A newly established research hub in North East England will explore the extent and environmental impact of microfibre loss from textiles. Microfibre shedding from clothing during machine washing and drying is well known, with the tiny fibres causing harm to wildlife and the environment when they enter soil, air and waterways. Located on Northumbria University’s campus in the centre of Newcastle, the Fibre-fragmentation and Environment Research Hub (FibER Hub) is the result of a collaboration between the University and The Microfibre Consortium (TMC) and will extensively test a wide variety ...

Is there only one optimal configuration an organism can reach during evolution? Is there a single formula that describes the trajectory towards the optimum? And can we ‘derive’ it in a purely theoretical fashion? A team of researchers, including from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), has answers. Their mathematical model forecasts the ideal body plan of a fruit fly’s early embryo, suggesting that evolution might had many optimal options at its disposal. It is hypothesized that optimization is the secret sauce for many of nature’s fascinating ...

As their traditional dining options dwindle and natural areas give way to restaurants, homes and sidewalks, the coyotes of San Francisco are shifting what they eat. Scientists from the University of California, Davis, wanted to understand what San Francisco’s coyotes are eating, and how their diet is changed and shaped by the city’s landscape, which can vary from block to block. Their study, published in the journal Ecosphere, found that the number of restaurants and amount of pavement or “impervious surfaces” within the city heavily influenced what the coyotes ...

Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA)—medications for type 2 diabetes and obesity that have recently been making headlines due to a rise in popularity as weight loss agents—have been linked with behavioral side effects. A large population-based analysis in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism assessed whether certain genetic variants might help explain these effects. GLP1RA mimic the GLP-1 hormone in the body that helps control insulin and blood glucose levels and promotes feelings of satiety. GLP-1 ...

Many companies are making substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI), which can enhance decision-making processes, foster innovation, increase productivity, and have other advantages. New research published in the Journal of Management Studies shows that company employees’ perceptions of how well AI performs (cognitive trust) and feelings towards AI (emotional trust) vary, and that these perceptions can affect AI performance and adoption in organizations. Interviews with employees of a medium-sized software development firm revealed four different ...

Sleepiness at the wheel is a significant contributing factor to motor vehicle accidents. A new analysis published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery reveals that for people with sleep apnea, getting surgery for their condition may lessen their risk of such accidents compared with using a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device at night or receiving no treatment. In the analysis of data on 2,832,437 patients with obstructive sleep apnea, 3.4% of patients who underwent surgery were in a car accident at any point following their diagnosis, compared with 6.1% of those using a CPAP and 4.7% of those not receiving any treatment. Patients ...

New research in Contemporary Economic Policy indicates that rising minimum wages in a state are associated with reduced summer employment for college students, the time when students tend to work the most. The study, which involved data from a public university and quarterly work records from Washington State, found that college students’ employment and hours worked decrease as minimum wages rise in the summer quarter. Students experiencing the largest reductions are those with little or no work experience ...

Maternal stress hormone levels during early pregnancy can have a lasting effect on the stress system of the offspring. The results of a long-term study on wild Assamese macaques in Thailand indicate that maternal stress in the first half of pregnancy is particularly relevant. Elevated stress hormones later during pregnancy or after birth did not have the same effects. The long-term study conducted by the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research provides important insights into the ...

When the going gets cold, even tough trees struggle with growing. Trees need a certain number of warm days in their growing seasons to grow properly; otherwise, the cell walls of new growth don’t lignify properly, creating ‘blue rings’ that appear when wood samples are dyed. Since trees and shrubs can live for hundreds of years, identifying these blue rings allows us to spot cold summers in the past. By looking at pine trees and juniper shrubs from northern Norway, scientists identified two extremely cold summers in 1902 and 1877, possibly caused by the eruptions of Mount Pelée on the island of Martinique and ...

Natural compounds from plants and animals have long been used in drug development, but mushrooms remain underexplored despite their rich chemical potential. Now, researchers from Japan have successfully developed the first method to synthesize inaoside A, a compound derived from the edible mushroom Laetiporus cremeiporus. This achievement will help better understand more of its bioactive properties and pave the way for similar mushroom-derived compounds in pharmaceuticals and functional foods. Natural compounds derived from plants and animals have long been a source of inspiration when developing drugs and dietary supplements. Many well-established medical ...

Nylon, the durable and elastic material, is like other plastics made from chemicals found in fossil fuels. Biodegradable plastics based on biomass-derived compounds are attracting attention as an alternative to conventional plastics, and Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have now synthesized biodegradable nylon precursors. Professor Yutaka Amao’s team at the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis previously reported on a method for producing raw materials for biodegradable plastics from biomass-derived compounds. ...

Genetic changes have the ability to alter crop characteristics, and some crop breeding techniques take advantage of this. Conventionally, genetic engineering has relied on natural or artificial mutations. In recent years, genome editing technology has been grabbing attention. Genome editing technology can target and cut specific DNA sequences, causing mutations in target genes. This makes it possible to develop new cultivars efficiently. A common method for creating genome-edited crops involves introducing foreign DNA temporarily that produces an enzyme to cut the target ...

RELEASE EMBARGOED UNTIL JAN. 22, 12:01 A.M. ET Note to editor: photos and videos are available for download: https://bit.ly/4jkgIqT Survey: While most Americans use a device to monitor their heart, few share that data with their doctor Taking action with your doctor is critical for a proper diagnosis, action plan COLUMBUS, Ohio – Advances in technology have made it increasingly easier for people to self-monitor their heart health whether it’s via a smart device on their wrist or finger or a blood pressure monitor. However, a new national survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical ...

Juvenile dolphins were found to have specialized receptors for fatty acids on their tongues, offering new insights into their growth and feeding habits. Scientists have discovered that juvenile bottlenose dolphins have specialized receptors for detecting the fatty acids in their mother’s milk. These findings, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, offer important insights into how these marine mammals grow, feed, and communicate. The new findings challenge previous assumptions about cetacean sensory systems. Unlike land mammals, dolphins and other marine mammals have limited olfactory capabilities – their sense of smell is largely ...

Background In nature, phenomena in which multiple fluctuations occur in a coupled manner are frequently observed. For example, in large earthquakes, cases of them occurring consecutively in adjacent regions have been reported. When multiple fluctuations occur in this coupled way, compared to a single fluctuation, the coupled ones release more energy, leading to larger-scale phenomena. In fusion plasmas, fluctuations caused by energetic particles exist and are known to degrade the confinement of energetic particles. ...

The Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, reached historic low levels in 2022, raising economic, ecological and public health concerns for Utah. New research from Portland State is believed to be the first peer-reviewed study that quantifies the contributing factors to the record low water volume levels, which the researchers say is important for anticipating and managing future lake changes. “The lake has a lot of social and economic relevance for the region and Utah,” said Siiri Bigalke, the lead author and a Ph.D. candidate in PSU’s Earth, ...

DNA-nanoparticle motors are exactly as they sound: tiny artificial motors that use the structures of DNA and RNA to propel motion by enzymatic RNA degradation. Essentially, chemical energy is converted into mechanical motion by biasing the Brownian motion. The DNA-nanoparticle motor uses the "burnt-bridge" Brownian ratchet mechanism. In this type of movement, the motor is being propelled by the degradation (or "burning") of the bonds (or "bridges") it crosses along the substrate, essentially biasing its motion forward. These nano-sized motors are highly programmable and can be ...

Living with persistent poverty and/or parental mental illness throughout childhood may double the risk of carrying and/or using a weapon and getting on the wrong side of the law by the age of 17, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. These factors may account for nearly 1 in 3 cases of weapon use or carriage and more than a quarter of all police contact among 17 year olds, nationwide, estimate the researchers. Youth crime and violence are common around the world, they note. In England and Wales, for example, around 104,400 first-time offenders were ...

Fizzy water might aid weight loss by boosting blood glucose uptake and metabolism—the rate at which the body uses and converts energy—but the effects are so small, drinking it can’t be relied on alone to shed the pounds, concludes a brief analysis published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. There are no quick fixes to slimming down and keeping off the weight, says the author: regular physical activity and a healthy balanced diet are still essential, added to which the long term effects of drinking large amounts of carbonated water aren’t known. Because ...

Muscular strength and good physical fitness are linked to a significantly lower risk of death from any cause in people with cancer, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   Tailored exercise to boost muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with cancer may help boost their chances of survival, suggest the researchers. In 2022 alone, 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide, and nearly ...

A new peer-reviewed paper from experts at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, highlights the need for a clear framework when it comes to AI research, given the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by children and adolescents using digital devices to access the internet and social media.  Its recommendations are based on a critical appraisal of current shortcomings in the research on how digital technologies’ impact young people’s mental health, and an in-depth analysis of the challenges underlying those shortcomings.   The paper, “From ...

An English literature graduate turned data scientist has developed a new method for large language models (LLMs) used by AI chatbots to understand and analyse small chunks of text, such as those on social media profiles, in customer responses online or for understanding online posts responding to disaster events. In today’s digital world, such use of short text has become central to online communication. However, analysing these snippets is challenging because they often lack shared words or context. This lack of context makes it difficult for AI to find patterns ...

It’s difficult to know what birds ‘think’ when they fly, but scientists in Australia and Canada are getting some remarkable new insights by looking inside birds' heads. Evolutional biologists at Flinders University in South Australia and neuroscience researchers at the University of Lethbridge in Canada have teamed up to explore a new approach to recreating the brain structure of extinct and living birds by making digital ‘endocasts’ from the area inside a bird skeleton’s empty cranial space. Published today in Biology Letters, the study led by the ‘Bones and Diversity Lab’ at Flinders and the Iwaniuk Lab at the University ...

Published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study found that while the baboons noticed and responded to a laser mark shone on their arms, legs and hands, they did not react when they saw, via their mirror reflection, the laser on their faces and ears.  It was the first time a controlled laser mark test has been done on these animals in a wild setting and strengthens the evidence from other studies that monkeys don’t recognise their own reflection.  The researchers observed 120 Chacma ...

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received two large grants renewing funding for the Human Pangenome Reference Sequencing Project. This ambitious program began in 2019 with the goal of increasing the diversity of human genome sequences that are pooled into the widely used reference genome. A thorough representation of human genetic diversity can help researchers discover how genetic variation contributes to disease and perhaps offer new routes to innovative treatments. Funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute ...