Dark energy — a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate — was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Pushing the boundaries of this search, University of California, Berkeley physicists have now built the most precise experiment yet to look for minor deviations from the accepted theory of gravity that could be evidence for such a particle, which theorists have dubbed a chameleon or symmetron. The experiment, which combines an atom interferometer for precise gravity ...

Key Takeaways  Spanish-speaking patients who suffer traumatic injuries face gaps in their care once they leave the hospital, many with a high need for mental health services.  More than half of the patients studied reported food insecurity, transportation challenges, and needing help with utilities.   A novel care pathway developed by researchers can help connect these patients with needed services.  CHICAGO – Many trauma patients face a myriad of challenges when recovering from a traumatic injury, ...

Promoting active and healthy ageing of citizens through a new mobile application that shows walking routes through green areas in Barcelona with data on geolocation, obstacles, pollution and weather in real time: this is the aim of the citizen science project Every Walk You Take, promoted by a team from the University of Barcelona. This initiative aims to promote physical activity and health among the over-fifty-five population through a new mobile-assisted health intervention (mHealth).   This innovative app, presented in an article published in Sustainability ...

A significant new study published in the Cyborg Bionic Systems journal by Fanli Kong and colleagues sheds light on the intricate relationship between depression and brain activity, particularly focusing on the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in rats. This research offers compelling insights into how depression can alter neural circuits and could pave the way for new treatments. Depression is a debilitating mental health issue affecting millions worldwide and is known for symptoms like persistent sadness, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, and fatigue. While traditional treatments have focused on neurotransmitters in the brain, this study dives deeper into the brain’s structural ...

The recent study by Datao Xu and his team at Ningbo University has unveiled important strategies that can be applied in athletic training and rehabilitation to curb the high rates of lower limb injuries. Their research meticulously analyzes the mechanics of single-leg landings—a common move in various sports—to propose enhanced landing techniques that not only aim to protect athletes but also improve their performance by enabling quicker recovery and continuation in sports activities. One of the study’s most significant contributions is its detailed exploration of the role of ankle dynamics in absorbing landing impacts. ...

In a groundbreaking advancement that could reshape the landscape of precise medicine, researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology and Rutgers University have unveiled a series of innovative electrospinning techniques capable of significantly enhancing the functionality and effectiveness of medical devices. This pioneering study, recently published in the Cyborg Bionic Systems journal, promises to revolutionize the creation and implementation of nano/microrobots, wearable/implantable biosensors, and organ-on-chip systems. Precise medicine, aimed at tailoring healthcare to individual patients ...

SAN FRANCISCO —The Public Library of Science (PLOS) is pleased to announce a consortium agreement with Consorcio Colombia / Consortia facilitated by Accucoms, that allows joining member institutions to participate in PLOS’ three innovative publishing models across all 14 PLOS titles. The agreement provides researchers from affiliated institutions unlimited publishing privileges in PLOS journals without incurring fees. Eight Colombian institutions have joined the agreement in 2024 [1], and more institutions are expected to join in the following years. “Consorcio ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [June 26, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a nonprofit alliance of leading cancer centers—is publishing new results for its latest survey on cancer drug shortages in the United States. This follows data published one year ago, and six months ago, illustrating how up to 93% of centers surveyed were experiencing shortages of the crucial chemotherapy carboplatin at its peak. In June 2023, 70% of centers surveyed were also lacking adequate supply for cisplatin. In the latest survey, only 11% of surveyed centers reported a shortage of carboplatin and 7% for cisplatin; but new concerns have emerged. “Critical ...

Highlights: Bovine mastitis is a potentially fatal condition with myriad known causes, including bacteria. Biting flies may help cause mastitis, but the mechanisms are not well elucidated. Researchers characterized microbial diversity in biting flies and manure to look for connections. The flies carried relevant bacterial strains, also found in the manure, associated with mastitis. The research may point to new strategies for protecting cows from disease-causing pathogens.   Washington, D.C.—Bovine mastitis, which affects cows, leads to reduced milk production and can be fatal if left untreated. The USDA National Animal Health Monitoring ...

Balance can be impacted by various factors, including diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, acute and chronic injuries to the nervous system, and the natural aging process. Accurately assessing balance in patients is important to identify and manage conditions that affect coordination and stability. Balance assessments also play a key role in preventing falls, understanding movement disorders, and designing appropriate therapeutic interventions across age groups and medical conditions. However, traditional methods used to assess balance often suffer from subjectivity, are not comprehensive enough and cannot be administered remotely. Moreover, these assessments rely on expensive, ...

Stars blinking code in Netflix’s “3 Body Problem” might be science fiction, but by deciphering neutron stars’ erratic flickers, a new study has revealed the twisted origin of these dead stars’ mysterious “heartbeats.” When neutron stars—ultra-dense remnants of massive stars that exploded in supernovae—were first discovered in 1967, astronomers thought their strange periodic pulses could be signals from an alien civilization. Although we now know these “heartbeats” ...

Many municipal landfills “burp” gas from decomposing organic matter rather than letting it build up. And burps from buried waste containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can release these “forever chemicals” into the air, say researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Their study reports unexpectedly high levels of airborne PFAS at three landfills and demonstrates that vented gases and liquid by-products called leachates could transport similar amounts of these contaminants to the environment. Some consumer products and commercial waste, such as children’s clothing, cosmetics and wastewater treatment sludge solids, contain ...

Clean, safe water is a limited resource and access to it depends on local bodies of water. But even dry regions have some water vapor in the air. To harvest small amounts of humidity, researchers in ACS Energy Letters have developed a compact device with absorbent-coated fins that first trap moisture and then generate potable water when heated. They say the prototype could help meet growing demands for water, especially in arid locations. Earth’s atmosphere holds trillions of liters of fresh water as vapor, but it’s challenging to collect this colorless, transparent and dilute gas. Previously, researchers developed systems that trap ...

Comprising the base of the food web, plankton are extremely important to marine ecosystems. However, there is still much to be discovered about these organisms, and that’s especially true for mixoplankton. Plankton are typically divided into two groups. Similar to plants, phytoplankton contain chlorophyll and derive energy from photosynthesis. Zooplankton, on the other hand, consume other organisms for their energy. However, there is also a third group, mixoplankton, that is a combination of the two. And, despite accounting for, at times, more than half of all plankton in the ocean, they remain ...

River plants provide ecological and environmental benefits, but they raise flood risk by blocking the flow during heavy rain. Removing woody riparian vegetation patches is a primary flood prevention method, but it threatens stream's biodiversity. The research team at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Kim, Byung-Suk) has developed a technology for quantifying the effect of river vegetation patches on flood level changes to aid in better decision-making of river management for balancing ecological benefits and flood mitigation. Rivers ...

Marine organisms produce many organic compounds with diverse chemical structures and biological activities. These natural marine products are regarded as potential starting points for the discovery and development of new drugs. Among these are norcembranolide diterpenes isolated from the soft corals of the genus Sinularia. These compounds exhibit diverse biological activities, and many of them have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Consequently, many studies have investigated the properties of norcembranolide diterpenes and their synthesis methods. Given their potential in drug discovery, developing a synthetic ...

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — The blood-brain barrier — a network of blood vessels and tissues that nurtures and protects the brain from harmful substances circulating in the blood — is disrupted in Alzheimer's disease. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic and collaborators have uncovered unique molecular signatures of blood-brain barrier dysfunction that could point to new ways to diagnose and treat the disease. Their findings are published in Nature Communications. "These signatures have high potential to become novel biomarkers that capture brain changes in Alzheimer's ...

Rome - Rural livelihoods are quite intertwined with urban centers, with mid-sized cities playing an extraordinary role in providing required services, including for food security, agricultural livelihoods and viable rural development, according to a new study by researchers at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other institutions. Some two-thirds of the world’s population, or more than 5 billion people, live within one hour of travel time – using locally available means of ...

A discovery by researchers at the University of British Columbia promises to improve care for patients with endometrial cancer, the most common gynecologic malignancy.   Using artificial intelligence (AI) to spot patterns across thousands of cancer cell images, the researchers have pinpointed a distinct subset of endometrial cancer that puts patients at much greater risk of recurrence and death, but would otherwise go unrecognized by traditional pathology and molecular diagnostics. The findings, published today in Nature Communications, will help doctors identify patients with high-risk disease ...

The COSPAR Panel on Innovative Solutions (PoIS) charter aims to bring state-of-the-art technology to address the hardest problems facing COSPAR researchers. PoIS first focused on predicting adverse events from solar activity and applying innovative technologies and sophisticated tools to atmospheric modelling of Mars, Earth, and Venus. This effort led to the creation of the Cyprus Space Research and Innovation Center (C-SpaRC), co-funded by the European Union (EU) in December 2023 as a new infrastructure with related research, with the cooperation of COSPAR. C-SpaRC is now under the auspices of COSPAR, and is designated the COSPAR International ...

Given the volcanic activity on Iceland over the last three years, researchers from six universities anticipate recurring, moderately sized eruptions of similar style in the coming years to decades. They therefore stress the need for preparedness in view of the risks posed to local populations and critical infrastructure. Their study was recently published in the scientific journal Terra Nova. “The study uses information from local earthquakes and geochemical data on the erupted magma through time to reveal the geological processes behind these recent Icelandic eruptions. A comparison of these eruptions with historical events provides strong evidence that Iceland will ...

A study led by a Brigham investigator evaluated a novel device that automatically measures blood pressure at the wrist, generating hundreds of readings within days that may help clinicians determine cardiovascular risk and improve hypertension care  High blood pressure, the leading risk factor for death worldwide, is present in one in every two adults. Only one-quarter of individuals with hypertension have their blood pressure under control, highlighting the need for innovative strategies for blood pressure management. A study led by an investigator from Brigham and Women’s ...

Iceland’s ongoing volcanic eruptions may continue on and off for years to decades, threatening the country’s most densely populated region and vital infrastructure, researchers predict from local earthquake and geochemical data.   The eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula have forced authorities to declare a state of emergency, with a series of eight eruptions having occurred since 2021. This southwestern region is home to 70 percent of the country’s population, its only international airport, and several geothermal power plants that supply ...

A new Child Development study by researchers at the University of Maryland, Furman University, Education Northwest and University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa in the United States, examined whether children think it’s unfair for a teacher to select students from only one gender or ethnic group for leadership duties.  Researchers learned that children and adolescents are not only aware of these situations, but they are also motivated to rectify these types of inequalities in the classroom. Understanding ...

Research suggests that phone use may have an effect on children’s speech input and language development. However, most of the prior work in this area examines parents and children in controlled laboratory experiments in public spaces and may not be representative of daily interactions between a child and their caregivers.  New research in Child Development by the University of Texas at Austin in the United States is the first to combine objective markers of speech (via audio recorders worn by infants) and maternal cell phone use from cell phone logs. This research helps document ...