What causes an eruption? Why do some volcanoes erupt regularly, while others remain dormant for thousands of years? A team of geologists and geophysicists, led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has reviewed the literature on the internal and external mechanisms that lead to a volcanic eruption. Analyzing the thermo-mechanics of deep volcanic processes and magma propagation to the surface, together with magma chemistry, the geologists determined that most of the magma rising from depth actually does not cause a volcanic eruption. They also show that older volcanoes tend to produce less frequent, but larger and more dangerous eruptions. Their findings, published in Nature Reviews ...

A new study published in Nature Communications demonstrates the important role that planting new commercial forests could play in the fight against climate change by including new accounting of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation achieved from future use of harvested wood. The study applied a novel, time-dependent assessment to capture the complex dynamics of carbon uptake, storage and partial eventual release back to the atmosphere, alongside product and energy substitution by wood products, over a 100-year timeframe. Uniquely, the study considered multiple wood uses along multi-decadal cascading value chains (e.g. construction timber to paper to bioenergy), and future projections on wider decarbonisation of substituted ...

Although the emissions targets for aviation are in line with the overall goals of the Paris Agreement, there is a high likelihood that the climate impact of aviation will not meet these goals, according to a new study. Aviation is an important contributor to the global economy, but contributes to climate change by creating carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as non-CO2 effects such as forming nitrogen oxides, ozone and contrailcirrus clouds, which all contribute to global warming. Researchers believe that, as long as the industry stages a recovery, the restrictions placed on global air travel in response to COVID-19 lockdown will only have ...

Warming seas are driving many species of marine life to shift their geographic ranges out of the tropics to higher latitudes where the water is cooler. Florida's reefs will not be able to make that northward move, however, as they will be caught between intolerably hot tropical waters and increasingly frequent water-cooling cold snaps, according to new findings from Florida Institute of Technology, the U.S. Geological Survey, and several other institutions to be published June 22 in Nature's Scientific Reports. Populations of the main species of reef-building corals are ...

Published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe and part-funded by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, the study identified that people with multiple respiratory conditions were most likely to develop depression and anxiety later on. This has possible implications for future healthcare services if the Covid-19 pandemic brings about increases in long-term respiratory issues. The study confirms the importance of integrating mental health support early into care plans for those with multiple physical health conditions. This is the first study of ...

6.4% of the European population suffers from depression, according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health. The work was led by researchers from King's College London, the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), the Parc de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu-Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of León (IBIOMED), and the CIBER on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP). This figure is higher than that estimated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which calculated the prevalence of this pathology ...

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, June 22, 2021 -- Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have developed the first methodology to assess symptoms associated with continuous exposure to traumatic stress from rocket attacks and other security threats, which are not currently measured by diagnostic criteria. Published in the journal END ...

Researchers have shown why people with mental health disorders, including anorexia and panic disorders, experience physical signals differently. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, found that the part of the brain which interprets physical signals from the body behaves differently in people with a range of mental health disorders, suggesting that it could be a target for future treatments. The researchers studied 'interoception' - the ability to sense internal conditions in the body - and whether there were any common brain ...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and migraine often co-occur, but researchers knew relatively little about how or why this happens. A new study in Frontiers in Neuroscience is the first to investigate if the conditions have a common genetic basis. By studying identical twins, where one twin in each pair lives with PTSD or migraines and the other twin does not, the researchers found common genes that may play a role in both conditions. These genes may help to explain why the conditions co-occur, and could reveal new treatment targets for both. PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that typically occurs after a traumatic experience, such as a life-threatening event. Most people will experience a traumatic event ...

Plastic is practical, cheap and incredibly popular. Every year, more than 350 million tonnes are produced worldwide. These plastics contain a huge variety of chemicals that may be released during their lifecycles - including substances that pose a significant risk to people and the environment. However, only a small proportion of the chemicals contained in plastic are publicly known or have been extensively studied. A team of researchers led by Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Professor of Ecological Systems Design, has for a first time compiled a comprehensive database ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Mental distress tends to be lower in the summer when compared to the fall, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. "Our results suggest that summertime is associated with better diet quality, higher exercise frequency and improved mood. This is important for the post-COVID era as we are getting into the summer season," said Lina Begdache, assistant professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University. Begdache had previously published research suggesting that mental ...

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is often used to determine the chemical composition of materials. It was developed in the 1960s and is accepted as a standard method in materials science. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, however, have shown that the method is often used erroneously. "It is, of course, an ideal in research that the methods used are critically examined, but it seems that a couple of generations of researchers have failed to take seriously early signals that the calibration method was deficient. This was the case also for a long time in our own research group. Now, however, we hope that XPS will be used ...

PULLMAN, Wash. - A tiny bee imposter, the syrphid fly, may be a big help to some gardens and farms, new research from Washington State University shows. An observational study in Western Washington found that out of more than 2,400 pollinator visits to flowers at urban and rural farms about 35% of were made by flies--most of which were the black-and-yellow-striped syrphid flies, also called hover flies. For a few plants, including peas, kale and lilies, flies were the only pollinators observed. Overall, bees were still the most common, accounting for about 61% of floral visits, but the rest were made by other insects and spiders. "We found that there really were a dramatic number of pollinators visiting flowers that were not bees," said Rae Olsson, a WSU post-doctoral ...

For decades, governments and health authorities have tried to steer people away from "vice" products such as tobacco, soda and alcohol through counter-marketing measures -- things like tax increases, usage restrictions and ad campaigns. But which ones are the most effective? And what do they mean for big brands such as Marlboro, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Budweiser? According to a new study from the UBC Sauder School of Business, they can all help people quit -- but how much they help, and who pays the price, varies significantly. The researchers also found that tax hikes can disproportionately ...

New research is showing that some tiny catalysts being considered for industrial-scaled environmental remediation efforts may be unstable during operation. Chemists from the University of Waterloo studied the structures of complex catalysts known as "nanoscale electrocatalysts" and found that they are not as stable as scientists once thought. When electricity flows through them during use, the atoms may rearrange. In some cases, the researchers found, electrocatalysts degrade completely. Understanding why and how this rearrangement and degradation happens is the first step to using these nanoscale electrocatalysts in environmental remediation efforts such as removing atmospheric carbon dioxide ...

Holding onto everyday items as keepsakes when a loved one dies was as commonplace in prehistory as it is today, a new study suggests. The study from the University of York suggests mundane items like spoons and grinding stones were kept by Iron Age people as an emotional reminder and a 'continuing bond' with the deceased - a practice which is replicated in societies across the globe today. The research focused on "problematic stuff": everyday items used or owned by a deceased person that relatives might not want to reuse but which they are unable to simply throw away. At the Scottish hillfort settlement of Broxmouth, dating from 640BC to AD210, everyday items like quernstones, used for grinding grain, and bone spoons found between roundhouse walls could have been placed there by ...

A smartphone-based eye screening and referral system used in the community has been shown to almost triple the number of people with eye problems attending primary care, as well as increasing appropriate uptake of hospital services, compared to the standard approach. The new findings come from research carried out in Kenya, published in The Lancet Digital Health. The randomised controlled trial included more than 128,000 people in Trans Nzoia County, Kenya, and was carried out by researchers from the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) at the London School ...

The initial chemotherapy of aggressive childhood nerve tumors, so-called high-risk neuroblastomas, is crucial for ultimate survival. It has now been shown that the chemotherapy regimen used by the European Neuroblastoma Study Group is equally efficacious but better tolerated than a highly effective regimen from the US. This was the conclusion of an international trial coordinated by St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute. The study was published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Oncology. For particularly aggressive nerve tumors in children, so-called high-risk neuroblastomas, various ...

In two separate articles in the Annals of Neurology, clinicians in India and England report cases of a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre? syndrome after individuals were vaccinated against COVID-19. Both reports describe an unusual variant of Guillain-Barre? syndrome characterized by prominent facial weakness. Seven cases were reported from a regional medical center in Kerala, India, where approximately 1.2 million people were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Four cases were reported from Nottingham, England, in an area in which approximately 700,000 people received the same vaccine. All eleven cases were among people who had received that vaccine 10-22 days earlier. The frequency of Guillain-Barre? ...

WACO, Texas (June 21, 2021) - A new analysis of Venus' surface shows evidence of tectonic motion in the form of crustal blocks that have jostled against each other like broken chunks of pack ice. Published in the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), the study -- which includes contributions by Baylor University planetary physicist Peter James, Ph.D. -- found that the movement of these blocks could indicate that Venus is still geologically active and give scientists insight into both exoplanet tectonics and the earliest tectonic activity on Earth. "We have identified a previously unrecognized pattern of tectonic deformation on Venus, one that is driven by interior motion just like on Earth," said Paul Byrne, Ph.D., associate professor of planetary ...

Women's electoral candidacies skyrocketed nationwide in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, which many saw as good news for democracy. But behavioral scholars have long maintained that women are more risk-averse than men, and thus are not as likely to sustain a prolonged political career -- involving election losses as well as wins -- the way men candidates traditionally have. But behavioral scholars have long maintained that women are more risk-averse than men, and thus are not as likely to sustain a prolonged political career -- involving election losses as well as wins -- the way men candidates traditionally have. Further, naysayers in a variety of media clips voiced that women were "sore losers," and they ...

The idea that a small number of "bad apples" are responsible for an outsized share of complaints against police officers has gained considerable traction over the last four decades. A new study considered the extent to which police misconduct is likely to be reduced by removing police officers identified early in their careers as being at risk for misconduct. The study concluded that replacing the top 10 percent of police identified as being the most likely to generate use-of-force complaints with officers who have not or are less likely to do so would reduce use-of-force complaints by just 6 percent over a 10 year period. Conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University, the study appears in Criminology & Public Policy, ...

If you've ever been in a city's central core in the middle of summer, you know the heat can be brutal--and much hotter than in the surrounding region. Temperatures in cities tend to be several degrees warmer than in its rural areas, a phenomenon called the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Many cities have been observed to be 2-4ºC warmer than the countryside in virtually every inhabited continent. This phenomenon occurs because urban infrastructure, especially pavements, absorbs a lot of heat as compared to natural vegetated surfaces. This heat pollution causes higher air conditioning and water costs, while also posing a public health hazard. One mitigation strategy called gray infrastructure involves the ...

NEW YORK, NY--COVID vaccine surveillance efforts are a global priority, but safety monitoring for vaccines should not reflect a single population. The largest, most extensive international study of the background rates of adverse events of special interest (AESI) that are being tracked in vaccine surveillance efforts show that adverse event rates vary substantially by age, sex, and method of data capture. Led by researchers at Oxford University, Columbia University, Erasmus MC, UCLA, and Janssen, an international team of collaborators from the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) network provided a timely reference of the background rates of AESIs in a new study published ...

A research team led by the University of Arizona has reconstructed in unprecedented detail the history of a dust grain that formed during the birth of the solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. The findings provide insights into the fundamental processes underlying the formation of planetary systems, many of which are still shrouded in mystery. For the study, the team developed a new type of framework, which combines quantum mechanics and thermodynamics, to simulate the conditions to which the grain was exposed during its formation, when the solar system was a swirling disk of gas ...