Anibal Boscoboinik, a materials scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, has been named an “Inventor of the Year” by Battelle Memorial Institute. Battelle, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, partners with Stony Brook University to form Brookhaven Science Associates, which manages the Lab on behalf of DOE’s Office of Science. Battelle manages or co-manages nine national labs across the country. At Battelle’s yearly Celebration of Solvers, they award Inventor of the ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA — The most recent email you sent was likely encrypted using a tried-and-true method that relies on the idea that even the fastest computer would be unable to efficiently break a gigantic number into factors. Quantum computers, on the other hand, promise to rapidly crack complex cryptographic systems that a classical computer might never be able to unravel. This promise is based on a quantum factoring algorithm proposed in 1994 by Peter Shor, who is now a professor at MIT. But while researchers have taken great strides in the last 30 years, scientists ...

In the realm of ear health, accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment, especially when dealing with conditions that can lead to hearing loss. Traditionally, otolaryngologists have relied on the otoscope, a device that provides a limited view of the eardrum’s surface. This conventional tool, while useful, has its limitations, particularly when the tympanic membrane (TM) is opaque due to disease. Enter a groundbreaking advancement from the University of Southern California's Caruso Department of Otolaryngology: a portable OCT otoscope that integrates optical coherence tomography (OCT) with ...

A 3D quantum spin liquid has been discovered in the vicinity of a member of the langbeinite family. The material's specific crystalline structure and the resulting magnetic interactions induce an unusual behaviour that can be traced back to an island of liquidity. An international team has made this discovery with experiments at the ISIS neutron source and theoretical modelling on a nickel-langbeinite sample. When spins in a crystal lattice cannot align to reach a minimum energy together, this is called magnetic frustration. ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have cumulatively been awarded nearly $4 million in grant funding through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Merit Review Award and Career Development programs to support research on diabetes, skin inflammation, cancer and aging. The Merit Review Award Program supports investigator-initiated research conducted by eligible VA investigators at either VA medical centers or approved sites. This program serves as the VA's primary method for funding basic, preclinical, ...

Abu Dhabi, August 23, 2024: Researchers have identified specific materials, including certain plastics, rubber, and synthetic fibers, as well as Martian soil (regolith), which would effectively protect astronauts by blocking harmful space radiation on Mars. These findings could inform the design of protective habitats and spacesuits, making long-duration Mars missions more feasible. Because Mars lacks Earth’s thick atmosphere and magnetic field, astronauts exploring the planet would be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Dimitra Atri, Investigator, ...

What makes someone seem wise? People view wisdom through the lens of applying knowledge and thinking logically as well as considering others’ feelings and perceptions, finds a new study led by University of Waterloo researchers who looked at perceptions of wisdom across 12 countries and five continents.  Researchers examined the underlying principles guiding who we perceive as wise in political leadership, science, and daily life. Across different cultures, participants’ judgements converged on two dimensions: reflective orientation and ...

Bamboo vinegar is a concentrated liquid obtained from bamboo under high temperature and anaerobic conditions. It contains more than 200 organic components, including organic acids, phenols, ketones, alcohols, and esters, among which acetic acid is the main component. Although bamboo vinegar has been approved by the China Food and Drug Administration as a cosmetic raw material, commercially available bamboo vinegar often contains impurities whose efficacy is not clear, and phenolic compounds and aromatic hydrocarbons ...

How effective medications are depends on various factors, including the time of day when they are administered. Why? Because our bodies don’t always function exactly the same. Instead, they follow the cycle set by their internal clock, otherwise known as circadian rhythm. But since each person’s circadian rhythm is different and depends on a number of different factors, it is difficult to tailor medication schedules to an individual patient’s body clock. Researchers at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now developed a method for determining the optimum time of cancer treatment based on certain breast cancer ...

Obesity-related cancer rates in China were rising at an alarming 3.6% every year between 2007 and 2021 while non-obesity-related cancers remained stable, according to the first comprehensive study published August 22 in the Cell Press journal Med. The increase is particularly pronounced among young people, highlighting the urgent need for better public health policies to address China’s growing overweight and obesity rates. “If we don’t drastically change the obesity epidemic, the rates of cancer associated with obesity will inevitably continue to rise,” says Jin-Kui Yang, the paper’s corresponding author and an endocrinologist ...

About The Study: Researchers found corresponding increases in hypertension prevalence as neighborhood disadvantage and the percentage of Black patients residing in a neighborhood increased in this cross-sectional study. A higher burden of midlife hypertension was identified in Black adults compared with other racial and ethnic groups that persisted across levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. This study also found that living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods was associated with higher hypertension ...

The elimination of damaged cell components is essential for the maintenance of the body’s tissues and organs. An international research team led by the University of Bonn has made significant findings on mechanisms for the clearing of cellular wastes, showing that strength training activates such mechanisms. The findings could form the basis for new therapies for heart failure and nerve diseases, and even afford benefits for manned space missions. A corresponding article has been published in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology. EMBARGOED: Do not publish until 5 pm CEST ...

Exploring new energy storage and conversion technologies is crucial for sustainable human development. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and metal-air batteries are particularly promising due to their high energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. A key component in these technologies is the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst. Traditionally, ORR catalysts rely on expensive platinum group metals (PGM), which are cost-prohibitive for widespread use. This has spurred interest in developing non-precious metal alternatives, such as transition metal/nitrogen-doped carbon-based materials (M–N–C). Among these, Fe–N–C ...

This study is led by Prof. Shunxin Wang (State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Institute of Women, Children and Reproductive Health, Shandong University) and Prof. Liangran Zhang (Advanced Medical Research Institute, Shandong University). In their study of meiosis in budding yeast, the research team found that yeast senses temperature changes by increasing the level of DNA negative supercoils to increase crossovers and modulate chromosome organization ...

Individual cells divide through a process called mitosis, during which the cell’s copied DNA is separated between two resulting daughter cells. Despite recent advances in cell biology, the mechanism by which DNA condenses during mitosis is still poorly understood. Researchers recently tracked small stretches of DNA wound around histone proteins, called nucleosomes, to better characterize nucleosome behavior during cell division. DNA is organized as chromatin, which are dynamic structures comprised of DNA, RNA, and proteins that regulate the accessibility of genes for expression and the overall configuration of genetic material in the cell. Histone proteins, for example, are positively ...

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric methane concentrations have nearly doubled, with its radiative forcing accounting for one-third of all greenhouse gases. As one of the world's largest methane emitters, China made a clear commitment as early as 2007 to "strive to control the growth rate of methane emissions." The country's 12th, 13th, and 14th Five-Year Plans all proposed measures to control methane emissions. In 2023, China released the "Methane Emission Control Action ...

The income and education levels of a child’s environment determine their relationship to nature, not whether they live in a city or the countryside. This is the finding of a new study conducted by researchers at Lund University, Sweden. The results run counter to the assumption that growing up in the countryside automatically increases our connection to nature, and yet the study also shows that nature close to home increases children’s well-being. There is a general concern that, with urbanisation, people have lost contact with nature. According to research, less contact ...

An international study led by Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville (IRNAS-CSIC), of the Spanish National Research Council (CISC), has shown that as the number of global change factors increases, terrestrial ecosystems become more sensitive to the impacts of global change. The results, published in the prestigious journal Nature Geoscience, show that the resistance of our ecosystems to global change decreases significantly as the number of environmental stressors increases, especially when this stress is sustained over time. This is the conclusion reached by the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning ...

Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey have discovered that a protein produced by parasitic worms in the gut enhances wound healing in mice. The study, to be published August 23 in the journal Life Science Alliance (LSA), reveals that applying the protein to skin wounds speeds up wound closure, improves skin regeneration, and inhibits the formation of scar tissue. Whether the protein can be harnessed to enhance wound healing in human patients remains to be seen. Skin wounds must be rapidly closed in order to prevent infection, but rapid wound closure can favor the development of scar tissue instead of properly regenerated skin. The balance between scarring ...

In a recent comprehensive review published in Cyborg Bionic Systems, researchers led by Keyi Li from the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command in Shenyang, along with international collaborators, detail significant advances in the identification and application of biomarkers for prostate cancer (PCa). This critical insight is pivotal as prostate cancer remains one of the most common malignancies among men globally, emphasizing the urgent need for effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Prostate cancer is characterized by a multitude of molecular aberrations that complicate its early ...

A team of researchers led by Professor Sebastian Deindl at Uppsala University has developed a pioneering method that vastly improves the ability to observe and analyse complex biological processes at the single-molecule level. Their work is set to be published in the upcoming issue of the journal Science. “With our new technique, we can now extend single-molecule biophysics to the genome scale. This advance is expected to significantly deepen our understanding of how nucleic-acid interacting proteins function in ...

The detection of individual particles and molecules has opened new horizons in analytical chemistry, cellular imaging, nanomaterials, and biomedical diagnostics. Traditional single-molecule detection methods rely heavily on fluorescence techniques, which require labeling of the target molecules. In contrast, photothermal microscopy has emerged as a promising label-free, non-invasive imaging technique. This method measures localized variations in the refractive index of a sample's surroundings, resulting from light absorption by sample components, which induces temperature changes in the surrounding region. Whispering ...

Dementia with Lewy bodies is a type of dementia that is similar to both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease but studies on long-term treatments are lacking. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, highlights the potential cognitive benefits of cholinesterase inhibitor treatment. Lewy body disease, which includes dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease with and without dementia, is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, following Alzheimer’s disease. DLB accounts for approximately ...

NEW YORK, August 23, 2024 —  In a groundbreaking advancement, researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have experimentally demonstrated that metasurfaces (two-dimensional materials structured at the nanoscale) can precisely control the optical properties of thermal radiation generated within the metasurface itself. This pioneering work, published in Nature Nanotechnology, paves the way for creating custom light sources with unprecedented capabilities, ...

University of Leeds News Embargoed until 23 August 10:00 BST A selection of AQ Stripes graphic images are available here   The global concentrations of one of the main air pollutants known to affect human health have been graphically illustrated for the first time by a team of scientists. The Air Quality Stripes which were created by the University of Leeds, the University of Edinburgh, North Carolina State University, and the UK Met Office, starkly contrast the significant improvements in air quality across much of Europe with the alarming deterioration in parts ...