A new device can measure carbon dioxide captured in concrete more simply and in a third of the time of current methods. Researchers at the University of Tokyo worked with engineers in industry to create the boxlike device called the concrete thermal gravimetry and gas analyzer. The device heats concrete samples to almost 1,000 degrees Celsius, causing the CO2 within to be released so it can be measured. Compared to the current technique, which involves a time-consuming and complicated process of crushing concrete samples into powder for sampling, this new method is simpler, more accurate and user-friendly. The researchers hope it ...

The World Economic Forum, in association with Frontiers, new Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2024, released today (25 June), shows that among technologies emerging globally, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and High-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) have the potential to connect billions worldwide who currently have no internet access.   The report also highlights how advances in genetically engineering animal organs for use in human transplantation gives hope to the millions on waiting lists worldwide. Other technologies in the top ten that that could transform lives and societies ...

□ Professor Jin-ho Chang’s research team from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at DGIST (President Kun-woo Lee) developed “Ultrasound-assisted photothermal therapy (ULTRA-PTT)” technology that significantly enhances the performance of conventional photothermal therapy. This technology was developed in collaboration with Senior Researcher Hye-min Kim from the Advanced Photonics Research Institute at GIST (President Ki-chul Lim) using the team’s proprietary “ultrasound-induced optical clearing” technology.   □ Phototherapy, using light, ...

Adoptive T-cell therapy has revolutionized medicine. A patient’s T-cells — a type of white blood cell that is part of the body’s immune system — are extracted and modified in a lab and then infused back into the body, to seek and destroy infection, or cancer cells.  Now Georgia Tech bioengineer Ankur Singh and his research team have developed a method to improve this pioneering immunotherapy.  Their solution involves using nanowires to deliver therapeutic ...

Plant-sourced nitrate proves positive to human health     New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found that nitrate from plant sources is associated with a lower risk of mortality while nitrate from other sources such as animal-based foods, processed meat and tap water, is linked to a higher risk of mortality.   Nitrate, a compound found in vegetables, meat, and drinking water, has been the subject of debate due to its potential impact on health. Emerging evidence suggests that dietary nitrate may play a role in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), dementia, and ...

□ Professor Kyung-In Jang’s research team from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) has succeeded in developing a highly stable stretchable electronic device, which overcomes the mechanical limitations of conventional inorganic materials and enhances their stretchability and durability. In collaboration with Professor Taeho Park’s team from the Department of Chemical Engineering at POSTECH (President Seong-Keun Kim), the research team has developed a stretchable hybrid polymer and applied it to electronic devices, enabling them to operate stably even under deformation ...

Fully automated diagnostic techniques, including liquid handling robots, are poised to improve the lives of millions of people living with inflammatory diseases worldwide.   A landmark WEHI study has revealed new methods in detecting necroptosis, a key factor in many inflammatory diseases like psoriasis, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. The findings mark a huge leap forward in our ability to diagnose necroptosis accurately. They also offer practical methods that can be easily reproduced in hospitals worldwide, giving hope for new ways to treat inflammatory diseases. At a glance Necroptosis is a form of cell death, one of the body’s natural ...

Embargoed for release: Monday, June 24, 7:30 PM ET Key points: In a study of loneliness and stroke risk over time among adults ages 50+, those who experienced chronic loneliness had a 56% higher risk of stroke than those who consistently reported not being lonely.  Those who experienced situational loneliness did not have an elevated risk of stroke—suggesting that the impact of loneliness on stroke risk occurs over the longer term. Boston, MA—Chronic loneliness may significantly raise older adults’ risk of stroke, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.  “Loneliness is increasingly considered a ...

The risk of developing Parkinson’s is at least twice as high in people with anxiety compared to those without, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published in the British Journal of General Practice, investigated whether there was a link between people over the age of 50 who had recently developed anxiety and a later diagnosis of Parkinson’s. The team used UK primary care data between 2008 and 2018 and assessed 109,435 patients who had developed anxiety after the age of 50 and compared them to 878,256 matched ...

A new study of drinking patterns across Europe from 2000 to 2019 shows that drinking occurs in stable, beverage-specific clusters that seem to be partly determined by geography.  The study was published today by the scientific journal Addiction. The study identified six drinking patterns in Europe in 2019: Wine-drinking countries: France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden.  Characterized by the highest consumption of wine, lowest consumption of beer and spirits, and lowest overall alcohol consumption. High beer/low spirit drinking ...

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen discover a link between birthweight and the risk of health complications from obesity during childhood. The findings highlight the need for prevention and treatment approaches for children with obesity who were born with a lower birth weight. Hundreds of millions of people live with obesity, which is normally measured as a higher-than-optimal body mass index (BMI). While an elevated BMI increases the risk of a range of cardiometabolic diseases and is responsible for around five million deaths a year according to the World Health Organization, not everyone is equally at risk. Scientists at the ...

Vienna, Austria: Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the active ingredients in cannabis, is thought to be safe as it does not cause a “high”. Increasing numbers of pregnant women take CBD, believing that it can help alleviate symptoms such as morning sickness, insomnia, anxiety and pain.   However, research presented today (Tuesday) at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2024 [1,2], suggests that it may affect offspring. Two studies in mice have shown that gestational exposure to CBD alters the behaviour of offspring and also affects the nerve cells (neurons) in the insular cortex (IC) ...

A fingerprint may soon be all a doctor needs to check whether tuberculosis patients are taking their antibiotics – thanks to a new study led by the University of Surrey.    Scientists successfully detected the drugs in finger sweat – and with almost the same accuracy as a blood test.    Professor Melanie Bailey, an analytical chemist and co-author of the study from the University of Surrey, said:    “Up until now, blood tests have been the gold standard for detecting drugs in somebody’s ...

By Leah Shaffer Using animals to study heart disease doesn’t always translate well to human health outcomes, and human heart cells available for research don’t work outside the human body.  “You can’t keep them alive, much less function outside of the person for long enough to study these processes,” said Nathaniel Huebsch, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Huebsch is studying cells with a mutation that causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease that can set off heart failure ...

Intervention improved well-being in workers who were highly stressed by the job Health care worker burnout was on the rise before COVID-19 and continues today Addressing significant structural barriers in U.S. health care ‘needs to be a top priority’ Easily accessible individualized solutions also are needed to boost well-being in stressed health-care workers CHICAGO --- The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated already rising rates of burnout among American health care workers. A new Northwestern University study found learning and practicing skills that increase positive emotion like gratitude, mindful awareness and self-compassion ...

Bill Partridge, a recently retired distinguished researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was recognized by DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office, or VTO, for leading world-class research in transportation throughout his 25-year career. His expertise has guided the development of advanced diagnostic tools that enabled next-generation engines and emissions control systems. Partridge was presented the Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award during the VTO Annual Merit Review held on June 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C. He was nominated for the award by the VTO Decarbonization of Offroad, Rail, Marine ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 24 June 2024      Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet       @Annalsofim      Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.      ----------------------------      1. ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 24 June 2024      Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet       @Annalsofim      Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also ...

When neuroscientists think about the strategy an animal might use to carry out a task – like finding food, hunting prey, or navigating a maze – they often propose a single model that lays out the best way for the animal to accomplish the job. But in the real world, animals – and humans – may not use the optimal way, which can be resource intensive. Instead, they use a strategy that’s good enough to do the job but takes a lot less brain power.   In new research, Janelia scientists set out to better ...

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ZOONOSES-2024-0004 Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Songling virus (SGLV) is a spherical, enveloped, fragmented, negative-stranded RNA virus belonging to the genus Orthonairovirus in the Nairoviridae family. SGLV is transmitted by ticks and can cause disease in humans. This study identified and characterized SGLV in Haemaphysalis concinna ticks collected in 2023 in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture (China) near the China-North Korea border.   A real-time quantitative ...

A researcher at the University of Missouri has developed a program that improves the quality of care and reduces avoidable hospitalizations in nursing homes — saving Missouri nursing homes and Medicare millions of dollars and allowing Missouri nursing homes to invest more in retaining their most skilled staff members. The program is so successful that it’s being recommended for use in all 50 states. The Quality Improvement Program for Missouri (QIPMO) was created by Marilyn Rantz in 1999 as a partnership between Mizzou’s Sinclair School of Nursing and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. For the past 25 years, the program has allowed Rantz and ...

Research in nonhuman primates is opening the possibility of testing treatments for the early stages of Alzheimer’s and similar diseases, before extensive brain cell death and dementia set in. A study published June 21 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association shows up to a six-month window in which disease progress could be tracked and treatments tested in rhesus macaques.  “This is a very powerful translational model to test interventions that target the tau protein,” said John H. ...

A new study led by University of Cincinnati researchers sheds new light on the role of a signaling pathway in the brain to maintain health and prevent inflammation and cognitive deficits. UC’s Agnes (Yu) Luo, PhD, is corresponding author on the research, published June 21 in the journal Nature Communications, and focused on a signaling pathway called TGF-β that plays a number of roles depending on where it is located in the body.  Luo explained that signaling pathways in the body control different cell functions and require two components: a type of molecule called a ligand and a receptor that the ligand binds to and ...

DETROIT -- Early memory loss has been linked to wealth loss, but research has mostly focused on investments. Four years ago, clinical geropsychologist Peter Lichtenberg, Ph.D., wondered what clues might be found in an older person’s financial decisions to indicate their vulnerability to financial victimization. Lichtenberg is director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University and a national expert in the financial exploitation of older adults. The results of his curiosity have now been published as “The WALLET Study: Financial ...

Though exposure to “trace” (an extremely small amount) elements has been shown to affect ovarian functions in experimental studies, there has been little research on the impact of trace levels of non-essential elements, such as lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), on female reproduction. Studies have shown that high levels of these non-essential elements may lead to decreased female fertility and reduce the likelihood of getting pregnant. Taken together, this evidence raises concern about the potential negative impact of exposure ...