Brewing tea removes lead from water
Researchers demonstrated that brewing tea naturally adsorbs heavy metals like lead and cadmium, effectively filtering dangerous contaminants out of drinks. Researchers tested different types of tea, tea bags and brewing methods. Finely ground black tea leaves performed best at removing toxic heavy metals. Longer steeping times helped tea remove larger amounts of contaminants.
DNA origami suggests route to reusable, multifunctional biosensors
A team has used a process known as DNA origami to make electrochemical sensors that can quickly detect and measure biomarkers.
Honeybee dance 'styles' sway food foraging success
Biologists have learned several interesting patterns related to bee communication. One such observation was that bees have consistent, unique ways of dancing, meaning each bee has its own 'style' that it adds to the communication. Could the success of the waggle dance be related to this uniqueness? Would bees that communicated similarly yield more successful recruits? Or is there some other factor at play? This study reveals the waggle to be a diverse form of communication that helps improve the likelihood that one bee can tell another where food can be found.
Beehive sensors offer hope in saving honeybee colonies
A computer science team has developed a sensor-based technology that could revolutionize commercial beekeeping by reducing colony losses and lowering labor costs. The technology uses low-cost heat sensors and forecasting models to predict when hive temperatures may reach dangerous levels. The system provides remote beekeepers with early warnings, allowing them to take preventive action before their colonies collapse during extreme hot or cold weather or when the bees cannot regulate their hive temperature because of disease, pesticide exposure, food shortages, or other stressors.
Immune 'fingerprints' aid diagnosis of complex diseases
Receptors on B and T cells hint at what the immune system is targeting. An AI approach called Mal-ID developed increases diagnostic accuracy, particularly for autoimmune diseases.
Dermatology researchers discover new skin disease using innovative diagnostic platform
Researchers described a new skin disease in a male patient with erythroderma, causing 80 percent of his skin to be covered with red, exfoliating skin lesions that itched and burned. After undergoing months of treatment with traditional therapies for erythroderma, which included the steroid prednisone, anti-itch creams, and immunosuppressive drugs, the patient experienced little relief.
Researchers advance RNA medical discovery decades ahead of schedule
Ribonucleic acid, commonly known as RNA, is involved in many biological functions, and some, including gene silencing, are utilized to cure diseases. RNA has recently gained attention as a promising drug target. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of RNA structures have been determined experimentally, and the process of uncovering these structures requires significant time and effort. Using this time scale, the structures of many life saving RNA may not be discovered for years. As a result, there is a significant gap between the types of known RNA and the available structural data. Researchers have now developed a computational solution to this problem.
Heat-stressed reefs may benefit from coral-dwelling crabs
Crab behavior suggestive of wound-tending may improve coral tolerance to heat waves.
Gulf of Mars: Rover finds evidence of 'vacation-style' beaches on Mars
Mars may have once been home to sun-soaked, sandy beaches with gentle, lapping waves according to a new study.
Climate change effects in 24,000 US lakes
Each summer, more and more lake beaches are forced to close due to toxic algae blooms. While climate change is often blamed, new research suggests a more complex story: climate interacts with human activities like agriculture and urban runoff, which funnel excess nutrients into the water. The study sheds light on why some lakes are more vulnerable than others and how climate and human impacts interact -- offering clues to why the problem is getting worse. Researchers discovered key climate-related patterns in algal biomass levels and change through time for freshwater lakes. They have now used novel methods to create and analyze long-term datasets from open-access government resources and from satellite remote sensing.
Origin and diversity of Hun Empire populations
A multidisciplinary and international research project has brought fresh insights into the origins and diversity of the populations that lived under and after the Hun empire between the late 4th and 6th century CE in Central Europe. Combining forefront archaeogenomic analyses with archaeological and historical investigation, the study connects some of the European Hun-period individuals directly to some high-status elite of the earlier Xiongnu Empire -- a powerful nomadic empire centered in the Mongolian steppe centuries before the Huns emerged north and west of the Black Sea. It also shows that only few Hun-period individuals carried East-Asian ancestry, and that the newcomers of the Hun period were of rather mixed origin. Thus, it sheds light on the much-discussed population dynamics that shaped Eurasian history during Late Antiquity.
New AI model measures how fast the brain ages
A new artificial intelligence model measures how fast a patient's brain is aging and could be a powerful new tool for understanding, preventing and treating cognitive decline and dementia.
Bigger animals get more cancer, defying decades-old belief
Bigger animals consistently show higher prevalence of both benign and malignant tumors.
As dengue spreads, researchers discover a clue to fighting the virus
This research comes as dengue-carrying mosquitoes expand their territory into new regions, including Southern California.
Scientists invent new drug candidates to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria
There's an arms race in medicine -- scientists design drugs to treat lethal bacterial infections, but bacteria can evolve defenses to those drugs, sending the researchers back to square one. A team describes the development of a drug candidate that can stop bacteria before they have a chance to cause harm.
Arctic study urges stronger climate action to prevent catastrophic warming
Remember when 2 degrees Celsius of global warming was the doomsday scenario? Well, we're now staring down the barrel of something much worse. From the fish on your plate to the weather outside your window, everything's about to change. A new study underscores the grave risks posed by insufficient national commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
How young salmon navigate a gauntlet of danger en route to the sea
New research uncovers the survival strategy juvenile Chinook salmon adopt to migrate to the ocean, providing insight on how to conserve the threatened fish.
Backyard poultry face bird flu risk when migrating mallards stop to rest
Knowing where, when and for how long mallard ducks -- natural carriers of avian influenza -- stop and rest as they migrate can help predict the probability that they will spread bird flu to backyard poultry flocks, according to a new study.
Bottling a mouse 'superpower' may heal lungs damaged by premature birth
Using a four-dimensional microscopy technique, researchers have created 3D video images of mouse lung tissue grown in the laboratory. What they have learned has been nothing short of groundbreaking.
New drug may reduce need for aortic valve surgeries by slowing disease progression
Aortic valve stenosis (AVS) is a significant health concern affecting over 1.5 million Americans and millions more globally. Researchers are exploring the use of a new drug called ataciguat to manage AVS. Results from preclinical and clinical studies show that ataciguat has the potential to significantly slow disease progression.
How humans learn to optimize working memory
Working memory is what allows humans to juggle different pieces of information in short-term scenarios, like making a mental grocery list and then going shopping or remembering and then dialing a phone number. While scientists agree that the capacity of working memory is limited, they offer competing theories about how and why this is true. But new research shows why limits on working memory exist.
Study shows primary care and telehealth can deliver life-changing diabetes care
Researchers have found that people with diabetes can achieve the same positive results using advanced insulin technology when trained by their primary care providers (PCPs) or through telehealth as they would by seeing a specialist in person.
Research suggests common viral infection worsens deadly condition among premature babies
Researchers say they found that infection with a common virus that can be transmitted from mother to fetus before birth significantly worsens an often-fatal complication of premature birth called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in experiments with mice.
Underlying rules of evolutionary urban systems in Africa
From the perspective of complex systems, the study reveals the universality, specificity, and explanatory power of underlying rules governing urban system evolution.
New home-based intervention could reduce emergency hospital admissions for older people
A new service aimed at supporting older people who are starting to become frail, could reduce emergency hospital admissions by more than a third.
Diabetes and obesity have become pressing health issues worldwide. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, a class of medications widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D), have shown significant effectiveness in both lowering blood sugar levels and aiding weight loss due to their unique pharmacological mechanisms. A research team assessed the impact of GLP-1 receptor agonist in weight loss through genetic studies, aiming to understand whether the use of these medications reduces weight due to muscle or fat mass loss. This genetic study revealed that GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce weight by reducing more fat mass than muscle mass.
Unexpected discoveries in study of giraffe gut flora
The gut bacteria of giraffes are not primarily determined by what they eat, but by the species they belong to. This is shown in a new study in which researchers have analyzed the link between diet and gut flora in three giraffe species in Kenya. The study also provides new knowledge that can help secure the food supply of endangered giraffe species.
Mega-iceberg from Antarctica on collision course with South Georgia: Harbinger of things to come?
It is no strange sight to see icebergs break off of the Antarctic ice cap and drift away, like the gigantic sheet of ice that is currently heading for the island of South Georgia. But climate change is making it happen more frequently, with ever-larger icebergs in the waters around Antarctica. Researchers are studying the routes that icebergs followed during geological periods of rapid ice cap deterioration, such as the ends of ice ages. That provides crucial information about the effect of melting icebergs on the oceans, and its consequences for the future. In the process, they also found an explanation for the mysterious discovery of ancient material from Antarctica near South Orkney, an island to the southwest of South Georgia.
AI to diagnose 'invisible' brain abnormalities in children with epilepsy
Scientists have developed an AI-powered tool that detects 64% of brain abnormalities linked to epilepsy that human radiologists miss.
Telemedicine may help reduce use of unnecessary health tests
A research team has found that telemedicine may help to reduce the use of low-value tests.
Research provides new detail on the impact of volcanic activity on early marine life
New analysis of ancient fossilized rocks known as stromatolites, preserved in southern Zimbabwe, suggests strong links to hydrothermal nutrient recycling, 'meaning that early life may in part have been fueled by volcanic activity'.