Hypertension is among the leading cardiovascular diseases. Despite extensive research, evidence concerning the relationship between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter and hypertension remains limited and inconsistent, particularly with regard to submicron particulate matter (PM1). While randomized controlled trials are considered the gold standard for causal inference, environmental epidemiological studies typically rely on observational data. Traditional approaches in observational studies are less effective than randomized controlled trials in fully controlling for confounding factors to achieve results with causal interpretability. With the advancement of causal ...

Recently, Science Bulletin published a research conducted by Prof. Pingqing Fu and Dr. Libin Wu from Tianjin University, Peng Wang from Fudan University, and their Chinese and foreign collaborators. They explored the source of ammonium in PM2.5 at different heights of the atmospheric boundary layer in Beijing, and found that combustion-related ammonia is very important to ammonium in PM2.5 during haze pollution in winter. Air pollution and treatment in Beijing have been widely concerned by both the scientific community and the public. Although its PM2.5 has decreased significantly in the past few years, there is still haze pollution in Beijing, especially in winter. The chemical compositions ...

The researchers conducted a study over four days, including overnight stays, with 18 subjects at :envihab, the DLR medical research centre in Cologne. At a simulated altitude of 2500 meters above sea level, the influence of hypoxia (oxygen deficiency) on various hemodynamic and metabolic parameters was investigated. The central venous pressure via a catheter and the blood flow in the lungs using real-time magnetic resonance imaging were evaluated. The results showed that neither the pulmonarypressure nor the blood flow changed significantly. All patients able to tolerate a longer stay at altitude of 24 to 30 hours without complications. Oxygenation ...

The Australian brook lamprey (Mordacia praecox) is part of a group of primitive jawless fish. It’s up to 15 cm long, with rows of sharp teeth. Surprisingly, it doesn’t use these teeth to suck blood like most lamprey species – it’s non-parasitic. As larvae, the Australian brook lamprey lives buried in the bottom of streams for around three years, filter-feeding. Its adult phase is about one year long, in which it doesn’t feed at all. Prior to this study – funded in part by the Australian Government through the National Environmental Science Program’s (NESP) Resilient Landscapes Hub – the species was widely believed to only live in a few streams ...

A unique $3.7m plant lab will put researchers on the frontline in the fight against climate change and create crops for “tomorrow’s atmosphere today”.   The new flagship facility at the University of Essex will allow scientists to adapt plants for a hotter drier planet as food security is increasingly threatened.  It boasts a cutting-edge commercially standard vertical farm, an indoor field that replicates real environments anywhere in the globe, and suites that imitate a warming world – with researchers able to raise CO2 concentration and temperature levels at will.   Computer ...

Scientists at the University of Surrey are developing a new way to power low-orbit spacecraft using – literally – thin air.  Surrey Space Centre aims to enable extremely low-altitude spacecraft orbits in the upper atmosphere, thanks to funding from the UK Space Agency.   This new spacecraft concept could offer new capabilities in Earth observation,  climate monitoring and satellite communications.  Dr Andrea Lucca Fabris, principal investigator from Surrey Space Centre and an electric propulsion specialist, said:  “There are benefits to flying in very low altitude orbits, like being able to operate Earth observation at much ...

The author of a disaster novel couldn't have dreamed it up any better: On a Friday, the thirteenth of all days, the potentially dangerous asteroid (99942) Apophis will come extremely close to humanity. On 13 April 2029, there will only be around 30,000 kilometres between the cosmic rock and Earth. It will then be possible to see Apophis with the naked eye as a point of light in the evening sky, even from Würzburg. What makes the asteroid so dangerous: its average diameter is an impressive 340 metres. If it were to hit the Earth, the ...

Research warns of hazardous health risks from flavoured vapes  Research predicts the potential formation of 127 acutely toxic chemicals in flavoured vapes  Findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive regulation of vaping products    Wednesday, 8 May 2024: New research has uncovered the potentially harmful substances that are produced when e-liquids in vaping devices are heated for inhalation. The study, published in Scientific Reports, highlights the urgent need for public health policies concerning flavoured vapes.  The research team at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, used artificial ...

Three Florida Atlantic University researchers at the forefront of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research have each received a $350,000 grant from the Florida Department of Health’s “Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program.” The Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program was established to improve the health of Floridians by stimulating research into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care management and cure of AD.  Florida has the second highest incidence of AD in the nation with 580,000 people ages 65 and ...

When old food packaging, discarded children’s toys and other mismanaged plastic waste break down into microplastics, they become even harder to clean up from oceans and waterways. These tiny bits of plastic also attract bacteria, including those that cause disease. In a study in ACS Nano, researchers describe swarms of microscale robots (microrobots) that captured bits of plastic and bacteria from water. Afterward, the bots were decontaminated and reused. Watch a video of them swarming. The size ...

How do city residents feel about animals in their immediate surroundings? A recent study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Jena and the Vienna University of Technology shows how different the acceptance of various wild animals in urban areas is. Important factors are the places where the animals are found and their level of popularity - squirrels and ladybugs come out on top here. The results have important implications for urban planning and nature conservation. The relationship between city inhabitants and urban animals is complex, ...

PULLMAN, Wash. –  When breastfeeding mothers in a recent study used cannabis, its psychoactive component THC showed up in the milk they produced. The Washington State University-led research also found that, unlike alcohol, when THC was detected in milk there was no consistent time when its concentration peaked and started to decline. Importantly, the researchers discovered that the amount of THC they detected in milk was low – they estimated that infants received an average of 0.07 mg of THC per day. For comparison, a common low-dose edible contains 2 mg of THC. The research team stressed that it is unknown whether this amount has any impact ...

Chemistry, with its intricate processes and vast potential for innovation, has always been a challenge for automation. Traditional computational tools, despite their advanced capabilities, often remain underutilized due to their complexity and the specialized knowledge required to operate them. Now, researchers with the group of Philippe Schwaller at EPFL, have developed ChemCrow, an AI that integrates 18 expertly designed tools, enabling it to navigate and perform tasks within chemical research with unprecedented efficiency. “You might wonder why a crow?” asks Schwaller. “Because ...

An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has found a family of natural compounds with potential as new and more effective treatments for parasitic worms. The compounds stall the unique metabolic process that worms use to survive in the human gut. Parasitic worms transmitted through soil wreak havoc in developing countries in the tropics. Infection by these parasites leads to malaise, weakness, malnutrition and other debilitating symptoms, and can cause developmental defects in children and impair their growth. “Soil-transmitted parasitic worms infect over one billion people around the world, typically in low-income communities of developing countries ...

Freshwater resources are limited, accounting for only 3.5% of Earth’s water, with just 0.25% accessible on the surface. Nevertheless, freshwater lakes are essential for ecosystem functioning and global carbon cycling due to their high biological productivity and microbial activity. They are critical to human survival, providing drinking water, supporting agriculture, fisheries, and recreation. However, climate change – particularly rising temperatures – threatens these habitats by disrupting microbial communities that are essential for nutrient cycling and water quality maintenance. Challenging established evolutionary paradigms “Considering ...

A gene previously linked to intellectual disability has been found to regulate learning and memory in mice. The gene, called KDM5B has previously been linked to some intellectual disability disorders and autism. In the general population, some variants are also associated with reduced brain function, although not sufficient to cause an overt disability or behavioural symptoms. Now, researchers at King’s College London, the University of Exeter and the University of California Irvine have found that reduced function of the gene in the brain results in loss of learning ability and memory and a reduction in the brain’s ability to strengthen connections between neurons, ...

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Is the status of “perfect parent” attainable? Researchers leading a national dialogue about parental burnout from The Ohio State University College of Nursing and the university’s Office of the Chief Wellness Officer say “no,” and a new study finds that pressure to try to be “perfect” leads to unhealthy impacts on both parents and their children. The survey of more than 700 parents nationwide from June 15 – July 28, 2023 is summarized in the new report, “The Power of Positive Parenting: Evidence to Help Parents and Their Children Thrive.” The data shows that: Fifty-seven ...

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research arm of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and was led by Professor Christina Vogel, Director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London. DHSC commissioned this work to evaluate the Healthy Start scheme in England and understand how the scheme can be improved to reach more eligible families. The Healthy Start scheme was launched in 2006. It offers financial support and free vitamins for pregnant ...

A new study highlighting the risks encountered by food delivery couriers reveals a majority feel ‘unsafe’ when at work with every woman surveyed having experienced sexual harassment or abuse. Led by Dr Pedro Mendonca from the Centre for Employment, Work and the Professions (CREWs) at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Business School, the two-year project gathered feedback from 207 workers, including 33 women, employed in the food delivery industry in cities across Scotland.   It reveals more than 81% felt unsafe in their job yet continued due to financial necessity while 78% believed their ...

URBANA, Ill. – COVID-19 vaccination rates remain low in many African countries, often because providing access to vaccines is difficult in remote areas. A new international research project showed that intervention with mobile vaccination teams in Sierra Leone is an effective way of reaching rural populations to increase vaccination uptake. Madison Levine, a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE), part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, participated in the project as a field research assistant. She is a co-author ...

A new study from the Kinsey Institute reveals that only 50.5% of women who were targets of sexual harassment during online gaming identified qualifying incidents as such. This figure dropped further to only 42.2% for women who witnessed sexual harassment of other women while gaming.    The study included 182 women from North America who played online video games at least once a week. Researchers examined a variety of sexual harassment behaviors, from unwanted sexual remarks to explicit images to sexual threats. In line with ...

DETROIT — Fu-Shin Yu, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology, visual and anatomical sciences in the Wayne State University School of Medicine, received an award from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health for his study aiming to reverse the adverse effects of diabetes on eyesight. The five-year grant for $2,167,882 will benefit Yu’s research “Role of Programmed Cell Death Pathways in Bacterial Keratitis,” Which will investigate biological processes that ...

Firefighters may have an increased risk of prostate cancer due to on-the-job chemical exposures, according to new research from the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and University of Michigan in collaboration with fire service partners and researchers around the country through the Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study. Prostate cancer is the leading incident cancer among U.S. males. Firefighters are diagnosed with prostate cancer at a rate 1.21 times higher than the general population, possibly because of chemical exposures including smoke and firefighting foam during firefighting. Some of those chemicals ...

A collection of seven technologies for lithium recovery developed by scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been licensed to Element3, a Texas-based company focused on extracting lithium from wastewater produced by oil and gas production.  The technologies were developed through the Critical Materials Innovation Hub, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub led by Ames National Laboratory that is dedicated to accelerating scientific and technological solutions to ensure secure domestic supply chains for ...

At a glance: How well a newly minted doctor scores on their medical board exam appears linked to patients’ odds of dying or being readmitted to the hospital. Doctors’ performance on ratings of knowledge and skill taken periodically during residency training is not linked to patient outcomes. Findings offer reassurance that certification exams, which aim to demonstrate the competence of physicians, capture critical knowledge and clinical judgment skills for physicians.   How do we know whether newly minted doctors have what it takes to ...