming: warm water from the Atlantic is melting it from below. Experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute have however now determined that the temperature of the water flowing into the glacier cavern declined from 2018 to 2021, even though the ocean has steadily warmed in the region over the past several decades. This could be due to temporarily changed atmospheric circulation patterns. ...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2024 – Coastlines are vital to our world’s ecology and economy. Coastal ecosystems help maintain biodiversity, provide natural barriers against erosion, storms, and flooding, and act as large carbon sinks to reduce greenhouse gases. Sustainable fisheries and seaside tourist venues support local economies. Natural coastlines, including coral reefs, marshes, and mangroves, are complete and stable, capable of self-regulation and restoration. That is, unless human interventions, such as urbanization, overdevelopment, pollution, and human-made erosion, make these areas vulnerable to devastation. Artificial coastlines, ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that absolute and functional iron deficiency affect a large proportion of American adults even in the absence of anemia, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease. Further research on the role of functional iron deficiency in adverse health outcomes and on iron deficiency screening strategies is needed. Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, Leo F. Buckley, Pharm.D., M.P.H., email lfbuckley@bwh.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed ...

About The Study: Rural-residing children with medical complexity were significantly more likely to present to hospitals without dedicated pediatric services in this cohort study. These findings suggest that efforts are justified to ensure that all hospital types are prepared to care for children with medical complexity. Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, JoAnna K. Leyenaar, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., email joanna.k.leyenaar@hitchcock.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.35187) Editor’s Note: Please ...

A new look into addiction treatment availability in the U.S. criminal justice system reveals that fewer than half (43.8%) of 1,028 jails surveyed across the nation offered any form of medication for opioid use disorder, and only 12.8% made these available to anyone with the disorder. With two-thirds of people who are incarcerated in U.S. jails experiencing a substance use disorder – in many cases, an opioid use disorder – the failure to make these medications widely available in criminal justice settings represents a significant missed opportunity to provide life-saving treatments in an environment where people in need of care can be easily reached. The study, published ...

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial of an in-home, voice-activated cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia program among breast cancer survivors found that the intervention improved insomnia symptoms. Future studies may explore how this program can be taken to scale and integrated into ambulatory care. Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, Hannah Arem, Ph.D., email Hannah.Arem@medstar.net. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi: ...

What: Cancer incidence trends in 2021 largely returned to what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, there was little evidence of a rebound in incidence that would account for the decline in diagnoses in 2020, when screening and other medical care was disrupted. One exception was breast cancer, where the researchers did see an uptick in diagnoses of advanced-stage disease in 2021. The study appears Sept. 24, 2024, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A previous study showed that new cancer diagnoses fell abruptly ...

A study, published in the journal Nature Communications by an international team of climate scientists and permafrost experts shows that, according to new climate computer model simulations, global warming will accelerate permafrost thawing and as a result lead to an abrupt intensification of wildfires in the Subarctic and Arctic regions of northern Canada and Siberia. Recent observational trends suggest that warm and unusually dry conditions have already intensified wildfires in the Arctic region. To understand ...