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 ...

The security of traditional attribute-based searchable encryption schemes relies on traditional number-theoretic assumptions, and thus they are not able to resist the threat of quantum algorithms. Meanwhile, existing lattice-based searchable encryption schemes have two main problems: one is the low efficiency of the execution of encryption, key generation and search algorithms. The second is the large space required for storing search trapdoors. To solve the problems, a research team led by Yang YANG published their new ...

The hot-end components of high-performance high-speed aircrafts need to meet performance requirements such as long service life, wide temperature range oxidation resistance and ablation resistance. This puts forward higher requirements for high-temperature service performance of thermal protection system (TPS). With low density, low expansion and excellent high temperature mechanical properties, carbon-carbon (C/C) composites are expected to be the best choice for the new generation of TPS. However, the oxidation sensitivity of C/C composites severely limits their service life in high-temperature ablation environment. It ...

Behavioral interventions are strategies designed to help people change their behaviors in a way that is positive for themselves and the community. These behaviors can relate to various topics, such as health, citizenship, ecology, and more. Interventions can be applied individually, like someone seeing a psychologist to quit smoking, or collectively, such as NGOs and public institutions investing in anti-smoking campaigns or raising awareness about the dangers of drunk driving. Understanding how to adapt behavioral interventions to different cultures is essential for the success of health ...

New class of cancer mutations discovered in so-called ‘junk’ DNA Using artificial intelligence, Garvan Institute researchers have found potential cancer drivers hidden in so-called ‘junk’ regions of DNA, opening up possibilities for a new approach to diagnosis and treatment. Non-coding DNA – the 98% of our genome that doesn’t contain instructions for making proteins – could hold the key to a new approach for diagnosing and treating cancers, according to a new study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The findings, ...

Ever wondered why you performed worse than expected in that final university exam that you sat in a cavernous gymnasium or massive hall, despite countless hours, days and weeks of study? Now you have a genuine reason – high ceilings. New research from the University of South Australia and Deakin University has revealed a link between rooms with high ceilings and poorer examination results. A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, led by architecture and psychology-trained UniSA researcher Dr Isabella Bower in collaboration with educational psychology researcher Associate Professor Jaclyn Broadbent from Deakin University, demonstrates that building design impacts ...

A world-first study has found low-dose aspirin may treat flu-induced blood vessel inflammation, creating better blood flow to the placenta during pregnancy.   Animal studies examined whether the treatment for preeclampsia could be applied to flu infections – and the results, according to the research team, were very promising.  Lead researcher and RMIT Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Dr Stella Liong, said flu infections during pregnancy can resemble preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that causes inflammation to the aorta and blood vessels.   Low-dose aspirin is commonly taken to prevent preeclampsia, as it stops the body from creating chemicals that cause ...

Osaka, Japan – Neuroendocrine tumors, including small cell lung cancer and neuroendocrine prostate cancer, are very aggressive with high chances of spreading. However, many individuals develop resistance to few available treatment options, leading to poor patient outcomes. Researchers are therefore aiming to develop new therapeutic methods that focus on the disease-specific molecular mechanisms of these tumors. In a recent article published in Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acids, a team of researchers at Osaka University describe a strategy targeting one such mechanism, called RNA splicing. RNA splicing is the process ...

Taylor & Francis has announced the launch of the Journal of Psychology and AI, an open access journal that aims to foster dialogue between technologists developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems and psychology researchers exploring human behavior, cognitions, and emotions. As AI technology becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, the new journal will publish reports on direct human interaction with AI as well as exploring how it is influencing the way we interact with and think about the world. Other research areas relevant to psychology and AI include using AI for the ...

Mohamed A. Zayed, MD, PhD, a vascular surgeon known for his pioneering research in vascular diseases, has been appointed director of the newly established Division of Surgical Sciences in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He will assume his new role July 1. Zayed, a professor of surgery, of radiology, of molecular cell biology, and of biomedical engineering, has more than 25 years of experience leading multifaceted research programs in biotech, medical startups ...

New research from the University of Utah demonstrates how wind-carried dust from the exposed bed of Great Salt Lake is disproportionately affecting disadvantaged communities in the Salt Lake metro area. The findings suggest restoring the lake to a healthy water level would reduce disparities in harmful dust exposure experienced by different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups, along with delivering other ecological and economic benefits.⁠ Exposure to particulate pollution arising from dry portions of the playa is highest among Pacific Islanders and Hispanics and lowest among white people compared to other racial/ethnic ...

Everyday clothing may soon be able to capture and record body movements according to new research published by the Universities of Bristol and Bath. Harmless low voltages are passed through conductive threads which are stitched into garment seams to create electrical circuits. Their resistance changes with the movement of the wearer's body. The work opens up new possibilities to make digital clothing which senses and captures movements much more accurately than is possible using current phones and smart watches. The paper, presented at the Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) conference in Copenhagen ...

The American Meteorological Society continuously publishes research on climate, weather, and water in its 12 journals. Many of these articles are available for early online access–they are peer-reviewed, but not yet in their final published form. Below is a selection of articles published early online recently. Some articles are open-access; to view others, members of the media can contact kpflaumer@ametsoc.org for press login credentials. JOURNAL ARTICLES Understanding Observed Precipitation Change and the New Climate Normal from the Perspective of Daily Weather Types in the Southeast U.S. Journal of ...

How would you summarize your study for a lay audience? We set out to identify genes that are commonly expressed in CD8+ T cells, killer immune cells that can drive anti-tumor immunity, across many types of human cancers. Our goal was to uncover new therapeutic targets, which could inform novel treatment strategies that could benefit many patients. To do this, we developed a novel mathematical method that can be applied to data from many types of cancers. What knowledge gaps does your study help to fill? We know the presence fof CD8+ T cells is essential for ...