A new way to map the spread and evolution of pathogens, and their responses to vaccines and antibiotics, will provide key insights to help predict and prevent future outbreaks. The approach combines a pathogen’s genomic data with human travel patterns, taken from anonymised mobile phone data. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of the Witwatersrand and National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, the University of Cambridge, and partners across the Global Pneumococcal Sequencing project1, integrated genomic data from nearly 7,000 Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) samples collected in South Africa with detailed ...

A key mechanism which detects when the brain needs an additional energy boost to support its activity has been identified in a study in mice and cells led by UCL scientists. The scientists say their findings, published in Nature, could inform new therapies to maintain brain health and longevity, as other studies have found that brain energy metabolism can become impaired late in life and contribute to cognitive decline and the development of neurodegenerative disease. Lead author Professor Alexander Gourine (UCL Neuroscience, ...

Bone remains found in a Tibetan cave 3,280 m above sea level indicate an ancient group of humans survived here for many millennia, according to a new study published in Nature.   The Denisovans are an extinct species of ancient human that lived at the same time and in the same places as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Only a handful Denisovan remains have ever been discovered by archaeologists. Little is known about the group, including when they became extinct, but evidence exists to ...

The more we discover about the natural world, the more we find that nature is the greatest engineer. Past research believed that liquids can only be transported in fixed direction on species with specific liquid communication properties and cannot switch the transport direction. Recently, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) researchers have shown that an African plant controls water movement in a previously unknown way – and this could inspire breakthroughs in a range of technologies in fluid dynamics and nature-inspired materials, including applications that require multistep and repeated reactions, such as microassays, medical ...

Fukuoka, Japan—The phenomenon known as El Niño can cause abnormal and extreme climate around the world due to it dramatically altering the normal flow of the atmosphere. In Japan, historical data has shown that El Niño years tend to lead to warmer winters. This case was exemplified recently with Japan’s warm 2023-2024 winter season. However, there have also been cases of cold winters in Japan during El Niño years, such as the one recorded in 2014-2015. Yet, it was unclear as to why this was occurring. Publishing in the Journal of Climate, ...

Norway wastes huge amounts of energy. Surplus heat produced by industry is hardly exploited at all. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have been looking at the possibilities for doing something about this. “Surplus heat from industrial processes is a huge resource,” says Kim Kristiansen. He has just completed his PhD on a technology that can harness some of the surplus heat that currently goes to waste. Almost all the heat generated by industrial processes is currently released directly into the air or the ocean, and we are not talking about small amounts. In Norway alone, industry produces ...

Bowel cancer cells have the ability to regulate their growth using a genetic on-off switch to maximise their chances of survival, a phenomenon that’s been observed for the first time by researchers at UCL and University Medical Center Utrecht. The number of genetic mutations in a cancer cell was previously thought to be purely down to chance. But a new study, published in Nature Genetics, has provided insights into how cancers navigate an “evolutionary balancing act”. The researchers found that mutations in DNA repair genes can be repeatedly created and repaired, acting as ‘genetic switches’ that take the brakes off a tumour’s growth ...

New experimental research shows that the combined effects of ocean warming and acidification could lead to a catastrophic decrease in embryonic shark survival by the year 2100. This research is also the first to demonstrate that monthly temperature variation plays a prominent role in shark embryo mortality. Oceanic warming and acidification are caused by greater concentrations of CO2 dissolving into marine environments, resulting in rising water temperatures and falling pH levels. “The embryos of egg-laying ...

France’s natural history collections contain nearly 6% of the world’s total natural specimens across multiple institutions, and the e-COL+ project aims to capture and reconstruct these specimens in 3D for easy access and 3D printing around the world. “I’m a researcher of vertebrate locomotion and vocalisation, so I produce a lot of CT scans and 3D models – and now I’m in charge of developing the museum’s own 3D digital collection,” ...

New research finds that artificial light at night (ALAN) attracts larval fish away from naturally lit habitats, while dramatically lowering their chances of survival in an “ecological trap”, with serious consequences for fish conservation and fishing stock management. “Light pollution is a huge ongoing subject with many aspects that are still not well understood by scientists,” says Mr Jules Schligler, a PhD student at CRIOBE Laboratory (Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement) in Moorea, French Polynesia. ALAN is the product of human-related ...

A recent sociological study finds that most young adults surveyed reported feeling confused about their options when it comes to dating decisions. Preliminary analysis suggests that more than half of young people experience confusion about choosing life-partners, with women appearing to be more likely to report partner selection confusion than men. Due to the pervasiveness of social media and digital dating in everyday lives, humans are now exposed to many more potential mates than ever before, but the availability of popular dating apps ...

New research finds surprising differences in the diets and gut microbiomes of songbirds living in the radiation contaminated areas of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine. This study is also the first to examine the breeding behaviour and early life of birds growing up in radiologically contaminated habitats. The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (Ukrainian), also known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Russian), is an area of approximately 2,600 km2 of radiologically contaminated land that surrounds the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The levels of contamination are uneven throughout the zone. “The ...

New experimental research shows that muscle metabolic activity may be an important factor in the incredible longevity of the world’s oldest living vertebrate species – the Greenland shark. These findings may have applications for conservation of this vulnerable species against climate change or even for human cardiovascular health. Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) are the longest living vertebrate with an expected lifespan of at least 270 years and possible lifespan beyond 500 years. “We want to understand what adaptations ...

New research reveals that pregnancy-related brain impairment is present in live-bearing fish, but instead of affecting learning and memory as expected from similar research on mammals, it appears to have a stronger impact on decision-making and sensory reception. There have been many studies into the detrimental impact of pregnancy on mammalian brains, sometimes called “baby brain” or “momnesia” in humans, revealing how the disruption of neurological processes like neurogenesis, or the creation ...

Highlights: •    In late March 2024, H5N1 bird flu was detected in dairy cattle and then in raw milk. •    Researchers tested hundreds of milk products from dozens of states for the virus. •    No infectious virus was found in pasteurized milk products.  •    Non-infectious traces of viral genetic material were found in 20% of samples.    Washington, D.C.—In March 2024, dairy cows in Texas were found to be infected with highly pathogenic avian flu, ...

A technology has been developed to replace the active material in large-capacity ESS 'redox flow batteries' with a more affordable substance. *Redox Flow Battery: A term synthesized from Reduction, Oxidation, and Flow. It is a battery that stores electrical energy as chemical energy through oxidation and reduction reactions of active materials in the electrolyte at the electrode surface and converts it back to electrical energy when needed. It is capable of large-scale storage, can be used long-term through periodic replacement of the electrolyte, and its major advantage is the absence of fire risk. Dr. Seunghae Hwang’s ...

Chemists have overcome a major hurdle in synthesizing a more stable form of heterocycle—a family of organic compounds that are a common component of most modern pharmaceuticals. The research, which could expand the toolkit available to drug developers in improving the safety profiles of medications and reducing side effects, was published in Science by organic chemists at the University of British Columbia (UBC), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Michigan. “Azetidines ...

Tokyo, Japan – The advent of quantum computers promises to revolutionize computing by solving complex problems exponentially more rapidly than classical computers. However, today's quantum computers face challenges such as maintaining stability and transporting quantum information. Phonons, which are quantized vibrations in periodic lattices, offer new ways to improve these systems by enhancing qubit interactions and providing more reliable information conversion. Phonons also facilitate better communication ...

In an ongoing game of cosmic hide and seek, scientists have a new tool that may give them an edge. Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have developed a computer program incorporating machine learning that could help identify blobs of plasma in outer space known as plasmoids. In a novel twist, the program has been trained using simulated data. The program will sift through reams of data gathered by spacecraft in the magnetosphere, the region of outer space strongly affected by Earth’s ...

Lead author Neta Rosenzweig, PhD, of the Ann Romney Center for Neurological Diseases, and senior author Oleg Butovsky, PhD, of the Ann Romney Center and Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, share key messages from their paper “Sex-Dependent APOE4 Neutrophil-Microglia Interactions Drive Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease” published in Nature Medicine. How would you summarize your study for a lay audience? In this manuscript, we identify that a major genetic risk ...

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help to select the most suitable treatment for cancer patients has been developed by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU). DeepPT, developed in collaboration with scientists at the National Cancer Institute in America and pharmaceutical company Pangea Biomed, works by predicting a patient’s messenger RNA (mRNA) profile. This mRNA - essential for protein production - is also the key molecular information for personalised cancer medicine.  According to lead author Dr Danh-Tai Hoang from ANU, when combined with a second tool called ENLIGHT, DeepPT ...

A research team led by Director JO Moon-Ho of the Center for Van der Waals Quantum Solids within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has implemented a novel method to achieve epitaxial growth of 1D metallic materials with a width of less than 1 nm. The group applied this process to develop a new structure for 2D semiconductor logic circuits. Notably, they used the 1D metals as a gate electrode of the ultra-miniaturized transistor. Integrated devices based on two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, which exhibit excellent properties even at the ultimate limit of material thickness down to the atomic ...

A final year computer science undergraduate from the University of Bath has been named amongst the UK’s best student game developers, having won an award in the “Games with purpose” category at the Games Innovation Challenge 2024. Salmaan Zhang competed against university and college students from across the country to win one of seven categories in the competition, which is sponsored by UNiDAYS and delivered by NSE (National Student Esports). The challenge asked students in the UK to create the most innovative game in just eight weeks. Submitted entries were shortlisted and then judged by industry experts in several ...

Concern about the effects of PFAS are of increasing globally. Also there is no accurate method for analyzing multiple PFAS in soil. Hence, a team of PFAS researchers led by NARO et.al sought to develop a stable and accurate method for analyzing multicomponent PFAS in the soil (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -MAFF project). Unlike the PFAS analysis method for water samples, it is difficult to ensure the extraction efficiency of the target PFAS in diverse soil samples. In Japan, there are 381 soil types, with volcanic ash soils being the predominant. Since these soils possess high carbon content, ...

Many cat owners are familiar with torn cushions, carpets, and couches. The feline instinct to scratch is innate but is often perceived as a behavioral problem by cat owners and sometimes leads to interventions that are not cat friendly. Now, an international team of researchers has investigated which factors influence undesired scratching behavior in domestic cats. They published their findings in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. “Here we show that certain factors – such as the presence of children at home, personality traits of cats, and their activity levels – significantly impact the ...