Recently, the research team led by Researcher WANG Guozhong from the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a method to precisely control the size of nickel particles in catalysts, improving their performance in hydrogenation reactions.  The related research results were published in Advanced Functional Materials. Catalysts are essential in speeding up chemical reactions without being consumed, and the size of the metal particles in them plays a key role in their effectiveness. Larger particles have more high-coordination sites, while smaller ones are dominated ...

Mineral scaling, a significant issue in membrane desalination, reduces water recovery rates and diminishes system performance. Gypsum and silica, are two prevalent types of scaling, each form through different processes—crystallization for gypsum and polymerization for silica. These formation mechanisms lead to contrasting behaviors: gypsum scaling, marked by rapid kinetics and intrusive crystal growth, causes pore wetting, while silica scaling forms highly adhesive, irreversible layers. The impact of these scales on desalination efficiency underscores the need for a deeper understanding of their formation and mitigation. On October 20, ...

When ‘Elephant’ toothpaste erupts from the science lab, history deals up Pokémon playing cards, and maths bakes a batch of chocolate brownies, it might seem like chaos.   Yet, a groundbreaking study from University of South Australia researchers, shows that creativity plays an essential role in academic success, suggesting that students who think outside the box are more likely to excel in literacy and numeracy assessments.   It’s an important finding, particularly when the most recent National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data shows that one in three Australian students are behind in their numeracy ...

Scientists from UNSW Sydney have located a potential new exoplanet – a planet that orbits a star outside of our solar system – using a technique known as ‘transit timing variation’.  In research highlighted in a new paper, published today in The Astrophysical Journal, Scientia Senior Lecturer Ben Montet and PhD candidate Brendan McKee analysed changes in the timing of a known planet’s transit across its star, to infer the presence of a second exoplanet.   After ...

Ancient frog relatives survived the aftermath of the largest mass extinction of species by feeding on freshwater prey that evaded terrestrial predators, University of Bristol academics have found. In the study, published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science, their findings suggest the amphibians’ success lay in their generalist feeding ecology, enabling them to feed on a wide variety of prey despite the array of environmental changes happening all around them through the Triassic. Broader examination of Triassic ecosystems also indicates that the freshwater habitats they preferred provided them with a relatively stable variety of food resources, allowing them ...

Men’s semen quality is associated with how long they live according to a study of nearly 80,000 men, which is published today (Wednesday) in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals.   The study followed the men for up to 50 years and found that those with a total number of motile sperm (sperm that can move or ‘swim’) of more than 120 million could expect to live two to three years longer than men with a total motile sperm count of between 0 and 5 million.   This is the largest study to examine the link between semen quality and mortality. An accompanying editorial ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- In a recent study, researcher Anandasankar Ray at the University of California, Riverside, and his team employed machine learning techniques combined with cheminformatics to predict novel mosquito repellents that could greatly improve global mosquito control efforts. Using the same approach to combat the global threat of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue, Ray, the recipient of a $2.5 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, will now work on identifying novel spatial mosquito repellents ...

Psychosocial stress during pregnancy could lead to higher blood pressure during the first year postpartum according to research from Keck School of Medicine of USC. The study, published in Hypertension and supported by the National Institutes of Health, investigated whether mothers who reported higher perceived stress and depressive symptoms during pregnancy, developed higher blood pressure in the four-year period after birth. The findings showed higher stress and depressive symptoms during pregnancy were associated with greater blood pressure during the first year postpartum, but associations diminished thereafter. “Pregnancy ...

Resistance or muscle strengthening exercise, using weights or the body itself, may be the best type of exercise for tackling insomnia in older age, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available research, published in the open access journal Family Medicine and Community Health. Aerobic exercise or a mix of strength, aerobic, balance, and flexibility exercises also seem to be effective, the analysis indicates. Sleep quality tends to decline with age. And up to 1 in five older adults has insomnia, ...

The global number of cases of osteoarthritis, as well the disability associated with the condition, have risen by more than 130% over the past 3 decades among women who have gone through the menopause, indicates a data analysis spanning 1990 to 2021, and published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health. During this period, East Asia and high income Asia Pacific countries experienced the fastest growth in the condition while excess weight accounted for 20% of the total years lived with the resulting disability, the analysis indicates. Osteoarthritis is primarily characterised by the deterioration and damage ...

OKLAHOMA CITY – The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences has achieved its highest ranking ever in National Institutes of Health funding awarded for research. NIH funding increased to $75.2 million in the previous federal fiscal year, improving the campus’s ranking to 102 out of 2,838 institutions and other entities that receive NIH funding. OU Health Sciences’ previous ranking was 122. Of the total amount of funding, $65.3 million was awarded to the OU College of Medicine, whose faculty members cross 23 academic departments ...

We don’t just have sex to reproduce - new research suggests that using sex to manage social tension could be a trait that existed in the common ancestor of humans and apes six million years ago. Humans share this behavioural strategy with our closest living ape relatives – bonobos and chimpanzees. Now researchers, led by Durham University, UK, have undertaken what is thought to be one of the first direct comparisons of sexual behaviour amongst bonobos and chimpanzees during periods of social stress. Their findings, published ...

Diminished trust in public education in crisis-hit Lebanon is worsening inequality in the country and forcing parents to make difficult decisions, a new study warns.  The country’s dual education system, reinforced by religious and political policies, continues to favour the upper classes, exacerbating educational disparities between social groups.  Lebanon’s sectarian government and weak state has led parents to perceive the academic and non-academic outcomes of most private schools as better than those of public schools.   Many said this perception has intensified recently due to declining government funding, ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — UC Santa Barbara researchers are working to move cold atom quantum experiments and applications from the laboratory tabletop to chip-based systems, opening new possibilities for sensing, precision timekeeping, quantum computing and fundamental science measurements.  “We’re at the tipping point,” said electrical and computer engineering professor Daniel Blumenthal. In an invited article that was also selected for the cover of Optica Quantum, Blumenthal, along with graduate student researcher Andrei Isichenko and postdoctoral researcher Nitesh Chauhan, lays out the latest developments ...

Researchers at Rice University have uncovered a critical link between rising temperatures and declines in a species’ population, shedding new light on how global warming threatens natural ecosystems. The study, published in Ecology and led by Volker Rudolf, revealed that rising temperatures exacerbate competition within populations, ultimately leading to population crashes at higher temperatures. It offers one of the first clear experimental confirmations that rising temperatures alter the forces that control population dynamics in nature. “Our research provides an essential ...

Adults with disabilities are nearly twice as likely to misuse prescription drugs as adults without disabilities, according to West Virginia University research.  Jeanette Garcia, associate professor at the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, said the findings point to the urgency of curbing prescription misuse among adults with disabilities. “Almost 10% of the individuals with disabilities in our sample reported misusing prescription drugs within the past year, compared to 4.4% of individuals without disabilities,” Garcia said. “We saw the highest ...

UF/IFAS researchers are investigating the economic potential of growing vanilla in Florida with the aim of establishing an alternative – and potentially lucrative – crop to oranges. “With citrus in decline, we’re searching for crops that can generate profits for producers,” said Jaclyn Kropp, a professor in the food and resource economics department. “Vanilla is a high-value crop, so there’s immense revenue potential.” No large-scale, commercial production ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2025 Media Contacts: Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137 Natalie Conrad, nconrad@aan.com, (612) 928-6164 Are higher doses of folic acid in pregnancy safe? MINNEAPOLIS – Taking a higher dose of folic acid during the first trimester of pregnancy was safe and associated with improved verbal abilities in children at age six as well as improved behavior skills, according to a preliminary study released today, March 4, 2025, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 77th Annual Meeting taking ...

WASHINGTON—A survey conducted by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) highlights ongoing radiation and orthopedic hazards faced by interventional cardiologists and cardiac catheterization laboratory (“cath lab” or CCL) staff. The survey revealed that despite technological advancements, significant risks often remain unaddressed despite advances in protective equipment. “Occupational Health Hazards in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory: Results of the 2023 SCAI Survey” highlights alarming trends in radiation exposure and orthopedic ...

(Boston) — Technology is changing how physicians think about assessing patients and, in turn, how patients expect to be able to measure their own health. Apps designed for smartphones and wearable devices can provide unique insights into users’ brain health.   It is estimated that 55 million individuals worldwide suffer from some form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias being the leading causes, with numbers expected to triple by 2050. Early education and detection of cognitive changes empower individuals to enact lifestyle modifications and initiate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches to slow or prevent decline. In fact, up to 45% of ...

In their study, University of Delaware Associate Research Professor Leigh McLean and co-author Nathan Jones of Boston University, found that teachers displayed far more positive emotions than negative ones. But they also found that some teachers showed high levels of negative emotions. In these cases, teachers’ expressions of negative emotions were associated with reduced student enjoyment of learning and engagement. These findings add to a compelling body of research highlighting the importance of teachers’ and students’ emotional experiences within ...

One limitation of producing biofuel is that the alcohol created by fermentation is toxic to the microbes that produce it. Now scientists are closer to overcoming this obstacle. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the alcohols they produce during fermentation of plant biomass. With the national lab’s neutron scattering and simulation equipment, the team ...

A vivid new image is taking shape in the world of cell biology: Imagine bacteria adhering to the surface of a cell, perhaps at the site of an injury or wound. In response, a white blood cell arrives at the scene. This cell encircles the pathogen with its membrane, forming a tight, constricting ring. With remarkable force, the white blood cell yanks the pathogen off the wound’s surface. The white blood cell then engulfs the pathogen in a process called phagocytosis, in which it “eats” the foreign invader to neutralize it. This dramatic process might sound like something out of a science fiction story.  “But it’s precisely what ...

Millions of Americans undergo surgery each year. After surgery, preventing complications like pneumonia, blood clots and infections can be the difference between a successful recovery and a prolonged, painful hospital stay – or worse. More than 10% of surgical patients experience such complications, which can lead to longer stays in the intensive care unit (ICU), higher mortality rates and increased health care costs. Early identification of at-risk patients is crucial, but predicting these risks accurately remains ...

March 4, 2025 — For patients undergoing nerve transfer surgery for facial palsy, Botox injections can improve facial symmetry by reducing overactivity of the muscles on the unaffected side, suggests a study in the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. The added benefit of Botox reflects modifications ...