In a scientific breakthrough, an international research team from Germany's Forschungszentrum Jülich and Korea's IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) developed a quantum sensor capable of detecting minute magnetic fields at the atomic length scale. This pioneering work realizes a long-held dream of scientists: an MRI-like tool for quantum materials. The research team utilized the expertise of bottom up single-molecule fabrication from the Jülich group while conducting experiments at QNS, utilizing the Korean team’s leading-edge ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ – Probably everyone has heard the conventional wisdom that a glass of wine a day is good for you--or you’ve heard some variation of it. The problem is that it’s based on flawed scientific research, according to a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Over the years, many studies have suggested that moderate drinkers enjoy longer lives with lower risks of heart disease and other chronic ills than abstainers do. That spurred the widespread belief that alcohol, in moderation, can be a health tonic. However, not all studies have painted such a rosy picture--and the ...

The proliferation of all things digital doesn’t mean that printing technology is no longer relevant. In fact, printing technology is required to make the semiconductors necessary for the digital world. And as an Osaka Metropolitan University-led team has shown using a new printing technique, printable magnetic devices for high-density data storage might soon be realized. Dr. Ken-ichi Yuyama, a lecturer at the Graduate School of Science, and his colleagues report in APL Materials on the development of a new type of laser-induced forward transfer ...

A new major study by the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Oulu and Neurocenter Finland explored early-onset dementia in the working-age population in Finland. The study cohort was one of the largest in the world to date, and the findings were published on 24th of July 2024 in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Current epidemiological data on early-onset dementia is scarce and based on small study cohorts, with no recent data from Finland available. For the present ...

In modern day agriculture, pesticides are essential to ensure high enough crop yields and food security. These chemicals, however, can adversely affect plant and animal life as well as the people exposed to them. Now, in a population-based, nation-wide study, researchers in the US have put increased cancer risk through agricultural pesticide use into context with smoking, a better understood cancer risk factor. The results were published in Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society. “In our study we found that for some cancers, the effect of agricultural pesticide usage is comparable in magnitude to the effect of smoking,” said the study’s ...

Ubiquitous wireless technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 5G rely on radio frequency (RF) signals to send and receive data. A new prototype of an energy harvesting module – developed by a team led by scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) – can now convert ambient or ‘waste’ RF signals into direct current (DC) voltage. This can be used to power small electronic devices without the use of batteries. RF energy harvesting technologies, such as this, is essential as they reduce battery dependency, extend device lifetimes, minimise environmental impact, and enhance the feasibility of wireless sensor networks and IoT devices in remote ...

Researchers from the University of Otago, Christchurch, have spearheaded the discovery of a protein function which has the potential to guide the development of novel cancer treatment options and improve the diagnosis of various cancers. The exciting research finding, carried out alongside Dr Vanessa Morris from the University of Canterbury’s School of Biological Sciences as well as researchers in Australia and Denmark, centres on the activity of a tumour- suppressing protein called p16. The discovery, published in the British scientific journal Nature Communications and first authored by ...

LA JOLLA, CA—When seemingly healthy people receive an alert from a wearable sensor telling them they might have a respiratory virus—based on small changes in their unique heartrate, sleep and activity patterns—what do they do? According to a new study by Scripps Research scientists carried out at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, only a quarter of people follow up such an alert with an at-home viral test. That is just one conclusion of the new study, published in The Lancet Digital Health on July 24, 2024, which tested the feasibility ...

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have made a significant breakthrough in developing a new gene therapy approach that restores full-length dystrophin protein, which could lead to new treatments for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The study, recently published in Nature Communications, demonstrates the effectiveness of their novel gene therapy technology in improving muscle tissue and overall strength in mice models with Duchenne ...

In the Middle Ages, alchemists were notoriously secretive and didn’t share their knowledge with others. Danish Tycho Brahe was no exception. Consequently, we don’t know precisely what he did in the alchemical laboratory located beneath his combined residence and observatory, Uraniborg, on the now Swedish island of Ven. Only a few of his alchemical recipes have survived, and today, there are very few remnants of his laboratory. Uraniborg was demolished after his death in 1601, and the building materials were scattered for reuse. However, during an excavation ...

RICHLAND, Wash.—The Pacific Northwest is set to begin work building out a clean hydrogen economy with today’s announcement of a Phase 1 funding award from the Department of Energy. The $27.5 million award to the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2), a multi-state nonprofit organization, will be matched by industry partners up to $125 million in Phase 1 of the project. DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will serve as an advisor to the PNWH2 by conducting life-cycle analysis to predict and understand the planned hydrogen energy infrastructure impact on decreasing emissions and aiding in community engagement.   Public ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Millions of adults have atrial fibrillation — an irregular beating of the upper chambers of the heart that yields increased risk of heart failure, stroke and death. Many genetic mutations in the developing fetus can lead to adult atrial fibrillation, including mutations that shorten the massive protein titin in cardiac muscle cells. Now, in a study in zebrafish and human heart muscle cells, researchers show that a tiny deletion in the A-band of titin — the loss of just nine amino acids out of more than 27,000 to 35,000 amino acids of an intact titin protein — causes a developmental ...

Prescribing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to people at high risk of harm from them is estimated to cost the NHS in England around £31 million and cause more than 6,000 lost years of good health over 10 years, finds a study published by The BMJ today. NSAIDs continue to be a source of avoidable harm and healthcare costs, and more needs to be done to address this, especially in high risk groups, say the researchers. NSAIDs are used for pain and inflammation and are one of the most widely prescribed groups of medicines in the world, But they are known to increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, heart attacks, stroke, and kidney damage. Yet ...

Wearing a surgical face mask in public spaces reduces the risk of self-reported respiratory symptoms, finds a trial of adults in Norway published by The BMJ today.  The effect was moderate - a 3.2% reduction in symptoms, equivalent to around 3,300 fewer infections per 100,000 people - but the researchers say these results support the claim that face masks may be an effective measure to reduce the rate of self-reported symptoms consistent with respiratory tract infections. Observational studies suggest that face masks reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections, but findings from randomised ...

Some private UK biobanks may be misleading expectant parents about the value of storing umbilical cord blood to treat life-threatening diseases that may arise in their child in the future, reveals an investigation by The BMJ, published today. Over the past decade growing numbers of parents have chosen to store blood from the umbilical cord, which contains stem cells, in case their infant develops a condition that could be treated with stem cell therapy. Parents must use a private biobank which charges around £550 ...

A new study brings researchers closer to better understanding the pathology of the fatty liver disease MASH, which stands for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. MASH is a consequence of poor diet and obesity and results in severe damage to the liver. In MASH, the liver becomes filled with active and rapidly multiplying T cells, which are a type of immune cell. In today’s study, published in Hepatology, researchers examine what these T cells look like and how they work in people with liver cirrhosis (a late stage of liver disease) and in an animal ...

A new study shows that a native potato species was brought to southern Utah by Indigenous people in the distant past, adding to an ever-growing list of culturally significant plant species that pre-contact cultures domesticated in the Southwestern U.S.  The team of researchers, led by Red Butte Garden and the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) at the University of Utah, used genetic analysis to reveal how and where tubers of the Four Corners potato (Solanum jamesii) had been collected, transported and traded throughout the Colorado Plateau. The findings support the assertion that the tuber is a “lost sister,” joining maize, beans and squash—commonly ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2024, 3:20 P.M. MDT CONTACT: Camille Jewell cjewell@vancomm.com or 202-248-5460   COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The evolution of retinoblastoma treatment over the past 15 years has resulted in a higher likelihood of vision preservation without compromising survival, according to research released today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 21st Annual Meeting.   Retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that affects young children, carries a risk of impaired vision and removal ...

Using a wearable device, such as a smart watch, to track health data and symptoms, is supposed to help people monitor their health and address symptoms as quickly as possible to spur positive health outcomes. But for people with atrial fibrillation, also known as Afib, using a wearable device to monitor the heart rate and to alert wearers of an irregular heartbeat might not be as helpful as wearers think. A new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association, led by Lindsay Rosman, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the ...

Dr. Olga Denysiuk, MD, PhD, is a highly skilled eye surgeon in Ukraine who now finds herself at the frontlines of ophthalmic trauma care caused by war. “Every day, I am fighting my war in the operating room,” says Denysiuk. “Cases of eye trauma are mounting and it’s critical that we have surgeons trained to delicately manage eyelid and orbital injuries.” Denysiuk is one of two ocular specialists selected for a unique humanitarian fellowship at the University of Calgary’s ...

A research team at Rice University led by James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and nanoengineering, is tackling the environmental issue of efficiently recycling lithium ion batteries amid their increasing use. The team has pioneered a new method to extract purified active materials from battery waste as detailed in the journal Nature Communications on July 24. Their findings have the potential to facilitate the effective separation and recycling of valuable battery materials ...

Self-driving cars occasionally crash because their visual systems can’t always process static or slow-moving objects in 3D space. In that regard, they’re like the monocular vision of many insects, whose compound eyes provide great motion-tracking and a wide field of view but poor depth perception. Except for the praying mantis. A praying mantis’ field of view also overlaps between its left and right eyes, creating binocular vision with depth perception in 3D space. Combining this insight with some nifty optoelectrical engineering and innovative “edge” ...

New research led by UCLA Health has found that specific genes may be related to the trajectory of recovery for stroke survivors, providing doctors insights useful for developing targeted therapies.  Published in the journal Stroke this month, the findings were part of an exploratory study that sought to find if candidate genes could predict a higher likelihood of stroke outcomes related to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and cognitive decline.   Dr. Steven C. Cramer, MD, the study’s lead author and a professor of neurology at UCLA, said while there are some ...

HOUSTON – (July 24, 2024) – When picturing next-generation wearables and robotics, the foam filling in your couch cushions is likely not the first thing that comes to mind. However, Rice University engineers have shown that something as simple as the flow of air through the airy, meshlike structure of open-cell foam can be used to perform digital computation, analog sensing and combined digital-analog control in soft textile-based wearable systems. “In this work, we integrated material intelligence — the ability of materials to sense and respond to their environment ...

A team of scientists from Montana State University has provided the first experimental evidence that two new groups of microbes thriving in thermal features in Yellowstone National Park produce methane – a discovery that could one day contribute to the development of methods to mitigate climate change and provide insight into potential life elsewhere in our solar system. The journal Nature this week published the findings from the laboratory of Roland Hatzenpichler, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College ...