HOUSTON – (Aug. 12, 2024) – Ammonia plays a critical role in sustaining food production for the world’s growing population, but making it accounts for about 2% of global energy consumption and 1.4% of carbon dioxide emissions. Rice University engineers have developed a revolutionary reactor design that could decarbonize ammonia production while also mitigating water pollution. In a study published in Nature Catalysis, a team of Rice engineers led by Haotian Wang described the development of a new reactor system that converts nitrates — common pollutants found in industrial wastewater and ...

New research from a Florida State University professor and colleagues explains the mathematics behind how initial predispositions and additional information affect decision making. The research team’s findings show that when decision makers quickly come to a conclusion, the decision is more influenced by their initial bias, or a tendency to err on the side of one of the choices presented. If decision makers wait to gather more information, the slower decision will be less biased. The work was published today in Physical Review E. “The basic result might ...

A new study found that most routine laboratory tests are not reliable for diagnosing Long COVID, also known as Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). The study, published today in Annals of Internal Medicine, found no reliable biomarker among 25 routine clinical laboratory values for prior infection, PASC or specific types of PASC clusters. This suggests none of these routine labs can serve as a clinically useful biomarker of PASC. "Our study shows patients can have severe Long COVID with normal lab results. This ...

Common push puppet toys in the shapes of animals and popular figures can move or collapse with the push of a button at the bottom of the toys’ base. Now, a team of UCLA engineers has created a new class of tunable dynamic material that mimics the inner workings of push puppets, with applications for soft robotics, reconfigurable architectures and space engineering. Inside a push puppet, there are connecting cords that, when pulled taught, will make the toy stand stiff. But by loosening these cords, the “limbs” of the toy will go limp. Using the same cord tension-based principle that controls a puppet, researchers have developed a new type of metamaterial, a material ...

From a nondescript industrial building in the small town of Crossville, Tennessee, the team of engineers at Whisper Aero is planning a revolution in aviation technology. Previously home to a publisher of magazines — including, coincidentally, Trade-A-Plane, an airplane sales publication started in 1937 — the long-empty property’s cavernous spaces are now filled with multidisciplinary activities that include the creation of a new electric aircraft engine. In January 2024, employees of the 3-year-old start-up moved into their new headquarters, refurbishing its dusty rooms into a 21st century aerospace technology facility with areas ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new study that explores ancient temperatures and rainfall patterns in the tropical Andes of South America has revealed how 16,000 years of climate history in this part of the world was driven by carbon dioxide levels and ocean currents from global climate events. Led by Brown University researchers, the study marks the first high-resolution temperature record covering the past 16,000 years in the tropical Andes and could help scientists predict and mitigate future climate impacts in tropical regions of the planet. The work is described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. “Usually ...

Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah (the U) are proud to announce the induction of two physician-scientists, Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD, and Skyler Johnson, MD, as members of The Society of Huntsman Translational Scholars. The Society of Huntsman Translational Scholars supports scientists who focus on translating research discoveries made in the lab into innovations that improve outcomes for cancer patients. Scholars receive financial support for their scientific work, have opportunities for mentorship, and collaborate with other society members in advancing scientific discoveries. “The Society of Huntsman Translational Scholars ...

AMHERST, Mass. – New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that programming robots to create their own teams and voluntarily wait for their teammates results in faster task completion, with the potential to improve manufacturing, agriculture and warehouse automation. This research was recognized as a finalist for Best Paper Award on Multi-Robot Systems at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation 2024. “There’s a long history of debate on whether we want to build a single, powerful humanoid robot that can do all ...

Glenview, Illinois – For the second year of the APCCMPD and CHEST Medical Educator Scholar Diversity Fellowship, Tristan Huie, MD, FCCP, and Anna Neumeier, MD, will be co-mentors for 2025. Designed to pair a fellow-in-training with an established medical educator, the unique scholarship was launched in August 2023 by the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors (APCCMPD) to improve diversity in respiratory care. The program focuses on creating opportunities for fellows at institutions ...

ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) cannot learn independently or acquire new skills, meaning they pose no existential threat to humanity, according to new research from the University of Bath and the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany. The study, published today as part of the proceedings of the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL 2024) – the premier international conference in natural language processing – reveals that LLMs have a superficial ability to follow instructions and excel at proficiency in language, ...

A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported study has found that routine lab tests may not be useful in making a long COVID diagnosis for people who have symptoms of the condition. The study, part of NIH’s Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (NIH RECOVER) Initiative and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, highlights how challenging it can be to identify and diagnose a novel illness such as long COVID.   “Our challenge is to discover biomarkers that can help us quickly and accurately diagnose long ...

Since the first demonstration of the laser in the 1960s, laser spectroscopy has become an essential tool for studying the detailed structures and dynamics of atoms and molecules. Advances in laser technology have further enhanced its capabilities. There are two main types of laser spectroscopy: frequency comb-based laser spectroscopy and tunable continuous-wave (CW) laser spectroscopy. Comb-based laser spectroscopy enables extremely precise frequency measurements, with an accuracy of up to 18 digits. This remarkable precision led to ...

Recent large-scale epidemiologic studies have increasingly suggested that aberrant brain development and psychiatric disorders may share common mechanisms. The interplay between genetic variants and environmental stress has been shown to significantly impact genome integrity, reshaping brain development. This can result in changes to neural networks, which are linked to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders—areas where many questions remain unresolved. For more information, visit: bit.ly/4ddJSV0 For contributing article to this research topic, visit: bit.ly/4crNG41 Please use the Hot-Topic Code: BMS-CMP-2024-HT-33 ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Four of the nation’s top scientists have each been awarded $1 million in direct funding via the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellows program.   The program was established to develop, sustain, and promote scientific and academic excellence in Office of Science (SC) research through collaborations between universities and national laboratories.  The awards, authorized by the America COMPETES act, are bestowed on senior national laboratory scientists. The United States has ...

UPTON, N.Y. — Physicist Mary Bishai of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has been named a 2024 DOE Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellow. The honor recognizes her “enduring contributions at the intensity frontier of high energy physics in unraveling fundamental properties of neutrinos, extraordinary leadership and service to the particle physics community, and deep commitment to broadening participation through mentoring next generation scientists.” As described in a DOE Office of Science press release issued today, the ...

People suffering from cirrhosis may find some symptom relief from two accessible activities: stretching and meditation.   A study from the University of Michigan compared the two therapies as a means to relieve nocturnal muscle cramps and found both effective.  The resulting paper, “The RELAX randomized controlled trial: Stretching versus meditation for nocturnal muscle cramps,” appeared in Liver International.  The study Two out of every three people with cirrhosis experience muscle cramps at night that wake them from sleep.  Since ...

Respiratory infections can be severe, even deadly, in some individuals, but not in others. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and other collaborators have gained new understanding of why this is the case by uncovering an early molecular driver that underpins fatal disease. Oleoyl-ACP-hydrolase (OLAH) is an enzyme involved in fatty acid metabolism. A study, published today in Cell, shows that OLAH drives severe disease outcomes.   The important role of OLAH in immune response has gone unrecognized for several reasons, including a lack of noticeable expression in healthy ...

Microwave irradiation technology is emerging as a powerful tool in the fields of organic synthesis, pharmaceuticals, and nanocarrier development. Recently, microwave-assisted reactions have gained significant attention for their effectiveness in synthesizing drug delivery carriers. This technology offers notable advantages, including high yield, shorter reaction times, and improved compound purity, making it a promising approach for developing nanoparticles with enhanced physicochemical properties and bioavailability. For more information, please visit: bit.ly/3SFk4cf For contributing article in this research topic, visit: bit.ly/3WXyoza Use ...

Data about Mars’ planetary crust gathered from the Mars InSight lander are best explained by the conclusion that the crust has stores of liquid water. Analysis led by Vashan Wright, a geophysicist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, provides the best evidence to date that the planet still has liquid water in addition to that frozen at its poles. If that conclusion is true, it sets the stage for new research considering the planet’s habitability and continuing a search for life that exists on a place other than Earth. The potential presence of liquid water on Mars has tantalized scientists for decades. Water is essential for a habitable planet. “Understanding ...

Using seismic activity to probe the interior of Mars, geophysicists have found evidence for a large underground reservoir of liquid water — enough to fill oceans on the planet's surface. The data from NASA's Insight lander allowed the scientists to estimate that the amount of groundwater could cover the entire planet to a depth of between 1 and 2 kilometers, or about a mile. While that’s good news for those tracking the fate of water on the planet after its oceans disappeared more than 3 billion years ago, the reservoir won't be of much use to anyone trying to tap into it to supply a future Mars colony. It's ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Anyone who’s tried to neatly gather a fitted sheet can tell you: folding is hard. Get it wrong with your laundry and the result can be a crumpled, wrinkled mess of fabric, but when folding fails among the approximately 7,000 proteins with an origami-like complexity that regulate essential cellular functions, the result can lead to one of a multitude of serious diseases ranging from emphysema and cystic fibrosis to Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, our bodies have a quality-control system ...

Forest restoration can benefit humans, boost biodiversity and help tackle climate change simultaneously, new research suggests. Restoring forests is often seen in terms of “trade-offs” – meaning it often focuses on a specific goal such as capturing carbon, nurturing nature or supporting human livelihoods. The new study, by the universities of Exeter and Oxford, found that restoration plans aimed at a single goal tend not to deliver the others. However, “integrated” plans would deliver over 80% of the benefits in all three areas at once. It also found that ...

A new study from scientists at Cincinnati Children’s suggests there may be a way to further protect transplanted hearts from rejection by preparing the donor organ and the recipient with an anti-inflammatory antibody treatment before surgery occurs. The findings, published online in PNAS, focus on blocking an innate immune response that normally occurs in response to microbial infections. The same response has been shown to drive dangerous inflammation in transplanted hearts. In the new study – in mice -- transplanted hearts functioned for longer periods when the organ recipients ...

Scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Seattle Children’s and the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) have identified novel genetic variations that influence relapse risk in children with standard risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (SR B-ALL), the most common childhood cancer. The identification of genomic predictors of relapse in SR B-ALL provides a basis for improved diagnosis, precise tailoring of treatment intensity and potentially the development of novel treatment approaches. The study was published today in the Journal of ...

At Ruhr University, the groups of Professor Martina Havenith and Professor Sebastian Kruss collaborated for the study, which took place as part of the Cluster of Excellence “Ruhr Explores Solvation”, RESOLV for short. The PhD students Sanjana Nalige and Phillip Galonska made significant contributions. Carbon nanotubes as biosensors Single-walled carbon nanotubes are powerful building blocks for biosensors, as previous studies revealed. Their surface can be chemically tailored with biopolymers or DNA fragments to interact specifically with a certain target molecule. When such molecules bind, the nanotubes change their emission ...