Thursday 1st June: Dr Philip Cardiff, Associate Professor at University College Dublin's School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, has received a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant of €2 million for his 5-year project XenoSim. With the support of this award, Dr Cardiff will develop advanced computational techniques that can provide unprecedented insights into the cutting-edge realm of pig-to-human heart transplants ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to help excellent scientists, ...

Brussels, 1 June 2023 – Today, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is excited to share the publication of the first consensus paper by the SISAQOL-IMI Consortium1. The paper provides an overview of the stakeholders’ views on the need for SISAQOL-IMI and the agreed priority set of patient-reported outcome (PRO) objectives that the Consortium will produce international consensus-based recommendations on. The Setting International Standards in Analysing ...

New Curtin University research has identified the most carbon-rich soils in Australia are in areas that are most threatened by human activities and climate change, including Eucalypt and mangrove forests, and woodland and grassland areas that cover large parts of the country’s interior. Lead researcher Dr Lewis Walden from Curtin’s Soil & Landscape Science in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences said the findings highlighted the need to protect key terrestrial and coastal marine ecosystems, which play an important contributing role in national strategies to mitigate climate change. “Using multiscale machine ...

For Embargoed Release: June 1, 2023 at 9:00 am Eastern Time USA Media Contacts: Kathy Fackelmann, kfackelmann@gwu.edu WASHINGTON (June 1, 2023)—While ingestible video capsule endoscopes have been around for many years, the capsules have been limited by the fact that they could not be controlled by physicians. They moved passively, driven only by gravity and the natural movement of the body.  Now, according to a first-of-its-kind research study at George Washington University, physicians can remotely drive a miniature video ...

PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES & HANOI, VIETNAM [June 1, 2023] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers in the United States—today announced the signing of a Memo of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnam National Cancer Hospital (“K Hospital”) and the Vietnam Cancer Association to work together to improve standards for cancer care throughout the country. Five delegates from NCCN visited Hanoi May 24-26 to sign the MOU and pilot the creation of NCCN Harmonized Guidelines™ for Vietnam. “We are honored to collaborate with in-country experts to develop and validate Vietnamese harmonizations ...

The use of 1,3-butadiene as a cheap and abundant raw material for new applications has attracted more interest in recent decades, specifically in the chemical industry. The review covers several important homogeneously catalyzed processes and technologies that are currently used or have the potential to produce fine and bulk chemicals from 1,3-butadiene. This article focuses specifically on the application of homogeneous catalysts and presents representative examples for the readers. For example, palladium-catalyzed telomerization of 1,3-butadiene offers versatile platform chemicals for ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — Tick season is here, along with the increased danger of Lyme disease, and it turns out the tiny arachnids are even tougher than scientists previously thought.  A recent study in Ecological Monographs shows blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are actually really good at surviving extreme cold and heat in nature. Previous lab research suggests that even short periods of especially warm or cold conditions should easily kill ticks, but the Washington State University-led analysis reveals this is only the case for larval ticks in the environment.  Instead, ...

The coexistence of wildlife and agricultural practices has long posed challenges for wildlife conservation, especially when conflicts arise. Livestock predation is a prime example of such conflicts, requiring effective management strategies that minimize human-wildlife conflict while preserving valuable agricultural resources. A new study published in PeerJ Life & Environment, titled "Integrating Robotics into Wildlife Conservation: Testing Improvements to Predator Deterrents through Movement," explores the integration of robotics and agricultural ...

EMBARGOED by Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, until June 1, 2023, 7 a.m., ET. Contact: Gina DiGravio, 617-358-7838, ginad@bu.edu (Boston)—Alzheimer disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world, affects individuals of all races and ethnicities; however, most genetic research for AD has been performed on individuals of European ancestry (EA) with a limited number of large-scale genetic studies in other populations. For many centuries, Ashkenazi Jews lived in communities in Eastern Europe and were genetically isolated from their non-Jewish neighbors. As a result, ...

In crisis, the nucleus calls antioxidant enzymes to the rescue. The nucleus being metabolically active is a profound paradigm shift with implications for cancer research.  Summary points The human nucleus is metabolically active, according to the findings of a new study in Molecular Systems Biology by researchers at the CRG in Barcelona and CeMM/Medical University of Vienna,   In a state of crisis, such as widespread DNA damage, the nucleus protects itself by appropriates mitochondrial machinery to carry out urgent repairs that threaten the genome’s integrity  The ...

Underwater volcanism on the Earth's crust are active contributors of many different elements to the oceanic environment. Hence, they play an important role in biogeochemical and chemosynthetic cycles of the ocean. Although there have been many studies on high-temperature hydrothermal systems in the mid-ocean ridge—a series of underwater volcanoes that trace the edges of the different oceanic plates—there is little information on low-temperature hydrothermal systems in other volcanoes, such as "petit-spot" volcanoes. Petit-spot volcanoes are small volcanoes ...

Ever since the discovery of the two-dimensional form of graphite (called graphene) almost twenty years ago, interest in 2D materials with their special physical properties has skyrocketed. Famously, graphene was produced by exfoliating bulk graphite using sticky tape. Although it was good enough for a Nobel Prize, this method has its drawbacks. An international team of surface scientists has now developed a simple method to produce large and very clean 2D samples from a range of materials using three different substrates. Their method, kinetic in situ single-layer synthesis (KISS) ...

University of Cambridge architects are inviting visitors to the London Design Biennale to experience a prototype home constructed with flexible wooden partition walls which can be shifted to meet the changing needs of residents. The invention aims to reduce waste and carbon while also improving living conditions for those who cannot afford expensive refurbishments. [Images will be available to download here from 10AM (UK Time) on 1st June] House-owners the world over consider ‘knocking through’ walls to achieve more open-plan living or changing layouts to accommodate new arrivals or circumstances. ...

Plastic made from cane sugar also threatens the environment. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg have found that perch change their behaviour when exposed to so-called bioplastic. Traditional plastic, based on fossil oil, has flooded the earth and there is microplastic in all living things. This has led to intensive research for alternatives that decompose faster in nature. Bio-based polymers based on cane sugar are one such option. The most common bioplastic is poly-L-lactide (PLA), which is used in 3D printers, textiles, food packaging, disposable cutlery and other applications. PLA plastic changed the behaviour of perch Bioplastics also have a negative impact on biological ...

Liquid helium-4, which is in a superfluid state at cryogenic temperatures close to absolute zero (-273°C), has a special vortex called a quantized vortex that originates from quantum mechanical effects. When the temperature is relatively high, the normal fluid exists simultaneously in the superfluid helium, and when the quantized vortex is in motion, mutual friction occurs between it and the normal-fluid. However, it is difficult to explain precisely how a quantized vortex interacts with a normal-fluid in motion. Although several theoretical models have been proposed, it has not been clear which model is correct. A research group led by Professor Makoto Tsubota and Specially ...

Since 2000, sexually transmitted infection rates have been on the rise. Syphilis, a disease that was nearly eradicated in the United States at that time, now affects more than 18 million people worldwide each year with few options for effective treatment. One challenge that has plagued syphilis researchers for decades was the inability to culture and study the disease-causing agent in a laboratory setting. “The incredible efforts of our colleagues and collaborators produced a faithful system to propagate the disease-causing agent in vitro, or in a laboratory setting. Being able to culture ...

Researchers from the Center for Cognition and Sociality (CCS) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) recently announced the discovery of neurons that allow us to recognize others. The research team discovered that the neurons that deal with the information associated with different individuals are located in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Social animals, including humans, constantly engage in interactions with others. In this process, the ability to recognize the identity of the social counterpart, retrieve relevant information about them from memory, ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers studying a group of widespread but often overlooked microbes have identified a climate feedback loop that could accelerate climate change. But it’s not all bad news: this one comes with an early warning signal. Using a computer simulation, a team of scientists from Duke University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, showed that most of the world’s ocean plankton and many other single-celled creatures in lakes, peatlands and other ecosystems could cross a threshold where instead of soaking up carbon dioxide, they start doing the opposite. That’s because of how warming affects their metabolism. Because carbon dioxide ...

The chemical industry took a page out of the tobacco playbook when they discovered and suppressed their knowledge of health harms caused by exposure to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), according to an analysis of previously secret industry documents by UC San Francisco (UCSF) researchers. A new paper published May 31, 2023, in Annals of Global Health, examines documents from DuPont and 3M, the largest manufacturers of PFAS, and analyzes the tactics industry used to delay public awareness of PFAS toxicity and, in turn, delay regulations governing their use. PFAS are widely used chemicals in clothing, ...

While most aspects of care quality in long-term care homes did not differ in the first year of the pandemic from pre-pandemic levels, a new study shows that the use of antipsychotic drugs increased in all provinces. The study analyzed health system performance reports provided by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) over three years: two before the pandemic and the first year of COVID-19. The reports are based on more than half a million resident assessments completed in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.  Researchers ...

New research into Melburnians’ connection to nature is helping the City of Melbourne understand how to engage its community members in conservation efforts.   The study, led by RMIT University in collaboration with the City of Melbourne and Queensland University of Technology, surveyed over 1,500 City of Melbourne residents and visitors on their connection to nature and found nearly 75% of respondents had a high connection to nature.   More than 75% of respondents said they were concerned about climate change and the destruction of nature.  However, retirees and university students who have lived most of their lives in the Melbourne ...

Researchers using dashcam footage of real-world collisions involving large trucks to analyze driver and vehicle behavior has found that anti-drowsiness alarms or similar technologies to prevent falling asleep at the wheel need to go beyond a focus on monitoring the drivers’ eyes, and consider other microsleep behaviors including a relaxation of back and neck muscles and abnormal activity of the vehicle itself. A study reporting the researchers’ findings was published April 13 in the ...

Scientists at Tohoku University have discovered a novel approach that improves the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) - a novel form of cancer treatment utilizing immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) - and minimizes the associated side effects. They demonstrated that using ICIs to target tumor-positive lymph nodes generates a robust anti-tumor response against both local and systemic metastases. The study was published in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research on June 1, 2023. Our immune system uses “checkpoint proteins” to regulate and control the activity of immune cells. But cancer ...

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) – nerve pain, tingling, or numbness in the hands or feet – is a common side effect of certain cancer treatments, including two drugs frequently used to treat cancer – the taxanes paclitaxel and docetaxel. Initial results from a large study that tracked CIPN in more than 1,100 patients treated for breast cancer with a taxane show a pattern of clinically meaningful, persistent sensory and motor symptoms, with patients experiencing more severe symptoms with paclitaxel than with docetaxel. These initial results from the SWOG S1714 clinical trial are being reported in an oral presentation at the 2023 annual ...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $46 million in funding to eight companies advancing designs and research and development for fusion power plants, representing a major step in President Biden’s commitment to a pilot-scale demonstration of fusion within a decade. Fusion reactions power the stars, and research is underway to make fusion energy production on Earth possible, providing an abundant, inherently safe, non-carbon-emitting energy source for the planet. This funding from the Milestone-Based ...