BUFFALO, N.Y. — There’s a good chance you owe your existence to the Haber-Bosch process. This industrial chemical reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen produces ammonia, the key ingredient to synthetic fertilizers that supply much of the world’s food supply and enabled the population explosion of the last century.  It may also threaten the existence of future generations. The process consumes about 2% of the world’s total energy supply, and the hydrogen required for the reaction ...

A team of chemists from Scripps Research and Rice University has unveiled a novel method to simplify the synthesis of piperidines, a key structural component in many pharmaceuticals. The study, published in Science, combines biocatalytic carbon-hydrogen oxidation and radical cross-coupling, offering a streamlined and cost-effective approach to create complex, three-dimensional molecules. This innovation could help accelerate drug discovery and enhance the efficiency of medicinal chemistry. Modern medicinal chemists face increasing challenges as they target complex molecules to address difficult biological targets. Traditional methods for synthesizing ...

December 18, 2024 (Toronto, Canada) – In the first study of its kind, research led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) sheds light on the ethical complexities and systemic barriers facing scientists conducting cannabis research funded by the for-profit cannabis industry. Recently published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, the qualitative study titled Canadian cannabis researcher perspectives on the conduct and sponsorship of scientific research by the for-profit cannabis industry reveals that while researchers are driven by a commitment to public health and high-quality ...

A University of Arizona Health Sciences-led program that provides schools with asthma inhalers to help students experiencing respiratory distress will be expanded and improved thanks to a $3.4 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health. In 2021, 38.7% of children ages 18 and younger who had asthma reported having one or more asthma attacks in the past year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even though asthma is controllable, research from the National Asthma Control Program estimated that 44% of children with asthma have uncontrolled asthma. “Respiratory ...

This roundup highlights a promising early screening method identifying precancerous esophageal disease, recommendations to improve cancer-focused community outreach, details on how aging breast cells can be used as valuable biomarkers for early cancer detection, and an innovative infusion catheter that could improve health outcomes. To learn more about research at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S. with its National Medical Center named top 5 in the nation for cancer by U.S. News & World Report, subscribe to City of Hope Research Spotlight.   Scientists develop first blood test for ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have designed a new technology that takes inspiration from WWI fighter aircraft machine gun and propeller synchronization to manipulate cell behavior by precisely modulating the pH of the cell’s environment in real-time. As described in Nano Letters, their findings provide a new pathway for creating therapeutics for cancer and heart disease and expanding the field of tissue engineering.    “Every cell is responsive to pH,” explains Jinglei Ping, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at UMass Amherst ...

New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds a pervasive low-quality diet among pregnant and postpartum individuals, reflecting “an urgent need for widespread improvement.” The study, recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and co-led by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, assessed diet quality in the same individuals from the beginning of pregnancy through one year postpartum. Few studies have analyzed diet quality in pregnancy ...

AMHERST, Mass. – A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to show how proteins called “chaperones” are vital in ensuring that neurons can transmit signals to one another. When this neurotransmission breaks down, devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s along with many others, can occur. The team’s research provides new understanding of how the most crucial part of the process works and is a stepping stone toward understanding the underlying mechanics ...

New research shows that three sites spread along an approximately 620-mile portion of today’s Denali Fault were once a smaller united geologic feature indicative of the final joining of two land masses. That feature was then torn apart by millions of years of tectonic activity. The work, led by associate professor Sean Regan at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics, is featured on the cover of the December edition of Geology, the journal of The Geological Society of America. Regan is the research paper’s lead author. ...

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has awarded $2.18 million to two researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for a project focused on a new drug treatment to protect the brain after a stroke. The principal investigators are Djamel Lebeche, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology, and Tauheed Ishrat, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. Type 2 diabetic patients are two to six times more likely to suffer from an acute ischemic stroke. These patients also face additional complications such as blood-brain barrier leakage, swelling, bleeding, and poor recovery after a stroke. ...

The American Society for Nutrition Foundation (ASNF) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), two philanthropic 501(c)(3) organizations, have joined forces to launch new awards to celebrate excellence in nutrition science and provide critical support to researchers at pivotal stages of their careers. Scientific awards do more than honor achievements—they propel careers, fuel discovery, and underscore the vital contributions of scientists addressing global public health challenges. These new awards, named in honor of trailblazing Danish scientists Henrik Dam and Flemming Quaade, aim to inspire innovative research in nutrition and foster ...

A new study has demonstrated for the first time how and why music can reduce distress and agitation for people with advanced dementia. There are an estimated one million people living with dementia in the UK and over half are diagnosed with advanced dementia, which can require specialist care and is often accompanied by behaviour such as agitation, aggression, wandering, and resistance to care. Published in the journal Nature Mental Health, the research reveals the different benefits of music therapy, identifies mechanisms to explain why music can have these effects, and provides a blueprint for implementing effective music therapy for people with advanced dementia. Music ...

Growth mindset might help protect mental health during challenging times, being associated with lower levels of depression and higher well-being in COVID-19 pandemic study of Californian adults aged 19-89.  ++++ Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000182 Article Title: The implications of growth mindset for depression, well-being, and adjustment over 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic Author Countries: United States Funding: This research was supported by an NSF RAPID grant (grant number BCS-2029575) and was also partially supported by an American Psychological Foundation Visionary Grant and an NSF CAREER Award ...

Stanford Medicine scientists have designed a way to make our seasonal influenza vaccinations more broadly effective and possibly to protect us from new flu variants with pandemic potential. In a study set to publish Dec. 20 in Science, they’ve shown in cultured human tonsil tissue that the method works. Flu season is upon us, and flu is no joke. Every year, the influenza virus kills hundreds of thousands of people and sends millions to the hospital. The seasonal flu vaccine many of us get is intended to keep that from happening, by giving our immune system a heads-up that speeds its ...

If all the world's a stage and all the species merely players, then their exits and entrances can be found in the rock record. Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new Virginia Tech analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago. The chart shows the relative ups and downs in species counts, telling scientists about the origin, diversification, and extinction of ancient life. With this new study, the chart of life now includes life forms from the Proterozoic Eon, 2,500 million to 539 million years ago. Proterozoic life was generally smaller and squishier — like sea ...

Most people who get the seasonal influenza vaccine – which contains strains of viruses from distinct virus subtypes – mount a strong immune response to one strain, leaving them vulnerable to infection by the others, and researchers have long wondered what impacts such variable responses more – host genetics or prior exposure to virus strains. Now, researchers report that host genetics is a stronger driver of these individual differences in influenza vaccine response. Their study also presents a novel vaccine platform that improved protection against diverse influenza subtypes when tested in animal models and human organoids. ...

Advanced tools and expanded fossil datasets have painted a clearer picture of the eukaryotic diversity of the Proterozoic eon, which has been hard to quantify. The findings show that Earth's severe Cryogenian glaciations catalyzed a pivotal shift in the evolution and diversity of early eukaryotes during this eon, 2500 to 538 million years ago. This work underscores the interplay between Earth’s environmental perturbations and the evolutionary trajectories of early life. Quantifying global fossil diversity provides valuable insights into the evolutionary history of life on Earth and its relationship with environmental changes. This is exemplified by the well-known mass extinction ...

New findings in mice have uncovered a crucial mechanism linking neuronal activity to mitochondrial function, researchers report, revealing a potential pathway to combat age-related cognitive decline. Mitochondria play a pivotal role in meeting the dynamic energy demands of neuronal activity, producing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) primarily via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). However, in the aging mammalian brain, mitochondrial metabolism deteriorates, leading to profound effects on neuronal and circuit functionality. The breakdown of the OXPHOS pathway contributes to oxidative stress and ...

A protein – dubbed GAME15 – is the missing link in the pathway that Solanum plants like potatoes use to make molecules for chemical defense: steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs). The findings pave the way for engineering this biosynthetic pathway into other plants, enabling innovative applications in agriculture and biotechnology. “The discovery … provides a key to engineering SGAs for food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals,” write the authors. Plants produce a wide variety of secondary metabolites that are crucial for their growth ...

Quantum technologies are radically transforming our understanding of the universe. One emerging technology are macroscopic mechanical oscillators, devices that are vital in quartz watches, mobile phones, and lasers used in telecommunications. In the quantum realm, macroscopic oscillators could enable ultra-sensitive sensors and components for quantum computing, opening new possibilities for innovation in various industries. Controlling mechanical oscillators at the quantum level is essential for developing future technologies in quantum computing and ultra-precise ...

Desert locusts typically lead solitary lives until something - like intense rainfall - triggers them to swarm in vast numbers, often with devastating consequences.  This migratory pest can reach plague proportions, and a swarm covering one square kilometre can consume enough food in one day to feed 35,000 people. Such extensive crop destruction pushes up local food prices and can lead to riots and mass starvation. Now a team led by the University of Cambridge has developed a way to predict when and where desert locusts will swarm, so they can be dealt with before the problem ...

Scientists have uncovered a new role for a cell’s own RNA in fending off attacks by RNA viruses. Some of the cell’s RNA molecules, researchers found, help regulate antiviral signaling. These signals are part of the intricate coordination of immune responses against virus invasion. A paper this week in Science reports how cellular RNA carries out its infection-controlling function. “With RNA increasingly seen as both a drug and a druggable target,” the scientists wrote, “this opens the potential for RNA-based therapeutics for combating both infection and autoimmunity.” The senior investigator is Ram Savan, professor of immunology at the ...

After several years of service under harsh weather conditions, the rotor blades of offshore wind parks are subjected to degradation and surface erosion, releasing sizeable quantities of particle emissions into the environment. A team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has now investigated the effects of these particle on blue mussels – a species also being considered for the multi-use of wind parks for aquaculture. In the experiment, the mussels absorbed metals from the rotor blades’ coatings, as the team describes in a study just released in the journal Science of the Total Environment, where they also discuss ...

Arlington, Va., December 19, 2024 – Hand hygiene (HH) monitoring in hospitals could be reduced significantly, allowing infection preventionists to redirect efforts toward quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. The study’s findings suggest that hospitals could reduce the number of HH observations from 200 to as few as 50 observations per unit per month without compromising data quality.  Hand hygiene is the simplest ...

TORONTO, CA – New research published in The American Journal of Human Genetics has identified a previously unknown genetic link to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study found that variants in the DDX53 gene contribute to ASD, providing new insights into the genetic underpinnings of the condition.  ASD, which affects more males than females, encompasses a group of neurodevelopmental conditions that result in challenges related to communication, social understanding and behaviour. While DDX53, located on the X chromosome, is known to play a role in brain development and function, it was not previously definitively associated with autism.  In ...