ScienceDaily: All - August 01, 2024
Today's top research news
Scientists devise method to secure Earth's biodiversity on the moon
New research led proposes a plan to safeguard Earth's imperiled biodiversity by cryogenically preserving biological material on the moon. The moon's permanently shadowed craters are cold enough for cryogenic preservation without the need for electricity or liquid nitrogen.
Image: Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock.com
Cannabinoid CBG reduces anxiety and stress in first human clinical trial
A lesser-known cannabinoid that is gaining in popularity Cannabigerol (CBG) effectively reduced anxiety in a clinical trial without the intoxication typically associated with whole plant cannabis. It may even have some memory enhancing effects, according to a new study. For the study, researchers conducted the first human clinical trial investigating the acute effects of CBG on anxiety, stress and mood. The research revealed that 20 mg of hemp-derived CBG significantly reduced feelings of anxiety at 20, 45 and 60 minutes after ingestion compared to a placebo.
Body appreciation varies across cultures
People from different cultures show both similarities and differences in how body appreciation, sociocultural pressure, and internalization of thin ideals vary, according to a new study.
Barriers designed to prevent saltwater intrusion may worsen inland flooding
Building protection barriers without accounting for potential inland flooding risks from groundwater can eventually worsen the very issues they aim to solve.
Significant strides in addressing the issue of AI 'hallucinations' and improving the reliability of anomaly detection algorithms.
The rotation of a nearby star stuns astronomers
Astronomers have found that the rotational profile of a nearby star, V889 Herculis, differs considerably from that of the Sun. The observation provides insights into the fundamental stellar astrophysics and helps us understand the activity of the Sun, its spot structures and eruptions.
Surprising finding in glioblastomas
Glioblastomas are highly aggressive, usually incurable brain tumors. If all therapeutic options are exhausted, patients have an average life expectancy of less than two years. Now researchers have made a surprising discovery: in the vicinity of glioblastomas, they found islands of highly potent immune cells in the neighboring bone marrow of the skull, which play a central role in defending against cancer. The new data may open up prospects for innovative therapies. On the other hand, they cast a shadow over conventional strategies.
AI opens door to safe, effective new antibiotics to combat resistant bacteria
In a hopeful sign for demand for more safe, effective antibiotics for humans, researchers have leveraged artificial intelligence to develop a new drug that already is showing promise in animal trials.
What's the weather like in the deep sea?
A new study has revealed how even the deepest seafloors are affected by the daily back-and-forth of the tides, and the change of the seasons, and that currents at the bottom of the ocean are far more complicated than previously thought. These findings are helping us understand the deep-sea pathways of nutrients that support important deep-sea ecosystems, assess where microplastics and other pollutants accumulate in the ocean, and reconstruct past climate change.
Researchers explore the potential of clean energy markets as a hedging tool
Clean energy investments offer potential stability and growth, especially during volatile market conditions. A recent study explored the relationship between clean energy markets and global stock markets. Significant spillovers were observed from major indices like the SP500 to markets such as Japan's Nikkei225 and Global Clean Energy Index. These interactions suggest opportunities for optimizing investment portfolios and leveraging clean energy assets as hedging tools in volatile market environments.
Most blood thinner dosing problems happen after initial prescription
More than two-thirds of people taking blood thinners take direct oral anticoagulants, or DOACs, which are under- or over-prescribed in up to one in eight patients. A new study finds that most prescribing issues for DOACs occur after a provider writes the initial prescription. Researchers say the findings highlight why patients on DOACs need to be monitored consistently.
AI boosts the power of EEGs, enabling neurologists to quickly, precisely pinpoint signs of dementia
Scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) tests more quickly and precisely, enabling neurologists to find early signs of dementia among data that typically go unexamined.
New principle for treating tuberculosis
Researchers have succeeded in identifying and synthesizing a group of molecules that can act against the cause of tuberculosis in a new way. They describe that the so-called callyaerins act against the infectious disease by employing a fundamentally different mechanism compared to antibiotic agents used to date.
Improving Alzheimer's disease imaging -- with fluorescent sensors
Neurotransmitter levels in the brain can indicate brain health and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. However, the protective blood-brain barrier (BBB) makes delivering fluorescent sensors that can detect these small molecules to the brain difficult. Now, researchers demonstrate a way of packaging these sensors for easy passage across the BBB in mice, allowing for improved brain imaging. With further development, the technology could help advance Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and treatment.
A coating of solar cells with special organic molecules could pave the way for a new generation of solar panels. This coating can increase the efficiency of monolithic tandem cells made of silicon and perovskite while lowering their cost -- because they are produced from industrial, microstructured, standard silicon wafers.
Strong El Nino makes European winters easier to forecast
Forecasting European winter weather patterns months in advance is made simpler during years of strong El Ni o or La Ni a events in the tropical Pacific Ocean, a new study has found.
Physicists use light to probe deeper into the 'invisible' energy states of molecules
Physicists have experimentally demonstrates a novel physical effect that was predicted 45 years ago. The effect will result in a new chemical analysis technique, to simultaneously identify molecular bonds and their 3D arrangement in space. This new technique will find applications in pharmaceutical science, security, forensics, environmental science, art conservation, and medicine.
Unique mechanism protects pancreatic cells from inflammation in mice
The results of the new study could have significant implications for understanding diabetes.
New AI tool predicts risk for chronic pain in cancer patients
With 80% accuracy, an AI-trained tool could help doctors identify which patients to treat for chronic pain.
Green hydrogen: 'Artificial leaf' becomes better under pressure
Hydrogen can be produced via the electrolytic splitting of water. One option here is the use of photoelectrodes that convert sunlight into voltage for electrolysis in so called photoelectrochemical cells (PEC cells). A research team has now shown that the efficiency of PEC cells can be significantly increased under pressure.
Key challenges and promising avenues in obesity genetics
Research on the genetics of obesity dates to the early 1920s, with many of the initial findings indicating the complexity and multifaceted nature of obesity perfectly resonating with more modern discoveries. Researchers have collected nearly a century's worth of considerations and advancements to frame their perspectives on modern research into the genetics of obesity.
Scientists capture immune cells hidden in nasal passages
Scientists uncover 'striking' immune cell populations poised to fight SARS-CoV-2 in upper airway.
Recent volcanic 'fires' in Iceland triggered by storage and melting in crust
Scientists have detected geochemical signatures of magma pooling and melting beneath the subsurface during the 'Fagradalsfjall Fires', that began on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula in 2021. Samples show that the start of the eruption began with massive pooling of magma, contrasting initial hypothesis for magma ascent straight from the mantle.
A new use for propofol in treating epilepsy?
The general anesthetic propofol may hold the keys to developing new treatment strategies for epilepsy and other neurological disorders, according to a new study.
The NMDAR is involved in numerous cognitive functions including memory. Its movements are tightly coordinated like a choreographed dance routine. Scientists have now figured out how the protein performs a difficult 'Twist'-like dance move. The discovery could lead to new drug compounds that bind to NMDAR more effectively.
Gut microbes implicated in bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is the tenth most common type of cancer worldwide and is often linked to exposure to harmful chemicals, such as those found in tobacco smoke. A new study shows that the bacteria in our guts may play an important role in bladder cancer development. The scientists showed experimentally that certain gut bacteria can transform a class of carcinogens, often found in cigarette smoke, into related chemicals that accumulate in the bladder and give rise to tumors.
Unraveling a key junction underlying muscle contraction
Using powerful new visualization technologies, researchers have captured the first 3-D images of the structure of a key muscle receptor, providing new insights on how muscles develop across the animal kingdom and setting the stage for possible future treatments for muscular disorders.
For bigger muscles push close to failure, for strength, maybe not
When lifting weights, do you wonder how pushing yourself to the point of failure -- where you can't do another rep -- impacts your results? New research finds that if you're aiming for muscle growth, training closer to failure might be more effective. It doesn't matter if you adjust training volume by changing sets or reps; the relationship between how close you train to failure and muscle growth remains the same. For strength, how close you push to failure doesn't seem to matter as much.
A brain fingerprint: Study uncovers unique brain plasticity in people born blind
Neuroscientists reveal that the part of the brain that receives and processes visual information in sighted people develops a unique connectivity pattern in people born blind. They say this pattern in the primary visual cortex is unique to each person -- akin to a fingerprint.
Bright prospects for engineering quantum light
Computers benefit greatly from being connected to the internet, so we might ask: What good is a quantum computer without a quantum internet?
New collaborative research generates lessons for more adaptive lake management
A professor gathered feedback from 26 Colorado River Basin managers and experts took on water user roles to discuss consuming, banking and trading Colorado River water.
Scientists discover entirely new wood type that could be highly efficient at carbon storage
Researchers undertaking an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from some of the world's most iconic trees and shrubs have discovered an entirely new type of wood.
New high-resolution 3D maps show how the brain's blood vessels changes with age
Researchers have identified mouse brain regions vulnerable to blood vessel degeneration, offering clues to the connection between vasculature and neurodegenerative disease.
Genes or environment? A new model for understanding disease risk factors
Researchers have developed a model that more accurately predicts how genetics and air pollution levels causally influence disease development.
Study finds genetic variant among people who experience a rare recovery from ALS
Though exceedingly rare, some people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) partially or fully recover from the lethal neurodegenerative disease. A better understanding of this baffling phenomenon, reported in medical literature for at least 60 years, could point to potential new treatment approaches. To that end, researchers launched a study of ALS recovery patients and found certain genetic factors that appear to protect against the disease's typical assault on motor neurons.