CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Microplastics are an environmental hazard found nearly everywhere on Earth, released by the breakdown of tires, clothing, and plastic packaging. Another significant source of microplastics is tiny beads that are added to some cleansers, cosmetics, and other beauty products. In an effort to cut off some of these microplastics at their source, MIT researchers have developed a class of biodegradable materials that could replace the plastic beads now used in beauty products. These polymers break down into harmless sugars and amino acids. “One way to mitigate the microplastics problem is to figure out how to clean up existing ...

A new artificial intelligence model that can predict how atoms arrange themselves in crystal structures could lead to faster discovery of new materials for everything from solar panels to computer chips. The technology, called CrystaLLM, was developed by researchers at the University of Reading and University College London. It works similarly to AI chatbots, by learning the "language" of crystals by studying millions of existing crystal structures. Published today (Friday, 6 December) in Nature Communications, the new system will be distributed to the scientific community to aid the discovery of new materials. Dr ...

Hailstones are formed during thunderstorms, when raindrops are propelled into very cold parts of a cloud, where they freeze. Once the particles are heavy enough, gravity pulls them back towards Earth. As the plummet, they grow into hailstones, which can cause injury to people and significant damage to homes and cars. Scientists have been studying how hailstones grow since the 1960s but doing so meant breaking them in the process. To better understand the anatomy and growth of hailstones, researchers in Catalonia have used computed tomography (CT) scans to examine the giant hailstones that hit the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula during an exceptionally strong thunderstorm ...

Korea imports 95% of its core minerals such as lithium, nickel, and rare earths. Rare earths, in particular, are characterized by chemical, electrical, magnetic, and luminescent properties that can be achieved by adding only a small amount, and their use has recently increased significantly as core materials in the eco-friendly automobile and renewable energy industries. China, a major producer of rare metals, is controlling the supply through its strategy of weaponizing resources, putting great pressure on the domestic industry. Dr. Jae-Woo Choi and his team at the Center for Water Cycle Research at the Korea Institute of Science ...

Scientists have used 3D-printed components to create a robotic instrument that can autonomously monitor the earliest stages of development in any aquatic species. The LabEmbryoCam has been created over the past decade by biologists and technologists from the EmbryoPhenomics research group at the University of Plymouth. It can be used to track embryonic development, a fundamental biological process that underpins the diversity of life on Earth, and provides an accessible and scalable means of visualising and measuring this process in large ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Entrepreneurs often lack resources and funding needed to launch a venture and reach out to family and friends for initial support. But is it always good for a startup when individuals close to the founder are asked if they want to “be on the ground floor of something good?” New research from three Indiana University Kelley School of Business professors finds that such close ties to investors can lead founders to make more conservative venture growth decisions and make them more hesitant to take risks. “In this study we were seeking to understand how accepting funds from these individuals influences an entrepreneur’s risk-taking preferences,” ...

Carotenoids, the pigments responsible for the vibrant hues of tomatoes, carrots, and some seafood, are well-regarded for their antioxidant effects and health benefits. A few examples of commercially significant carotenoids are lycopene, β-carotene, and astaxanthin. These compounds are frequently used in functional foods, skincare products, and dietary supplements. However, the bioactivity of these carotenoids depends heavily on their isomeric form, with Z-isomers typically showing higher biological activity but being more challenging to quantify. Traditional methods often require months of analysis and can produce error rates reaching up to 100 %.   In this view, a team ...

Kumamoto University scientists have unveiled a novel compound, HPH-15, with dual effects of reducing blood glucose levels and combating fat accumulation, marking a significant leap in diabetes treatment innovation. Type 2 diabetes, a condition affecting millions worldwide, is often accompanied by complications like fatty liver and insulin resistance, which challenge current treatment methods. The research team, led by Visiting Associate Professor Hiroshi Tateishi and Professor Eiichi Araki, has identified HPH-15 as a promising alternative to existing medications like metformin. The study, published in Diabetologia, a top journal in the field of diabetes, demonstrates ...

An MRI-based imaging technique developed at the University of Cambridge predicts the response of ovarian cancer tumours to treatment, and rapidly reveals how well treatment is working, in patient-derived cell models. The technique, called hyperpolarised carbon-13 imaging, can increase the detected signal in an MRI scanner by more than 10,000 times. Scientists have found that the technique can distinguish between two different subtypes of ovarian cancer, to reveal their sensitivities to treatment. They used it to look at patient-derived cell models that closely mimic the behaviour of human high grade serous ovarian cancer, ...

By decoding the DNA of the beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), a native plant that thrives in British Columbia, a team of multidisciplinary scientists is providing new insight into how ancestral Indigenous peoples stewarded plants across the province.  Led by Chelsey Geralda Armstrong, an assistant professor in Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Department of Indigenous Studies, the innovative study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), a major scientific journal.  “The misconception that Indigenous ...

The use of antidepressants is associated with sexual side effects including reduced genital sensitivity that persists after stopping the medication, a new Simon Fraser University study finds. The study, published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, indicates that 13 per cent of people who used antidepressants reported a reduction in genital sensitivity, compared to one per cent of users of other psychiatric medications.  “It’s gone under the radar for so long, largely due to stigma, shame and embarrassment,” says Yassie Pirani, an SFU alumnus and lead author on the study. ...

SEATTLE, Wash., Dec. 5, 2024 – The U.S. is failing to keep pace with dozens of countries around the world due to the steady decline of the nation’s health progress, according to a detailed analysis of all 50 states and Washington, D.C., published in The Lancet. Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) produced health estimates and forecasts (the most likely future) of life expectancy, mortality, and morbidity due to more than 350 diseases and injuries and 68 risks in the U.S. from 1990 to 2050. U.S. life expectancy improvements slow, global ranking drops  Life expectancy (LE) in the U.S. is forecasted to increase from ...

The gut microbiota might perhaps one day become a routine tool for the early diagnosis of many diseases and to guide treatment, but at present there is a lack of solid scientific evidence to support these claims. Yet, day by day, there are more and more offers of commercial kits for do-it-yourself testing, at the moment totally lacking in meaning and scientific solidity. To put a stop to this drift, an international panel of experts, coordinated by Dr Gianluca Ianiro, has drawn up ‘instructions for use’ for best practice in microbiota testing and recommendations for its indications, methods of analysis, presentation of results and potential clinical ...

Fault Lines: Imagining Indigenous futures for colonial collections, at the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) from 6th December 2024 to 21st December 2025, examines interactions between Indigenous communities and colonial institutions in this vast and culturally diverse region. From the 18th century, Indigenous peoples across the Pacific have navigated a changing roster of imperial powers including Great Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The exhibition combines historic artefacts with newly commissioned artistic responses to examine the enduring legacies of cultural extraction and destruction during ...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will feature advanced technologies and research ranging from Earth to space sciences during the 24th Annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) Conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Dec. 9-13. In addition to more than 70 NRL oral presentations and poster displays and an exhibit hall booth, attendees will have the opportunity to view the premier of the 5-minute CCOR-1 (Compact Coronagraph) film which details ...

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and their colleagues have developed the first comprehensive map of the dramatic changes that take place in the blood system over the course of the human lifetime. The team quantified the gene expression of more than 58,000 individual hematopoietic (blood) stem cells at seven stages, from early fetal development to old age. They documented consistent changes in the types of blood cells that are produced in response to the functional demands of each life stage:  The ...

Cancer cells are like booming cities without urban planners. They expand quickly, and in doing so, the resulting tumors consume more energy and other resources than they can acquire from nearby blood vessels. Rather than limiting their growth to more sustainable rates, cancer cells adapt by finding alternative ways to scavenge what they need. One scrounging strategy prevalent in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) involves cancer cells reshaping their cell surfaces to snatch extra nutrients from the jelly-like substance between cells or extracellular ...

Astronomers have used the unique capabilities of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to peer closer than ever into the throat of an energetic monster black hole powering a quasar. A quasar is a galactic center that glows brightly as the black hole consumes material in its immediate surroundings. The new Hubble views of the environment around the quasar show a lot of "weird things," according to Bin Ren of the Côte d'Azur Observatory and Université Côte d'Azur in Nice, France. "We've got a few blobs of different sizes, and a mysterious L-shaped filamentary structure. This is all within 16,000 light-years of the black hole." Some ...

San Diego – Dec. 5, 2024 – Two studies published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics show the potential for genomic screening in newborns to address high rates of infant hospitalization and mortality in the United States. Presently, hundreds of genetic diseases are either preventable or treatable but currently are detected only after a child falls ill and endures a years-long “diagnostic odyssey,” often receiving diagnoses too late to achieve the best outcomes. The first study, titled “Prequalification of genome-based newborn screening for severe childhood genetic diseases ...

Researchers at the NYU Pain Research Center have found a new receptor for nerve growth factor that plays an important role in pain signaling, even though it does not signal on its own, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The findings hold promise for finding new treatments for arthritis and other forms of inflammatory and cancer pain, without the side effects that led recent therapies to fail in clinical trials.  “Nerve growth factor is unusual because it’s one of the few patient-validated targets for pain,” said Nigel Bunnett, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Pathobiology ...

Adding a new drug to standard care for stem cell transplant recipients may reduce a life-threatening side effect, according to an early-stage clinical trial conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The trial showed that patients being treated for various blood cancers tolerated the investigational drug — called itacitinib —and experienced lower-than-expected rates of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), in which the donor’s stem cells attack the patient’s healthy tissues. The study is online in the journal Blood. “We have to be cautious about interpreting the results of a small ...

In a new study published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology report a new, robust computational toolset to extract biological relationships from large transcriptomics datasets. These efforts will help scientists better investigate cellular processes. Living organisms are governed by their genome—an instruction manual written in the language of DNA that dictates how an organism grows, survives, and reproduces. By regulating the abundance of different RNA transcripts, cells control their protein expression level, thereby shaping their functions ...

Alexandria, VA – Members of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) have elected Margherita R. Fontana, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as Vice-president, Julie Frantsve-Hawley, Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry, Philadelphia, PA, as Treasurer, and Ariadne Letra, University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, PA, as Representative to the IADR/AADOCR Publications Committee. Their terms will commence at the conclusion of the 54th Annual Meeting ...

Alexandria, VA, USA – Members of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) have elected Raul I. Garcia, Boston University, USA, to serve as Vice-president. His term will commence at the conclusion of the 103rd General Session of the IADR, which will be held in conjunction with the 2025 IADR Pan European Regional Congress from June 25-28, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. Garcia is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine at Boston University. He received his DMD and MMedSc from the Harvard ...

Seven scientists affiliated with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been named Battelle Distinguished Inventors in recognition of being granted 14 or more United States patents. Since Battelle began managing ORNL in 2000, 104 ORNL researchers have reached this milestone. “These innovators have not only developed cutting-edge technologies, but they have also prioritized taking the steps to move them out into the marketplace, which is critical for adoption and broad impact,” said Susan Hubbard, ORNL deputy for science and technology. “The innovators are working on a range of strategies important for our ...