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Environment2 Sep 2015

Waste coffee used as fuel storage

Scientists have developed a simple process to treat waste coffee grounds to allow them to store methane. The simple soak and heating process develops a carbon capture material with the additional environmental benefits of recycling a waste product. The results are published today, 03 September 2015, in the journal Nanotechnology. Methane capture and storage provides a double environmental return - it removes a harmful greenhouse gas from the atmosphere that can then be used as a fuel that is cleaner than other fossil fuels. The process developed by the researchers, ...

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Environment2 Sep 2015

Biodiversity belowground is just as important as aboveground

Although most of the world's biodiversity is below ground, surprisingly little is known about how it affects ecosystems or how it will be affected by climate change. A new study demonstrates that soil bacteria and the richness of animal species belowground play a key role in regulating a whole suite of ecosystem functions on Earth. The authors call for far more attention to this overlooked world of worms, bugs and bacteria in the soil. Ecosystem functions such as carbon storage and the availability of nutrients are linked to the bugs, bacteria and other microscopic ...

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Medicine2 Sep 2015

Cellular recycling complexes may hold key to chemotherapy resistance

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 2, 2015) - Altering the protein recycling complexes in human cells, including cancer cells, allows the cells to resist treatment with a class of drugs known as proteasome inhibitors, according to Whitehead Institute scientists. "This is why some cancers can be so difficult to treat with chemotherapy, because the cells can be in different states--some sensitive to treatment and some resistant to treatment, all in the same tumor," says Sandro Santagata, a former visiting scientist in the lab of Whitehead Member Susan Lindquist. Santagata is now ...

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Science2 Sep 2015

Male seahorse and human pregnancies remarkably alike

Their pregnancies are carried by the males but, when it comes to breeding, seahorses have more in common with humans than previously thought, new research from the University of Sydney reveals. Seahorses are famed for being part of the only family in the animal kingdom (Syngnathidae) in which the male is responsible for pregnancy. What hasn't been known until now is the degree to which male seahorses nourish and protect their embryos in their brood pouch during the 24-day gestation period. Findings co-authored by Dr Camilla Whittington from the University's School of ...

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Medicine2 Sep 2015

Scientists discover a common diabetes drug could prevent hemorrhage and fatal blood loss

A new study, published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology, by scientists from Royal Holloway, University of London, St George's, University of London and University of Surrey have identified that a drug related to commonly used diabetes treatments provides protection against terminal blood loss. Massive blood loss often leads to death, and when blood transfusions are unavailable, drugs are currently being tested that can keep people alive until they get to hospital. Understanding how these drugs work, and finding improved drugs, has up to now proved difficult. ...

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Medicine1 Sep 2015

When stroke patients undergo surgery to remove blood clots, what anesthesia works best?

MAYWOOD, Ill. - In carefully selected patients, minimally invasive surgery is enabling physicians to stop strokes in their tracks. And as more stroke patients undergo such procedures, physicians are debating the best way to anesthetize them. Should patients be put under general anesthesia, rendering them unconscious and motionless? Or should they undergo conscious sedation, in which they remain conscious, but are sedated and do not feel pain? In the September, 2015 issue of the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Loyola University Medical center anesthesiologists ...

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Science1 Sep 2015

Self-driving golf carts

At the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in September, members of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) and their colleagues will describe an experiment conducted over six days at a large public garden in Singapore, in which self-driving golf carts ferried 500 tourists around winding paths trafficked by pedestrians, bicyclists, and the occasional monitor lizard. The experiments also tested an online booking system that enabled visitors to schedule pickups and drop-offs at any of 10 distinct stations scattered around the ...

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Science1 Sep 2015

Surge in Bicycle Injuries to Riders Over 45

The incidence of bicycle accidents has increased significantly in the U.S. in recent years, with many serious injuries occurring among riders older than 45, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco. The researchers used a national injury surveillance database to study trends in bicycle injuries from 1998 to 2013. They found that the rate of hospital admissions associated with bicycle injuries more than doubled during that timeframe, especially with head and torso injuries. Altogether, the proportion of injuries occurring to riders above age 45 rose 81 percent, ...

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Environment1 Sep 2015

Ancient hybridization key to domestic dog's origin, wolf conservation efforts

KNOXVILLE--The ancestry of man's best friend may be more complicated than its furry coat and soulful eyes betray. Understanding the evolutionary history of the domesticated dog may ultimately help protect endangered wolves, according to a study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Vladimir Dinets, research assistant professor of psychology, has published an overview examining the confusing and often misunderstood system used to classify dogs and related animals such as wolves and jackals. He has proposed a logical and scientifically sound classification scheme ...

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Medicine1 Sep 2015

New international standards needed to manage ocean noise

DURHAM, N.C. -- As governments and industries expand their use of high-decibel seismic surveys to explore the ocean bottom for resources, experts from eight universities and environmental organizations are calling for new global standards and mitigation strategies. Their goal is to minimize the amount of sound the surveys produce and reduce risks the surveys and other underwater human noise pollution poses to vulnerable marine life. Firms and agencies conducting the surveys would benefit from these new measures, the experts assert, because instead of having to navigate ...

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Social Science1 Sep 2015

The more the merrier for animals that synchronize their behavior

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Social interaction could be the mechanism that allows animals living in groups to synchronize their activities, whether it's huddling for warmth or offering protection from predators. This social presence affects the daily rhythm of activity and rest, and the larger the group, the greater the likelihood of synchronization, according to a study published recently in the journal Biology Letters. "At least in mice, and perhaps in other animals, this study shows quite dramatic synchrony amongst groups of animals that can only be explained by social interactions," ...

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Social Science1 Sep 2015

Economic security requires new measures of well-being

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Economic well-being for low-income families in the U.S. is often determined by federal measures that establish basic requirements for essentials such as food, shelter and clothing, but a new study by a University at Buffalo research team suggests that such a definition is unrealistically narrow. To help families move out of poverty, the existing perspective of economic well-being and its short-term focus on basic needs should reflect possibilities for long-term stability, including a savings plan, rather than day-to-day survival, says Yunju Nam, an associate ...

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Energy1 Sep 2015

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, September 2015

To arrange for an interview with a researcher, please contact the Communications staff member identified at the end of each tip. For more information on ORNL and its research and development activities, please refer to one of our media contacts. If you have a general media-related question or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov. MATERIALS - Solar bake test for NASA ... To test an instrument for a spacecraft that will fly closer to the sun than any before, engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of California-Berkeley used ORNL's powerful ...

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Science1 Sep 2015

To email or not to email? For those in love, it's better than leaving a voice message

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In her hit single, Carly Rae Jepsen may have sung, "Here's my number, so call me maybe." But according to a new research study from Indiana University, she might be more successful in finding love if she asked him to send her an email. The research, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, suggests that, in this digital age, an email can be more effective in expressing romantic feelings than leaving a voicemail message. Previous research and conventional wisdom suggested the opposite, that a voicemail message ...

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Science1 Sep 2015

How much liposuction is 'safe'? The answer varies by body weight

September 1, 2015 - What's the "safe" amount of fat to remove in patients undergoing liposuction? Rather than a hard-and-fast rule, the answer depends on the patient's body mass index (BMI), according to a report in the September issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). "Our study shows that liposuction is associated with a very low complication rate, with major complications occurring in less than 1 in 1,000 patients," comments ASPS Member Surgeon John Y.S. Kim of Northwestern ...

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Medicine1 Sep 2015

Yeast study yields insights into cell-division cycle

ANN ARBOR--Studies using yeast genetics have provided new, fundamental insights into the cell-division cycle, researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute report. Findings published Aug. 31 in the journal eLife show that an organelle known as the vacuole, which performs a variety of cellular housekeeping functions, plays an essential role in the initiation of the cell-division cycle. The cell-division cycle, also known simply as the cell cycle, is the series of events inside a cell that leads to its division. "The yeast vacuole has a counterpart ...

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Medicine1 Sep 2015

Study in mice suggests how anesthesia may fight lung infections

In use for more than a century, inhaled anesthetics like nitrous oxide and halothane have made modern surgery possible. Now, in experiments in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have added to evidence that certain so-called "volatile" anesthetics -- commonly used during surgeries -- may also possess powerful effects on the immune system that can combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, including influenza and pneumonia. A report on the experiments is published in the September 1 issue of the journal Anesthesiology. The Johns Hopkins and University ...

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Space1 Sep 2015

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite sees Tropical Depression 14E disorganized

Tropical Depression 14E was born in the Eastern Pacific Ocean early on September 1 when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead and looked at it in infrared light. Infrared light shows temperature, which is helpful in determining cloud top temperatures of the thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone line Tropical Depression 14E (TD 14E). The colder the storm, the higher they stretch into the troposphere (lowest layer of the atmosphere) and the stronger the storms tend to be. On September 1 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT), NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed ...

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Environment1 Sep 2015

NASA sees wind shear affecting Hurricane Ignacio

Hurricane Ignacio is staying far enough away from the Hawaiian Islands to not bring heavy rainfall or gusty winds, but is still causing rough surf. Infrared satellite data on September 1 shows that wind shear is adversely affecting the storm and weakening it. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite gathers infrared data that reveals temperatures. When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Ignacio on September 1 at 11:41 UTC (7:41 a.m. EDT), the AIRS data and showed some high, cold, strong thunderstorms surrounded the center ...

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Science1 Sep 2015

Could tiny jellyfish propulsion drive design of new underwater craft?

EUGENE, Ore. - Sept. 1, 2015 - The University of Oregon's Kelly Sutherland has seen the future of under-sea exploration by studying the swimming prowess of tiny jellyfish gathered from Puget Sound off Washington's San Juan Island. In a paper with four colleagues in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Nature Communications, Sutherland details how a tiny type of jellyfish - colonial siphonophores - swim rapidly by coordinating multiple water-shooting jets from separate but genetically identical units that make up the animal. Information on the biomechanics of a living organism ...

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Environment1 Sep 2015

Marine animal colony is a multi-jet swimming machine, scientists report

WOODS HOLE, MASS.--Marine animals that swim by jet propulsion, such as squid and jellyfish, are not uncommon. But it's rare to find a colony of animals that coordinates multiple jets for whole-group locomotion. This week in Nature Communications, scientists report on a colonial jellyfish-like species, Nanomia bijuga, that uses a sophisticated, multi-jet propulsion system based on an elegant division of labor among young and old members of the colony. This locomotive solution, the team suggests, could illuminate the design of underwater distributed-propulsion vehicles. "This ...

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Medicine1 Sep 2015

Can marijuana help transplant patients? New research says maybe

Here's another discovery to bolster the case for medical marijuana: New research in mice suggests that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, may delay the rejection of incompatible organs. Although more research is necessary to determine if there are benefits to humans, this suggests that THC, or a derivative, might prove to be a useful antirejection therapy, particularly in situations where transplanted organs may not be a perfect match. These findings were published in the September 2015 issue of The Journal of Leukocyte Biology. "We are excited to demonstrate for ...

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Science1 Sep 2015

Forgiving others protects women from depression, but not men

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Forgiveness is a complex process, one often fraught with difficulty and angst. Now, researchers in the University of Missouri College of Human Environmental Sciences studied how different facets of forgiveness affected aging adults' feelings of depression. The researchers found older women who forgave others were less likely to report depressive symptoms regardless of whether they felt unforgiven by others. Older men, however, reported the highest levels of depression when they both forgave others and felt unforgiven by others. The researchers say their ...

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Science1 Sep 2015

Police at risk of traffic injuries in stopped cars, as well as when speeding, study finds

Police officers face an elevated risk of being injured in a collision when they are sitting in a stationary car as compared to low-speed driving, as well as when they are responding to an emergency call with their siren blaring as compared to routine patrol, according to a new RAND Corporation study. In addition, officers face a higher risk of being injured in a crash when they are riding a motorcycle compared to a driving a car, driving solo compared to having a second officer in the car, or not wearing a seatbelt compared to wearing a seatbelt. The findings provide ...

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Medicine1 Sep 2015

Vitamin a implicated in the development of alcoholic liver disease

With a name like "Alcoholic Liver Disease," you may not think about vitamin A as being part of the problem. That's exactly what scientists have shown, however, in a new research report appearing in the September 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal. In particular, they found that chronic alcohol consumption has a dramatic effect on the way the body handles vitamin A. Long-term drinking lowers vitamin A levels in the liver, which is the main site of alcohol breakdown and vitamin A storage, while raising vitamin A levels in many other tissues. This opens the doors for novel treatments ...

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