BEAUFORT, N.C. -- To whales that hunt with soundwaves in the lightless depths of the ocean, a torn plastic party balloon and a delicious squid seem to be remarkably similar, according to a new study that put some plastic beach trash through underwater acoustic testing. "These acoustic signatures are similar, and this might be a reason that these animals are driven to consume plastic instead of, or in addition to, their prey," said Duke University graduate student Greg Merrill, who led the research. "One hundred percent of plastic marine debris ...

How can we engineer materials that are stronger and lighter? What about new materials for extreme conditions such as in jet engines and spacecrafts? The answer, says Fadi Abdeljawad, an associate professor of materials science and engineering in Lehigh University's P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, might be hidden in the infinitesimally tiny regions, or boundaries, where atoms in crystals come together. Along with his collaborators at the U.S. Department of Energy's Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Abdeljawad is uncovering how those ...

Washington, D.C. (October 16, 2024) – For the first time, adults living with congenital heart disease (CHD) now have valuable insights into their long-term quality of life through data from the Congenital Heart Initiative (CHI). CHI is the nation’s first and largest patient-focused registry for adults with CHD and released its first study involving over 4,500 participants from all 50 states.  This research, published today in JAMA Network Open, marks a significant step forward in making better information available for the ...

Researchers at Colorado State University have identified an alternate method to study changes during the DNA replication process in lab settings using genetically modified yeast. The new approach offers a clearer window than current drug methods used to understand cell cycle arrest – a fundamental mechanism that is key to treating cancers and genetic issues. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and were led at CSU by Assistant Professor Grant Schauer in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The work focuses on hydroxyurea, a chemotherapy drug used ...

Synthetic diamond is durable, inert, rigid, thermally conductive and chemically well-behaved—an elite material for both quantum and conventional electronics. But there’s one problem. Diamond only likes diamond. It’s homoepitaxial, meaning it only grows on other diamonds, and integrating diamond into quantum or conventional computers, quantum sensors, cellphones, or other devices would mean sacrificing the diamond’s full potential or using large, expensive chunks of the precious material. “Diamond stands alone in terms of its material properties, both for electronics—with its wide band gap, ...

A new study analyzes the links between the enactment of major air pollution and climate policies in New York City and significant improvement in air quality during the period 1998-2021. It finds a cumulative beneficial effect of these policies both city-wide and among residents residing in communities that have been disproportionately affected by air pollution. The study by environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Public Health. “Because of the known significant associations between the pollutants studied and multiple adverse health effects, there are important implications for health ...

New research gives another reason to take folic acid supplements while pregnant. A new study by Simon Fraser University researchers has found that folate may weaken the link between blood-lead levels in pregnant women and autistic-like behaviours in their children.    Researchers from SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences, led by PhD candidate Joshua Alampi, published the study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.   “Folic acid supplementation during pregnancy has numerous benefits to child health, especially brain development,” ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Novel therapeutic target overcomes treatment resistance in triple-negative breast cancer Many patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) do not respond to combination ...

SAN ANTONIO — October 16, 2024 —The Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) Demo pilot plant, a $169 million, 10-megawatt supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) test facility at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, has completed its first phase of testing, having achieved its full operational speed of 27,000 rpm and operating at a target turbine inlet temperature of 500 degrees Celsius. As STEP achieved this milestone, it was synchronized with the electrical grid, generating approximately four megawatts of net power. “Achieving full operating conditions while connected to the grid is a major advancement ...

Despite having no greater chance of developing problems after high risk cardiovascular surgery, women are more likely than men to die from postoperative complications, a University of Michigan-led study suggests. A patient dying of complications after surgery is often referred to as a “failure to rescue”. Investigators assessed more than 850,000 cases of Medicare beneficiaries who had high risk heart surgery — including heart bypass, aortic aneurysm repair, and mitral and aortic valve repair — ...

Columbia researchers have engineered probiotic bacteria that educate the immune system to destroy cancer cells, opening the door for a new class of cancer vaccines that take advantage of bacteria’s natural tumor-targeting properties. These microbial cancer vaccines can be personalized to attack each individual’s primary tumor and metastases, and may even prevent future recurrences. In studies using mouse models of advanced colorectal cancer and melanoma, the bacterial vaccine supercharged the immune system to suppress the growth of – or in many cases eliminate – primary ...

AURORA, Colo. (October 16, 2024) – A new study, out today in the Journal of Urban Health, finds that involuntary sweeps of homeless encampments in Denver, Colorado were not effective in reducing crime. Researchers, led by first author Pranav Padmanabhan, research assistant and MPH student at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, analyzed the effect of involuntary displacement on crime in one-quarter to three-quarters of a mile radius around sweep sites, among all sweeps between November ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of pregnant individuals and offspring, exposure to maternal COVID-19 was not associated with abnormal neurodevelopmental screening results through 24 months’ postpartum. Continued study of diverse groups of children is needed because, among other factors, evidence suggests sensitivity of the developing fetal brain to maternal immune activation.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Eleni G. Jaswa, MD, MSc, MAS, email elenijaswa@gmail.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

Tokyo, Japan – Unwanted heating of electronic components hinders the performance of many devices. For example, the processing speed and memory available to silicon-based computer chips depend strongly on the ability to dissipate heat effectively. Unfortunately, despite high demand, thermal management remains challenging. Now, in a study published in Nature, a team of researchers led by the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo, has demonstrated the ability to control heat transfer in graphite crystals. Their novel approach applies concepts from fluid ...

An international team led by three researchers from the CNRS1, the European Southern Observatory (ESO, Europe), and Charles University (Czech Republic) has successfully demonstrated that 70% of all known meteorite falls originate from just three young asteroid families. These families were produced by three recent collisions that occurred in the main asteroid belt 5.8, 7.5, and about 40 million years ago. The team also revealed the sources of other types of meteorites; with this research, the origin of more than 90% of meteorites ...

The researchers used spatial proteomics to analyze skin samples from patients with toxic epidermal necrolysis. This cutting-edge approach, known as Deep Visual Proteomics, merges powerful microscopy with AI-driven analysis, laser-guided microdissection and ultimately ultra-high sensitivity mass spectrometry. They zoomed in on individual cells and studied them like never before, creating a map of the thousands of proteins driving this deadly reaction. Thierry Nordmann, first author, clinician-scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and senior dermatologist at the Ludwig Maximilians Universität München explains: ...

A new study has revealed that islands are home to around one in three of the world’s plant species, despite covering just over five per cent of the Earth’s land surface. Dr Julian Schrader, from Macquarie University’s School of Natural Sciences, led a team of a dozen researchers from Australia, Germany, Spain, USA, Greece and Japan in analysing data on more than 304,103 plants – essentially all species known to science worldwide – uncovering a treasure trove of island biodiversity. The team found 94,052 species are native to islands. Of these, 63,280 are endemic –found nowhere else in the world – representing 21 per cent of global plant diversity. The ...

The chemical messenger dopamine is an essential catalyst that fuels activities and behaviors ranging from movement to cognition and learning. However, neuroscientists have long debated whether these functions rely on rapid bursts of dopamine or on the neurochemical’s slower action. A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School provides an answer.  The work, conducted in mice and published Oct. 16 in Nature, shows that initiating movement doesn’t require a rapid burst of dopamine but instead relies on slow activity of the chemical over time. By contrast, reward-oriented behaviors, related to ...

While marine heatwaves (MHWs) have been studied at the sea surface for more than a decade, new research published today in Nature has found 80 per cent of MHWs below 100 metres are independent of surface events, highlighting a previously overlooked aspect of ocean warming.  The study was conducted by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  MHWs are prolonged temperature events that can cause severe damage to marine habitats, such as impacts to coral reefs and species displacement. These events are becoming more frequent due to global warming, with notable occurrences off Australia’s East ...

In a study published in Nature, Prof. Daniel Falush of the Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection (SIII) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Yoshio Yamaoka of Oita University, Japan, and Prof. Kaisa Thorell of Gothenberg University, Sweden uncovered fascinating new details about the long association of humans and our stomach bacteria. Since its discovery in 1983, Helicobacter pylori has become notorious as the cause of around a million cases of stomach cancer a year as well as other life-threatening gastric diseases. The bacterium is ...

Inside cells, it's like in a packed dance club: hundreds are partying. Some keep to themselves, others make their way through the crowd, chatting to everyone they meet. Some just say a quick hello, others stay with their best friends. In this club, there are all kinds of different interactions between party-goers. The same is the case in cells with proteins. Cells are filled with many different types of proteins that interact with each other and often work together in groups. These groups are called complexes ...

In recent years, the excessive use of acetaminophen (APAP) has become a significant human hazard and social burden. Rapid and automated electrochemical detection has emerged as a crucial method for measuring APAP concentration in human urine. This study explores a novel porous cobalt-derived biomass electrocatalyst material prepared from Elaeagnus angustifolia gum and investigates its electrochemical properties as well as its specific detection capability for APAP. Their work is published in the journal Industrial Chemistry & Materials on 18 July 2024. Acetaminophen (APAP) is a commonly used analgesic and antipyretic ...

The 2024 Richard N. Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology was awarded to F. William Studier of Brookhaven National Laboratory in a ceremony and symposium at the Broad Institute on September 17, 2024. The prize, created by the Merkin Family Foundation and administered by the Broad, recognizes novel technologies that have significantly improved human health and carries a $400,000 award. [Event Video]  Studier was announced as the winner in May for his development, in 1986, of an efficient, scalable method of producing ...

The “São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Structural Safety and its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the built environment” will be held May 3-16, 2025, in Brazil, at the São Carlos School of Engineering of the University of São Paulo in its São Carlos campus. Reporters are invited to register for the scientific sessions and short courses, which will present state-of-art science and results of new research. This advanced science school will address the main challenges related to Structural Safety ...

October 16, 2024, Mountain View, CA - Scientists at the SETI Institute and partners from Penn State University used the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) to search for signs of alien technology in the TRAPPIST-1 star system. The team spent 28 hours scanning the system, looking for radio signals that could indicate extraterrestrial technology. This project marks the longest single-target search for radio signals from TRAPPIST-1. Although they didn’t find any evidence of extraterrestrial technology, their work provided valuable data ...