A team from the University of Tokyo has combined economic theory with biology to understand how natural systems respond to change. The researchers noticed a similarity between consumers’ shopping behavior and the behavior of metabolic systems, which convert food into energy in our bodies. The team focused on predicting how different metabolic systems might respond to environmental change by using an economic tool called the Slutsky equation. Their calculations indicated that very different metabolic ...

Manganese-rich NASICON-type materials have attracted widespread attention for developing advanced polyanionic cathodes, primarily driven by their abundant reserves, promising cycling performance, and potentially high operating voltage. Unfortunately, their charge/discharge profiles exhibit significant voltage hysteresis, which leads to a limited reversible capacity, thereby preventing their application. Now, however, the situation may be changing due to research by scientists at the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) and the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They recently identified ...

Clean energy plans, including the U.S. Infrastructure Investment Act’s “Clean Hydrogen Road Map,” are counting on hydrogen as a fuel of the future. But current hydrogen separation technology is still falling short of efficiency and sustainability goals. As part of ongoing efforts to develop materials that could enable alternative energy sources, researchers in Drexel University’s College of Engineering have produced a titanium oxide nanofilament material that can harness sunlight to unlock the ubiquitous molecule’s potential as a fuel source. The discovery offers an alternative ...

A Perspective published in Volume 3 of the journal Psychoradiology, researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University confronted these challenges and advocates for more clarity and transparency in causal analyses. The review distinguishes between traditional statistical analysis and causal inference, highlighting the need for specific causal assumptions, like the Stable Unit Treatment Value Assumption (SUTVA). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard for estimating causal effects. The authors stress the importance of imitating RCTs in observational studies through quasi-experimental techniques, ...

Gero, an AI-driven biotech focused on aging and longevity, has demonstrated the feasibility of applying quantum computing for drug design and generative chemistry, which now offers significant promise for the future of healthcare. The research, published in Scientific Reports, outlines how a hybrid quantum-classical machine-learning model was used to interface between classical and quantum computational devices with the goal of generating novel chemical structures for potential drugs — an industry first.   The research paper follows ...

A new study suggests eastern wild turkeys in five southern U.S. states are unlikely to make meaningful changes in the timing of when they begin nesting, even under significant future climate change. The findings suggest eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) could be vulnerable to shifts in climate, which could threaten the availability of their food sources, the amount of vegetation cover available to protect them from predators, and other factors. “There are implications here for turkey populations ...

Although wheat was among the first domesticated food crops, it remains a global dietary staple several millennia later. Grown on every continent except Antarctica, wheat is the second highest produced grain worldwide, with nearly 800,000 metric tons grown each year (Food and Agriculture Organization). However, a fungal pathogen named Fusarium graminearum causes the devastating disease Fusarium head blight (FHB) on wheat and contaminates grains with harmful toxins called trichothecenes. One such trichothecene, called deoxynivalenol (DON), is produced by most F. graminearum strains in the United States, and it is an essential virulence factor that increases the pathogen’s spread ...

Currently, there is no cure for amyloidosis, a life-threatening disease that can be present throughout the body, including the heart, kidneys, liver and brain. The most common localized form of amyloidosis, which is seen significantly more often, is in the brain. Cerebral amyloidosis, when symptomatic, usually manifests in one of two ways: in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and in brain bleeds, which have consequences such as a stroke. Because amyloidosis does not affect a specific organ, unraveling the underlying cause of amyloid fibril creation – a hallmark ...

SAN FRANCISCO—Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, has awarded $3.5 million in grants to ten organizations and universities in seven countries for the development of new tools and innovations that will improve the sustainability of global fisheries, the program announced today. “Tens of millions of jobs around the world depend on fisheries, and seafood is the primary protein source for 3 billion people,” said Wendy Schmidt, president and co-founder of the Schmidt Family Foundation. “The innovators chosen to receive these grants are ensuring that fishers and ...

A University of Minnesota Twin Cities team has, for the first time, synthesized a thin film of a unique topological semimetal material that has the potential to generate more computing power and memory storage while using significantly less energy. The researchers were also able to closely study the material, leading to some important findings about the physics behind its unique properties. The study is published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers the natural sciences and engineering. As evidenced by the United States’ recent CHIPS and Science Act, there is a growing need to increase semiconductor manufacturing ...

Researchers at University of Michigan developed a method to produce artificially grown miniature brains — called human brain organoids — free of animal cells that could greatly improve the way neurodegenerative conditions are studied and, eventually, treated. Over the last decade of researching neurologic diseases, scientists have explored the use of human brain organoids as an alternative to mouse models. These self-assembled, 3D tissues derived from embryonic or pluripotent stem cells ...

Averting our eyes from things that scare us may be due to a specific cluster of neurons in a visual region of the brain, according to new research at the University of Tokyo. Researchers found that in fruit fly brains, these neurons release a chemical called tachykinin which appears to control the fly’s movement to avoid facing a potential threat. Fruit fly brains can offer a useful analogy for larger mammals, so this research may help us better understand our own human reactions to scary situations and phobias. Next, the team want to find out how these ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) – ​​Rising ocean temperatures are sweeping the seas, breaking records and creating problematic conditions for marine life. Unlike heatwaves on land, periods of abrupt ocean warming can surge for months or years. Around the world these ‘marine heatwaves’ have led to mass species mortality and displacement events, economic declines and habitat loss. New research reveals that even areas of the ocean protected from fishing are still vulnerable to these extreme events fueled by climate change. A study published today in Global Change Biology, led by researchers at UC Santa ...

A collaboration of scientists from The University of Manchester and the University of Hong Kong have found a source for the mysterious alignment of stars near the Galactic Centre. The alignment of planetary nebulae was discovered ten years ago by a Manchester PhD student, Bryan Rees, but has remained unexplained. New data obtained with the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope in Chile and the Hubble Space Telescope, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, has confirmed the alignment but also found a particular ...

·  Colorism – system of inequality that views lighter skin as more beautiful and advantageous – motivates skin lightening ·  Users aren’t aware of adulterated ingredients in over-the-counter products such as mercury and steroids  ·  Products are purchased from chain grocery stores or online, used without medical advice   CHICAGO --- Skin lightening is prevalent in the U.S. among skin of color individuals – particularly women – but the people who use those products don’t know the risks, reports a new Northwestern ...

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE EMBARGOED UNTIL 05:01 LONDON TIME (GMT) ON THURSDAY 13 JULY 2023 Images and paper available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18XRYP9dHcC1Z8lc3B86j3k6BzgIesqUS?usp=sharing Small-winged and lighter coloured butterflies likely to be at greatest threat from climate change The family, wing length and wing colour of tropical butterflies all influence their ability to withstand rising temperatures, say a team led by ecologists at the University of Cambridge. The researchers believe this could help identify species whose survival is under threat from climate change. Butterflies with smaller or lighter coloured wings are likely to ...

Defying conventional wisdom, researchers have uncovered a novel coupling mechanism involving leaky mode, previously has been considered unsuitable for high-density integration in photonic circuits. This unexpected finding opens new possibilities for dense photonic integration, revolutionizing the scalability and application of photonic chips in optical computing, quantum communication, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), optical metrology, and biochemical sensing.   In a recent Light Science & Application publication, Sangsik Kim, associate professor of electrical engineering ...

A study examining unemployment and underemployment figures and suicide rates in Australia has found both were significant drivers of suicide mortality between 2004-2016. The researchers say the findings indicate that economic policies such as a Job Guarantee, which prioritise full employment, should be a core part of any comprehensive national suicide prevention strategy. Predictive modelling also revealed an estimated 9.5 percent of suicides reported during that time resulted directly from unemployment ...

Overview Associate Professor Hiroto Sekiguchi (Department of Electrical and Electronic Information Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology) and Assistant Professor Susumu Setogawa and Associate Professor Noriaki Ohkawa (Comprehensive Research Facilities for Advanced Medical Science, Dokkyo Medical University; Assistant Professor Setogawa is currently a Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at University Public Corporation Osaka) have developed a flexible electrocorticography (Note 1) film for simultaneous detection of multisensory information (Note 2) from multiple regions of the cerebral cortex by placing neural ...

Mycelium, an incredible network of fungal strands that can thrive on organic waste and in darkness, could be a basis for sustainable fireproofing. RMIT researchers are chemically manipulating its composition to harness its fire-retardant properties. Associate Professor Tien Huynh, an expert in biotechnology and mycology, said they’ve shown that mycelium can be grown from renewable organic waste. “Fungi are usually found in a composite form mixed with residual feed material, but we found a way to grow pure mycelium sheets that can be layered and engineered into different uses – from flat panels for the building industry to a leather-like material for ...

The structure of a molecular junction with noncovalent interaction plays a key role in electron transport, reveals a recent study conducted by researchers at Tokyo Tech. Through simultaneous surface-enhanced Raman scattering and current–voltage measurements, they found that a single dimer junction of naphthalenethiol molecule shows three different bondings, namely π–π intermolecular and through-π and through-space molecule–electrode interactions. The π–π interaction is a type of noncovalent interaction that occurs when the electron clouds in the π orbitals ...

New research suggests that targeting autoimmune inflammation associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using two drugs, one of them already approved for multiple sclerosis, could be a promising approach for treatment. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It leads to the gradual loss of muscle control, eventually resulting in paralysis and difficulty with speech, swallowing, and breathing. The exact cause of ALS is not fully understood, and currently, there is no cure ...

Taylor & Francis has taken a significant step in reducing unnecessary plastic use with the introduction of paperwrap for journal print copies mailed in the UK. Paperwrap, a relatively new packaging technology, has become more common in recent years, but is typically most suited to publications with very high print runs. Taylor & Francis’ Global Supplier Team spent several months investigating how it might be applied to journal print runs, which included rolling out live trial mailings to colleagues around the world to test how the journals could be packaged, and whether there was any impact on the speed ...

A new talking therapy for depression has shown encouraging early signs of being more effective and cheaper to deliver than the current best practice of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).  A pilot trial from the University of Exeter, funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) and published in Lancet EClinical Medicine, has found Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT) could be a significant advance in depression care.   A core feature of depression is anhedonia (reduced ...

A team of scientists led by CABI have conducted a new study which shows that three ways to fight the invasive Prosopis juliflora tree in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania all proved very effective in almost all cases. The three-year research, published in the journal CABI Agriculture and Bioscience, revealed that cut stump and basal bark herbicide application and manual uprooting were highly effective, killing the trees in between 85-100% of cases. In addition, three incremental restoration interventions were tested ...