New research finds boreal arctic wetlands are producing more methane over time
2024-03-18
MADISON –– Scientists have been measuring global methane emissions for decades, but the boreal arctic —with a wide range of biomes including wetlands that extend across the northern parts of North America, Europe and Asia — is a key region where accurately estimating highly potent greenhouse gas emissions has been challenging.
Wetlands are great at storing carbon, but as global temperatures increase, they are warming up. That causes the carbon they store to be released into the atmosphere in the form of methane, which contributes to more global warming.
Now, researchers — including the University ...
TLI Investigator Dr. Wei Yan named Editor-in-Chief of the Andrology Journal
2024-03-18
The Lundquist Institute is proud to announce that Wei Yan, MD, PhD, a distinguished professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Lundquist investigator, has been appointed by the American Society of Andrology and the European Academy of Andrology as the new Editor-in-Chief of Andrology, the highly-respected journal in the field of reproductive medicine.
Dr. Yan's appointment to Andrology is a testament to his dedication to reproductive medicine. With extensive editorial experience, including his previous roles as ...
New study reveals insights into COVID-19 antibody response durability
2024-03-18
Researchers at the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine published a new study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases investigating the antibody response following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Long-lived plasma cells are responsible for durable antibody responses that persist for decades after immunization or infection. For example, infection with measles, mumps, rubella, or immunization with vaccines against tetanus or diphtheria elicit antibody responses that can last for many decades. By contrast, other infections and vaccines elicit short-lived antibody responses that last only a few ...
Climate change alters the hidden microbial food web in peatlands
2024-03-18
DURHAM, N.C. -- The humble peat bog conjures images of a brown, soggy expanse. But it turns out to have a superpower in the fight against climate change.
For thousands of years, the world’s peatlands have absorbed and stored vast amounts of carbon dioxide, keeping this greenhouse gas in the ground and not in the air. Although peatlands occupy just 3% of the land on the planet, they play an outsized role in carbon storage -- holding twice as much as all the world’s forests do.
The fate of all that carbon is uncertain in the face of climate change. And ...
Text nudges can increase uptake of COVID-19 boosters– if they play up a sense of ownership of the vaccine
2024-03-18
New research published in Nature Human Behavior suggests that text nudges encouraging people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which had proven effective in prior real-world field tests, are also effective at prompting people to get a booster.
The key in both cases is to include in the text a sense of ownership in the dose awaiting them.
The paper, led by Hengchen Dai, an associate professor of management and organizations and behavioral decision making at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Silvia Saccardo, an associate professor of social and decision sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, draws on previous research published in Nature that examined the effectiveness ...
A new study shows how neurochemicals affect fMRI readings
2024-03-18
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The brain is an incredibly complex and active organ that uses electricity and chemicals to transmit and receive signals between its sub-regions.
Researchers have explored various technologies to directly or indirectly measure these signals to learn more about the brain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), for example, allows them to detect brain activity via changes related to blood flow.
Yen-Yu Ian Shih, PhD, professor of neurology and associate director of UNC’s Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and his fellow lab members have long been curious about how neurochemicals in the brain regulate and influence neural activity, ...
Digital reminders for flu vaccination improves turnout, but not clinical outcomes in older adults
2024-03-18
Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 18 March 2024
Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet
@Annalsofim
Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.
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1. Digital reminders for flu vaccination improves ...
Avatar will not lie... or will it? Scientists investigate how often we change our minds in virtual environments
2024-03-18
How confident are you in your judgments and how well can you defend your opinions? Chances are that they will change under the influence of a group of avatars in a virtual environment. Scientists from SWPS University investigated the human tendency to be influenced by the opinions of others, including virtual characters.
We usually conform to the views of others for two reasons. First, we succumb to group pressure and want to gain social acceptance. Second, we lack sufficient knowledge and perceive the group as a source of a better interpretation of the current situation, describes Dr. Konrad Bocian from the Institute of Psychology at SWPS University.
So far, only a few studies ...
8-hour time-restricted eating linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death
2024-03-18
Research Highlights:
A study of over 20,000 adults found that those who followed an 8-hour time-restricted eating schedule, a type of intermittent fasting, had a 91% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
People with heart disease or cancer also had an increased risk of cardiovascular death.
Compared with a standard schedule of eating across 12-16 hours per day, limiting food intake to less than 8 hours per day was not associated with living longer.
Embargoed until 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET, Monday, March 18, 2024
CHICAGO, March 18, 2024 — An analysis ...
Alternative tidal wetlands in plain sight overlooked Blue Carbon superstars
2024-03-18
Blue Carbon projects are expanding globally; however, demand for credits outweighs the available credits for purchase.
Currently, only three types of wetlands are considered Blue Carbon ecosystems: mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass.
However, other tidal wetlands also comply with the characteristics of what is considered Blue Carbon, such as tidal freshwater wetlands, transitional forests and brackish marshes.
In a new study, scientists from Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Vietnam, the US and Mexico have highlighted the increasing opportunities for Blue Carbon projects for the conservation, restoration and improved management of highly threatened ...
The majority of Americans do not support anti-democratic behavior, even when elected officials do
2024-03-18
EMBARGOED UNTIL MARCH 18 AT 3 P.M. EST
Recently, fundamental tenets of democracy have come under threat, from attempts to overturn the 2020 election to mass closures of polling places.
A new study from the Polarization Research Lab, a collaboration among researchers at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, and Stanford University, has found that despite this surge in anti-democratic behavior by U.S. politicians, the majority of Americans oppose anti-democratic attitudes and reject partisan violence.
From September 2022 to October 2023, a period which included the 2022 midterm ...
Genes identified that allow bacteria to thrive despite toxic heavy metal in soil
2024-03-18
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Some soil bacteria can acquire sets of genes that enable them to pump the heavy metal nickel out of their systems, a study has found. This enables the bacteria to not only thrive in otherwise toxic soils but help plants grow there as well.
A Washington State University-led research team pinpointed a set of genes in wild soil bacteria that allows them to do this in serpentine soils which have naturally high concentrations of toxic nickel. The genetic discovery, detailed in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies ...
Scientists’ discovery could reduce dependence on animals for vital anti-blood clot drug
2024-03-18
Heparin, the world’s most widely used blood thinner, is used during procedures ranging from kidney dialysis to open heart surgery. Currently, heparin is derived from pig intestines, but scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered how to make it in the lab. They have also developed a path to a biomanufacturing process that could potentially revolutionize how the world gets its supply of this crucial medicine.
“In recent years, with disease and contamination issues disrupting the global supply chain of pig heparin and potentially putting millions of patients at risk, it’s clear we need to diversify ...
Artificial streams reveal how drought shapes California’s alpine ecosystems
2024-03-18
Berkeley — A network of artificial streams is teaching scientists how California’s mountain waterways — and the ecosystems that depend on them — may be impacted by a warmer, drier climate.
Over the next century, climate change is projected to bring less snowfall to the Sierra Nevada. Smaller snowpacks, paired with warmer conditions, will shift the annual snowmelt earlier into the year, leaving less water to feed streams and rivers during the hot summer months. By 2100, mountain streams are predicted to reach their annual base, or “low-flow,” conditions an average of six ...
Not in my backyard? Wind turbines have little effect on US property values
2024-03-18
“The impact of wind turbines on house prices is much smaller than generally feared: In the U.S., it’s about one percent for a house that has at least one wind turbine in a 10 km radius”, explains Maximilian Auffhammer, a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and co-author of the study. “And what really surprised me is that the house value bounces back to the original price over the years.” The study authors also found that there was no longer any ...
The costs of a changing landscape
2024-03-18
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL MARCH 18, 2024 AT 3:00 PM U.S. EASTERN TIME
Renewable energy sources are essential for transitioning towards a decarbonized energy system and making the electricity grid more environmentally sustainable. Clean energy alternatives like wind power can effectively replace fossil fuels, contributing to reduced air pollution and slow down climate change.
Wind power has emerged as the fastest-growing non-hydro renewable energy source worldwide. However, the implementation of wind energy infrastructure, including windmills, faces significant challenges. One major obstacle is the opposition from local communities.
Wind turbines, the primary ...
UMD researchers develop genomic method of monitoring for pesticide resistance
2024-03-18
Farmers rely on pesticides to control agricultural pests. But insects often develop resistance to the toxins in pesticides. University of Maryland researchers have developed and successfully tested a strategy for using genomics to monitor for and identify emerging resistance to specific toxins early, well before it becomes a widespread problem. The work will enable farmers to mitigate resistance and prolong the effectiveness of pest management tools.
The research was published on March 18, 2024, in the Proceedings of ...
Backyard insect inspires invisibility devices, next gen tech
2024-03-18
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. In a first, the team precisely replicated the complex geometry of these particles, called brochosomes, and elucidated a better understanding of how they absorb both visible and ultraviolet light.
This could allow the development of bioinspired optical materials with possible applications ranging from invisible cloaking devices to coatings to more efficiently harvest ...
Americans support democratic norms, elected officials don't
2024-03-18
Following the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, many Americans have raised concerns about the future of democracy in the United States.
Yet the American public, including Democrats and Republicans alike, strongly oppose anti-democratic actions and partisan violence, according to a new study by the Polarization Research Lab.
"Democracy is under threat in America, but these data show we are not on the brink of a citizen-supported push toward authoritarianism," says the lab's ...
Harnessing hydrogen at life’s origin
2024-03-18
A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas, the energy of the future, provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago. Hydrogen gas is clean fuel. It burns with oxygen in the air to provide energy with no CO2. Hydrogen is a key to sustainable energy for the future. Though humans are just now coming to realize the benefits of hydrogen gas (H2 in chemical shorthand), microbes have known that H2 is good fuel for as long as there has been life on Earth. Hydrogen is ancient energy. The very first cells on Earth lived from H2 produced in hydrothermal vents, using the reaction of H2 with CO2 to make the molecules of ...
Sustainable biomass production capacity could triple US bioeconomy, report finds
2024-03-18
The United States could triple its current bioeconomy by producing more than 1 billion tons per year of plant-based biomass for renewable fuels, while meeting projected demands for food, feed, fiber, conventional forest products and exports, according to the Department of Energy’s latest Billion-Ton Report led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The 2023 Billion-Ton Report, or BT23, announced by DOE, is the fourth in a series of national biomass resource assessments spanning two decades. The report identifies feedstocks that could be ...
Cure Mito Foundation and Hope for PDCD Foundation announce a patient registry collaboration
2024-03-18
March 18, 2024 – Cure Mito Foundation and Hope for PDCD foundation, both patient-led foundations focused on advancing research and supporting families affected by Leigh syndrome and Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency (PDCD), respectively, are excited to announce a launch of a PDCD patient registry. This innovative registry will be led by the Hope for PDCD foundation and hosted on the same registry platform as the well-established Leigh Syndrome patient registry, developed by the Cure Mito Foundation. This strategic move is aimed at enhancing patient convenience and improving data alignment and research ...
Newborn piglets serve as a model for studying influenza
2024-03-18
Although prevention and treatment strategies are available for influenza, they are not sufficient for vulnerable populations such as young children and newborns. In a new study, published in Virology, a multidisciplinary team of researchers have studied newborn piglets to better understand the progression of influenza infections.
The influenza A virus can infect a variety of birds and mammals, including humans and pigs, due to which it is a threat to public health and food security. While it causes mild ...
Kallistatin contributes to the beneficial metabolic effects of weight loss
2024-03-18
After weight loss, people with overweight and obesity express more of the protein Kallistatin* in subcutaneous white adipose tissue. This was demonstrated by researchers from the DZD in a recent study. In addition, Kallistatin improves metabolism and could open up new therapeutic options for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes in future. The results have now been published in Molecular Metabolism.
An increasing number of people are developing type 2 diabetes and obesity. These are highly complex and multifaceted diseases. In order to treat them sustainably, new approaches to therapy are needed. Clinical studies on humans have ...
WashU engineers manage a first: measuring pH in cell condensates
2024-03-18
Scientists trying to understand the physical and chemical properties that govern biomolecular condensates now have a crucial way to measure pH and other emergent properties of these enigmatic, albeit important cellular compartments.
Condensates are communities of proteins and nucleic acids. They lack a membrane and come together and fall apart as needed. The nucleolus is a prominent condensate in cells. It serves vital roles in cellular physiology and is the site of ribosome production.
Ribosomes are the multi-protein ...
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