Pittsburgh, Pa., USA: On 8 June 2020, the Mangum Fire ignited 16 miles north of the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. By the time it was mostly contained, about a month later, the fire had burned over 70,000 acres of land. April Phinney, a M.Sc. candidate at Utah State University, immediately started drafting a burn intensity map based on remote sensing data. Six months later, she set boots on the burned ground and started collecting soil samples, hoping they would contain quartz grains. This research ...

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recently awarded grants to four researchers from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). Combined, the grants will provide nearly $2.3 million that TTUHSC will use to conduct a pair of two-year pilot studies, acquire a state-of-the-art piece of laboratory equipment known as a cell sorter, and administer a colorectal cancer screening and prevention program.  Three of the recipients are from the TTUHSC School of Medicine, including Hongjun (Henry) Liang, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics; Min Kang, Pharm.D., a professor ...

One of the primary goals of bioprocess engineering is to increase the yield of the desired material while maintaining high production rates and low raw material utilization. This optimization is usually accomplished by controlling the behavior of microorganisms used in the process and ensuring that their biological capabilities are fully utilized. This control may be computerized (in silico feedforward) or autonomous (in-cell feedback) which predicts the optimization based on inputs received. However, a process-model mismatch (PMM) occurs when there is a discrepancy between the predicted and actual production processes. A recent paper published in Scientific Reports demonstrates a ...

The demand for efficient energy storage systems is ever increasing, especially due to the recent emergence of intermittent renewable energy and the adoption of electric vehicles. In this regard, lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs), which can store three to five times more energy than traditional lithium-ion batteries, have emerged as a promising solution. LSBs use lithium as the anode and sulfur as the cathode, but this combination poses challenges. One significant issue is the “shuttle effect,” in which intermediate lithium polysulfide ...

The scientific community is taking a significant step towards establishing a consensus on the designation of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) from imagery data, as highlighted in the new article titled "Towards a scientific community consensus on designating Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems from imagery," authored by Dr. Amy R. Baco and colleagues, and published in PeerJ Life & Environment.    “Many scientists around the world were working independently on a similar question: Given the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regulations for deep-sea Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems ...

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/12/2023)—In a surprising new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have found that the electron beam radiation that they previously thought degraded crystals can actually repair cracks in these nanostructures.  The groundbreaking discovery provides a new pathway to create more perfect crystal nanostructures, a process that is critical to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of materials that are used in virtually all electronic devices we use every day. “For ...

Zachary Tonzetich, an associate professor in the UTSA College of Sciences’ chemistry department, is part of a duo that has been awarded a one-year, $100,000 grant from The Welch Foundation for a project that could remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Tonzetich and his research collaborator Anthony Cozzolino, an associate professor in Texas Tech University’s chemistry department, were the recipients of a WelchX pilot grant this past August. The WelchX program brings together leading chemistry researchers from across Texas to address challenging issues that are ...

Buy your ticket on a Tuesday. Search in your browser’s incognito mode. Use a VPN to pretend you live in Suriname. “There are so many hacks out there for finding cheaper airline tickets,” says Olivia Natan, an assistant professor of marketing at the Haas School of Business. “But our data shows many of these beliefs are wrong.” With four colleagues—Ali Hortaçsu and Timothy Schwieg from the University of Chicago, Kevin Williams from Yale, and Hayden Parsley from the University of Texas at Austin—Natan looked deeply into the structure and processes behind how ...

A new paper in the journal Function, published by Oxford Univetrsity Press, finds that a widely prescribed drug for treating hypertension, amlodipine, is not dangerous for patients, despite recent concerns from researchers and clinicians that taking amlodipine may have risks.  Approximately 700,000 Americans die from hypertension each year and researchers believe some 116 million Americans (and one in five adults worldwide) have the disease, which is responsible for 7.6 million deaths per year. If untreated, hypertension significantly increases ...

Physical activity has positive effects on mental health and yet, activity rates are declining. This is particularly worrying because the mental well-being of teenagers continues to deteriorate. In the US, one in six school children is diagnosed with some type of mental disorder. Riding bikes is a promising approach to introduce school-aged children to physical activity. Now, researchers in the US have investigated how adolescents’ psychosocial well-being changed after participating in a school-based cycling program. “Participation in a school cycling education program during the Covid-19 pandemic was associated with improved psychosocial well-being amongst middle schoolers in the ...

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in daily products such as paints, adhesives, furniture, cosmetics, and deodorants make our lives easier. However, constant exposure can cause serious health problems such as respiratory illness, headaches, dermatitis, and cancer. Natural ventilation is the most effective way to reduce VOCs in indoor air, but recently, air purifiers have become a common method to maintain indoor air quality due to the frequent extreme outdoor condition (e.g. high concentration of fine dust, heat waves, and extreme cold). Generally, air purifiers remove ...

Osaka, Japan – As you watch Morpho butterflies wobble in flight, shimmering in vivid blue color, you’re witnessing an uncommon form of structural color that researchers are only beginning to use in lighting technologies such as optical diffusers. Furthermore, imparting a self-cleaning capability to such diffusers would minimize soiling and staining and maximize practical utility. Now, in a study recently published in Advanced Optical Materials, researchers at Osaka University have developed a water-repelling ...

WASHINGTON (Oct. 12, 2023) – Patients and oncologists are supportive of complementary therapies, such as nutrition counseling, exercise, massage, and mediation, for cancer treatment, according to a new survey conducted on behalf of the Healing Works Foundation. However, a disconnect exists between this growing interest and oncologists’ perceptions of patient support. One-third of oncologists said their patients lack interest in these therapies, but only 13% of cancer patients cite lack of interest when asked ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Farmers are used to growing crops and producing other goods, but a new study led by Penn State researchers suggests the social media platform TikTok may help them cultivate something new: empathy around the issue of climate change. The researchers published their work in the Journal of Rural Studies. The team, who analyzed responses to climate change TikToks posted by farmers, found that many people responded to the videos with warmth and compassion, signaling emotional empathy. However, the researchers also found that the videos were not as successful at triggering cognitive empathy ...

EX-Fusion Inc. (CEO: Kazuki Matsuo, hereinafter referred to as "EX-Fusion") has established a Collaborative Research Cluster focused on advancing liquid metal devices (Terminology 1) for the realization of commercial laser fusion reactors (Figure1, Terminology 2) in collaboration with Tokyo Institute of Technology (President: Kazuya Masu, hereinafter referred to as "Tokyo Tech"). The signing ceremony to formalize this partnership was held on October 11, marking the official commencement of their joint efforts. The ‘EX-Fusion Liquid Metal Collaborative Research Cluster’ has been established with the support of the Tokyo Tech's Open Innovation Platform. ...

The massive 2015 flooding of the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska had immediate impacts, including closure of the Dalton Highway for several days, but it also contributed to longer-term ground subsidence in the permafrost-rich region. That’s the finding by assistant professor Simon Zwieback at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute in a study published Sept. 27 by the journal Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. Zwieback is the paper’s lead author. UAF scientists Mikhail Kanevskiy, Donald Walker, Vladimir ...

A new study, jointly conducted by the University of Adelaide and University of Essex, has found that renting, rather than owning, a private-sector home leads to faster biological ageing. The negative health impacts of renting were shown to be greater than those of experiencing unemployment or being a former smoker. “Our findings demonstrate that housing circumstances have a significant impact on biological ageing, even more so than other important social determinants, such as unemployment, for example, and therefore health impacts should be an important consideration shaping housing policies,” ...

Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys have demonstrated a new way to accelerate recovery from peripheral nerve injury by targeting an enzyme that was thought to be responsible for muscle wasting with aging.   Damage to the peripheral nervous system (the nerves that form the communications network between the brain, spinal cord and body) is debilitating; the effectiveness of physiotherapy as treatment is limited. Whether from trauma, disease or aging, nerve function declines and/or is lost, resulting in diminished strength and even paralysis.   In ...

Australian researchers have designed an algorithm that can intercept a man-in-the-middle (MitM) cyberattack on an unmanned military robot and shut it down in seconds. In an experiment using deep learning neural networks to simulate the behaviour of the human brain, artificial intelligence experts from Charles Sturt University and the University of South Australia (UniSA) trained the robot’s operating system to learn the signature of a MitM eavesdropping cyberattack. This is where attackers ...

Researchers at Monash University have identified a new way of mapping ‘phosphenes’ – the visual perception of the bright flashes we see when no light is entering the eye – to improve the outcome of surgery for patients receiving a cortical visual prosthesis (‘bionic eye’). Cortical visual prostheses are devices implanted onto the brain with the aim of restoring  sight by directly stimulating the area responsible for vision, the visual cortex, bypassing damage to the retina of ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A civics test policy mandated in 18 states that focuses on rote memorization and testing of political knowledge did not improve youth voter turnout as intended, according to Penn State College of Education researchers. As an alternative, they recommend a thorough integration of practical information on the voter registration process within social studies curricula. “Providing students opportunities to really engage with what leadership means, having discussions and debates with leaders and politicians, mock elections… ...

A small molecule previously shown to enhance strength in injured or old laboratory mice does so by restoring lost connections between nerves and muscle fibers, Stanford Medicine researchers have found. The molecule blocks the activity of an aging-associated enzyme, or gerozyme, called 15-PGDH that naturally increases in muscles as they age. The study showed that levels of the gerozyme increase in muscles after nerve damage and that it is prevalent in muscle fibers of people with neuromuscular diseases. The research is the first to show that damaged motor neurons — nerves connecting the spinal cord to muscles — can be induced to regenerate ...

A prestigious National Institute on Aging training grant to develop a future workforce of research scientists in the field of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias was awarded to researchers at the Center for Innovation in Brain Science at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, Regents Professor and director of the Center for Innovation in Brain Science, is principal investigator on Translational Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, or TRADD, a five-year, ...

Researchers led by Professor Steve Watson and Dr Eleyna Martin from the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham have delivered a breakthrough for thrombosis researchers, by producing the first binding molecules (ligands) of defined composition to make platelets clump together in a predictable way.  The research team developed antibody fragments called nanobodies and crosslinked these to make ligands to four platelet receptors (GPVI, CLEC-2, FcɣRIIA and PEAR1).  The nanobodies can be used to develop validated clinical assays for testing patients with platelet disorders such as bleeding or thrombosis, and as research ...

HOUSTON, October 11, 2023 – The American Heart Association’s Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards has named football legend Archie Manning and his wife, “First Lady of Football” Olivia, as recipients of the 2024 Paul “Bear” Bryant Heart of a Champion Award, presented by Houston-based St. Luke’s Health. The Heart of a Champion Award recognizes individuals whose notable contributions and positive influence have helped define the ways we enjoy, watch and engage in sports, and whose life exemplifies characteristics for which Coach Bryant was known, ...