ScienceDaily: All - April 09, 2024
Today's top research news
How climate change will impact food production and financial institutions
Researchers have developed a new method to predict the financial impacts climate change will have on agriculture, which can help support food security and financial stability for countries increasingly prone to climate catastrophes.
Preventive angioplasty does not improve prognosis
For heart attack patients, treating only the coronary artery that caused the infarction works just as well as preventive balloon dilation of the other coronary arteries, according to a new large study.
Image: plaque in the coronary artery, Lightspring/shutterstock.com
A pulse of innovation: AI at the service of heart research
Researchers unveiled BeatProfiler, a groundbreaking new tool -- a comprehensive software that automates the analysis of heart cell function from video data. It's the first system to integrate the analysis of different heart function indicators, such as contractility, calcium handling, and force output into one tool, speeding up the process significantly and reducing the chance for errors. BeatProfiler enabled the researchers to not only distinguish between different diseases and levels of their severity but also to rapidly and objectively test drugs that affect heart function.
People make more patient decisions when shown the benefits first
Psychologists asked experiment participants to choose to receive $40 in seven days or $60 in 30 days, for example, under a variety of time constraints. The experiment showed that people tend to make more impulsive decisions if they think about time delays first, and more patient decisions if they think about the greater reward associated with waiting longer. The findings could be applied where people are being encouraged to make life choices that will benefit them in the long run, such as eating healthier, exercising or saving for retirement, by emphasizing the future large rewards and deemphasizing how long it will take to see them.
Different means to the same end: How a worm protects its chromosomes
Researchers have discovered that a worm commonly used in the study of biology uses a set of proteins unlike those seen in other studied organisms to protect the ends of its DNA.
Deep parts of Great Barrier Reef 'insulated' from global warming -- for now
Some deeper areas of the Great Barrier Reef are insulated from harmful heatwaves -- but that protection will be lost if global warming continues, according to new research.
Engineers design soft and flexible 'skeletons' for muscle-powered robots
Engineers designed modular, spring-like devices to maximize the work of live muscle fibers so they can be harnessed to power biohybrid robots.
This 3D printer can figure out how to print with an unknown material
Researchers developed a 3D printer that can automatically determine the printing parameters of an unknown material. This could help engineers use emerging renewable or recycled materials that have fluctuating properties, which makes them difficult to print with.
Short-term incentives for exercise can lead to sustained increases in activity
Adults with heart disease risks who received daily reminders or incentives to become more active increased their daily steps by more than 1,500 after a year, and many were still sticking with their new habit six months later, according to a new study.
New research could change standard-of-care guidelines to improve outcomes for heart attack patients after coronary stenting procedures.
Boreal forest and tundra regions worst hit over next 500 years of climate change, study shows
Modelling climate change over a 500 year period shows that much of the boreal forest, the Earth's northernmost forests and most significant provider of carbon storage and clean water, could be seriously impacted, along with tundra regions, treeless shrublands north of the boreal forest that play a significant role in regulating the Earth's climate.
Inexplicable flying fox found in Hydra galaxy cluster
High sensitivity radio observations have discovered a cloud of magnetized plasma in the Hydra galaxy cluster. The odd location and shape of this plasma defy all conventional explanations. Dubbed the Flying Fox based on its silhouette, this plasma will remain a mystery until additional observations can provide more insight.
Scientists have successfully grown 'mini kidneys' in the lab and grafted them into live mice, revealing new insights into the metabolic defects and a potential therapy for polycystic kidney disease.
Toothed whale echolocation organs evolved from jaw muscles
Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the jaw.
Bringing multidrug-resistant pathogens to their knees
Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections that cannot be treated by any known antibiotics pose a serious global threat. A research team has now introduced a method for the development of novel antibiotics to fight resistant pathogens. The drugs are based on protein building blocks with fluorous lipid chains.
A friendly pat on the back can improve performance in basketball
A free throw in basketball will have every eye glued to one person. It's an intensely stressful situation. A research team studied whether a friendly tap on the shoulder increases the odds of making a shot.
Researchers developed new method for detecting heart failure with a smartphone
New technology uses a smartphone to analyze heart movement and detect heart failure.
Novel robust-optimal controllers based on fuzzy descriptor system
The Takagi--Sugeno (T--S) fuzzy descriptor system offers a promising avenue for controlling non-linear systems but lacks optimal control strategies. Moreover, while robust control methods have been developed, they add additional complexity. To address these limitations, a team of researchers has developed novel optimal and robust-optimal controllers based on the T--S fuzzy descriptor model, holding great potential for enhanced autonomous systems.
Protecting art and passwords with biochemistry
A new molecular test method helps to prove the authenticity of works of art. The new method could also help to make passwords secure against quantum computers.
Prioritizing your phone over your partner affects creativity in the workplace for women
Focusing attention on your mobile phone instead of your partner doesn't just strain your relationship -- it also affects women's creativity in the workplace, caution researchers.
A study confirms the concerns raised in the public domain about how young people's decreased fitness may affect their future work ability. The association of low youth cardiorespiratory fitness and adulthood decreased work ability persisted until the end of working life, which predicts substantial societal costs.
Scientists unveil cutting-edge ruthenium catalyst for new reaction discovery and optimization
Researchers have achieved a groundbreaking advancement in catalyst technology.
Using pulp and paper waste to scrub carbon from emissions
Researchers have come up with an innovative approach to improve the energy efficiency of carbon conversion, using waste material from pulp and paper production. The technique they've pioneered not only reduces the energy required to convert carbon into useful products, but also reduces overall waste in the environment.
How plants adjust their photosynthesis to changing light
Light supplies the energy plants need to build up biomass. A research team is researching how plants adapt their photosynthesis to changing light. They describe a key molecular mechanism that synchronizes the processes involved.
Disparities in sleep health and insomnia may begin at a young age
Children and teens from racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by persistent insomnia symptoms that begin in childhood and continue through young adulthood, according to a new study. This study is one of the first to look at how childhood insomnia symptoms evolve over the long-term and investigate how the trajectory of insomnia differs between racial and ethnic groups.
How mosquito larva guts could help create highly specific insecticides
Did you know that the world's deadliest animal is the mosquito? And Aedes aegypti is one of the most dangerous. This bug spreads viruses that cause dengue fever, which was recently declared as an epidemic in Puerto Rico. Research reports new molecules that label proteins in the unique, alkaline environment of the Ae. aegypti digestive system that could help scientists develop insecticides to fight back.
Opening a new front against pancreatic cancer
A new type of investigational therapeutic for pancreatic cancer has shown unprecedented tumor-fighting abilities in preclinical models of the disease.
PFAS 'forever chemicals' above drinking water guidelines in global source water
PFAS (aka 'forever chemicals') are notoriously difficult to destroy. They've been linked to environmental and health issues, including some cancers, but a lot remains unknown about the true scale and potential impacts of the problem -- including how much is in our water supply. A new study assessed the levels of PFAS contamination in surface and ground water around the globe -- and found that much of our global source water exceeds PFAS safe drinking limits.
How the moon turned itself inside out
Linking analyses of the moon's gravity field with models of its earliest evolution, scientists tell a story of the moon turning itself inside out after it solidified from a primordial magma ocean. The process left behind a vestige of dense, titanium-rich material beneath its Earth-facing side that makes its presence known by gravity anomalies.
Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites
Antarctica harbors a large concentration of meteorites imbuing the icy continent with an unparalleled wealth of information on our solar system. However, these precious meteorites are rapidly disappearing from the ice sheet surface due to global warming, according to a new study.
New study highlights the benefit of touch on mental and physical health
Through a large-scale analysis, researchers have uncovered the ways in which consensual touch can benefit a person's physical and mental wellbeing.
Everyday social interactions predict language development in infants
Researchers found that when the adult talked and played socially with a 5-month-old baby, the baby's brain activity particularly increased in regions responsible for attention -- and the level of this type of activity predicted enhanced language development at later ages.
How scientists are accelerating chemistry discoveries with automation
Scientists have developed an automated workflow that could accelerate the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs and other useful products. The new automated approach could analyze chemical reactions in real time and identify new chemical-reaction products much faster than current laboratory methods.
Unnecessary use of beta-blockers after a heart attack?
Half of all patients discharged from hospital after a heart attack are treated with beta-blockers unnecessarily, new study suggests.
Proof-of-principle demonstration of 3-D magnetic recording
Research groups have made a breakthrough in the field of hard disk drives (HDD) by demonstrating the feasibility of multi-level recording using a three-dimensional magnetic recording medium to store digital information. The research groups have shown that this technology can be used to increase the storage capacity of HDDs, which could lead to more efficient and cost-effective data storage solutions in the future.
Successful 'first in human' clinical trial of pioneering guidance for heart bypass surgery
Trial findings suggest that the less invasive approach to heart bypass surgery offers comparable safety and efficacy to established methods and that safety issues inherent to invasive catheterisation investigation can be replaced by a non-invasive technique using CT scan imaging and AI-powered blood flow analysis.
Integrated dataset enables genes-to-ecosystems research
A new dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems function, their vulnerability to a changing climate, and ultimately how plants might be engineered for better performance as sources of bioenergy and natural carbon storage.
Ocean waves propel PFAS back to land
A new study reveals that PFAS re-emit into the air from crashing ocean waves at levels comparable to or greater than other sources, establishing a cyclical transport process for these 'forever chemicals' between land and sea.