ScienceDaily: All - January 14, 2025
Today's top research news
Mild cognitive impairment is linked to blood vessel dysfunction in the brain's temporal lobes -- the seat of memory -- according to a new study. The findings, seen in people with and without signs of amyloid buildup in the brain, suggest that microvascular trouble may be an important, early biomarker for dementia as well as a potential target for therapy.
Engineering quantum entanglement at the nanoscale
Researchers have developed a drastically smaller and more energy efficient method of creating coveted photon pairs that influence each other from any distance. The technology could transform computing, telecommunications, and sensing.
Researchers develop breakthrough one-step flame retardant for cotton textiles
Although extremely flammable, cotton is one of the most commonly used textiles due to its comfort and breathable nature. However, in a single step, researchers can reduce the flammability of cotton using a polyelectrolyte complex coating.
New study identifies how blood vessel dysfunction can worsen chronic disease
Researchers have uncovered how specialized cells surrounding small blood vessels, known as perivascular cells, contribute to blood vessel dysfunction in chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and fibrosis. The findings could change how these diseases are treated.
Need for standardized measurement methods in gene therapy
Wind turbines impair the access of bats to water bodies in agricultural landscapes
Bats depend on open bodies of water such as small ponds and lakes for foraging and drinking. Access to water is particularly important for survival in the increasingly hot and dry summers caused by climate change, the time when female bats are pregnant and rear their young. A scientific team has now shown that access to drinking sites is hampered by wind turbines in agricultural landscapes: Many bat species avoid the turbines and water bodies located close to the turbines for several kilometers.
Hubble reveals surprising spiral shape of galaxy hosting young jet
The night sky has always played a crucial role in navigation, from early ocean crossings to modern GPS. Besides stars, the United States Navy uses quasars as beacons. Quasars are distant galaxies with supermassive black holes, surrounded by brilliantly hot disks of swirling gas that can blast off jets of material. Following up on the groundbreaking 2020 discovery of newborn jets in a number of quasars, aspiring naval officer Olivia Achenbach of the United States Naval Academy has used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to reveal surprising properties of one of them, quasar J0742+2704.
NASA's Hubble tracks down a 'blue lurker' among stars
The name 'blue lurker' might sound like a villainous character from a superhero movie. But it is a rare class of star that NASA's Hubble Space Telescope explored by looking deeply into the open star cluster M67, roughly 2,800 light-years away.
A 'volume dial' for missed signals produced by our bodies
Scientists have adapted a sensing platform to detect and even measure chemicals at low enough concentrations to have use outside the lab. The system, which is 10 times more sensitive than previous sensors built by the team, opens the door for the system to be applied to disease detection and monitoring in the human body for nucleic acids and bacteria.
Experimental blood test for pancreatic cancer undergoing clinical development and evaluation
An experimental blood test for pancreatic cancer is being evaluated by a commercial laboratory, an important milestone toward making the test available for patients.
Atop the Oregon Cascades, team finds a huge buried aquifer
Scientists have mapped the amount of water stored beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades and found an aquifer many times larger than previously estimated -- at least 81 cubic kilometers. The finding has implications for the way scientists and policymakers think about water in the region -- an increasingly urgent issue across the Western United States as climate change reduces snowpack, intensifies drought and strains limited resources.
DNA nanorobots can alter artificial cells
Scientists have succeeded in controlling the structure and function of biological membranes with the help of 'DNA origami'. The system they developed may facilitate the transportation of large therapeutic loads into cells. This opens up a new way for the targeted administration of medication and other therapeutic interventions. Thus, a very valuable instrument can be added to the toolbox of synthetic biology.
Brain connectome phenotype linked to cerebrovascular disease can track cognitive decline
Researchers have uncovered novel insights into how brain function disruptions related to cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) interact with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology to impact neurodegeneration and cognition in older adults.
Sodium-ion batteries need breakthroughs to compete
A thorough analysis of market, technological, and supply chain outcomes for sodium-ion batteries finds that significant advances are needed before commercialization.
New study unveils breakthrough in understanding cosmic particle accelerators
Scientists have come a step closer to understanding how collisionless shock waves -- found throughout the universe -- are able to accelerate particles to extreme speeds.
Wrong place, wrong time: Why Zika virus hijacks a protein needed for brain growth
The mosquito-borne Zika virus is known for causing microcephaly, a birth defect in which abnormal brain development results in a smaller-than-expected head. A new study shows that the Zika virus hijacks a host protein called ANKLE2, which happens to be important for brain development, to assist its own reproduction. Because Zika, unlike most related viruses, can cross the placenta, this can have disastrous consequences in pregnancy.
Chornobyl dogs' genetic differences not due to mutation
Radiation-induced mutation is unlikely to have induced genetic differences between dog populations in Chornobyl City and the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Differences in strength by position among football players
It's long been known that different positions on the football field fit different body types. A study led by the University of Kansas has gone beyond knowing that linemen are bigger with more body mass than receivers and tested a team of college football starters, finding differences in strength, power, jumping ability and more. The findings could help improve strength training designed to optimize performance for different types of players, researchers argue.
X-ray flashes from a nearby supermassive black hole accelerate mysteriously
Astronomers observed flashes of X-rays coming from a supermassive black hole at a steadily increasing clip. The source could be the core of a dead star that's teetering at the black hole's edge.
New research highlights trends in ADHD diagnoses
New research identifies differing trends in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses among adolescents and adults, including an increase among adults from 2020 to 2023. The study found a significant downward trends in ADHD incidence among adults from 2016 to 2020 and adolescents from 2016 to 2018. The ADHD incidence rate remained stable for adolescents in subsequent years.
United States dementia cases estimated to double by 2060
A new study shows that the risk of developing dementia anytime after age 55 among Americans is 42%, more than double the risk reported by older studies.
From microplastics to macro-impact: Plastic recycling challenges
The use of plastic has skyrocketed over the past decade. Recent statistics reveal that in 2021, each person in the European Union (EU) generated an average of 36 kg of plastic packaging waste.
Ash tree variability may offer restoration path post-beetle decimation
The invasive emerald ash borer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was first found in the United States in southeast Michigan in 2002. In the decades since, the wood-boring beetle has spread east and west across the U.S. and Canada, killing tens of millions of ash trees, causing one of the costliest forest insect invasions to date. More than 90% of all ash infested by the insect native to Asia eventually die, threatening to make the tree species functionally extinct in North America. In response, researchers are working to identify and develop ash trees genetically able to withstand the beetles' onslaught and strategize how to restore ash to forests.