The press release
archive.

Environment14 Mar 2023

Future cargo ships could be powered by wind to fight climate change

Scientists to retrofit large shipping vessels with ultramodern sails in efforts to cut carbon emissions University of Southampton initiative will investigate how modern vessels perform on the ocean when fitted with the wing-sails Funding from Innovate UK to investigate the potential of the technology and decarbonise the UK’s maritime sector SHIPS of the future could once again be powered by wind if a pioneering project which retrofits large vessels with ultramodern wing-sails proves successful in cutting carbon emissions. Scientists ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Molecular biologist Shixin Liu receives Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science

Shixin Liu receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for developing cutting-edge biophysical tools to directly visualize and understand the physiological function of nanometer-scale biomolecular machines such as those that carry out genome replication and gene transcription. The Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise is a $50,000 prize awarded annually by the Vilcek Foundation as part of its prizes program. Awarded annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation prizes recognize and celebrate immigrant contributions to scientific research and discovery, and to artistic and cultural advancement in the United States. In addition ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

Researchers develop enhanced genetic animal model of Down syndrome

National Institutes of Health researchers compared a new genetic animal model of Down syndrome to the standard model and found the updated version to be enhanced. The new mouse model shows milder cognitive traits compared to a previously studied Down syndrome mouse model. The results of this study, published in Biological Psychiatry, may help researchers develop more precise treatments to improve cognition in people with Down syndrome. Scientists found that the new mouse model, known as Ts66Yah, had memory difficulties and behavior traits, but the symptoms were not as severe as seen with the ...

Read the release

Environment14 Mar 2023

Climate change alters a human-raptor relationship

Ithaca, NY— Bald Eagles and dairy farmers exist in a mutually beneficial relationship in parts of northwestern Washington State. According to a new study, this "win-win" relationship has been a more recent development, driven by the impact of climate change on eagles' traditional winter diet of salmon carcasses, as well as by increased eagle abundance following decades of conservation efforts. The research is published in the journal Ecosphere. "The narrative ...

Read the release

Environment14 Mar 2023

A mechanistic and probabilistic method for predicting wildfires

Spanning long distances across variable terrains, electric power systems can spark wildfires in the event of dry weather and high winds. This may occur when conductor cables oscillate in such a way to become close to the surrounding vegetation. Data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shows that between 2016-2020, at least five of the top 20 most destructive California wildfires started from power systems. Paired with the extreme weather conditions and nearby vegetation, ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

This is what happens when your phone is spying on you

Smartphone spyware apps that allow people to spy on each other are not only hard to notice and detect, they also will easily leak the sensitive personal information they collect, says a team of computer scientists from New York and San Diego. While publicly marketed as tools to monitor underage children and employees using their employer’s equipment, spyware apps are also frequently used by abusers to covertly spy on a spouse or a partner. These apps require little to no technical expertise from the abusers; offer detailed installation ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

New, non-invasive imaging tool maps uterine contractions during labor

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new imaging tool, called electromyometrial imaging (EMMI), to create real-time, three-dimensional images and maps of contractions during labor. The non-invasive imaging technique generates new types of images and metrics that can help quantify contraction patterns, providing foundational knowledge to improve labor management, particularly for preterm birth. The small study is supported in part by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) through its Human ...

Read the release

Energy14 Mar 2023

Regional ECT, lithium, and clozapine use linked to lower suicide rates in male adolescents

A new study from Karolinska Institutet suggests that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), lithium, and clozapine may reduce suicide rates in adolescent men with severe mental illness, consistent with previous findings in adults. The study, published in Nature Communications, compared treatment and suicide rates across different regions in Sweden. Annually, there are 800,000 suicide deaths worldwide. Suicide is the leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, with up to 90 percent of those affected having a serious psychiatric illness ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

Imaging tech produces real-time 3D maps of uterine contractions during labor

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed new imaging technology that can produce 3D maps showing the magnitude and distribution of uterine contractions in real time and across the entire surface of the uterus during labor. Building on imaging methods long used on the heart, this technology can image uterine contractions noninvasively and in much greater detail than currently available tools, which only indicate the presence or absence of a contraction. The ...

Read the release

Environment14 Mar 2023

Tech could help BC farmers reach customers, mitigate climate change impacts

Technology exists that the BC government could leverage to help small farmers connect directly with consumers and also mitigate climate change impacts, say new findings from UBC Okanagan. Dr. John Janmaat and Dr. Joanne Taylor co-authored new research that examines how farmers in the Okanagan and Cariboo regions of BC are adapting compared to farmers in China’s Shaanxi province. One of the key differences was how Chinese farmers used technology and social media, an option that’s not as widely used in ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

High winds can worsen pathogen spread at outdoor chicken farms

PULLMAN, Wash. – Farmers who keep their chickens outdoors may want to watch the weather. A study of chicken farms in the West found that high winds increased the prevalence of Campylobacter in outdoor flocks, a bacterial pathogen in poultry that is the largest single cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. Researchers found that about 26% of individual chickens had the pathogen at the “open environment” farms in the study, which included organic and free-range chicken farms. High winds the week prior to sampling and the farms’ location in more intensive agricultural settings were linked to a greater prevalence of ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Environmental justice scholar Joan Martinez-Alier named 2023 Holberg Prize Laureate

Joan Martinez-Alier is Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB). He will receive the award of NOK 6,000,000 (approx. EUR 550,000) during an 8 June ceremony at the University of Bergen, Norway. Martinez-Alier receives the Holberg Prize for his ground-breaking research in ecological economics, political ecology and environmental justice. He is known for criticizing established economic theory and traditional approaches to economic growth. Martinez-Alier is also a major figure and leading public intellectual in the burgeoning movement for ’degrowth’. Degrowth ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide prevents diet-induced obesity in mice

The hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is considered obesogenic. In contrast, GIP receptor agonists (GIPRAs) have shown reduced feeding and body weight in an obese mouse model. Therefore, the precise effects exerted by GIP and GIPRAs remain elusive. Recently, researchers demonstrated acute feeding inhibition and lowered body weight in mice with diet-induced obesity treated with GIPFA-085, a long-acting GIPRA. Their findings provide a scientific basis for GIP therapy for diabetes and obesity. Obesity, ...

Read the release

Environment14 Mar 2023

Protecting messengers of the gods: Conservation of Nara Park deer has resulted in unique genetic lineage

The existing wildlife of a region is heavily shaped over generations by environmental factors and human activity. Activities like urbanization and hunting are known to reduce wildlife populations. However, some cultural or religious practices have, on occasion, preserved local animal populations. For instance, the forests around religious shrines in Japan have historically forbidden hunting and, as a consequence, provide refuge for certain animal species. A well-known example of this is the Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon), which has historically been considered a holy creature. A revered ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

British public back ban on selling junk foods at checkouts study shows

Shoppers join food industry and health experts in backing UK plans to ban high fat, salt and sugar products from checkouts, store entrances and aisle ends Consumers and retailers were asked about the impact of new government legislation aiming to restrict how unhealthy food is sold Scientists behind investigation say ban can curb impulse buys that cause obesity – but warn of loopholes and limited resources that could undermine health benefits A ban on selling junk foods from store entrances, aisle ends and checkouts should continue after a new study found the plans were largely backed by the British public and food industry. Legislation ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

EPND launches its Cohort Catalogue, facilitating discovery of over 60 neurodegeneration research cohorts from 17 countries across Europe

On 14 March, the European Platform for Neurodegenerative Diseases (EPND) launched its Cohort Catalogue. Featuring an extensive list of international cohorts across the neurodegenerative disease spectrum, the Cohort Catalogue is a central, open, accessible repository for researchers to discover ongoing studies and search metadata by disease area, biosample availability, imaging and cognitive data, and more. The EPND consortium brings together experts in neurodegeneration research, data science, diagnosis and treatment from 29 public and private organisations. Funded by ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Help Harry Help Others and Aston University join forces to develop pioneering treatment of brain tumors in children

Birmingham based charity, Help Harry Help Others and Aston University researchers, are working together to develop a pioneering pre-surgical diagnostic tool, which could see the eventual outcome of children with brain tumours drastically improve. Help Harry Help Others, which became a registered charity in September 2012 and marked its 10th anniversary last year, was founded by Georgie Moseley, following the passing of her son Harry. Despite fighting an inoperable brain tumour, Harry raised over £750,000 for cancer research in the last two years of his life, before he passed away ...

Read the release

Technology14 Mar 2023

Machine learning helps researchers separate compostable from conventional plastic waste with ‘very high’ accuracy

Disposable plastics are everywhere: Food containers, coffee cups, plastic bags. Some of these plastics, called compostable plastics, can be engineered to biodegrade under controlled conditions. However, they often look identical to conventional plastics, get recycled incorrectly and, as a result, contaminate plastic waste streams and reduce recycling efficiency. Similarly, recyclable plastics are often mistaken for compostable ones, resulting in polluted compost. Researchers at University College London (UCL) have published a paper in Frontiers ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

Observations open door to improved luminous efficiency of organic LEDs

Electroluminescence is the production of light with an electrical current, without relying on heat or chemical reactions. This makes electroluminescent lights reliable and highly efficient: they are used as backlights in digital watches and in the displays of Apollo space shuttle guidance computers. Like OLEDs, light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs)—which emit light through electroluminescence—have undergone many technological advancements. Close examination of the processes that lead to luminescence is essential ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Rice labs seek RNA programming for ‘smart’ antibiotics

HOUSTON – (March 13, 2023) – Synthetic biologists at Rice University are embarking on a three-year project to create “genetically encoded antibiotics,” strands of RNA that bacteria will readily copy and share that will selectively kill only disease-causing, pathogenic bacteria. “Most bacteria pose no danger to human health,” said James Chappell, an assistant professor of biosciences and bioengineering at Rice. “The question for us as synthetic biologists is, ‘Can we create genetic programs that move through microbial communities and precisely remove only the bad actors from those communities?’” Thanks ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Attracting stem cells and facilitating bone regeneration by adhesive protein

One of the key factors of success in a dental implant is the condition of the periodontium around the implant. A higher long-term success rate of dental implants requires sufficient and healthy alveolar bone. In those cases where lack of alveolar bone renders setting an implant difficult, the bone should be regenerated sufficiently to receive the implant, whether before or during the implant surgery. Development of osteogenic barrier coating material for implants by a Korean research team is expected to improve the success rate of alveolar bone grafting. Three research teams led by Professor Hyung Joon Cha of the Chemical Engineering ...

Read the release

Science14 Mar 2023

Thousands of native plants are unphotographed, and citizen scientists can help fill the gaps

Scientists have documented plant species for centuries to help us understand and protect the incredible diversity of flora in our world. But according to new research, many have never actually been photographed in their natural habitats – and that’s a problem. Researchers from UNSW Sydney and the Australian Institute of Botanical Science, part of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, surveyed 33 major online databases of plant photographs to examine the photographic record of Australian plant species. The findings, published in New Phytologist, reveal out of 21,077 native Australian vascular plant species, almost 20 per cent lack a verifiable photograph. Lead ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Study sheds light on concerning new trend in drug advertising: Patient influencers

Patients-turned-social-media-influencers routinely offer prescription drug advice to their followers and often have close ties with pharmaceutical companies, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research. But they also tend to have good intentions, the study found. The study, published this week in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, provides some of the first insights into the burgeoning, loosely regulated world of so-called “patient influencers,” sharing findings from 26 in-depth interviews about why and how they do it. “The bottom line here is that patient influencers act as a form ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Checking children’s wellbeing: Before and after COVID-19

A video game featuring a mystical character named Rumble has helped Griffith University researchers investigate how school kids fared following lockdown disruption. Dr Jacqueline Allen from Griffith’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice headed up the team looking at self-reported wellbeing in a sample of primary school-aged children in Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia. The team used an innovative video game called Rumble’s Quest, developed wholly within Griffith University, which measures the four key facets of wellbeing, as well as ...

Read the release

Medicine14 Mar 2023

Health: Mediterranean diet associated with decreased risk of dementia

Consumption of a traditional Mediterranean-type diet – rich in foods such as seafood, fruit, and nuts – is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, reports a study published in BMC Medicine. Individuals with a higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet had up to 23% lower risk for dementia compared with those who had lower adherence to a Mediterranean diet. Diet may be an important modifiable risk factor for dementia that could be targeted for disease prevention and risk reduction but previous studies exploring the impact of a Mediterranean diet have typically been limited to small sample ...

Read the release