ScienceDaily: All - February 13, 2024
Today's top research news
Can hydrogels help mend a broken heart?
You can mend a broken heart this valentine s day now that researchers invented a new hydrogel that can be used to heal damaged heart tissue and improve cancer treatments.
sdecoret/shutterstock.com
Archaeologists discover oldest known bead in the Americas
The bead found at the La Prele Mammoth site in Wyoming's Converse County is about 12,940 years old and made of bone from a hare.
This study reports widespread mineral carbonation of mantle rocks in an oceanic transform fueled by magmatic degassing of CO2. The findings describe a previously unknown part of the geological carbon cycle in transform faults that represent one of the three principal plate boundaries on Earth. The confluence of tectonically exhumed mantle rocks and CO2-rich alkaline basalt formed through limited extents of melting characteristic of the St. Paul's transform faults may be a pervasive feature at oceanic transform faults in general. Because transform faults have not been accounted for in previous estimates of global geological CO2 fluxes, the mass transfer of magmatic CO2 to the altered oceanic mantle and seawater may be larger than previously thought.
Global deforestation leads to more mercury pollution
Researchers find deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of global human-made mercury emissions. While it cannot be the only solution, they suggest reforestation could increase global mercury uptake by about 5 percent.
Non-invasive techniques to detect skin cancer
A study has demonstrated that the appearance of ageing skin looks noticeably different compared to younger skin, when examined under polarized laser light. The scientists believe that their new finding could pave the way for new, non-invasive light-based techniques to detect diseases, including cancer, in older individuals. This could significantly enhance early-stage treatment options for various skin conditions.
Key advance for capturing carbon from the air
A chemical element so visually striking that it was named for a goddess shows a 'Goldilocks' level of reactivity -- neither too much nor too little -- that makes it a strong candidate as a carbon scrubbing tool.
Strongest contender in decades in fight against breast cancer
For decades, hormonal treatment of breast cancer has been going in one direction -- blocking estrogen. Now a global study has discovered there may be another, less toxic way to defeat the most common form of breast cancer.
Genetic cause of low birth weight among children conceived after fertility treatment
A medical researcher has identified a genetic cause for the increased risk of low birth weight in babies born following assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF.
Why insects navigate more efficiently than robots
Engineers have studied how insects navigate, for the purpose of developing energy-efficient robots.
Children's positive attitude towards mathematics fades during the early school years
Children's interest in, and competence perceptions of, mathematics are generally quite positive as they begin school, but turn less positive during the first three years. This is shown by a recent study exploring the development of children's motivation for mathematics during the early school years, and how that development is associated with their mathematics competence. The researchers followed nearly three hundred children for three years.
When the global climate has the hiccups
Climate changes usually happens over long periods of time, but during the last glacial period, extreme fluctuations in temperature occurred within just a few years. Researchers have now been able to prove the phenomenon also occurred during the penultimate glacial period.
Artificial cartilage with the help of 3D printing
Growing cartilage tissue in the lab could help patiens with injuries, but it is very hard to make the tissue grow in exactly the right shape. A new approach could solve this problem: Tiny spherical containers are created with a high-resolution 3D printer. These containers are then filled with cells and assembled into the desired shape. The cells from different containers connect, the container itself is degradable and eventually disappears.
Sister cells uncover pre-existing resistant states in cancer
In many cancers, such as ovarian cancer, each round of chemotherapy kills the majority of cancer cells, while a small population of them survives through treatment. These cells are typically more resistant for the next cycle of therapy and can thus regrow to a deadly, treatment resistant tumor. Researchers wanted to know how this small population of surviving cells differs from the other more sensitive cells already before the treatment. To enable this cellular time travel, they developed ReSisTrace, a methodology that takes advantage of the similarity of sister cells to trace back pre-existing treatment resistance in cancer.
Understanding chronic wasting disease in deer
A new collaborative study analyzed fecal samples to shed light on how the fatal disease impacts the gut microbiome in deer, providing a promising tool for disease surveillance.
Harnessing human evolution to advance precision medicine
Scientists hope to advance precision medicine through the discovery of a gene variant that leads to the same phenotype in separate high-dwelling populations while taking a different evolutionary path.