Today the Biophysical Journal is launching a new initiative, the Postdoctoral Reviewer Program. The program provides postdoctoral researchers in biophysics the opportunity to partner with Associate Editors and complete reviews that will be used in deciding whether articles will be accepted for publication. Candidates for this program must be in a postdoctoral position during the 2023–2024 academic year and a member of BPS in good standing. Applications for the new program will be accepted through July 1 for a single-year term beginning in September 2023. Interested candidates can find more information about the program and application process online. “I am extremely ...

Newcastle University researchers have created environmentally-friendly, high-efficiency photovoltaic cells that harness ambient light to power internet of Things (IoT) devices. Led by Dr Marina Freitag, the research group from the from School of Natural and Environmental Sciences (SNES) created dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells based on a copper(II/I) electrolyte, achieving an unprecedented power conversion efficiency of 38% and 1.0V open-circuit voltage at 1,000 lux (fluorescent lamp). The cells are non-toxic and environmentally friendly, setting a new standard for sustainable ...

The iconic image of the supermassive black hole at the center of M87—sometimes referred to as the “fuzzy, orange donut”—has gotten its first official makeover with the help of machine learning. The new image further exposes a central region that is larger and darker, surrounded by the bright accreting gas shaped like a “skinny donut.” The team used the data obtained by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration in 2017 and achieved, for the first time, the full resolution of the array. In 2017, the EHT collaboration used a network of seven pre-existing telescopes ...

By using a new method, precious metals can be efficiently recovered from thin-film solar cells. This is shown by new research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. The method is also more environmentally friendly than previous methods of recycling and paves the way for more flexible and highly efficient solar cells. Today there are two mainstream types of solar cells. The most common is silicon-based and accounts for 90 percent of the market. The other type is called thin-film solar cells which in turn uses three main sub-technologies, one of which is known as CIGS ...

Many infant formulas promise a lot. Several products claim that they help develop the brain, increase immunity and promote children's growth and development, among other things. Now a research group led by Imperial College London has looked at whether these promises have any substance to them. The article has recently been published in BMJ. “Most of the claims about the health-giving and nutritional properties of breast milk substitutes seem to be based on little or no evidence,” the research group says. Claims surrounding these replacement milk products are controversial. They can give the impression ...

Milan (Italy), 13 April 2023 – The Center for Ethics in Science and Science Journalism (CESJ, www.cesj.eu) is among the partners of the FRONTIERS consortium that was selected by the European Research Council for a grant of 1.5 million euro to establish a residency program for science journalists in research institutions across Europe, and measure its impact on the lifelong professional development of science journalism in Europe. The consortium also includes the NOVA University of Lisbon (Portugal), ...

People who experience periods of high inflation are more likely to buy a home, according to a new study from the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management. The paper, to be published in The Journal of Finance, uses various sources of data which reveal households that have been exposed to high inflation are more likely to invest in real estate. The study suggests many homeowners buy because they are motivated to protect themselves from possible future price hikes. The study is the first to reveal that personal ...

A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, provides interesting new evidence about the evolution of North American wolves, which has been a subject of debate among conservationists and taxonomists. Southeastern Canada is home to populations of wolves and coyotes whose origins and genetic relationships have long puzzled scientists. In particular, eastern wolves have been the subject of great dispute, and it remains unknown whether these canids represent ...

Helium usually has two protons and two neutrons strongly bound to each other, often forming a substructure within the nucleus. A nucleus composed of several such substructures is called a cluster structure. In the standard picture, nuclei are difficult to understand in terms of so-called shell structure; because there was no way to clearly distinguish whether each nucleus has a cluster or a shell structure. Associate Professor Wataru Horiuchi and Professor Naoyuki Itagaki from the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Science, have developed an ...

Cross-sectional study of 1,123 participants confirms α-synuclein seed amplification assay (αSyn-SAA) technique is highly accurate at identifying people with Parkinson’s disease.  The technique detects at-risk individuals and those with early, non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease prior to diagnosis, suggesting that a positive result on αSyn-SAA may be an early indicator of disease onset.  Differences in the frequency of a positive αSyn-SAA result were detected based on age and sex, and if people ...

The UK’s decision to join one of the world’s largest free trade agreements, known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), poses a major threat to UK public health, warn experts in The BMJ today. In acceding to the CPTPP, the government hopes to boost trade, improve economic growth, and strengthen the UK’s strategic position as a global rule setter.  But Courtney McNamara and colleagues argue that free trade deals have serious and wide ranging implications for public health and ...

Women working in healthcare who are regularly exposed to radiation from x-rays and other imaging procedures need better ionising radiation protection to help minimise their risk of developing breast cancer, argue doctors in The BMJ today. Ionising radiation is a known human carcinogen and breast tissue is highly radiation sensitive. As such, there are concerns that regular exposure to ionising radiation during image guided procedures may be linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in female healthcare workers. Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as lead gowns are used to shield the body from harmful radiation during these ...

*Note: this is a joint press release from the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) and The Lancet.  Please credit both the congress and the journal in your stories* A new study to be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen 15-18 April), and published in The Lancet, shows that, compared with standard care that included low dose corticosteroid use, treating hypoxic COVID-19 patients needing ...

Paper available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1y9GfgYkRdUtwyq6nBhySePTUHZYP6iAj?usp=share_link Landmark study finds no difference in psychological wellbeing or quality of family relationships between children born by assisted reproduction (egg or sperm donation or surrogacy) and those born naturally at age 20. However, findings suggest that telling children about their biological origins early – before they start school – can be advantageous for family relationships and healthy adjustment. The study, by University of Cambridge researchers, is the first to examine the long-term ...

Nitrogen dioxide is one of the criteria air pollutants that plays an important role as a precursor gas of fine particulate matter and ozone. NO2 emissions are known to be primarily generated by industrial facilities or vehicle exhausts. Recently, a research team from POSTECH analyzed satellite remote sensing data from the European Space Agency (ESA) and released results showing that food processing facilities and high-rise apartments that are 10 stories or higher are significant sources of NO2 emissions. Their findings have drawn attention from NASA.   A ...

Niigata, Japan - A new Japanese study reveals significant birth cohort effects on the incidence trend of ESKD requiring RRT. “Different birth cohorts may have different levels of exposure to a particular risk factor, which may produce a change in disease incidence for individuals born at a particular time, i.e. a cohort effect,” said Dr. Wakasugi, the corresponding author of the study. “Age-Period-Cohort (APC) analysis, a statistical method to distinguish between age, period, and ...

As a four-day work week is trialled in countries across the globe, health researchers at the University of South Australia say they’re ‘all in’ when it comes to a long weekend, especially as new empirical research shows that the extra time off is good for our health.   Assessing changes in daily movements before, during and after holidays, researchers found that people displayed more active, healthy behaviours when they were on holiday, even when they only had a three-day break.   Across the 13-month study period, people generally took an average two to three holidays, each being around 12 days. The most common holiday type was ‘outdoor ...

Anthocyanins are compounds related to the color of plants. They also have beneficial effects on human health and are used as a supplement. Various species of anthocyanins, divided by their molecular shape, are present in plants. Therefore, simple, and rapid, analytical techniques that can distinguish among these species in crops are necessary for breeding and quality assessment. A team of Nagoya University researchers in Japan has used a technique called probe electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (PESI/MS/MS) to analyze anthocyanins in crops. ...

A research team led by Dr Chaogu ZHENG from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has recently made a significant discovery about the evolutionary age of different type of cells in a small animal called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). By using single-cell transcriptomic data and refined phylostratigraphy, the team determines the transcriptomic age of individual cells, which means they are able to estimate the evolutionary origin of different cells based on the age of the genes expressed in the ...

Until recently, fish that eat coral — corallivores — were thought to weaken reef structures, while fish that consume algae and detritus — grazers — were thought to keep reefs healthy. But scientists have discovered that feces from grazers leave large lesions on coral, possibly because they contain coral pathogens. By contrast, feces from corallivores may provide a source of beneficial microbes that help coral thrive. “Corallivorous fish are generally regarded as harmful because they bite the corals,” said Dr Carsten Grupstra of Rice University, ...

Arlington, Va., April 13, 2023 – New data published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) provide the first published evidence that a positive safety climate and adherence to standard precautions predict key healthcare-associated infection (HAI) and occupational health outcomes among patients and health care workers, respectively. The findings highlight features within hospitals’ organizations and safety climates that could be modified to improve these outcomes. “Despite the infection prevention and safety benefits associated with standard precautions, generating consistent adherence in the healthcare setting has been ...

“Recently, optimizing selenium intake in the population to prevent diseases [...] has been an important issue in modern health care worldwide.” BUFFALO, NY- April 12, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 6, entitled, “Selenium as a predictor of metabolic syndrome in middle age women.” Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a widespread clinical entity that has become almost a global epidemic. Selenium plays an important role in metabolic homeostasis. It has been suggested that it ...

In a novel effort to create the next generation of plant-based, protein-rich environmentally sustainable and savory alternatives to animal meat, a University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientist has turned his attention to soybean meal. Globally, this byproduct of soybean oil extraction is used almost exclusively for animal feed. In the U.S. alone, some 48 million metric tons of soybean meal was produced in 2022, according to the USDA.  “After the oil extraction, the majority of the protein is in the meal, not the oil,” says Hang ...

“Our phase I study determined the tolerable dose of this combination and investigated its biologic effects.”  BUFFALO, NY- April 12, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on April 10, 2023, entitled, “A phase I trial of riluzole and sorafenib in patients with advanced solid tumors: CTEP #8850.” Overexpression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (GRM1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple cancers. Riluzole, an inhibitor of glutamate release, showed synergistic antitumor activity in combination with the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib ...

The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased weekday screentime for school-aged children says a new study involving the University of Ottawa published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers examined the change in children’s screen time from prior to the pandemic to three separate pandemic waves between 2020 and 2021. Researchers found a boost of up to 1.35 hours per day during the weekdays compared to prior to the pandemic, particularly with school closures at the onset of the pandemic. While the weekend time was on par with pre-pandemic levels, ...