Researchers are actively working on non-flammable solid electrolytes as a safer alternative to liquid electrolytes commonly found in lithium-ion batteries, which are vulnerable to fires and explosions. While sulfide-based solid electrolytes exhibit excellent ionic conductivity, their chemical instability with high-voltage cathode materials necessary for high-energy-density batteries has impeded their commercial viability. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in chloride-based solid electrolytes, which are stability in high-voltage conditions due to their strong bonding ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Keeping track of blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels can help identify risk factors for heart disease. However, a national survey by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that while many adults know their childhood address or best friend’s birthday, less than half know their blood pressure or ideal weight, and fewer than 1 in 5 know their cholesterol or blood sugar levels.    “Recognizing heart disease risk factors early and adequately treating ...

In patients with major depression disorder it is, thanks to use of artificial intelligence, now possible to predict within a week whether an antidepressant will work. With the help of an AI algorithm, a brain scan and an individual's clinical information, researchers from Amsterdam UMC and Radboudumc could see up to 8 weeks faster whether or not the medication would work. The results of this study are published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry. "This is important news for patients. Normally, ...

As a predator of soil microorganisms, nematodes respond rapidly to changes in soil environment, which can reflect climate conditions, ecosystem succession status, nutrient cycling and soil ecosystem health. In agroecosystems, nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers are often applied in large quantities. Therefore, studying the effect of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on soil nematode communities is helpful to understand how nitrogen and phosphorus addition affects the growth and development of crops in farmland ecosystems. This study demonstrates that the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus significantly ...

This research is led by Donghee Park (Center for Opto-Electronic Materials and Devices, Post-Silicon Semiconductor Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea) and Dong Ick Son (Institute of Advanced Composite Materials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology; KIST School, Department of Nanomaterials and Nano Science, University of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea) Recently, many scientists have been developing eco-friendly energy sources to replace fossil fuels to minimize global warming that threatens the global ecosystem. One of the notable studies is photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells that use infinite solar energy as ...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common disease in human history and one of the main causes of cancer-related death. Sorafenib (SORA) is the best representative of angiogenesis inhibitors and is currently being commonly used in the treatment of advanced HCC as a first-line drug. Although SORA improves the overall survival rate of patients with liver cancer, acquired resistance to SORA has been found in patients with liver cancer and this has led to poor treatment outcomes. Hypoxia is one of the inducements of SORA resistance. Since ...

Women have a four times higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease if they have an infection with a high-risk strain of the human papillomavirus (HPV), according to research published in the European Heart Journal [1] today (Wednesday).   HPV is a very common infection and high-risk strains are known to cause cervical cancer. Previous research has suggested that HPV may also contribute to the build-up of dangerous plaque in the arteries. However, this is the first study to show a link between high-risk HPV infection and deaths from cardiovascular disease.   The research was led by Professors ...

David Sholl, director of the Transformational Decarbonization Initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions in addressing large-scale chemical separation challenges, including carbon dioxide capture, using quantitative materials modeling. Being elected to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinction accorded to an engineer. New members are selected by their peers, with this new class bringing total U.S. membership to 2,310. The newly elected class will be formally inducted during ...

HOUSTON – (Feb. 6, 2024) – Rice University chemist James Tour was named to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions accorded “in recognition of distinguished contributions” to the field. Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor, professor of chemistry and of materials science and nanoengineering and of computer science, was recognized for his research on the “synthesis, fabrication, properties, applications and commercialization of novel forms ...

Daily exposure to chemicals used in the manufacture of plastic food containers and many cosmetics may be tied to nearly 56,600 preterm births in the U.S. in 2018, a new study shows. The resulting medical costs, the authors of the report say, were estimated to reach a minimum of $1.6 billion and as much as $8.1 billion over the lifetime of the children. For decades, the chemicals, called phthalates, have been shown to interfere with the function of certain hormones, or signaling compounds that circulate in the blood and guide much of the body’s processes. Exposure to these toxins, which is believed to occur as consumer products break down and are ingested, has been linked ...

Action is urgently needed to address the dearth of older women in sport and exercise science, not only for the sake of the growing numbers of female athletes, but women’s health in general, urge a group of international researchers in an editorial, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. There are already far too few sports and exercise science studies that include women, point out the authors, citing their own 2021 report on the sex data gap.  This showed that out of 5261 studies, from across six popular sport and exercise science journals, women and girls made up just over a third of the total number of participants, a figure that is likely ...

Women may find it harder to emotionally adjust to divorce or a relationship break-up in later life than men do, if patterns of antidepressant use are indicative, suggests a large long term study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. While both sexes increased their antidepressant use in the run up to, and immediate aftermath of, a divorce, break-up, or bereavement, women’s use of these drugs was greater than men’s. And while re-partnering was associated with a slight reduction in antidepressant use in both sexes, it was particularly short-lived in women, the study findings indicate. Due to population ...

Clocking up high weekly levels of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity is linked to a lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease in overweight/obese people with type 2 diabetes, finds research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. But boosting the weekly tally by just over an hour is linked to a 33% reduction in risk, with the effects apparent for bouts lasting above or below 10 minutes at a time, the findings indicate. Diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease, accounting for 30–50% of all such cases. Diabetes plus chronic kidney disease is associated with a 10-fold or greater increase in the risk of death from any cause ...

New research led by Monterey Bay Aquarium and the University of California, Santa Cruz, reveals that denser, and more sheltered, kelp forests can withstand serious stressors amid warming ocean temperatures. Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study also offers the first comprehensive assessment of how declines in kelp abundance affected marine algae, invertebrates, and fishes living in Monterey Bay. The study comes after a multi-year marine heatwave – the product of a 2014 ‘blob’ ...

Fine motor skills in young children are linked to better GCSE scores and fewer behavioural problems in childhood and adolescence, according to a new study from the University of Surrey and Birkbeck, University of London. The authors suggest that preschool fine motor skills, including drawing, folding paper and block building, may play an important role in the pathway between infancy and later educational and behavioural outcomes in primary and secondary school.   The study showed that fine motor skills ...

WASHINGTON  –  U.S. Naval Research Laboratory research physicist Lynda E. Busse, Ph.D., was named a Fellow of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, for outstanding technical contributions to the development of novel infrared (IR) optical materials and photonics devices.   Announced December 2023, the 47 new Fellows represent high-profile leaders in academia, industry, and government, and are being honored for their technical achievements as well as for their service to SPIE and the optics and photonics community. Dr. Busse was recognized along with many of the other new Fellows at the 2024 SPIE Photonics West Conference in San Francisco, California ...

In May 1953, Filipino ornithologist D. S. Rabor collected a single female fruit dove on the forested slopes of an active volcano on the Philippine island of Negros. The small apple green bird, which had yellow edgings on its wings and prominent circles of bare skin around its eyes,      was unlike any other known pigeon species. In 1954, Rabor and Yale professor Dillon Ripley described the unique specimen as Ptilinopus arcanus, a name inspired by the Latin word for “secret.” The Negros Fruit Dove, as it is commonly known, has never been ...

As interest in wearable technology has surged, research into creating energy-storage devices that can be woven into textiles has also increased. Researchers at North Carolina State University have now identified a “sweet spot” at which the length of a threadlike energy storage technology called a “yarn-shaped supercapacitor” (YSC) yields the highest and most efficient flow of energy per unit length. “When it comes to the length of the YSC, it’s a tradeoff between power and energy,” said Wei ...

New York, NY (February 6, 2024)—Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new approach to controlling bacterial infections. The findings were described in the February 6 online issue of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology [DOI # 10.1038/s41594-024-01220-x]. The team found a way to turn on a vital bacterial defense mechanism to fight and manage bacterial infections. The defense system, called cyclic oligonucleotide-based antiphage signaling system (CBASS), is a natural mechanism ...

Using the Nutrition Facts labels to make food choices is significantly associated with healthy eating among eighth and 11th grade students in Texas, although the proportion of students using nutrition labels to make their food choices is low, according to research from UTHealth Houston. A study led by first author Christopher D. Pfledderer, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, and senior author Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RDN, the John P. McGovern Professor in Health Promotion and regional dean of the ...

AMHERST, Mass. – A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently published a pioneering study that answers a central question in biology: how do organisms rally a wide range of cellular processes when they encounter a change—either internally or in the external environment—to thrive in good times or survive the bad times? The research, focused on plants and published in Cell, identifies the interactions between four compounds: pectin, receptor proteins FERONIA and LLG1 and the signal RALF peptide. In particular, the team discovered that a molecular condensation process, called liquid-liquid phase separation, that ...

New findings led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) show more than one-third of cancer patients had a major adverse financial event – bankruptcy, lien, or eviction – before their cancer diagnosis. These patients with adverse financial events (AFEs) had a later-stage diagnosis compared with patients with no events. The findings are published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). “Patients with a previous AFE not only face greater likelihood of more advanced cancer but also may encounter substantial barriers to receiving recommended care ...

PHILADELPHIA (February 6, 2024) – A groundbreaking study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), recently published in Innovation in Aging, has shown promising results in improving the quality of life (QOL) and sleep quality in individuals living with memory problems. The research delves into the efficacy of a nonpharmacological approach in a trial known as the Healthy Patterns Sleep Program. Nancy Hodgson, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor in Nursing and Chair of Department of Biobehavioral Health ...

The Oceanography Society (TOS) congratulates Emeritus Professor Mitsuo Uematsu on his selection as a Fellow. The citation for this honor recognizes his pioneering research on long-range atmospheric transport of Asian dust across the Pacific Ocean and its impact on marine biogeochemistry. The nomination materials noted that Dr Uematsu’s research is of the highest quality and notable for its interdisciplinarity and international leadership, as well as its pioneering and continuing nature. These contributions are exemplified through his service on several international scientific committees such as Future Earth and the Executive ...

The Oceanography Society (TOS) congratulates Claudia Benitez-Nelson on her selection as a Fellow. The citation on her certificate recognizes her outstanding contributions to understanding marine biogeochemical cycling and her exceptional commitment to mentoring and increasing diversity in ocean sciences. The nomination materials noted that Dr. Benitez-Nelson is “one of the leading oceanographers of her generation…the world leader in the global phosphorus cycle, the use of isotopes (thorium) for quantifying export processes, and how carbon is transformed as it flows from coastal systems ...