For the first time, a research team in Korea has discovered there is a significant relationship between depression and the taurine concentration in the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for memory and learning functions. This discovery provides the opportunity to publicize the role and importance of taurine in future prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of depression. Using ultra-high magnetic field 7T human MRI (7T MRI), researchers (Drs. Youngkyu Song, Jee-Hyun Cho and Chaejoon Cheong) in the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI, President Seong-Kwang Yang) Biochemical Analysis Team have confirmed ...

A special kind of genetic test that helps determine the best antidepressant for patients with moderate-to-severe depression could generate substantive health system savings and greatly improve patient outcomes, according to new research from the University of British Columbia. The study, published today in CMAJ, shows that in B.C. alone, implementing pharmacogenomic testing could save the provincial public health system an estimated $956 million over 20 years. “Pharmacogenomic testing aims to match patients with medications that are more likely to be effective and cause less side effects, based ...

Canada geese strengthen existing friendships and forge a few new connections after losing close associates from their flock, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists observed flocks of Canada geese before and after a population-management cull in which about 20% of the birds were killed. In such a situation, some animals species increase “social connectivity” – mixing with many new individuals – which can increase the transmission of infectious diseases. But the geese in the study responded by strengthening existing relationships, only adding enough new associations to replace those they had lost. “Our findings shows that Canada geese are very ...

A Lancaster University PhD student has measured the optical depth of Saturn’s rings using a new method based on how much sunlight reached the Cassini spacecraft while it was in the shadow of the rings. The optical depth is connected to the transparency of an object, and it shows how far light can travel through that object before it gets absorbed or scattered. The research, led by Lancaster University in collaboration with the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, is published in the Monthly Notices ...

Membrane separation technology offers great potential due to its low energy consumption and continuous operation availability. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising in separation membranes due to their abundant species, high porosity, and precise regulation of pore architectures. Recently, a research group led by Prof. YANG Weishen and Assoc. Prof. PENG Yuan from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has proposed a new strategy of modular customization and non-destructive ...

Microplastics, from the beads that were once commonplace in cosmetics to the weathered and broken-down remnants of trash, are now ubiquitous in marine and inland waters around the world. To date, though, scientists have struggled to identify which plastics persist longest in the environment and measure their abundance, especially at the smaller end of the size range where they’re most likely to be consumed by foundational species near the bottom of the food web, like zooplankton. Researchers from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the University of Minnesota ...

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) into carbon-based fuels provides a promising strategy to mitigate CO2 emission and promotes the utilization of renewable energy. The Cn (n≥2) liquid products are desirable because of their high energy densities and ease of storage. However, manipulation of C-C coupling pathway remains a challenge due to the limited mechanistic understanding. Recently, a research group led by Profs. ZHANG Tao and HUANG Yanqiang from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has developed a Sn-based tandem electrocatalyst (SnS2@Sn1-O3G), which could reproducibly yield ethanol ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Overdose prevention centers, where individuals can consume illicit drugs under the observation of trained staff, are not associated with significant increases in crime, researchers found. When the researchers compared syringe service programs in New York City with two programs that were recently sanctioned by city officials to offer supervised drug consumption, they found no significant increases in crimes recorded by the police or calls for emergency service in the surrounding neighborhoods. The findings, which were published in JAMA Network Open, come as plans to open overdose prevention centers proceed in Rhode ...

The precise catalytic conversion of chemical bonds is a paramount goal in catalysis. Enzymes, as efficient biocatalysts, are well known for their high catalytic activity, selectivity, and substrate specificity under mild reaction conditions, which can be attributed to the synergistic catalysis of multiple active sites. Inspired by the catalytic mechanism of enzymes, the rational design of catalysts with multiple active sites to stabilize TS and accelerate the rate-determining step is a promising strategy for achieving high activity and selectivity. However, integrating multiple active sites into a single catalyst without interference during the catalytic process remains an enormous ...

Today marks the launch of The Transmitter, a new publication focused on helping neuroscientists stay current on the latest developments in the field and build new connections. Created by the team that brings Spectrum to autism researchers, The Transmitter will provide essential news, insights and resources across neuroscience disciplines and career stages. Spectrum will continue to publish news and perspectives on autism research as an anchor of The Transmitter. Like Spectrum, The Transmitter is an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation. “Neuroscience discoveries are rapidly shifting our understanding of ...

Uncontrolled hypertension, the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature deaths worldwide, disproportionately affects low-income populations. Now, a new strategy that trains healthcare providers to deliver more comprehensive, team-based care has been found to significantly lower blood pressure in low-income patients compared to the “usual care” approach. The findings were reported by Tulane University researchers at this week’s American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia. Tulane researchers conducted an 18-month clinical trial with 1,272 hypertension patients at 36 Federally Qualified Health Centers ...

The majority of breast cancers start in the lining of a breast milk duct and, if they remain there, are very treatable. But once these cancers become invasive – breaking through a thin matrix around the duct, called the basement membrane, and spreading to the surrounding tissue – treatment becomes more challenging. In a recent paper, published on Nov. 13 in Nature Materials, researchers at Stanford revealed a novel physical mechanism that breast cancer cells use to break out and become invasive. They found that, in addition to established chemical methods of degrading the basement membrane, cancer ...

The production of ammonia for fertilisers – which has one of the largest carbon footprints among industrial processes – will soon be possible on farms using low-cost, low-energy and environmentally friendly technology. This is thanks to researchers at UNSW Sydney and their collaborators who have developed an innovative technique for sustainable ammonia production at scale. Up until now, the production of ammonia has relied on high-energy processes that leave a massive global carbon footprint – temperatures of more ...

American Geophysical Union 13 November 2023 AGU Release No. 23-42 For Immediate Release This press release and accompanying multimedia are available online at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/some-of-todays-earthquakes-may-be-aftershocks-from-quakes-in-the-1800s Some of today’s earthquakes may be aftershocks from quakes in the 1800s Aftershocks follow large earthquakes — sometimes for weeks, other times for decades. But in the U.S., some areas may be experiencing shocks from centuries-old events. AGU press contact: Liza Lester, +1 (202) 777-7494, news@agu.org (UTC-5 hours) Contact ...

A few decades ago, seismologists imaging the deep planet identified a thin layer, just over a few hundred kilometers thick. The origin of this layer, known as the E prime layer, has been a mystery — until now. An international team of researchers, including Arizona State University scientists Dan Shim, Taehyun Kim and Joseph O’Rourke of the School of Earth and Space Exploration, has revealed that water from the Earth's surface can penetrate deep into the planet, altering the composition of the outermost region of the metallic liquid core and creating a distinct, thin layer. Illustration of silica crystals coming out from the liquid metal of ...

Faster warming in the Arctic will be responsible for a global 2C temperature rise being reached eight years earlier than if the region was warming at the average global rate, according to a new modelling study led by UCL researchers. The Arctic is currently warming nearly four times faster than the global average rate. The new study, published in the journal Earth System Dynamics, aimed to estimate the impact of this faster warming on how quickly the global temperature thresholds of 1.5C and 2C, set down in the Paris Agreement, are likely to be breached. To do this, the research team created alternative ...

Surrey scientists are celebrating with colleagues around the world, after winning new funding for a ‘library of greening’ – a new database enabling towns and cities to learn from each other's success developing green spaces, waterways and other sustainability initiatives.    The RECLAIM Network Plus provides a one-stop-shop for towns and cities looking to mitigate the impacts of climate change and improve their resilience. It has over 500 members worldwide, offering information and support to implement projects such as ...

Investigators from the Antiphospholipid Syndrome Alliance for Clinical Trials and International Networking (APS ACTION) presented new research findings in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2023, the ACR’s annual meeting. Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), one of the leading centers in the United States providing care for adults and children with APS, is the lead coordinating center for APS ACTION, an international research network of 34 academic institutions dedicated to advancing the understanding and management of APS. APS ACTION conducts large, ...

A University of Texas at Arlington engineering researcher has received a NASA grant to use rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs) for in-space propulsion to make them more efficient, compact and powerful. Liwei Zhang, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), will lead the $900,000 grant. “Detonation is very fast combustion. Inside an RDRE, detonation waves spin around in a circle at supersonic speeds. Compared to conventional engines that rely on regular combustion, an RDRE has a theoretically ...

A University of Texas at Arlington civil engineering researcher is determining what strategies are most effective at lessening flooding in coastal communities. Michelle Hummel, a civil engineering assistant professor, is using a $499,973 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant to study the benefits and costs of flood-reduction strategies aimed at increasing coastal resilience to storms and sea-level rise. Hummel and her colleague, Kevin Befus of the University of Arkansas, will apply advanced ...

In a study published in Nature Astronomy, astronomers from New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have detailed radio observations of an extraordinary aurora-like display — occurring 40,000 km above a relatively dark and cold patch on the Sun, known as a sunspot. Researchers say the novel radio emission shares characteristics with the auroral radio emissions commonly seen in planetary magnetospheres such as those around Earth, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as certain low-mass stars. The discovery offers new insights into the origin of such intense solar radio bursts and potentially opens new avenues ...

FINDINGS An experimental computing system physically modeled after the biological brain “learned” to identify handwritten numbers with an overall accuracy of 93.4%. The key innovation in the experiment was a new training algorithm that gave the system continuous information about its success at the task in real time while it learned. The algorithm outperformed a conventional machine-learning approach in which training was performed after a batch of data has been processed, producing 91.4% accuracy. The researchers also showed that memory of past inputs stored in the system itself enhanced learning. In contrast, other ...

Intratumoral therapy – in which cancer drugs are injected directly into tumors – is a promising treatment option for solid cancers but has shown limited success in clinical trials due to an inability to precisely deliver the drug and because most immunotherapies quickly dissipate from the site of injection. A team of researchers from Mass General Brigham, in collaboration with colleagues at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, has developed a gel delivery system that overcomes these challenges. The gel is injectable but solidifies upon delivery; contains an imaging agent for visualization under CT scan; and can hold a high ...

Cardiovascular diseases rank among the top causes of death across the world, and cardiac interventions are similarly very common. For example, cardiac catheter ablation procedures, which are used to treat arrythmias, number in several tens of thousands per year in the US alone. In these procedures, surgeons insert a thin, flexible tube called a catheter into the femoral vein in the leg and navigate their way up to the heart, where the problematic tissue is destroyed using cold or focused radiation. Even though cardiac catheter-based procedures are considered minimally invasive, the position ...

A team of engineers from the University of Illinois has published the first known study documenting the long-jumping motion of 3D-printed insect-scale robots. The new study, published in the journal Smart Materials and Structures, follows a previous publication that documented the same lab’s investigation of vertical jumping in insect-scale robots. The study is led by Professor Sameh Tawfick, an associate professor and Ralph A. Andersen Faculty Scholar in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering. His lab, the Kinetic Materials Research Group, studies the ...