Modern life relies on plastic. This lightweight, adaptable product is a cornerstone of packaging, medical equipment, the aerospace and automotive industries and more. But plastic waste remains a problem as it degrades in landfills and pollutes oceans. FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers have created a potential alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastic that is made from carbon dioxide (CO2) and lignin, a component of wood that is a low-cost byproduct of paper manufacturing and biofuel production. Their research was published in Advanced Functional Materials. “Our study takes the harmful greenhouse gas CO2 ...

“Our data demonstrated, for the first time, the antioxidant activity of geraniol and its function to attenuate brain hippocampus injury induced in vivo by D-galactose.” BUFFALO, NY- April 10, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 6, entitled, “Geraniol attenuates oxidative stress and neuroinflammation-mediated cognitive impairment in D galactose-induced mouse aging model.” D-galactose (D-gal) administration was proven to induce cognitive impairment and aging in rodents’ models. Geraniol ...

DALLAS (SMU) – A new study by SMU psychologists shows interpersonal racial discrimination and other forms of violence can impact the mental health of adolescents in the justice system. The research advocates for a more holistic approach to mental health intervention, emphasizing the importance of considering adolescents' experiences of interpersonal racial discrimination alongside other more recognized forms of violence. By acknowledging and addressing these intersecting factors, stakeholders can better tailor support systems to meet ...

University of Florida engineers have developed a method for 3D printing called vapor-induced phase-separation 3D printing, or VIPS-3DP, to create single-material as well as multi-material objects. The discovery has the potential to advance the world of additive manufacturing. Yong Huang, Ph. D., a professor in UF’s department of mechanical and aerospace engineering, said the printing process he and colleagues developed allows manufacturers to create custom-made objects economically and sustainably. The novel approach was reported Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. “It is more economical and much simpler than current ...

“Our results reveal that MIA-602 may be a useful treatment for Doxorubicin-resistant AML [...]” BUFFALO, NY- April 10, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 15 on April 8, 2024, entitled, “Exploring the role of GHRH antagonist MIA-602 in overcoming Doxorubicin-resistance in acute myeloid leukemia.” Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by the rapid proliferation of mutagenic hematopoietic progenitors in the bone marrow. Conventional therapies include chemotherapy and bone marrow stem cell transplantation; however, they are often associated with poor prognosis. Notably, growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2024 MINNEAPOLIS – A changing climate may be linked to growing death and disability from stroke in regions around the world, according to a study published in the April 10, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers found over three decades that non-optimal temperatures, those above or below temperatures associated with the lowest death rates, were increasingly linked to death and disability due to stroke. The study does not prove that climate change causes ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Marketing is one of the most effective ways for an early-stage business-to-business (B2B) startup firm to grow, yet nearly half of such firms that would benefit from it choose not to do any marketing, according to the findings of a paper co-authored by a Smeal College of Business professor and published in the journal Industrial Marketing Management. The researchers focused on systematic marketing — where a firm has an ongoing process of collecting and using customer data to improve its offerings, communications and distribution programs. They specifically examined which startup firms conduct systematic marketing, what causes them to do so and what ...

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program is now accepting proposals for high-impact, computationally intensive research projects in a broad array of science, engineering and computer science domains. Proposals must be submitted between April 10 and June 14. The INCITE program aims to accelerate scientific discoveries and technological innovations by awarding researchers with substantial allocations of supercomputer time and supporting resources at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). The ALCF and OLCF are DOE Office ...

Organisations that fail to identify or swiftly expel “institutional parasites” risk long-term damage, academics from leading British and Finnish business schools have warned. In a paper published in the respected Academy of Management Review, they argue that the increasingly complex and opaque nature of many organisations provides fertile ground for institutional parasites – such as suppliers or other key external partners and employees. Dr Jukka Rintamäki from Finland’s Aalto University School of Business, Dr Simon Parker from Nottingham University Business School and Professor Andre Spicer, Professor ...

WASHINGTON (April 10, 2024) — Citizen scientists have long contributed to the collection and observation of natural events - from weather watchers to wildlife trackers – with thousands of organized community projects spanning decades. Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to an explosion of novice infectious disease detectives adding to the collection of science-enthusiasts. To give these new disease detectives more tools for their craft, a new book written by two Georgetown University global health researchers, “Outbreak ...

A University of Tennessee Extension specialist has been selected to assist land-grant university teams implementing grants through the Extension Collaboration on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE), a national effort to encourage adult vaccinations in rural areas and among underserved communities. Laura Clark, UT Extension state specialist in family and consumer sciences, will serve as a national EXCITE Bridge Grant coach and work with six land-grant universities that are grant recipients through the program. Clark has worked for UT Extension for six years, ...

A country’s economic prosperity is linked with improved well-being in its residents, according to a study published April 10, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Feng Huang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and colleagues. Philosophers have long pondered the fraught relationship between money and happiness. Aristotle and Solon argued against the euphoric powers of wealth, while the Easterlin Paradox suggests that a nation’s economic fortitude can influence its residents’ health and happiness. Little evidence exists to support this claim in China, especially after the country’s recent economic expansion and rapid industrialization. Huang and colleagues ...

A newly developed World Cybercrime Index shows that most cybercriminal threats are concentrated in several countries, with different countries associated with distinct cybercrime types. Miranda Bruce (University of Oxford/University of New South Wales), Jonathan Lusthaus (University of Oxford), Ridhi Kashyap (University of Oxford), Nigel Phair (Monash University), and Federico Varese (Sciences Po) present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 10, 2024. Worldwide, cybercrimes are estimated to cost hundreds ...

An analysis of building footprints in major US metropolitan areas identifies five different neighborhood types that vary in footprint size, shape, and placement, and which are statistically associated with varying neighborhood socioeconomic and demographic traits. Noah Durst of Michigan State University, US, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 10, 2024. People have long studied the shape and placement of human settlements—“neighborhood morphology”—to help inform urban planning and management. Recent technological advancements, such as high-resolution satellite imagery and more powerful computational ...

Indigenous Australian message sticks, which feature markings to convey messages over long distances, analyzed for first time at scale through new database of 1,500 artifacts ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299712 Article Title: AMSD: The Australian Message Stick Database Author Countries: Australia, Germany Funding: The lead author (Piers Kelly) receives salary and project funding specifically for the research described in this paper. He is funded by an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher ...

What we eat can impact our health as well as the environment. Many studies have looked at the impacts of diets in very general terms focused at the level of food groups. A new study led by researchers at the University of Tokyo explores this issue following a more nuanced dish-level approach. One of the benefits of this kind of study is that people’s connections with their diets vary around the world and have strong cultural associations. Knowledge of the impacts of diets using dishes rather than broad food groups can help individuals make informed choices and those in the food industry improve ...

Researchers from Lehigh University have developed a material that demonstrates the potential for drastically increasing the efficiency of solar panels.  A prototype using the material as the active layer in a solar cell exhibits an average photovoltaic absorption of 80%, a high generation rate of photoexcited carriers, and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) up to an unprecedented 190%—a measure that far exceeds the theoretical Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit for silicon-based materials and pushes the field of quantum materials for photovoltaics to ...

The gut microbiome has a profound impact on the health and development of infants. Research shows that dysbiosis—or imbalances in the microbial community—is associated with gastrointestinal diseases and neurodevelopmental deficits. Understanding how gut bacteria interact, and how these interactions may lead to some of these problems, however, is difficult and time consuming through traditional laboratory experiments. Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that models the infant microbiome. This “digital ...

Following three years of intensive research, an international team of researchers have compiled the first ever ‘World Cybercrime Index’, which identifies the globe’s key cybercrime hotspots by ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime at a national level. The Index, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that a relatively small number of countries house the greatest cybercriminal threat. Russia tops the list, followed by Ukraine, China, the USA, Nigeria, and Romania. The UK comes in at number eight. Co-author of the study, Dr Miranda Bruce from the ...

A new lab assay developed by researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center could make diagnosis and treatment of small-cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer easier.     The blood-based test, also called a “liquid biopsy,” can detect differences between types of lung cancer by examining patterns in cell-free tumor DNA in blood samples. It’s a desirable option for detecting small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) as standard needle biopsies fail due the number of smaller tumors typically present and the variety of tumor subtypes that indicate different treatment pathways.     “There ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – April 10, 2024) Infection with the influenza virus leads to lung injury through inflammation over-activation that causes collateral damage to cells required for breathing. Such damage can be life-threatening, but scientists have a new preventative treatment. A team from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, University of Houston, Tufts University School of Medicine and Fox Chase Cancer Center created a drug that can prevent flu-induced lung injury. In a mouse model, the ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — More than 2 billion people suffer from hidden hunger, a form of malnutrition where individuals lack essential micronutrients — like vitamins and minerals — even though they consume what appears to be an adequate amount of calories. University of Missouri researcher Kiruba Krishnaswamy is focused on tackling this global challenge. She recently received a five-year, $532,000 Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) — the NSF’s most prestigious award for early-career faculty — in support of her project titled ...

AMES, Iowa – If you’re the Midcontinent Independent System Operator – the organization that manages the flow of high-voltage electricity across a central stripe of the U.S. and Canada, from Manitoba, Michigan and Minnesota through Iowa and all the way to Louisiana – you want energy supplies to meet the energy demands of 45 million people.   “We make sure the right amount of electricity is generated and transmitted to our member utilities,” says the regional grid operator’s website.   Balancing power supply and demand is complicated these days. Electricity is no longer exclusively generated by power plants using coal- or natural ...

Scientists, policy makers, and marine and environmental professionals across the world are being encouraged to sign up to a new initiative highlighting some of the global threats posed by light pollution. The Global Ocean Artificial Light at Night Network (GOALANN) has been launched today at the United Nations Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona. It has been established by ecologists, oceanographers and social scientists who have spent more than a decade studying the impact of light pollution on the ocean, and the many species living in or near it. The GOALANN network aims to expand on the impact of that work, unifying research groups ...

Joint press release of Charité and Uniklinikum Erlangen Cortisone and other related glucocorticoids are extremely effective at curbing excessive immune reactions. But previously, astonishingly little was known about how they exactly do that. A team of researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Uniklinikum Erlangen and Ulm University have now explored the molecular mechanism of action in greater detail. As the researchers report in the journal Nature,* glucocorticoids reprogram ...