Information like forest canopy height can be useful in assessing the health of a forest, but current measuring methods are not always feasible for large geographic regions or adaptable to diverse forest types. Monitoring from space can be a solution.     Forests function as more than a place for a quiet retreat: trees intake and absorb carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas), a process also known as carbon sequestration, and are essential parts of water regulation, habitat provision, and support much of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Quantifying forest structure parameters, ...

All around the world, scientists are striving towards next-generation energy technologies that can help us move away from fossil fuels. Using hydrogen as an energy carrier and clean energy source is perhaps one of the most promising solutions on the horizon. However, there is a major challenge to overcome before hydrogen economies become a reality: hydrogen gas is remarkably difficult to store and transport safely, which severely limits its applicability across many fields. Against this backdrop, a research team from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, and Tokyo University of Science, Japan has been working hard to reach an alternative solution to the hydrogen storage problem. Led by Associate ...

Exercise is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of heart disease or having a second cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke. As more people use wearable technology, such as smartwatches, health care researchers continue to explore whether it can successfully promote physical activity. That includes customized messages designed to encourage individual patients to be more active in their current location, like walking outside when the weather is nice. In such a study led by the University of Michigan ...

DALLAS, July 24, 2024 — In this era of machine learning and artificial intelligence, harnessing large-scale neuroimaging can facilitate new discoveries in neuroscience research.[1] To that end, the American Heart Association, celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service in 2024, has awarded a two-year, $460,000 grant to a consortium of three academic medical centers to work collaboratively and share de-identified imaging data from individuals enrolled in its Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke registry. A team at Yale University will ...

Glenview, Illinois – The American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST) recently released a new clinical guideline on central airway obstruction (CAO). Published in the journal CHEST®, the guideline contains 12 evidence-based recommendations to guide the management of both malignant and nonmalignant CAO. “Central airway obstruction is associated with a poor prognosis, and the management of CAO is highly variable dependent on the provider expertise and local resources. By releasing this guideline, the panel hopes to standardize the definition ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – Marriage equality appears to have a major economic benefit for countries. Washington State University researchers found that European countries that recognized same-sex marriages kept more of their highly skilled workers from emigrating to the U.S.   The researchers analyzed 20 years of data on HB1 visas, which are reserved for immigrants to the U.S. with advanced degrees and specialized skills. From 2000-2019, a total of 13 European Union countries legalized same-sex marriage—and ...

DURHAM, NC – Reforestation in low- and middle-income countries can remove up to 10 times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at lower cost than previously estimated, making this a potentially more important option to fight climate change, according to a study in Nature Climate Change.   Reforestation regrows trees on degraded lands where human activities removed original forests. Most current reforestation programs focus on tree planting alone, but the study estimates that nearly half of all suitable reforestation locations would be more effective at sequestering carbon if forests were allowed to grow back ...

WASHINGTON (July 24, 2024)--America's demand for products delivered to the doorstep has led to a dramatic increase in e-commerce and the warehousing industry. A first-of-a-kind study now shows that people living in communities located next to these large warehouses are exposed to 20% more of a traffic-related air pollutant that can lead to asthma and other life-threatening health conditions.   “Increased truck traffic to and from these recently built large warehouses means people living downwind are inhaling an increased amount of harmful nitrogen dioxide pollution,” said Gaige Kerr, lead author of the study and an assistant research ...

A new study by scientists at deCODE Genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen, shows that sequence variants drive the correlation between DNA methylation and gene expression. The same variants are linked to various diseases and other human traits. The research was published today in the scientific journal Nature Genetics under the title: The correlation between CpG methylation and gene expression is driven by sequence variants. Nanopore sequencing is a new technology developed by ONT (Oxford Nanopore Technology), that enables us to ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Using trees as a cost-effective tool against climate change is more complicated than simply planting large numbers of them, an international collaboration that includes an Oregon State University scientist has shown. Jacob Bukoski of the OSU College of Forestry and seven other researchers synthesized data from thousands of reforestation sites in 130 countries and found that roughly half the time it’s better just to let nature take its course. Findings of the study led by Conservation International were published today in Nature ...

Scientists have discovered that the serrated edges of Komodo dragons’ teeth are tipped with iron. Led by researchers from King’s College London, the study gives new insight into how Komodo dragons keep their teeth razor-sharp and may provide clues to how dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex killed and ate their prey. Native to Indonesia, Komodo dragons are the largest living species of monitor lizard, averaging around 80kg. Deadly predators, Komodos have sharp, curved teeth similar to many carnivorous dinosaurs. They eat almost any kind of meat, from smaller reptiles and birds to deer, horses or ...

It is a scene many of us are familiar with: You're working on your laptop at the local coffee shop with maybe a half dozen other laptop users—each of you is trying to load websites or stream high-definition videos, and all are craving more bandwidth. Now imagine that each of you had a dedicated wireless channel for communication that was hundreds of times faster than the Wi-Fi we use today, with hundreds of times more bandwidth. That dream may not be far off thanks to the development of metasurfaces—tiny engineered sheets that can reflect and otherwise direct light in desired ways. In ...

Open data practices in African research institutions will be bolstered thanks to a new online course for librarians to coincide with International Open Access Week (21-27 October 2024). The Open Data Management Foundational Course – to be offered entirely free over four weeks by open data experts – is a direct response to calls to strengthen the research data management capacity of librarians in Africa. The course will be facilitated by AfLIA, the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions, as part of an ongoing collaboration ...

IOP Publishing (IOPP) is extending the remit of its journal Progress in Energy by accepting high-impact original research articles alongside its well-recognised review programme. Progress in Energy is part of a developing new Progress In series™, that builds on the reputation of IOPP’s prestigious journal Reports on Progress in Physics and is designed to unite communities looking to advance and explore progressive research across the physical sciences.    Progress in Energy is a highly selective, multidisciplinary journal with a mission to publish groundbreaking ...

NEWPORT, Ore. – Hours after tagging an endangered basking shark off the coast of Ireland in April, researchers captured what they believe is the first ever video of a shark or any large marine animal being struck by a boat. The data, collected by an activity measurement device similar to a FitBit and a connected camera, provided scientists a unique opportunity to learn more about the impact of vessel strikes on large marine animals, which is a rising concern around the globe, said Taylor Chapple, a shark researcher at Oregon State University’s Hatfield ...

In a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, both chronic and new anxiety were associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, where anxiety had resolved, there was no association with dementia risk. The study included 2,132 individuals with an average age of 76 years who were participating in the Hunter Community Study in Australia and who were followed for an average of 10 years. The presence of chronic anxiety and new onset anxiety were associated with 2.8- and 3.2-times higher risks of having dementia, respectively. Even ...

A recent randomized clinical trial published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology assessed whether injections of botulinumtoxin-A in calf muscles benefit children with cerebral palsy. “We hypothesized that injections with botulinumtoxin-A in the calf muscles would make walking easier, caused by improved ankle joint functioning following spasticity reduction,” the authors wrote. In the trial, one botulinumtoxin-A treatment was not superior to placebo in making walking easier (measured as a reduction in energy cost or improved walking capacity); however, there was some evidence of a delayed improvement in energy cost. Moreover, there was some evidence of a decrease ...

In research published in Global Change Biology, investigators examined DNA within ocean bottom sediment cores to assess changes in living organisms within one of the world’s most productive marine ecosystems: the Atacama Trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which is located about 100 miles off the coast of Peru and Chile and lies at a depth of up to 5 miles below the surface. The study is important because ecosystems around the Atacama Trench have been intensively fished and are affected by climate change. Analyses showed a severe drop in biodiversity from 1970 to 1985 that aligns with one of the strongest known El Niño events, as well as extensive fishing efforts in the ...

In individuals who have undergone knee or hip replacement surgery, clinicians are noticing increasing numbers of chronic bone infections linked to a bacterial strain commonly found on the skin. A new study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research provides insights into the mechanisms involved. Utilizing mouse models of bone infection and systematic electron microscopy studies, scientists found that the common skin bacteria Cutibacterium acnes can persist as layers of biofilms for weeks on contaminated titanium or stainless-steel implants. It can also invade ...

Surveys conducted in England in 1999, 2004, and 2017 have revealed that children with a psychiatric disorder in 2017 experienced more severe difficulties and greater impacts on functioning at school, home, and in their daily lives, compared with children with a disorder in earlier decades. The findings come from a study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. The study used data from interviews and questionnaires completed by parents, children (if they were aged ≥ 11 years), and teachers across all 3 surveys. The increased difficulties found in the study were ...

A new paper in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published by Oxford University Press, finds that eliminating the race disparity in colon cancer testing in the United States would reduce colon cancer, and colon cancer death rates, dramatically among Black people. Colorectal cancer rates and deaths from the disease have decreased over time, but racial disparities remain and are significant. Compared to White Americans, Black Americans experience higher rates of colorectal cancer incidence and lower survival rates. Black adults are approximately 23% more likely to receive a colorectal cancer diagnosis than White adults. They are also about 31% more likely to ...

It's hard to know what Neanderthals ate: food preparation, especially when it comes to smaller items like birds, can leave few archaeological traces. But understanding their diets is critical to understanding these incredibly adaptable hominins, who thrived for hundreds of thousands of years in wildly varied environments. To learn what food preparation could look like in the archaeological record, scientists tried cooking like Neanderthals. “Using a flint flake for butchering required significant precision and effort, which we had not fully valued before this experiment,” said Dr Mariana Nabais of the Institut ...

WASHINGTON — A peer-reviewed study published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has found that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly being added to U.S. pesticide products, contaminating waterways and posing potential threats to human health.   The study, Forever Pesticides: A Growing Source of PFAS Contamination in the Environment, is the first-ever comprehensive review of the many ways PFAS are introduced into U.S. pesticide products. Pesticides containing PFAS are used throughout the country on staple ...

There’s a lot that goes into an Olympic athlete’s quest for gold – years of training and rigour – but also, an athlete’s age. A team of University of Waterloo students used statistics to figure out when an Olympic track-and-field athletes’ peak performance will be. Track-and-field encompasses running, jumping, throwing, and combined event disciplines. Most athletes’ career performance progressions can typically be visualized as a bell curve, in which they train over several years to reach their best performance, or “peak,” at a ...

The shape of a person’s kneecap could be an indicator of whether they’re more at risk of developing osteoarthritis, according to a new study from The Australian National University (ANU). According to lead author of the study, Associate Professor Laura Wilson, women who develop knee osteoarthritis often experience more severe symptoms than men, but the reason for this is not well understood. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is a debilitating joint disease that causes pain, stiffness and swelling. The research team set out to investigate whether kneecap shape might be a contributing factor. “We wanted to focus on ...