Fukuoka, Japan – Japan in spring is famous for its cherry blossoms, or sakura, which begin flowering in the southern region of Kyushu and blaze upwards to the remote north of Hokkaido. The most abundant cherry tree cultivar, Somei Yoshino, is the iconic symbol of spring, as the cloned trees flower simultaneously at each site, creating a fleeting explosion of white-pink blossom that enraptures locals and tourists alike. The flowering forecasts of Somei Yoshino are poured over for months before flowering, as visitors plan their trips and locals ...

Fukuoka, Japan—Researchers have developed a new organic thermoelectric device that can harvest energy from ambient temperature. While thermoelectric devices have several uses today, hurdles still exist to their full utilization. By combining the unique abilities of organic materials, the team succeeded in developing a framework for thermoelectric power generation at room temperature without any temperature gradient. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications. Thermoelectric devices, or thermoelectric ...

The superior colliculus is a midbrain region that is traditionally thought to help animals orient themselves toward important locations in space, like directing their eyes and head toward a bright flash of light. New research from the University of Chicago shows that this part of the brain also plays a role in complex cognitive tasks like visual categorization and decision making. In the new study, published in Nature Neuroscience, scientists measured the information contained in patterns of brain cell activity across multiple brain regions involved in visual category decisions. The researchers monitored activity in the superior colliculus (SC) and part of the posterior parietal ...

Lavas from hotspots—whether erupting in Hawaii, Samoa or Iceland—likely originate from a worldwide, uniform reservoir in Earth’s mantle, according to an evaluation of volcanic hotspots published today in Nature Geoscience. The findings indicate Earth’s mantle is far more chemically homogenous than scientists previously thought—and that lavas only acquire their unique chemical “flavours” enroute to the surface. “The discovery literally turns our view of hotspot lavas and the mantle upside down,” said Dr. Matthijs Smit, associate professor ...

The Amazon, often called the "lungs of the planet", is the world’s largest tropical forest, playing a crucial role in the global climate system due to its vast carbon storage. While it is typically warm and humid all year round, continued climate change poses the threat of more frequent and severe droughts and heat extremes. A new study, published in Nature Communications delves into future projections of the Amazon carbon cycle, focusing specifically on the impacts driven by climate change. Scientists use the latest generation of Earth system models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project which contributed to ...

A new way of making ammonia by harnessing the unique power of liquid metal could lead to significant cuts in carbon emissions caused by production of the widely-used chemical.   Ammonia is used in fertiliser to grow much of our food, but also plays a role in clean energy as a carrier to safely transport hydrogen. The global production of ammonia, however, comes at a high environmental cost: it consumes over 2% of global energy and produces up to 2% of global carbon emissions. RMIT Research Fellow and study ...

Researchers have uncovered a fascinating mechanism behind the reduction and asymmetry of emu wing bones. The wings not only show significant shortening, but the skeletal elements also fuse asymmetrically, a phenomenon traced back to the absence of muscle formation in the distal regions of the wings. During development, this lack of muscle leads to insufficient mechanical stress, which is crucial for proper bone formation. The team identified muscle progenitor cells with a unique dual identity, combining characteristics of both somite１-derived myogenic and lateral plate mesoderm2 cells. These ...

Only about ten percent of the world’s roughly 4,000 snake species have venom strong enough to seriously hurt a human, but that’s enough for snake bites to be an important public health concern. To help better understand how snakes make their venom and how venoms differ from one species to another, researchers developed a new way to zero in on the genes that snakes use in venom production. Their work was published in the journal Molecular Ecology Resources. “We’ve developed a tool that can tell us which venom-producing genes are present across an entire snake family in one fell swoop,” says Sara Ruane, the Assistant Curator of Herpetology in the ...

· Daily homework of up to 15 minutes most effective for maths achievement · Homework assigned three to four times a week benefits science performance · Short duration homework just as effective as longer assignments Researchers at Maynooth University’s Hamilton Institute and Department of Mathematics and Statistics in Ireland have unveiled significant findings on the role of homework in student achievement. The research, led by Prof Andrew Parnell, Nathan McJames and Prof Ann O’Shea, used a new AI model to analyse data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science ...

A new paper in Oxford Open Climate Change, published by Oxford University Press, uncovers evidence suggesting that, contrary to expectations, most U.S. cities are not doing too badly in avoiding development in areas prone to flooding, and those that are effective appear to be applying existing tools and strategies well, rather than doing anything particularly novel. Despite billions of dollars of investments and widespread mitigation efforts, the costs of disasters in the United States have grown dramatically. ...

Like moths to a flame, microbes can also be moved by light. Using this knowledge, researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University’s Research Institute for Light-induced Acceleration System (RILACS) have demonstrated a method to detect the presence of viruses quickly and using only a small sample. The research team led by OMU Professor Takuya Iida, the director of RILACS, and Associate Professor Shiho Tokonami, the deputy director, report in npj Biosensing on a light-induced immunoassay. Using ...

Part of many people’s pandemic experience included working from home. Even after lockdowns, videoconferencing remains a big part of life as people continue to work remotely, connect with families and friends online, and attend virtual events hosted on videoconferencing platforms. Spending hours on video calls, however, can be exhausting and manifest as physical, emotional, or cognitive tiredness – a phenomenon known as videoconferencing fatigue (VF). Now, researchers in Singapore have asked if a relationship between virtual backgrounds and VF exists and ...

With the Use of Visual Cues, Hospital Rooms Get Nearly 70% Cleaner New study shows that a simple color additive in disinfectant wipes dramatically improved room cleanliness and even reduced time needed for cleaning Arlington, Va. — September 19, 2024 — A new study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) reports a comparison of hospital room cleanliness using standard disinfectant wipes versus wipes with a color additive that allows users to see which surfaces have been sanitized. With the color additive, rooms ...

In the last decade, auxiliary information has been widely used to address data sparsity. Due to the advantages of feature extraction and the no-label requirement, autoencoder-based methods addressing auxiliary information have become quite popular. However, most existing autoencoder-based methods discard the reconstruction of auxiliary information, which poses a huge challenge for better representation learning and model scalability. To solve the problems, a research team led by Zhu YI published their new research on 15 August 2024 in Frontiers of Computer Science co-published by Higher Education Press and Springer Nature. The team proposed a novel representation ...

Cucumber is a common vegetable on people’s table because of its crisp and refreshing characteristics. In order to meet the market demand throughout the year, cucumber is now mainly planted in facility greenhouses. However, the loss of soil nutrients and the accumulation of pathogenic microorganisms are inevitable in successive years of cultivation. Cucumber corynespora leaf spot, also known as cucumber target spot disease, is a major foliar disease that causes cucumber yield reduction, and its pathogen is the Corynespora cassiicola. The pathogen harms cucumber leaves, causing irregular spots and affecting the photosynthesis ...

Globally, more than 13,000 plant species, equivalent to the entire native flora of Europe, have been naturalized outside their native ranges. A recent study, jointly conducted by scientists from China and the USA, has provided new insights about biodiversity, exotic invasion, and their relationship to climate change. Published in Nature Plants, the research uncovers the climatic niche mechanisms that shape both the vulnerability of native ecosystems and the invasiveness of exotic species in a warming world. A long-standing debate exists over the impact of exotic species on native ecosystems and ...

The Arctic frequently experiences temperatures that support the formation of mixed-phase clouds that contain supercooled liquid droplets and ice crystals. The composition of such clouds plays a crucial role in the region's energy balance and climate system. Clouds with more liquid last longer and reflect more sunlight than those with more ice crystals. With Arctic warming, meteorologists have been interested in determining the effect of rising temperatures on cloud composition and its broader effect on the region. Climate models generally predict that as the Arctic warms, clouds in the region will ...

A researcher from the University of Southampton (UK) has found evidence that the treeless, rugged, grassland landscape of the Falkland Islands was home to a lush, diverse rainforest up to 30 million years ago. A study by Dr Zoë Thomas, leading an international team of scientists, reveals that the South Atlantic archipelago was once covered in cool, wet woodland – similar to the present day rainforests found in Tierra del Fuego, off the tip of South America. The scientists conducted the research after clues to the whereabouts of buried remains of the ancient forest reached them via word-of-mouth in the tight knit community of Port Stanley, the Falklands’ ...

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON PRESS RELEASE Peer reviewed/Systematic review and meta-analysis/People UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL Thursday 19th September at 00:01 UTC (01:01 BST)   Dizziness in older adults is linked to higher risk of future falls Researchers say it’s not just a normal part of ageing The first meta-analysis of its kind has shown a conclusive link between older adults experiencing spells of dizziness and a dramatically elevated risk of falling. Dizziness is a term used to describe sensations such as vertigo, imbalance, light-headedness, and disorientation. It is common in older adults, affecting one in three of those aged 65 years and older. For the first time, dizziness ...

Some triptans are a more effective treatment for acute migraines than newer, more expensive drugs, finds an analysis of the latest evidence published by The BMJ today. Triptans work by narrowing blood vessels in the brain and preventing the release of chemicals that cause pain and inflammation. The findings show that four triptans - eletriptan, rizatriptan, sumatriptan, and zolmitriptan - were better at relieving migraine pain than the recently marketed and more expensive drugs lasmiditan, rimegepant, and ubrogepant, which were comparable to paracetamol ...

Researchers found that a medicine called ferric carboxymaltose given in drip through the vein works faster and better than an iron tablet taken by mouth for the treatment of anaemia – and it is as safe as the tablet. The findings were published in Lancet Global Health.  Anaemia (low blood level) is a common cause of ill-health or death in mothers and their babies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia where more than four out of ten pregnant women have the condition. A sizeable proportion of pregnant women in Nigeria proceed to giving birth while still anaemic ...

Between 1990 and 2021, the number of people who had a new stroke (up by 70%), died from a stroke (up by 44%), and stroke-related health loss (up by 32%), has risen substantially worldwide. Stroke is highly preventable, with 84% of the stroke burden in 2021 attributable to 23 modifiable risk factors, including air pollution, excess body weight, high blood pressure, smoking, and physical inactivity—presenting a public health challenge and an opportunity for action. Notably, the contribution of high temperatures to poor health and early death due to stroke has ...

A new study in the peer-reviewed Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology estimated the incidence of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), a potentially fatal adverse effect of antipsychotic treatment, among individuals ages 5-24 years. Click here to read the article now. Wayne Ray, PhD, from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and coauthors, used national Medicaid data from 2004-2013 to identify patients beginning antipsychotic treatment and calculated the incidence of NMS during antipsychotic use. The investigators identified five ...

Cyclists choosing a new helmet can see how much protection different helmets offer, thanks to new safety testing and ratings from Imperial College London.    Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a simple new cycle helmet safety rating system with simple-to-understand scores from 0-5, designed to help buyers select which helmet to buy and assist manufacturers in future helmet design. The system is based on extensive new safety testing experiments on medium-sized helmets at Imperial.    Testing on the UK’s 30 most popular helmets, funded by The Road Safety Trust, revealed significant ...

Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are continuing to fall behind their peers with the gap widening despite the introduction of SEND legislation. This is according to a new study by Durham University which analysed data on 2.5 million Year 6 pupils across four school years from 2014-2019. The research suggests there is a need to re-evaluate the policies for SEND provision and how pupils with SEND are supported in schools. It calls for more investment to support SEND pupils and for increased professional development for teachers and teaching assistants. Using ...