AMES, Iowa – Yan Zhao gestured toward the trees outside his campus window on a rainy afternoon.   The professor of chemistry at Iowa State University is developing new synthetic catalysts to break down cellulose, the plant fibers that make those trees tall and strong.   “Cellulose is built to last – a tree doesn’t just disappear after rain,” Zhao said. “Cellulose is a huge challenge to break down.”   Zhao thinks he has an idea and a technology that can get the job done, making plant biomass a practical source of sugars that can be converted to many applications, including ...

Nearly one million people in the United States are living with Parkinson’s disease, making it the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. Current medical treatments for Parkinson’s are focused on helping people manage symptoms. But the underlying mechanisms of the neurological disorder remain poorly understood.  Tamily Weissman, associate professor of biology and department chair, is working to change that. Parkinson’s symptoms occur because of a drop in dopamine levels when ...

A study of 14 astronauts suggests that while space travel depletes red blood cells and bone, the body can eventually replenish them back on Earth with the help of fat stored in the bone marrow. The study, published in Nature Communications, has important implications for health in space and on Earth. “We found that astronauts had significantly less fat in their bone marrow about a month after returning to Earth,” said senior study author Dr. Guy Trudel, a rehabilitation physician and researcher at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa. ...

Research Highlights: An analysis of more than 45,000 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 found a significant association between the virus and the development of persistent high blood pressure among those with no prior history of high blood pressure. In addition, people with COVID-19 infection and no history of high blood pressure were significantly more likely to develop persistent high blood pressure compared to people with the influenza virus. People with COVID-19 who are over age 40, men, Black adults or those with preexisting ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. –  As children head back to school, two issues have climbed higher on their parents’ list of concerns: the role of social media and the internet in kids’ lives. Over half of parents also rate mental health issues as leading health concerns for children and teens, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Overall, emotional health and technology use dominated this year’s top 10 list of parent concerns about health-related issues for kids in the U.S.– surpassing childhood obesity, which parents rated the number one children’s health issue ...

The Big Wasp Survey, a citizen science project involving thousands of volunteers throughout the UK, has yielded important genetic insights into the common wasp, reports a study led by UCL researchers. Using data and samples of Vespula vulgaris (a species of yellowjacket wasp known as the Common Wasp) collected by amateur ‘citizen scientists’, the researchers conducted the first large-scale genetic analysis of the insect across its native range. The insights, published in Insect Molecular Biology, revealed a single population of the wasp across Britain, while the insect’s genetics were more differentiated across the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland. The researchers ...

Multiple studies have demonstrated the memory-enhancing effects of melatonin and its derivatives in animal models. It is also known that the formation of both short- and long-term memories require the phosphorylation of certain memory-related proteins. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying melatonin-induced memory enhancement have remained elusive. Now, medical researchers from Sophia University, Japan, have made important findings that contribute significantly to the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms in a recent article that was made available online on 10 May 2023 and published in Volume 34 Issue 9 of NeuroReport on 7 June 2023. Regarding the premise of the study, ...

Nitrous oxide is a popular recreational drug, especially among young people, that can cause serious and sometimes permanent neurological defects. A new review in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) aims to help clinicians recognize signs of nitrous oxide toxicity https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230196. Also known as “laughing gas,” nitrous oxide is an anesthetic sometimes used in pediatric and dental procedures. Inexpensive and easily obtainable online, it is increasingly used for a quick high. In the 2021 Global Drug Survey, 10% of all respondents, and 15% of Canadian respondents, indicated having used the drug in the ...

Philadelphia, August 21, 2023 – As a single organ, our skin is able to perform a broad repertoire of vital functions. Dermatology experts call for a reference guide to single-cell composition of normal human skin, which is still lacking. A grassroots movement to establish a Human Skin Cell Atlas is taking shape, as reported in a review in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, published by Elsevier. A global team of experts has outlined a roadmap as a first step towards creating a comprehensive and inclusive reference work on this important topic. Our skin performs vital functions, such as protecting us from external threats ...

Experts at UCL have teamed up with leading women’s health charities to design a new education and support programme for women across the country experiencing menopause. The National Menopause Education and Support Programme will be led by Professor Joyce Harper (UCL EGA Institute for Women’s Health), Dr Shema Tariq (UCL Institute for Global Health) and Dr Nicky Keay (UCL Division of Medicine). It is in partnership with two charities, Wellbeing of Women and Sophia Forum. The programme also has the support of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and British Menopause ...

As a manned spacecraft operating in orbit for a long time, a space station embodies a country’s scientific and technological strength comprehensively. China’s manned space project was approved in 1992 with a 3-step strategic plan, and building a space station is the final goal of this plan. In September 2010, China’s manned space station project was officially established. After 11 years of unremitting efforts, on 2021 April 29, the Tianhe core module was successfully launched into orbit by the carrier rocket ...

Research at a Glance: A Murdoch Children’s Research Institute-led review has found COVID-19 vaccines are effective against severe cases of the disease in children and adolescents. However, with most children now having caught the SARS-CoV-2 virus and building up a natural immunity, the additional benefit of vaccination in healthy children is minimal The review explored the challenges and considerations around COVID-19 vaccination of children, especially in low- and middle-income countries, in the context of high levels of community transmission and infection-derived ...

Ecosystem services (ESs) provide a variety of services and benefits for human well-being, but the supply-demand mechanism of ecosystem services under different spatio-temporal scales is unclear. The Taihu Lake Basin (TLB) is a microcosm of degraded and unsustainable ecosystem services. Rapid industrialization and urbanization poses a great threat to the environment and ecology. Therefore, it is urgent to assess the changes in supply and demand for TLB ecosystem services from a spatio-temporal and multi-stakeholder perspective, and ...

Medical students who reported a disability to their school increased by more than 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic, a study shows. The proportion of students reporting attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or chronic health and/or psychological disabilities has increased between 2015 and 2021. Despite the increase in medical students reporting these conditions, the requests for more inclusive preclinical testing accommodations, like extra time for test completion or a less distracting environment, decreased during the pandemic between 2019 and 2021. According to authors of the new research letter in JAMA Network Open, the remote curriculum delivery during the pandemic may have allowed ...

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded an LSU-led consortium a $4.9 million grant to support the first phase of the Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal project. The Pelican Consortium, which includes Shell and the University of Houston, will evaluate the feasibility of building a direct air capture (DAC) hub in Louisiana. DAC technologies capture carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. The captured carbon dioxide can then be used to manufacture products or be permanently stored in deep geological formations. The project will leverage existing regional infrastructure in one of the highest emitting areas in the Gulf Coast, benefit the local energy workforce, and support ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $70 million in funding to support research by historically underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and to diversify leadership in the physical sciences. The funding, through DOE’s Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative, will support internships, training programs, and mentor opportunities at 65 different institutions, including 40 higher-learning institutions that serve minority populations. Ensuring America’s best and brightest students have pathways to STEM fields will be key to leading the world’s energy transition ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Findings from a two-year study of nearly 2,400 solid organ transplant recipients, conducted by the Johns Hopkins Transplant Research Center (TRC) in collaboration with the New York University Center for Surgical and Applied Transplant Research, indicate spikes of post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 viral infections (commonly known as COVID-19 breakthrough cases) remain common, yet hospitalization rates have dramatically dropped following the first wave of the virus’ omicron subvariant. “These results mirrored ...

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — Tulane University, Ochsner Health and the community nonprofit RH Impact have been awarded a seven-year, $16.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish a research center of excellence focused on finding solutions to address Louisiana’s disproportionately high maternal mortality rate. The new Southern Center for Maternal Health Equity will be one of 10 newly announced Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence nationwide funded by the NIH’s Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative. The center will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related ...

E-cigarettes do have value as a smoking cessation aid, according to a new study just released by a team of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researchers.   Whether e-cigarettes should be considered for smoking cessation is a hotly debated topic, and different countries have taken different approaches. E-cigarettes contain harmful chemicals, which has led many public health advocates to shun them. But they are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, which can cause a dozen types of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and chronic obstructive ...

LA JOLLA, CA—According to new research in the journal Immunity, T cells have a nuclear receptor doing something very odd—but very important—to help them fight pathogens and destroy cancer cells. This receptor, called retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα), is known to control gene expression programs in the nucleus, but it also now appears to operate outside the cell nucleus to coordinate the early events triggered at the cell surface that lead to T cell activation. Scientists wouldn’t normally expect to see a nuclear receptor ...

Organisms across the globe are facing unprecedented levels of stress from climate change, habitat destruction, and many other human-driven changes to the environment. Predicting and mitigating the effects of this increasing stress on organisms, and the environmental services on which we depend, requires understanding why some species can exist in a wide range of environments while others exist in only a few habitats. In the scientific world of ecology, researchers often try to sort organisms on our planet into two categories: specialists and generalists. Generalists can survive across a wide variety of environmental conditions and habitats, while specialists ...

CHICAGO—August 18, 2023—A paper recently published in Nature Energy based on pioneering research done at Illinois Institute of Technology reveals a promising breakthrough in green energy: an electrolyzer device capable of converting carbon dioxide into propane in a manner that is both scalable and economically viable. As the United States races toward its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, innovative methods to reduce the significant carbon dioxide emissions from electric power and industrial sectors ...

BOSTON– A team led by researchers from Mass Eye and Ear, a member of Mass General Brigham, reports the results of a phase I trial of a revolutionary stem cell treatment called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell transplantation (CALEC), which was found to be safe and well-tolerated over the short term in four patients with significant chemical burns in one eye. According to the study published August 18 in Science Advances, the patients who were followed for 12 months experienced restored cornea surfaces — two were able to undergo a corneal transplant and two reported significant improvements in vision without additional treatment. While ...

Chiral molecules are those that have two versions that are mirror images, like our right and left hands. These molecules have the same structure but different properties when they interact with other molecules, including those inside our bodies. This is important for example in drug molecules, where only the right- or left-handed version may have the desired effect. Detecting and quantifying the chirality of matter however has been difficult. Current methods using a form of light that produces a (right- or left-twisting) helix ...

In a recent Science paper, researchers led by JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye, along with collaborators JILA and NIST Fellow David Nesbitt, scientists from the University of Nevada, Reno, and Harvard University, observed novel ergodicity-breaking in C60, a highly symmetric molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms arranged on the vertices of a “soccer ball” pattern (with 20 hexagon faces and 12 pentagon faces). Their results revealed ergodicity breaking in the rotations of C60. Remarkably, they ...