A newly developed World Cybercrime Index shows that most cybercriminal threats are concentrated in several countries, with different countries associated with distinct cybercrime types. Miranda Bruce (University of Oxford/University of New South Wales), Jonathan Lusthaus (University of Oxford), Ridhi Kashyap (University of Oxford), Nigel Phair (Monash University), and Federico Varese (Sciences Po) present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 10, 2024. Worldwide, cybercrimes are estimated to cost hundreds ...

An analysis of building footprints in major US metropolitan areas identifies five different neighborhood types that vary in footprint size, shape, and placement, and which are statistically associated with varying neighborhood socioeconomic and demographic traits. Noah Durst of Michigan State University, US, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 10, 2024. People have long studied the shape and placement of human settlements—“neighborhood morphology”—to help inform urban planning and management. Recent technological advancements, such as high-resolution satellite imagery and more powerful computational ...

Indigenous Australian message sticks, which feature markings to convey messages over long distances, analyzed for first time at scale through new database of 1,500 artifacts ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299712 Article Title: AMSD: The Australian Message Stick Database Author Countries: Australia, Germany Funding: The lead author (Piers Kelly) receives salary and project funding specifically for the research described in this paper. He is funded by an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher ...

What we eat can impact our health as well as the environment. Many studies have looked at the impacts of diets in very general terms focused at the level of food groups. A new study led by researchers at the University of Tokyo explores this issue following a more nuanced dish-level approach. One of the benefits of this kind of study is that people’s connections with their diets vary around the world and have strong cultural associations. Knowledge of the impacts of diets using dishes rather than broad food groups can help individuals make informed choices and those in the food industry improve ...

Researchers from Lehigh University have developed a material that demonstrates the potential for drastically increasing the efficiency of solar panels.  A prototype using the material as the active layer in a solar cell exhibits an average photovoltaic absorption of 80%, a high generation rate of photoexcited carriers, and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) up to an unprecedented 190%—a measure that far exceeds the theoretical Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit for silicon-based materials and pushes the field of quantum materials for photovoltaics to ...

The gut microbiome has a profound impact on the health and development of infants. Research shows that dysbiosis—or imbalances in the microbial community—is associated with gastrointestinal diseases and neurodevelopmental deficits. Understanding how gut bacteria interact, and how these interactions may lead to some of these problems, however, is difficult and time consuming through traditional laboratory experiments. Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that models the infant microbiome. This “digital ...

Following three years of intensive research, an international team of researchers have compiled the first ever ‘World Cybercrime Index’, which identifies the globe’s key cybercrime hotspots by ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime at a national level. The Index, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that a relatively small number of countries house the greatest cybercriminal threat. Russia tops the list, followed by Ukraine, China, the USA, Nigeria, and Romania. The UK comes in at number eight. Co-author of the study, Dr Miranda Bruce from the ...

A new lab assay developed by researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center could make diagnosis and treatment of small-cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer easier.     The blood-based test, also called a “liquid biopsy,” can detect differences between types of lung cancer by examining patterns in cell-free tumor DNA in blood samples. It’s a desirable option for detecting small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) as standard needle biopsies fail due the number of smaller tumors typically present and the variety of tumor subtypes that indicate different treatment pathways.     “There ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – April 10, 2024) Infection with the influenza virus leads to lung injury through inflammation over-activation that causes collateral damage to cells required for breathing. Such damage can be life-threatening, but scientists have a new preventative treatment. A team from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, University of Houston, Tufts University School of Medicine and Fox Chase Cancer Center created a drug that can prevent flu-induced lung injury. In a mouse model, the ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — More than 2 billion people suffer from hidden hunger, a form of malnutrition where individuals lack essential micronutrients — like vitamins and minerals — even though they consume what appears to be an adequate amount of calories. University of Missouri researcher Kiruba Krishnaswamy is focused on tackling this global challenge. She recently received a five-year, $532,000 Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) — the NSF’s most prestigious award for early-career faculty — in support of her project titled ...

AMES, Iowa – If you’re the Midcontinent Independent System Operator – the organization that manages the flow of high-voltage electricity across a central stripe of the U.S. and Canada, from Manitoba, Michigan and Minnesota through Iowa and all the way to Louisiana – you want energy supplies to meet the energy demands of 45 million people.   “We make sure the right amount of electricity is generated and transmitted to our member utilities,” says the regional grid operator’s website.   Balancing power supply and demand is complicated these days. Electricity is no longer exclusively generated by power plants using coal- or natural ...

Scientists, policy makers, and marine and environmental professionals across the world are being encouraged to sign up to a new initiative highlighting some of the global threats posed by light pollution. The Global Ocean Artificial Light at Night Network (GOALANN) has been launched today at the United Nations Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona. It has been established by ecologists, oceanographers and social scientists who have spent more than a decade studying the impact of light pollution on the ocean, and the many species living in or near it. The GOALANN network aims to expand on the impact of that work, unifying research groups ...

Joint press release of Charité and Uniklinikum Erlangen Cortisone and other related glucocorticoids are extremely effective at curbing excessive immune reactions. But previously, astonishingly little was known about how they exactly do that. A team of researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Uniklinikum Erlangen and Ulm University have now explored the molecular mechanism of action in greater detail. As the researchers report in the journal Nature,* glucocorticoids reprogram ...

Physicists have observed a novel quantum effect termed “hybrid topology” in a crystalline material. This finding opens up a new range of possibilities for the development of efficient materials and technologies for next-generation quantum science and engineering.   The finding, published in the April 10th issue of Nature, came when Princeton scientists discovered that an elemental solid crystal made of arsenic (As) atoms hosts a never-before-observed form of topological quantum behavior. They were able to explore and image this ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A Johns Hopkins Medicine-led research team has added to evidence that a chemical found naturally in cannabis (also known as marijuana) can — in the right amounts — lessen the anxiety-inducing effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive sister chemical found in cannabis. The finding has the potential to advance the medicinal use of THC, and reduce the risks of its recreational use in some people. The substance, called d-limonene, is one of the most abundant terpenes, or essential oils, in the cannabis plant, and has shown promise in rodent studies in reducing anxiety behaviors. However, there has ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University researchers have developed two technologies that track a person’s gaze and facial expressions through sonar-like sensing. The technology is small enough to fit on commercial smartglasses or virtual reality or augmented reality headsets, yet consumes significantly less power than similar tools using cameras. Both use speakers and microphones mounted on an eyeglass frame to bounce inaudible soundwaves off the face and pick up reflected signals caused by face and eye movements. ...

NEW YORK, NY (April 10, 2024)--Columbia researchers have discovered a genetic variant that reduces the odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease by up to 70% and may be protecting thousands of people in the United States from the disease.  The discovery of the protective variant, which appears to allow toxic forms of amyloid out of the brain and through the blood-brain barrier, supports emerging evidence that the brain’s blood vessels play a large role in Alzheimer's disease and could herald a new direction in therapeutic development.  “Alzheimer’s disease may get started with amyloid deposits in the brain, but ...

As lung cells are killed by the influenza virus, they burst open, releasing molecular signals that trigger the immune cells that can combat the infection. This strategy can be an important red flag that something is wrong; however, if one cell death response, called necroptosis, continues unchecked, it can cause life-threatening injury to lung tissue. In a study published April 10 in the journal Nature, Tufts University School of Medicine scientists and collaborators present a newly developed compound ...

Philadelphia, April 10, 2024 – CAR T cell therapy has revolutionized the way certain types of cancer are treated, and the longer those CAR T cells live in a patient’s body, the more effectively they respond to cancer. Now, in a new study, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Stanford Medicine have found that a protein called FOXO1 improves the survival and function of CAR T cells, which may lead to more effective CAR T cell therapies and could potentially expand its use in difficult-to-treat cancers. The findings were published online today by the journal Nature. T ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of health care personnel (HCP), compared with non-Hispanic white HCP and clinical HCP with graduate degrees, non-Hispanic Black HCP, non-Hispanic HCP of other races, and HCP of all other professional and education backgrounds were more likely to have delayed COVID-19 testing. These findings suggest that time to testing may serve as a valuable metric in evaluating sociodemographic disparities in the response to COVID-19 and future health mitigation strategies.  Authors: DaMarcus ...

About The Study: As of 2022, the midlife mortality rates from deaths of despair (deaths from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholic liver disease) among Black individuals were higher than rates among white individuals, and rates among American Indian or Alaska Native individuals remained higher than rates in the other groups. Rising inequalities in deaths of despair among American Indian or Alaska Native and Black individuals were largely attributable to disproportionate early mortality from drug- and alcohol-related causes, which increased leading up to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Authors: Joseph ...

In a new breakthrough that could revolutionise medical and material engineering, scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind molecular device that controls the release of multiple small molecules using force. The researchers from The University of Manchester describe a force-controlled release system that harnesses natural forces to trigger targeted release of molecules, which could significantly advance medical treatment and smart materials. The discovery, published today in the journal Nature, uses a novel technique using a type of interlocked molecule known as rotaxane. Under the influence of mechanical force - such ...

Cells contain various specialised structures - such as the nucleus, mitochondria or peroxisomes - known as “organelles’’. Tracing their genesis and determining their structure is fundamental to understanding cell function and the pathologies linked to their dysfunction. Scientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have combined high resolution microscopy and kinematic reconstruction techniques to visualise, in motion, the genesis of the human centriole. This organelle, essential to the organisation of the cell skeleton, is associated - in case of dysfunction - with certain cancers, brain disorders or retinal diseases. This work, published in the journal Cell, elucidates ...

The potential of quantum technology is huge but is today largely limited to the extremely cold environments of laboratories. Now, researchers at Stockholm University, at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics and at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice have succeeded in demonstrating for the very first time how laser light can induce quantum behavior at room temperature – and make non-magnetic materials magnetic. The breakthrough is expected to pave the way for faster and more energy-efficient computers, information transfer and data storage. Within a few decades, the advancement of quantum technology ...

Children who live in areas with natural spaces (e.g., forests, parks, backyards) from birth may experience fewer emotional issues between the ages of 2 and 5, according to a study funded by the NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. While research has suggested that time in nature is important for mental health, studies examining the effects on young children are limited. ECHO investigators addressed this research gap by analyzing information from parents about the behavior of their children from ages 2 to 11. They combined this data with the family’s ...