The ever-increasing generation of plastic solid waste has resulted in global plastic pollution both on land and in the oceans. Projections show that plastic waste will double in the next 20 years, causing further environmental problems. Large amounts of plastic waste are, at present, incinerated or deposited in landfills. This not only degrades the environment but also depletes valuable resources. In this light, recycling plastics such as polymers is a promising sustainable alternative for waste management. But this involves the breaking of chemical bonds between ...

Astrophysicists at the Institute for Advanced Study, the Flatiron Institute and their colleagues have leveraged artificial intelligence to uncover a better way to estimate the mass of colossal clusters of galaxies. The AI discovered that by just adding a simple term to an existing equation, scientists can produce far better mass estimates than they previously had. The improved estimates will enable scientists to calculate the fundamental properties of the universe more accurately, the astrophysicists reported March 17, 2023, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

Booster vaccinations against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are being promoted worldwide to counter the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Recent studies on the effectiveness of the third dose of the vaccine found improved efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 infection and a reduction in hospitalization. However, most studies on the effect of the third vaccination have been limited to a relatively short period of time after the third dose, and few longitudinal analyses of the effects of the third vaccination with an anti−SARS-CoV-2 vaccine have been reported.   Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical ...

Humans perceive five basic taste sensations: sweet, umami, bitter, salty, and sour. Specific foods trigger taste recognition of these sensations through the activation of different receptors in our taste buds. In the case for table salt, the concentration is also an important factor in determining taste. For instance, the preferable concentration of table salt is 100 mM, at which humans perceive a salty taste. However, higher concentrations of salt, over 500 mM, may be perceived as bitter and/or sour, while very low concentrations, below 10 mM, are perceived as sweet by humans. Scientific ...

The research published in the Journal of Infection investigated the use of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in diagnosing bloodstream infections (BSIs) for immunocompromised hematology patients. Hematology patients are highly susceptible to BSIs, which can have severe consequences such as septic shock, multiple-organ failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and even death. An accurate and quick microbiological diagnosis of BSI is therefore essential for the control of the infection. In the study, conducted ...

March 23, 2023 – Despite the broad diversity of the U.S. population, dietary recommendations often overlook the positive contributions of cultural foods to build healthy dietary patterns. This is especially true when it comes to carbohydrate food guidance, where prevailing approaches have historically focused on only three components— carbohydrates, sugar, and dietary fiber—ignoring other important nutrient and cultural considerations. However, a new paper published in Nutrients highlights a more holistic approach, called the Carbohydrate Food Quality ...

Honeybees are famously finicky when it comes to being studied. Research instruments and conditions and even unfamiliar smells can disrupt a colony’s behavior. Now, a joint research team from the Mobile Robotic Systems Group in EPFL’s School of Engineering and School of Computer and Communication Sciences and the Hiveopolis project at Austria’s University of Graz have developed a robotic system that can be unobtrusively built into the frame of a standard honeybee hive. Composed of an array of thermal sensors and actuators, the system measures and modulates honeybee behavior through ...

PARAMUS, N.J. (March 23, 2023) – Octapharma USA has provided a grant for an educational program on pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) and PANDAS, a subset of PANS associated with strep, to be held during the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) Annual Conference scheduled for March 25 – 27 in Washington, D.C. Octapharma is enrolling more patients and sites for its phase 3 multicenter superiority study comparing the effectiveness of panzyga® (immune globulin intravenous, human - ifas) 10% liquid preparation versus placebo ...

Continued warming of the climate would see a rise in the number and spread of potentially fatal infections caused by bacteria found along parts of the coast of the United States. Vibrio vulnificus bacteria grow in warm shallow coastal waters and can infect a cut or insect bite during contact with seawater. A new study led by the UK’s University of East Anglia (UEA) shows that the number of V. vulnificus infections along the East Coast of the US, a global hotspot for such infections, has gone ...

(SAN ANTONIO) MARCH 23, 2023 -  Guenevere Chen, an associate professor in the UTSA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently published a paper on USENIX Security 2023 that demonstrates a novel inaudible voice trojan attack to exploit vulnerabilities of smart device microphones and voice assistants — like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa or Amazon’s Echo and Microsoft Cortana — and provide defense mechanisms for users. The researchers developed Near-Ultrasound Inaudible Trojan, or NUIT (French for “nighttime”) to study how hackers exploit speakers and ...

UC Riverside scientists have significantly advanced the race to control plant responses to temperature on a rapidly warming planet. Key to this breakthrough is miRNA, a molecule nearly 200,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. With moderate increases in temperature, plants grow taller to avoid hotter ground and get fresher air. A landmark study published in the journal Nature Communications demonstrates that microRNA or miRNA is required for this growth. The study also identifies which miRNA molecules — out of more than 100 possibilities — are the essential ones.  “We found that without miRNA plants will not grow, even ...

Medical sleep treatment may reduce self-harm in young people with anxiety and depression, an observational study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden suggests. The risk of self-harm increased in the months preceding melatonin prescription and decreased thereafter, especially in girls. The study is published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Melatonin is a hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle and is the most commonly prescribed drug for sleep disturbances in children and adolescents in Sweden. Melatonin use has dramatically increased in recent years, and it is available over the counter in Sweden since 2020. “Given the established link between sleep ...

Applying hydrostatic pressure as an external stimulus, Tokyo Tech and Keio University researchers demonstrate a new way to regulate singlet fission (SF), a process in which two electrons are generated from a single photon, in chromophores, opening doors to the design of SF-based materials with enhanced (photo)energy conversion. Their method overrides the strict requirements that limit the molecular design of such materials by realizing an alternative control strategy. Singlet fission (SF) is a process in which ...

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material. This discovery could have implications for countries with poor water treatment technologies and combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry. Clean water is a prerequisite for our health and living environment, but far from a given for everyone. According to the World Health Organization, WHO, there are currently over two billion people living with limited or no access to clean water. This global challenge ...

Imagine a home computer operating 1 million times faster than the most expensive hardware on the market. Now, imagine that level of computing power as the industry standard. University of Arizona researchers hope to pave the way for that reality using light-based optical computing, a marked improvement from the semiconductor-based transistors that currently run the world. "Semiconductor-based transistors are in all of the electronics that we use today," said Mohammed Hassan, assistant professor of physics and optical sciences. "They're part of every industry – from kids' toys to ...

Older adults with depression are actually aging faster than their peers, UConn Center on Aging researchers report. “These patients show evidence of accelerated biological aging, and poor physical and brain health,” which are the main drivers of this association, says Breno Diniz, a UConn School of Medicine geriatric psychiatrist and author of the study, which appears in Nature Mental Health on March 22. Diniz and colleagues from several other institutions looked at 426 people with late-in-life ...

Despite nearly 60 years of research, there is still a lack of high certainty evidence on the effectiveness and safety of commonly used painkillers (analgesics) for short bouts of low back pain, finds an analysis of the evidence published by The BMJ. The researchers say that until higher quality trials comparing analgesics with each other are published, “clinicians and patients are advised to take a cautious approach to manage acute non-specific low back pain with analgesic medicines.” Analgesics such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, and codeine ...

Ending performance related payments for NHS GPs in Scotland was associated with a decline in the quality of some aspects of care compared with England where financial incentives have continued, finds a study published by The BMJ today. The researchers say further research is needed to better understand the full impact of withdrawal and the accompanying refocusing of quality improvement resources. The NHS Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) pay-for-performance scheme began in 2004. It was designed to remunerate general practices for providing good quality care across a range of key areas such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental health, and obesity. In 2016, Scotland abolished ...

Philadelphia, March 22, 2023 – Researchers from the Neuroscience Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a prediction model that determines which newborn babies are likely to experience seizures in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This model could be incorporated into routine care to help the clinical team decide which babies will need electroencephalograms (EEGs) and which babies can be safely managed in the Neonatal Care Unit without monitoring through EEGs. This would allow families and providers to care for babies ...

More magnesium in our daily diet leads to better brain health as we age, according to scientists from the Neuroimaging and Brain Lab at The Australian National University (ANU).   The researchers say increased intake of magnesium-rich foods such as spinach and nuts could also help reduce the risk of dementia, which is the second leading cause of death in Australia and the seventh biggest killer globally.   The study of more than 6,000 cognitively healthy participants in the United Kingdom aged 40 to 73 found ...

The 2022 summer heatwave resulted in a fifth of UK hospitals being forced to cancel operations during the three days when temperatures soared, a new study reveals. Had the high temperatures continued, a further third of hospitals would have had to cancel surgery, as NHS buildings are not set up to withstand dangerously high temperatures. The team surveyed surgeons, anaesthetists, and critical care doctors working during the heatwave of 16 – 19 July 2022. They received 271 responses from 140 UK hospitals with one in five ...

Two landmark reports published today (23 March) by the British Ecological Society reveal that ecological sciences are losing out on funding compared to other sciences. The reports also set out a research agenda for ecology over the next 25 years. With the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, an ecological understanding of the world has never been more pivotal to the future of humanity and all life on Earth. To further this ecological understanding and highlight the importance of ecology to our future, the British ...

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE  EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.05 LONDON TIME (GMT) ON 23 March 2023 Paper available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18wVryz17-8PmtYDudp5NPXE75onO12FF?usp=sharing At least 80% of the world’s most important sites for biodiversity on land currently contain human developments, study finds At least 80% of sites identified as being internationally important for biodiversity on land currently contain infrastructure − of which more than 75% contain roads. In the future, more sites that are important for biodiversity could contain powerplants, mines ...

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have identified two enzymes that are involved in macrophage polarization, one of the key factors affecting fibrosis. The group’s findings, reported in Cell Death & Disease, suggest a potential treatment for human patients.  Kidney fibrosis is a dangerous inflammatory disease that causes the organs to stiffen and lose normal function. The disease is linked to a process called macrophage polarization. Polarization is the process by which macrophages, the white blood cells that help the body fight infection and repair tissue, are changed into two types as a response to changes in the microenvironment of the cell: the M1 type, which ...

Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, which are those transmitted from animals to humans, are globally on the rise owing to climate change. In particular, the spread of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes is very sensitive to climate change, and Chinese Taiwan has seen a worrisome increase in the number of cases of dengue fever in recent years. Like for most known diseases, the popular saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” also rings true for dengue fever. Since there is still no safe and effective vaccine for all on a global scale, dengue fever prevention efforts rely on limiting places where mosquitoes can lay their eggs and giving people an early warning when ...