PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Some of the ocean’s tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean’s chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and based on fieldwork during three research cruises spanning 2017 to 2019, the study focuses on subtropical regions in the Mediterranean Sea. It uncovered how some microscopic single-celled organisms that are too light to ...

HOUSTON – (May 2, 2024) – Rice University’s Ramamoorthy Ramesh and Frank Reese Harvey are among 120 new U.S. members elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) “in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research,” according to a statement from the organization. Members are elected by their peers based on their contribution to one of six areas of scientific inquiry following an extensive vetting process. Established in 1863 through an act of Congress, NAS serves as a source of independent, objective advice on science ...

AMHERST, Mass. – The global demand for palm oil—the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, in everything from instant noodles to lipstick—is driving worldwide tropical deforestation. While many studies have shown the loss of biodiversity when rainforests are converted to oil palm plantations, researchers at the University of Massachusetts of Amherst are the first to show far-reaching and wide-ranging disturbances to the watersheds in which such plantations occur. Because many Indigenous peoples rely on water downstream from the plantations for their daily needs, the marked decrease in water quality has ...

A research team at Pitt led by Alexander Star, a chemistry professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has developed a fentanyl sensor that is six orders of magnitude more sensitive than any electrochemical sensor for the drug reported in the past five years. The portable sensor can also tell the difference between fentanyl and other opioids. Their work was published in the journal Small. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and one of the main drivers in overdose deaths in the United States, Star said. It’s often mixed with other drugs, but because ...

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed lubricant additives that protect both water turbine equipment and the surrounding environment. Each year, roughly 2.47 billion gallons of lubricating oil are consumed in the United States alone for engines and industrial machinery, according to DOE, with about half eventually finding its way into the environment. While environmentally acceptable lubricants are available, they are not optimized with additives that can greatly improve performance while posing minimal environmental impact if accidentally released. To create nontoxic, biodegradable and high-performing lubricant ...

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is pleased that Andrei Moroz, PhD, has been appointed the new Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the bimonthly journal Monoclonal Antibodies in Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy. Dr. Moroz is joining Cory Brooks, PhD, as part of the senior editorial leadership team for the journal. Monoclonal Antibodies in Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy is a peer-reviewed venue for promoting and sharing research rooted in hybridoma technology. It aims at advancing the understanding of the biology and immunology that underscores the utility of antibodies as diagnostics and therapeutics. The journal publishes ...

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/CVIA.2024.0031 Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal. Fulminant myocarditis (FM) is associated with high mortality and an unfavorable long-term prognosis. However, noninvasive, rapid diagnostic and monitoring methods for FM are lacking. This article details the case of a patient diagnosed with FM through a comprehensive assessment involving typical clinical symptoms, laboratory analyses, echocardiographic evidence, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) findings. Before the patient underwent CMR, optical pumped magnetometer magnetocardiography (OPM-MCG) revealed abnormalities characteristic ...

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/CVIA.2024.0026 Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal. Heart Failure (HF) is one of the leading problems in cardiology practice today. Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and this is more relevant in the Asian subcontinent with a high population burden. Various regional registries in Asia have given us valuable insight into the aetiology and outcomes in this context. Though there are regional differences, it is clear from the review carried out in this paper that HF affects a much younger population. ...

An article published in The Faseb Journal describes a Brazilian study analyzing the correlation between two key energy metabolism regulation processes: the absorption and release of calcium ions by mitochondria, the organelles that generate energy for cells; and autophagy induced by calorie restriction. Autophagy occurs when cells break down and reuse their own cytoplasm. The study was conducted at the Center for Research on Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxome), a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) funded by FAPESP and hosted by the University of São Paulo’s Institute of Chemistry ...

Consistent adherence to physical activity guidelines throughout middle-age is associated with a higher health-related quality of life in women, according to a new study publishing May 2nd in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Binh Nguyen of University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues. The evidence for an association between physical activity and health-related quality of life has been based primarily on cross-sectional studies and short-term randomized controlled trials. Few longitudinal studies have measured physical activity at more than one time point and examined the long-term causal effects ...

In experiments in isolated villages in Honduras, researchers evaluated a new strategy for identifying individuals that could be targeted for effective information spreading. Their approach – more effective than random targeting, and also less time-requisite than approaches that require a complete understanding of the relevant social network – could have far-reaching policy implications in lower and middle-income countries. Understanding the structure and function of human social networks has yielded insights for exploiting social ...

Chromosomal 22q11.2 deletions increase risk for meningomyelocele,  one of the most severe and common forms of spina bifida, researchers report. According to the findings, this risk is mediated by the loss of Crkl, one of several neural tube expressed genes located on the 22q11.2 deletion interval, and this risk is only partially alleviated by folate supplementation. Meningomyelocele (MM) is a severe type of neural tube defect, which often requires pre- or post-natal surgical repair and can result in a variety of physical and developmental difficulties. Although the incidence of the condition has declined in recent decades, largely due to folic acid (FA) fortification, MM ...

Molecular circadian clocks in the brain and muscle tissue cooperate to keep muscles healthy and functioning daily, according to a new study in mice. The findings could provide valuable insight into understanding the roles of circadian disruption in age-associated health issues and potential strategies to protect muscle function in aging individuals. A circadian molecular clock network is crucial for daily physiology and maintaining health. It’s thought that this network – which extends throughout all cells in the body – is hierarchically organized and coordinated by the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which receives daily light cues and synchronizes ...

Early care and education (ECE) programs – like Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) and Head Start – are widely regarded as effective public investments for reducing income- and race-based achievement gaps and helping children succeed in school with impacts extending well into adulthood. However, in a Policy Forum, Margaret Burchinal and colleagues present recent evidence suggesting that preschool impacts are not unequivocally positive and the science on the overall outcomes of these programs remains unsettled. According to Burchinal et al., more rigorous research is needed to understand how to design early education programs that produce long-term positive ...

Precisely measuring the energy states of individual atoms has been a historical challenge for physicists due to atomic recoil. When an atom interacts with a photon, the atom “recoils” in the opposite direction, making it difficult to measure the position and momentum of the atom precisely. This recoil can have big implications for quantum sensing, which detects minute changes in parameters, for example, using changes in gravitational waves to determine the shape of the Earth or even detect dark matter.  In a new paper published in the Science, JILA and NIST Fellows Ana Maria Rey and James Thompson, ...

A new catalyst made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and common table sugar has the power to destroy carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. In a new Northwestern University study, the catalyst successfully converted CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), an important building block to produce a variety of useful chemicals. When the reaction occurs in the presence of hydrogen, for example, CO2 and hydrogen transform into synthesis gas (or syngas), a highly valuable precursor to producing fuels that can potentially replace gasoline.  With recent advances in carbon capture technologies, post-combustion carbon capture is ...

For the first time, the developmental stages of the deadliest human malaria parasite have been mapped in high resolution, allowing researchers to understand this ever-adapting adversary in more detail than previously possible. The study, published today (2 May) in Science, details the critical developmental stages of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, using single-cell RNA sequencing. This gives detailed information on the life stages of this parasite as it matures, changing from an asexual state to a sexual state, which is necessary before the parasite can be transmitted to mosquitoes. The research from ...

EMBARGOED TO 2:00 P.M. ET May 2, 2024 Contact: Patricia Lamiell; patricia.lamiell@tc.columbia.edu or Ari Morgan; teacherscollege@skdknick.com   Breaking Ground:  Investigating the Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Education   New review from Teachers College, Columbia University, University of Virginia, University of California-Irvine, and University of Delaware Reveals Varied Impact of Preschool Programs on Long-Term School Success.   EDITOR’S NOTE:  The EMBARGOED ...

Barcelona, 2 May 2024 - Discovered in the 1970s, circadian clocks are essential for the regulation of biological time in most cells in the human body. These internal mechanisms adjust biological processes to a 24-hour cycle, allowing the synchronisation of cellular functions with daily variations in the environment. Circadian rhythms, which are coordinated by a central clock in the brain that communicates with clocks in different peripheral tissues, influence many functions, from our sleep patterns to our ability to metabolise food. A team led by Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah, an ICREA researcher ...

Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible to explore exotic states of matter and build new quantum materials.  They typically do this by cooling the atoms to a stand-still, then using laser light to position the particles as close as 500 nanometers apart — a limit that is set by the wavelength of light. Now, MIT physicists have developed a technique that allows them to arrange atoms in much closer proximity, down to a mere 50 nanometers. For context, a red blood cell ...

Working with human breast and lung cells, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have charted a molecular pathway that can lure cells down a hazardous path of duplicating their genome too many times, a hallmark of cancer cells. The findings, published May 3 in Science, reveal what goes wrong when a group of molecules and enzymes trigger and regulate what’s known as the “cell cycle,” the repetitive process of making new cells out of the cells’ genetic material. The findings could be used to develop therapies that interrupt snags in the cell cycle, ...

Woods Hole, Mass. (May 2, 2024) -- Human activities account for a substantial amount - anywhere from 20% to more than 60% - of toxic thallium that has entered the Baltic Sea over the past 80 years, according to new research by scientists affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and other institutions. Currently, the amount of thallium (element symbol TI), which is considered the most toxic metal for mammals, remains low in Baltic seawater. However, the research suggests that the amount of thallium could increase due to further anthropogenic, or human induced, activities, or due to natural or human re-oxygenation of the Baltic that could make the sea ...

The use of femtosecond lasers to form glass-to-glass welds for solar modules would make the panels easier to recycle, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The welds would eliminate the need for plastic polymer sheets that are now laminated into solar modules but make recycling more difficult. At the end of their useful lifespan, the modules made with the laser welds can be shattered. The glass and metal wires running through the solar cells can be easily recycled and the silicon ...

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have successfully leveraged robotic assistance in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, allowing for the elimination of difficult working conditions for humans and the potential to improve the consistency of the product. Although robots have been used by the wind energy industry to paint and polish blades, automation has not been widely adopted. Research at the laboratory demonstrates the ability of a robot to trim, grind, and sand blades. Those necessary steps occur after the two sides of the blade are made using a mold ...

Scented products with relevant images on their packaging and branding, such as flowers or fruit, are more attractive to potential customers and score better in produce evaluations, new research confirms. And such images, the researchers conclude, are particularly effective if manufacturers and marketers choose pictures that are more likely to stimulate a stronger sense of the imagined smell – for example, cut rather than whole lemons. This, they say, suggests that as well as seducing our eyes, the images are stimulating our sense of smell. The study, published online in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, could provide manufacturers and marketers ...