Amid all the changes in Earth’s climate, sea ice in the stormy Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica was, for a long time, an odd exception. The maximum winter sea ice cover remained steady or even increased slightly from the late 1970s through 2015, despite rising global temperatures. That began to change in 2016. Several years of decline led to an all-time record low in 2023, more than five standard deviations below the average from the satellite record. The area of sea ice was 2.2 million square kilometers below the average from ...

Future farmers and leaders in agriculture need to understand and implement technologies that use artificial intelligence. A team of University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture faculty are working toward creating new curriculum to train the next generation of agriculture students. Led by Hao Gan, assistant professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, the team won a four-year grant for $741,102 from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project, “Development of a Smart Agricultural Experiential Learning Program for Youth,” will create hands-on curriculum about using drones, ground robots, computer ...

Researchers have developed a novel device that couples magnetic fields and kirigami design principles to remotely control the movement of a flexible dimpled surface, allowing it to manipulate objects without actually grasping them – making it useful for lifting and moving items such as fragile objects, gels or liquids. The technology has potential for use in confined spaces, where robotic arms or similar tools aren’t an option. “We were trying to address two challenges here,” says Jie Yin, co-corresponding ...

Fukuoka, Japan – Researchers at Kyushu University have revealed how spatial distance between specific regions of DNA is linked to bursts of gene activity. Using advanced cell imaging techniques and computer modeling, the researchers showed that the folding and movement of DNA, as well as the accumulation of certain proteins, changes depending on whether a gene is active or inactive. The study, published on December 6 in Science Advances, sheds insight into the complicated world of gene expression and could lead to new therapeutic techniques for diseases caused by improper regulation of gene expression. Gene expression is a fundamental process that occurs within ...

Many recent studies assume that elderly people are at particular risk of dying from extreme heat as the planet warms. A new study of mortality in Mexico turns this assumption on its head: it shows that 75% of heat-related deaths are occurring among people under 35―a large percentage of them ages 18 to 35, or the very group that one might expect to be most resistant to heat. “It’s a surprise. These are physiologically the most robust people in the population,” said study coauthor Jeffrey Shrader of the Center for Environmental Economics and Policy, an affiliate of Columbia University’s Climate School. “I would love to know ...

-With images-   A pioneering international study led by Professor Peter Vickers of Durham University introduces a novel methodology for rapidly assessing scientific consensus on a global scale.   This innovative approach offers the ability to collect real-time, representative data on scientists' opinions across fields, geographical locations, and over time – a breakthrough that could reshape policy-making and public understanding in fields from health sciences to climate change.   The study, conducted in June 2023, brought together a global network ...

“Our results have no clear or direct application right now. It’s basic research that lays the foundation for future technologies in quantum information and quantum computers. There’s enormous potential for completely new discoveries in many different research fields,” says Guilherme B Xavier, researcher in quantum communication at Linköping University, Sweden. But to understand what the researchers have shown, we need to start at the beginning.  That light can be both particles and waves is one of the most illogical – but at the same time fundamental – characteristics ...

The ocean naturally absorbs a quarter to a third of man-made CO2 emissions, but this process also leads to the acidification of seawater. By increasing the alkalinity of seawater through the addition of certain minerals (e.g., carbonates and silicates), the ocean can chemically bind more CO2 without further acidification. However, there is still little research on the environmental effects of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE). Scientists from Prof. Ulf Riebesell´s group at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, as ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. [December 6, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a non-profit alliance of leading cancer centers—hosted a Patient Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C., today. The annual event brings together leading experts to promote strategies and best practices for improving cancer care. This year’s summit focused on practice and policy solutions for sharing accurate, evidence-based health information with patients and caregivers. It featured a keynote address from W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, MMHC, Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), along with panel discussions that included Robin Vanderpool, DrPH, Chief of the ...

Globally, approximately 58 million people are chronically infected with HCV, resulting in 290,000 annual deaths due to complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Although modern antiviral treatments achieve high cure rates, the global elimination of HCV remains a difficult goal due to inadequate early detection and limited treatment options. Indeed, HCV has been identified as one of the globally prioritized endemic pathogens for vaccine research and development in the World Health Organization's “Immunization Agenda 2030.” It ...

As in most years that we’ve followed news reporting about the myth that suicides peak during the end-of-year holidays, an analysis of the past year showed again that more newspaper accounts supported the false idea that the suicide rate increases during the holiday season than debunked it.   Over the past 25 years that we have been studying this phenomenon, in just over a third (nine years or 36%) have we found more debunking of the myth than support for it. Despite years of debunking by mental health researchers, journalists, and others, ...

In the journal “Science Translational Medicine”, scientists from DZNE and LMU Hospital report on new insights into the mechanisms of “Niemann-Pick type C” (NPC), a rare neurodegenerative disease associated with dementia that can manifest as early as childhood. Their findings, based on studies in mice, cell cultures and patients, emphasize that neuroinflammation, which is mediated by the brain’s immune system, plays a crucial role in NPC. In addition, their research points ...

Helping out your neighbor or minding your own business? A challenging choice with different benefits for each decision. Game theory provides guidance in making such choices—from a theoretical perspective. Novel findings by Jakub Svoboda and Krishnendu Chatterjee at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) reveal new network structures that enhance cooperation throughout a system. These insights have potential applications also in biology. The question of cooperation has puzzled scientists for a long time. Whether it is in the fields of biology, sociology, ...

Deciding where to build new solar or wind installations is often left up to individual developers or utilities, with limited overall coordination. But a new study shows that regional-level planning using fine-grained weather data, information about energy use, and energy system modeling can make a big difference in the design of such renewable power installations. This also leads to more efficient and economically viable operations. The findings show the benefits of coordinating the siting of solar farms, wind farms, and storage ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of 52,000 participants representing 264 million U.S. adults, population-level improvements in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels decelerated and adverse trends in glucose levels accelerated in more recent birth cohorts, which was partially mediated by concurrent increases in body mass index. Public health initiatives that target antecedent health behaviors are needed to improve cardiometabolic health across generations.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Xiaoning Huang, PhD, email jack.huang@northwestern.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but these tiny insects rely on a different component of the field than other insects, a research team led by Dr Pauline Fleischmann from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, reports in the journal Current Biology. As the team explains in its paper, this suggests that they also use a different mechanism for magnetoreception than most insects studied to date, including, for example, the famous monarch butterflies. The researchers suspect that magnetoreception in these desert ants is based on a mechanism involving ...

In eukaryotic cells—found in animals, plants, and fungi—protein synthesis involves more than the simple assembly of amino acids in ribosomes. Nearly one-third of all human proteins must be transported to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during or shortly after their synthesis. In the ER, these proteins undergo crucial folding and modifications, including the formation of disulfide (S–S) bonds, which are vital for their structure and function. Disruptions in protein translocation to the ER or disulfide bond formation underlie several diseases, and understanding the mechanisms that govern these processes is essential in biology and medical ...

We are thrilled to announce that our esteemed academic journal, Communications in Transportation Research (COMMTR), has been officially included in both the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) by Web of Science, a leading global provider of scientific and scholarly research information.   In the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) released in June 2024, COMMTR received its first Impact Factor of 12.5, ranking it 1st among 58 journals in the TRANSPORTATION category and 3rd among 72 journals in the TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY category. The dual inclusion in SCIE and SSCI signifies that the journal has ...

Convenient, safe, and non-invasive, ‘handgrip strength’ is a reliable predictor for age-related disease and disability.   Now, a groundbreaking study led by the University of South Australia and conducted in collaboration with 140 authors across the globe, has created the world’s largest and most geographically comprehensive international norms for handgrip strength, enabling global peer-comparison, health screening and surveillance across the adult lifespan.   Published in The Journal of Sport and Health Science ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Dec. 6, 2024 – New research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine suggests that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with higher blood pressure and lower cognitive scores, even among people who do not have an existing diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.  The study appears online today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.  “We know that inequitable access to education, employment, income and housing increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” said James R. Bateman, M.D., ...

“As the crow flies” is a common idiom referring to the shortest distance between two points, but the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems (LIS), led by Dario Floreano, in EPFL’s School of Engineering has taken the phrase literally with RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments). Designed based on perching birds like ravens and crows that frequently switch between air and land, the multifunctional robotic legs allow it to take off autonomously in environments previously inaccessible to winged drones. “Birds were the ...

Fukuoka, Japan – Organoids—miniature, lab-grown tissues that mimic organ function and structure—are transforming biomedical research. They promise breakthroughs in personalized transplants, improved modeling of diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, and more precise insights into the effects of medical drugs. Now, researchers from Kyushu University and Nagoya University in Japan have developed a model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to predict organoid development at an early stage. The model, which is faster and more accurate than expert researchers, ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Microplastics are an environmental hazard found nearly everywhere on Earth, released by the breakdown of tires, clothing, and plastic packaging. Another significant source of microplastics is tiny beads that are added to some cleansers, cosmetics, and other beauty products. In an effort to cut off some of these microplastics at their source, MIT researchers have developed a class of biodegradable materials that could replace the plastic beads now used in beauty products. These polymers break down into harmless sugars and amino acids. “One way to mitigate the microplastics problem is to figure out how to clean up existing ...

A new artificial intelligence model that can predict how atoms arrange themselves in crystal structures could lead to faster discovery of new materials for everything from solar panels to computer chips. The technology, called CrystaLLM, was developed by researchers at the University of Reading and University College London. It works similarly to AI chatbots, by learning the "language" of crystals by studying millions of existing crystal structures. Published today (Friday, 6 December) in Nature Communications, the new system will be distributed to the scientific community to aid the discovery of new materials. Dr ...

Hailstones are formed during thunderstorms, when raindrops are propelled into very cold parts of a cloud, where they freeze. Once the particles are heavy enough, gravity pulls them back towards Earth. As the plummet, they grow into hailstones, which can cause injury to people and significant damage to homes and cars. Scientists have been studying how hailstones grow since the 1960s but doing so meant breaking them in the process. To better understand the anatomy and growth of hailstones, researchers in Catalonia have used computed tomography (CT) scans to examine the giant hailstones that hit the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula during an exceptionally strong thunderstorm ...