Settling a half century of debate, researchers have discovered that tiny linear defects can propagate through a material faster than sound waves do.  These linear defects, or dislocations, are what give metals their strength and workability, but they can also make materials fail catastrophically ­– which is what happens every time you pop the pull tab on a can of soda.  The fact that they can travel so fast gives scientists a new appreciation of the unusual types of damage they might do to a broad range of materials in extreme conditions ­­­­– from rock ripped apart ...

A new attempt to predict earthquakes with the aid of artificial intelligence has raised hopes that the technology could one day be used to limit earthquakes’ impact on lives and economies. Developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, the AI algorithm correctly predicted 70% of earthquakes a week before they happened during a seven-month trial in China. The AI was trained to detect statistical bumps in real-time seismic data that researchers had paired with previous earthquakes. The outcome was a weekly forecast in which the AI successfully predicted 14 earthquakes within about 200 miles of where it estimated they would happen and at almost exactly the ...

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request. Images Highlights: New Michigan State University research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that plants such as oak and poplar trees will emit more of a compound called isoprene as global temperatures climb. Isoprene from plants represents the highest flux of hydrocarbons to the atmosphere behind methane. Although isoprene isn’t inherently bad — it actually helps plants better tolerate insect pests and high temperatures — it can worsen air pollution by reacting ...

The purpose of the award is to create the Access for All in ALS (ALL ALS) Consortium to conduct clinical research that will include ALS patients nationwide, generating a longitudinal biorepository linked to detailed clinical information that will be made available to research scientists throughout the world using a web-based portal. As part of this new consortium Barrow will manage half of 34 clinical sites in the study which spans the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The consortium will be led by researchers at Barrow, Massachusetts General Hospital and Columbia University. “Barrow Neurological Institute is honored to be selected by the NIH to help coordinate this ...

Many people fail at achieving their early career dreams. But a new study suggests that those failures don’t have to harm your self-esteem if you think about them in the right way. Researchers found that people who viewed career goal failures as a steppingstone to new opportunities never lost self-esteem, no matter how many times they failed. But those who thought their failures left them worse off showed a drop-off in how they felt about themselves. “It’s not how many times you have had to give up. It is how you felt about the failures, and whether you thought they led to something better for you,” ...

Pathology experts engineered an ultrasensitive test capable of detecting a highly specific biomarker found in multiple common cancers  In collaboration with cancer researchers across the country and the globe, the team evaluated the tool’s ability to detect the biomarker in ovarian cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, colon cancer, and other cancers  Diagnostic assays have potential for early cancer detection, monitoring, and prognostics   Marker ‘LINE-1 ORF1p’ is a protein encoded by a human transposon that has further potential applications in tissue diagnostics and may also facilitate treatment of cancers for which no accurate biomarkers ...

Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine (“Insilico”) will present at the 6th LSX Nordic Conference happening in Copenhagen Oct. 10-11. Zhavoronkov, a leader in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for drug discovery and biomarker development, will present on Oct. 11, 2pm CET on “‘How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping the Future of Drug Discovery, Design, and Development.”   The LSX Nordic Congress is a leading strategy, investment and partnering conference for the Nordic region connecting life science and healthcare ...

In a recent randomized, controlled human study, consuming grapes for 16 weeks improved key markers of eye health in older adults.  The study, published in the scientific journal Food & Function looked at the impact of regular consumption of grapes on macular pigment accumulation and other biomarkers of eye health.[1]  This is the first human study on this subject, and the results reinforce earlier, preliminary studies where consuming grapes was found to protect retinal structure and function.[2]   Science has shown that an aging population has a higher risk of eye disease and vision problems.  Key risk factors for eye disease include 1) oxidative ...

When we’re married or in a long-term romantic relationship, we may eventually come to take each other for granted and forget to show appreciation. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign finds that it doesn’t have to stay this way. The study examined why perceived gratitude from a spouse or romantic partner changes over time, and whether it can be improved through relationship intervention programs. “Gratitude almost seems to be a secret sauce to relationships, and an important piece to the puzzle of romantic relationships that hasn’t gotten much attention ...

The 2021 results began a global conversation that sparked public imagination and incited dissenting commentary throughout the scientific community as to the accuracy of the ages.     “The immediate reaction in some circles of the archeological community was that the accuracy of our dating was insufficient to make the extraordinary claim that humans were present in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum. But our targeted methodology in this current research really paid off,” said Jeff Pigati, USGS research geologist ...

More than 10,000 Pre-Columbian archaeological sites likely rest undiscovered throughout the Amazon basin, estimates a new study. The findings, derived from remote sensing data and predictive spatial modeling, address questions about the influence of pre-Columbian societies on the Amazon region. “The massive extent of archaeological sites and widespread human-modified forests across Amazonia is critically important for establishing an accurate understanding of interactions between human societies, Amazonian forests, and Earth’s climate,” write the authors. ...

New radiocarbon (14C) and optically simulated luminescence ages have confirmed the controversial antiquity of the ancient human footprints discovered in White Sands National Park, and reported in a study in 2021. Addressing the widespread criticism of their previous study, researchers report that the independent ages from multiple resolved sources conclusively show that the footprints were left behind between roughly 23,000 and 20,000 years ago, demonstrating that humans were present in southern North America during the Last Glacial ...

In this Special Issue of Science, three Reviews highlight how recent advances in the field of ancient DNA have greatly advanced our understanding of the evolutionary history of many plants and animals, including our own species. “This special issue examines the changing landscape of how ancient DNA (aDNA) is studied today, including previously untapped sources, improvements in technology, and ethical challenges, and what we’ve learned about ourselves though ancient DNA,” write Corinne Simonti and Madeleine ...

Wastewater release from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan is expected to have negligible effects on people and the ocean, Jim Smith and colleagues report in a Perspective. The planned releases of radioactive wastewater, 350 million gallons of which has been stored at the site since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima plant’s meltdown, began in August 2023 and are expected to continue for perhaps the next 30 years. The second release is scheduled to start on October 5th. While the scheduled releases have sparked international concern, Smith et al. discuss the science behind the risks and ...

A fundamental discovery about the Fischer Tropsch process, a catalytic reaction used in industry to convert coal, natural gas or biomass to liquid fuels, could someday allow for more efficient fuel production. Washington State University researchers discovered previously unknown self-sustained oscillations in the Fischer Tropsch process. They found that unlike many catalytic reactions which have one steady state, this reaction periodically moves back and forth from a high to a low activity state. The discovery, reported in Science, means that these well-controlled oscillatory states might be used in the future to enhance the reaction rate and the yields of desired ...

University of Birmingham News Release STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 14.00 Thursday 5th October ET 2023/ 19.00 Thursday 5th October UK 2023 Researchers have identified a ‘guard mechanism’ for a protein which attacks microbes in infected cells, opening the possibility of new treatments for Toxoplasma, Chlamydia, Tuberculosis and even cancer. A study, led by the University of Birmingham and published today (5th October) in Science has discovered the lock and key mechanism that controls the attack protein GPB1. GBP1 is activated during ...

Researchers at Tulane University have shown for the first time that mothers are much less likely to transmit a common virus known to cause miscarriages and birth defects if they are exposed to the virus prior to becoming pregnant. The study marks a significant step toward the development of a vaccine that could protect mothers and their babies. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common herpesvirus that most women contract unknowingly before reaching child-bearing age. It's usually harmless except during pregnancy when, if passed on to the developing fetus, it is a leading cause ...

Seoul, Korea - Researchers at the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) at Ewha Womans University have accomplished a groundbreaking step forward in quantum information science. In partnership with teams from Japan, Spain, and the US, they created a novel electron-spin qubit platform, assembled atom-by-atom on a surface. This breakthrough was published in the journal Science on 2023/10/06. Unlike previous atomic quantum devices on surfaces where only a single qubit could be controlled, the researchers at QNS successfully demonstrated the ability to control multiple qubits simultaneously, enabling the application of single-, two-, and three-qubit gates. Qubits, ...

Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 19:00hrs BST Thursday 5 October 2023 Peer reviewed Experimental study Animals   Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have shown that pregnancy hormones ‘rewire’ the brain to prepare mice for motherhood. Their findings, published today in Science, show that both oestrogen and progesterone act on a small population of neurons in the brain to switch on parental behaviour even before offspring arrive. These adaptations resulted in stronger and more selective responses to pups. It is well known that while virgin female rodents do not show much interaction with pups, ...

A person’s immune response to variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, depends on their previous exposure – and differences in the focus of immune responses will help scientists understand how to optimise vaccines in the future to provide broad protection. A new study has found that people differ in how vulnerable they are to different mutations in emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2. This is because the variant of SARS-CoV-2 a person was first exposed to determines how well their immune system responds to different parts of the virus, and how protected they are against other variants. It also means that the same COVID-19 ...

Scientists testing a new method of sequencing single cells have unexpectedly changed our understanding of the rules of genetics.  The genome of a protist has revealed a seemingly unique divergence in the DNA code signalling the end of a gene, suggesting the need for further research to better understand this group of diverse organisms. Dr Jamie McGowan, a postdoctoral scientist at the Earlham Institute, analysed the genome sequence of a microscopic organism - a protist – isolated from a freshwater pond at Oxford University Parks. The work was intended to test a DNA ...

TORONTO (5 October 2023) – Conscience, a game-changing non-profit venture focused on enabling drug discoveries for diseases that have received limited attention from the pharmaceutical industry, launched today with pioneering support from the Canadian government.   With CA$105.7 million in funding, including $49 million from the Canadian government and the engagement of industry, academia, government and patient advocacy groups, Conscience seeks to lead global drug discovery and development for emerging, rare or complex ...

In 1913, historian of science George Sarton created what has become the Isis Current Bibliography of the History of Science (IsisCB). For the last 110 years, the journal Isis has included a comprehensive survey of the recent work in the history of science and allied fields, first in each issue and later as a full yearly supplement. Now the basis of a free online search tool called IsisCB Explore, the IsisCB continues to serve as an indispensable reference for scholars and students. “Bibliographic ...

CLEVELAND—A pair of theoretical physicists are reporting that the same observations inspiring the hunt for a ninth planet might instead be evidence within the solar system of a modified law of gravity originally developed to understand the rotation of galaxies. Researchers Harsh Mathur,  a professor of physics at Case Western Reserve University, and Katherine Brown, an associate professor of physics at Hamilton College, made the assertion after studying the effect the Milky Way galaxy would have on objects in the outer solar system—if the laws of gravity were governed by a theory known as Modified ...

The past decade has seen a significant increase in marijuana use among U.S. college students. This increase has coincided with notable changes in national and local cannabis laws and policies, and perceptions of the associated drug’s risk over the same period. However, cannabis use by students continues to be a public health challenge throughout the country. Universities have long relied on education programs to address these risks; however, many of these programs have limitations and fail to consider some of the modern risk factors ...