March 26, 2025   We Are Vastly Overestimating the Amount of Fresh Water Available for Lithium Mining, New Study Finds New research led by UMass Amherst hydrologists sounds the alarm over mining practices that have immediate implications for transition to low-carbon economy   AMHERST, Mass. — New research into lithium mining in the “Lithium Triangle” of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia — source of more than half of the world’s lithium resources — shows that the commonly accepted models used ...

March 26, 2025 AMHERST, Mass. – Many native plants in the U.S. cannot possibly move themselves fast enough to avoid climate-change driven extinction. If these native plants are going to have any chance of surviving into the future, they’ll need human help to move into adjacent areas, a process known as “managed relocation.” And yet, there’s no guarantee that a plant will thrive in a new area. Furthermore, movement of introduced plants, albeit over much larger distances, is exactly how the problem of invasive species began—think of kudzu-choked forests, wetlands taken over by purple ...

SAN DIEGO, March 26, 2025 — On the shelves of makeup counters and drugstores sits an array of foundations in various olive, ivory and fair shades. But for people with darker skin tones, finding the right foundation shade can be a challenge. Dark foundations on the market often fall flat, appearing gray-like once applied on the skin. But now, researchers report a blue cosmetic color additive that gives these foundations the warmth and depth they currently lack. Gabriella Baki, associate professor of pharmaceutics and director of the cosmetic science and formulation design undergraduate program at the University of ...

SAN DIEGO, March 26, 2025 — Sometimes cell phones die sooner than expected or electric vehicles don’t have enough charge to reach their destination. The rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in these and other devices typically last hours or days between charging. However, with repeated use, batteries degrade and need to be recharged more frequently. Now, researchers are considering radiocarbon as a source for safe, small and affordable nuclear batteries that could last decades or longer without charging.   Su-Il In, a professor at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology, will present his results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical ...

SAN DIEGO, March 26, 2025 — Can you imagine a smartphone with a wooden touchscreen? Or a house with wooden windows? Probably not — unless you’ve heard of transparent wood. Made by modifying wood’s natural structure, this material has been proposed as a sturdy, eco-friendly plastic alternative. But wood’s biodegradability is often sacrificed in the process. Researchers are hoping to change that by creating transparent woods from almost entirely natural materials and making them electrically conductive. The researchers will present their results at the spring ...

Statement Highlights: By age 18, many adolescents have already developed heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol or Type 2 diabetes, and a growing number of younger adults are experiencing adverse cardiovascular events.   Numerous social determinants of health and developmental and life changes impact cardiovascular risk as young people progress from their teens to their mid-20s. The statement describes the challenges and opportunities for easing the transition ...

Those who start work earlier express more discomfort with the seasonal time change. This is the main conclusion of a study that the lecturers at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the University of Seville (US), Jorge Mira Pérez and José María Martín Olalla, have just published in the journal Chronobiology International, in which they analyse in detail the results of the public consultation organised by the European Commission in 2018 in the then 28 member states, which ...

Scientists have for the first time filmed the real-time growth and contraction of Palladium nanoparticles, opening new avenues for utilising and recycling precious metal catalysts. Researchers at the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to observe the complete lifecycle of palladium nanoparticles in a liquid environment, from nucleation through growth to dissolution, with the entire cycle repeating multiple times. This study has been published today in Nanoscale. One of the most important applications of metal nanoparticles is in catalysis, which forms a backbone of chemical industries. Dr Jesum Alves ...

The world’s amphibians are in trouble. Because of their sensitivity to climate change, habitat loss, and pollution, they may be the canary in the coalmine for the nascent anthropogenic mass extinction. Approximately 200 amphibian species have become extinct since the 1970s, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that 34% of the 7,296 known remaining species are likewise at risk. Another reason why amphibians are vulnerable is their susceptibility to disease. An emerging, potentially deadly disease of frogs and salamanders is ranavirus, a genus of at least seven species within the family Iridoviridae. Ranavirus can rapidly jump ...

Designing walkable neighborhoods has gained attention as a method to increase physical activity among urban populations. Moreover, highly walkable areas stimulate increased neighborhood retail sales, higher property values, and greater urban sustainability. However, only limited methods are available for improving walkability in the urban centers of highly motorized suburban cities. In the urban areas of suburban cities, increasing land-use diversity by opening a multifunctional facility is considered one of the most effective strategies for an architecture-scale intervention. Dr. Haruka Kato, ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 05:01 GMT / 01:01 ET WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2025 How elephants plan their journeys: New study reveals energy-saving strategies A new study has revealed that African Elephants have an extraordinary ability to meet their colossal food requirements as efficiently as possible. Data from over 150 elephants demonstrated that these giants plan their journeys based on energy costs and resource availability. The findings – published today (26 March) in the Journal of Animal Ecology– could provide crucial information to help protect these iconic animals and their habitats. Being an elephant is no easy task. As massive herbivores weighing several ...

Monogamous and non-monogamous individuals report similar levels of satisfaction in both their relationships and sex lives, according to a comprehensive new meta-analysis. Published today in The Journal of Sex Research, the peer-reviewed study debunks the prevailing belief that monogamous relationships – defined as exclusive romantic and sexual commitment to one partner – are inherently superior in fostering fulfilling relationships compared to alternative structures. While monogamy has been the predominant type of relationship in much of recent Western history, many individuals choose alternative structures. Non-monogamy includes various ...

His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, today announced a five-year extension of the national healthcare initiative to transform Guyana’s public health system with world-class healthcare services accessible to every Guyanese citizen. This next phase of the initiative, launched in 2022 by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the Mount Sinai Health System and Hess Corporation, will include establishment of a national cancer center, continued modernization of national health facilities including Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, and the implementation of one ...

A scientific technique that rapidly increases the body’s production of anti-inflammatory cells promoted healing from heart attacks in mice, according to a new study by investigators from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Once adapted to treat humans, the technique could potentially be used to repair heart muscle damage after a heart attack and be applied to a variety of inflammatory disorders. The investigators’ findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Investigation. Heart attacks occur when the heart muscle is damaged by reduced blood flow from one or more arteries. They strike more than ...

The sugar glucose, which is the main source of energy in almost every living cell, has been revealed in a Stanford Medicine study to also be a master regulator of tissue differentiation — the process by which stem cells give rise to specialized cells that make up all the body’s tissues. It does so not by being catabolized, or broken down, to release the energy sequestered in its chemical bonds, but instead by binding in its intact form to proteins that control which genes in the genome are made into proteins and when. The discovery of glucose’s undercover double life was so surprising the researchers ...

Women affected by premenstrual syndrome (PMS) appear to experience less intense and debilitating symptoms after taking placebo pills even when told they do not contain any active medication, suggests a study published in the open-access journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. PMS can result in significant distress for women of reproductive age and cause psychological symptoms such as irritability, depressed mood, and mood swings as well as physical symptoms including breast tenderness, bloating, and joint pain. Women ...

New mums should be strongly encouraged to begin clocking up at least two hours of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity such as brisk walking and muscle strengthening exercises each week in the first three months after birth, when physically able, to improve health and well-being, say experts in a new guideline published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   They also strongly recommend daily pelvic floor muscle training to reduce the risk of urinary incontinence, and taking steps to improve sleep ...

OKLAHOMA CITY – In 2010, University of Oklahoma researcher David Fields, Ph.D., was pouring over research data when he discovered something he thought was odd: His data showed that at 6 months of age, formula-fed babies born of mothers who were categorized as medically obese weighed about 5% units less fat than breastfed babies in the same dataset. That discovery struck him as unusual and led him on a research journey to better understand breast milk. Now, he’s studying the connections between maternal gestational diabetes, breastfeeding and infant health. Fields is part of the research team behind a recent study ...

Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have solved a cellular mystery that may lead to better therapies for colorectal and other types of cancer. Peter Dempsey, PhD, professor of pediatrics–developmental biology in the CU School of Medicine, and Justin Brumbaugh, PhD, assistant professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at CU Boulder, recently published a paper in the journal Nature Cell Biology showing the importance of the H3K36 methylation process in regulating plasticity and regeneration in intestinal cells. “The intestine has an ...

Des Plaines, IL — Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM), the peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), has published its March issue dedicated to the topic of errors in emergency care, with a strong emphasis on diagnostic error. This special issue, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), brings together leading scholars and clinicians to discuss aspects of errors relevant to emergency care and propose actionable solutions.  Following the landmark 2015 National Academies report, “Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare,” national awareness of diagnostic errors has increased significantly. Errors—ranging from ...

A new study in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells and Development describes the development of a co-culture system of neural organoids generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) fused with fetal leptomeninges from mice with fluorescently labeled meninges, called leptomeningeal neural organoid (LMNO) fusions. Click here to read the article now. Vivian Gama, PhD, from Vanderbilt University, Julie Siegenthaler, PhD, from University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and coauthors, present a proof-of-concept study that tests the stability of the different cell types in the leptomeninges (fibroblasts and macrophages) and the fused neural organoid ...

Interferometers, devices that can modulate aspects of light, play the important role of modulating and switching light signals in fiber-optic communications networks and are frequently used for gas sensing and optical computing. Now, applied physicists at the Harvard  John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have invented a new type of interferometer that allows precise control of light’s frequency, intensity and mode in one compact package.   Called a cascaded-mode interferometer, it is a single waveguide on a silicon-on-insulator ...

OKLAHOMA CITY – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 7 adults in the United States will experience a substance use disorder during their lifetime. University of Oklahoma College of Medicine faculty member Brandi Fink, Ph.D., is working with primary care clinics and health care systems to identify people with an alcohol use disorder and intervene early before the problem worsens. Fink, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, created an assessment for patients to fill out on an iPad while waiting for an appointment ...

Businesses invest billions in marketing automation, and many assume that Automated Lead Nurturing (ALN) is a proven driver of sales. However, a new Journal of Marketing study reveals that ALN is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The research finds that while ALN improves engagement and enhances salesperson–lead interactions, its impact on sales conversions varies significantly across industries and customer segments. Authored by Johannes Habel (University of Houston), Nathaniel Hartmann (University of South Florida), Phillip Wiseman (Texas Tech University), Michael Ahearne (University of ...

Until the 1990s, Venezuela was home to one of the most established democracies in Latin America. Today, however, it stands as one of the region’s most firmly entrenched authoritarian regimes. How did this shift occur, and what can other countries learn from Venezuela’s transformation? A new paper from political scientist Laura Gamboa at the University of Notre Dame chronicles the country’s 25-year evolution, during which Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, destroyed ...