MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – Fresco painting, a technique that dates back to antiquity, involves applying dry pigments to wet plaster, creating stunning artwork that can last for centuries. Over time, however, these masterpieces often face degradation due to delamination, where decorative plaster layers separate from the underlying masonry or structural plaster. This deterioration can compromise the structural integrity of the artwork, necessitating restoration efforts. Historically, conservators have gently knocked on the plaster with their knuckles or small mallets to assess the condition of the fresco. By listening to the emitted sound, they could identify the delaminated areas ...

In Nature Partner Journals, ten researchers advocate the use of imagination in tackling the climate crisis. They focus specifically on urbanising river deltas, which are of great social and economic importance and highly vulnerable to climate change. "We scientists should not merely outline doomsday scenarios," says Professor Chris Zevenbergen. "Create a vision for people to believe in and work towards.” From doomscenarios to desired outcomes Due to the climate crisis, urban river deltas ...

Archaeologists from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) are revolutionising the excavation and documentation of ancient sites with cutting-edge 3D immersive technologies.  Archaeology studies the human past through the excavation of things people made and used thousands of years ago – from architecture to objects like pottery bowls and animal bones from meals.  Although many excavation projects create digital 3D models of what they uncover, archaeologists need new ways to meaningfully use those data.  Some projects share 3D models with the public as tourism and teaching tools – ...

    Photos Morning glory plants that can resist the effects of glyphosate also resist damage from herbivorous insects, according to a University of Michigan study.   The U-M researchers also found the reverse: plants treated with and susceptible to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide RoundUp, are also susceptible to damage from insects. This suggests that glyphosate, a herbicide humans have introduced into the environment, can disrupt the co-evolution of plants and their insect herbivores. ...

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – Mysterious, repeating sounds from the depths of the ocean can be terrifying to some, but in the 1980s, they presented a unique look at an underwater soundscape. In July 1982, researchers in New Zealand recorded unidentifiable sounds as a part of an experiment to characterize the soundscape of the South Fiji Basin. The sound consisted of four short bursts resembling a quack, which inspired the name of the sound “Bio-Duck.” “The sound was so repeatable, we couldn’t believe at first that it was biological,” said ...

Compared to children, adults don’t play as much, but social play into adulthood is considered a universal human trait. Play has a role in building tolerance, cohesion, bonding, and cooperation. By comparison, play in adults of other species has been considered rare, and yet a new study reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on November 21 shows that some chimpanzees, like people, continue to play often throughout their entire lives and especially before engaging in acts that require collective cooperation. “We show that adult social play in chimpanzees can foster a range of cooperative behaviors, from dyadic interactions to complex, risky ...

About The Study: In this pooled analysis of cohort studies, the association between physical activity and mortality risk remained consistent across the adult lifespan, which contrasts with other modifiable health factors, for which associations with mortality risk diminished with age. Given these findings, the promotion of regular physical activity is essential at all stages of adult life.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, David Martinez-Gomez, PhD, email d.martinez@uam.es. To ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, a prenatal diet that aligned with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines was associated with reduced patterns of rapid and slow infant growth, known risk factors associated with obesity. Future research should examine whether interventions to improve prenatal diet are also beneficial in improving growth trajectory in children.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Monique M. Hedderson, PhD, email Monique.m.Hedderson@kp.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

About The Article: This editorial places results of the Greenlight Plus trial, recently published by JAMA, in context, including technological interventions and policies to help prevent childhood obesity. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kevin G. Volpp, MD, PhD, email volpp70@wharton.upenn.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.24026) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and ...

Protein design aims to create customized antibodies for therapies, biosensors for diagnostics, or enzymes for chemical reactions. An international research team has now developed a method for designing large new proteins better than before and producing them with the desired properties in the laboratory. Their approach involves a new way of using the capabilities of the AI-based software Alphafold2, for which the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in 2024. Whether as building blocks, transport systems, enzymes, or antibodies, proteins play a vital role in our bodies. Researchers ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Have you ever read about a scientific discovery and felt like it was written in a foreign language? If you’re like most Americans, new scientific information can prove challenging to understand — especially if you try to tackle a science article in a research journal. In an era when scientific literacy is crucial for informed decision-making, the abilities to communicate and comprehend complex content are more important than ever. Trust in science has been declining for years, and one ...

A new comprehensive survey has highlighted an urgent need to enable more farmers and contractors to revive England’s hedgerows to meet national restoration targets. While agri-environment schemes (AES) have improved the condition of these iconic landscape features, the overall length of hedgerows remains unchanged. Hedgerows act as field boundaries, protect livestock, support biodiversity and help mitigate climate change. However, around half of these important habitats were lost in the post-war years due to agricultural intensification. In the 2007 Countryside Survey, fewer than 50% of remaining ...

(WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2024) — Participants of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Minority Recruitment Initiative had lower attrition rates in graduate and medical programs, were more likely to pursue a career in hematology, and had high levels of engagement at ASH beyond their participation in the program, according to a study published today in Blood Advances. The ASH Minority Recruitment Initiative was established in 2003 following a report from the Institute of Medicine that called for greater workforce diversity. The program aimed to recruit physicians and physician/scientists from communities ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Taking anti-obesity drugs has led some U.S. adults to throw away more food than they tossed before starting the medications, a new study has found. In a survey of people currently on GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, 25% of respondents agreed they had wasted more food since taking the drugs, compared to 61% who disagreed. People who were nauseated by the drugs were more likely to report increased food waste. Being on the medications for a longer period of time and eating more vegetables were associated with less food waste. Scientists at The Ohio State University see this study of consumer behavior as an initial effort to consider the effects ...

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered how long-term treatment of high blood pressure with commonly prescribed drugs can destroy the kidney’s ability to filter and purify blood. The finding could open the door to better ways to manage high blood pressure and other vascular diseases. The class of drugs, known as renin–angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, block the effects of the renin enzyme, relaxing blood vessels and allowing blood to flow more easily. They are widely used as first-line medications for hypertension (high blood pressure). But long-term use can take a terrible toll on the ...

NEW YORK, NY, NOV. 21, 2024—A surgical team at NYU Langone Health has performed the first fully robotic double lung transplant in the world. The procedure marks a breakthrough in the potential of robotic surgery and minimally invasive patient care, making NYU Langone the new leader in robotic transplant surgery around the globe. Stephanie H. Chang, MD, associate professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and surgical director of the Lung Transplant Program ...

DARIEN, IL – The Associated Professional Sleep Societies is accepting research abstracts and session proposal submissions for SLEEP 2025, the 39th annual meeting of the APSS, which will be held June 8 to 11 at the Seattle Convention Center. Research abstracts will be accepted for oral and poster presentations. Hot topics for 2025 include machine learning and artificial intelligence, metabolomics and genomics, sleep and the glymphatic system, orexin pharmacology, and obesity management. Accepted abstracts ...

New research from the Kind Group at the Hubrecht Institute sheds light on how cells repair damaged DNA. For the first time, the team has mapped the activity of repair proteins in individual human cells. The study demonstrates how these proteins collaborate in so-called "hubs" to repair DNA damage. This knowledge offers opportunities to improve cancer therapies and other treatments where DNA repair is essential. The researchers published their findings in Nature Communications on November 21. DNA is the molecule that carries our genetic information. It can be damaged by normal cellular processes as well as external factors such as UV radiation ...

“For the first time, we have succeeded in taking a zoomed-in image of a dying star in a galaxy outside our own Milky Way,” says Keiichi Ohnaka, an astrophysicist from Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile. Located a staggering 160 000 light-years from us, the star WOH G64 was imaged thanks to the impressive sharpness offered by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI). The new observations reveal a star puffing out gas and dust, in the last stages before it becomes a supernova. “We discovered an ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a polarized nation, there is one thing that nearly all Americans agree on, according to a recent study: Sports are good for us.   Researchers from The Ohio State University and Ithaca College found that more than 9 out of 10 Americans agreed that sports build character and improved one’s health, while 84% agreed playing sports makes one popular in school and 85% said it makes one more well-known in the community.   According to 67% of those surveyed, playing sports even leads to better grades in school.   While these beliefs may seem harmless, ...

Researchers often look to photosynthesis—a process that turns sunlight into chemical energy in plants and bacteria—as a model for innovation. Photosynthesis is in turn linked to chlorophyll pigments, tiny green molecules that play a key role in harvesting light. Naturally, these chlorophyll molecules are organized into precise structures to optimize light absorption in plants and bacteria, and efficiently capture sunlight for energy. Inspired by this natural structure, scientists have explored ways to synthetically assemble chlorophyll-based ...

Rutgers researchers at the Brain Health Institute (BHI) and Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research (CAHBIR) have uncovered how different types of brain cells work together to form large-scale functional networks in the human brain – interconnected systems that support everything from sensory processing to complex decision-making – paving the way for new insights into brain health and disease.   By pinpointing these cellular foundations, the study, published in Nature Neuroscience, offers a deeper understanding of the cellular foundations of cognition and mental health.   The brain’s functional properties arise from the varied ...

A potentially life-changing heart condition, dilated cardiomyopathy, can be caused by the cumulative influence of hundreds or thousands of genes and not just by a single “aberrant” genetic variant, as was previously thought, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition in which the heart becomes progressively enlarged and weakened, reducing its ability to pump blood efficiently. It is estimated to affect up to 260,000 people in the UK (one in every 250 individuals) and is the leading cause of heart transplantation. Previously, ...

People with poorer mental health are more prone to browsing negative content online, which further exacerbates their symptoms, finds a study led by UCL researchers. The relationship between mental health and web-browsing is causal and bi-directional, according to the Wellcome-funded study published in Nature Human Behaviour. The researchers have developed a plug-in tool* that adds ‘content labels’ to webpages—similar to nutrition labels on food—designed to help users make healthier and more informed decisions about the ...

Toronto, ON – A recent longitudinal study from the University of Toronto reveals the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults living with migraine. Using a sample of more than 2,000 older adults with migraine from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, researchers examined changes in depression status among this population during the pandemic. More than 1 in 7 older adults with migraine experienced depression for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, while approximately 1 in 2 with a previous history of depression experienced a recurrence during this period. “People ...