ScienceDaily: All - May 08, 2024
Today's top research news
This sound-suppressing silk can create quiet spaces
Researchers developed a silk fabric, which is barely thicker than a human hair, that can suppress unwanted noise and reduce noise transmission in a large room.
Could getting enough sleep help prevent osteoporosis?
In people's early- to mid-20s, they reach what is called peak bone mineral density, which is higher for men than it is for women, according to researchers. This peak is one of the main determinants of fracture risk later in life. After reaching this peak, a person's bone density remains roughly stable for a couple of decades. Then, when women enter the menopausal transition, they experience accelerated bone loss. Men also experience bone density decline as they age. Sleep patterns also evolve over time.
Image: 4 stages of osteoporosis, Crevis/Shutterstock.com
Tipping points in the climate system can be the result of a slow but linear development. However, they can also be accompanied by a 'flickering', with two stable climatic states that alternate before a final transition occurs -- and the climate tips permanently.
Emergency department packed to the gills? Someday, AI may help
Emergency departments nationwide are overcrowded and overtaxed, but a new study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) could one day help prioritize which patients need treatment most urgently.
AI predicts tumor-killing cells with high accuracy
Using artificial intelligence, scientists have developed a powerful predictive model for identifying the most potent cancer killing immune cells for use in cancer immunotherapies.
Biomarker found to help identify cells that can repair damaged blood vessels
Researchers have discovered a protein marker to help identify cells able to repopulate in patients with damaged blood vessels. Their findings could lead to new therapies for people with endothelial dysfunction, a type of disorder that contributes to coronary artery disease that may occlude with plaque and lack ability to carry sufficient blood into the heart tissue causing a heart attack.
Efficacy of solar panels boosted
Solar energy is a crucial asset in the fight against climate change, and researchers have now devised a smart approach to optimize its effectiveness. Their innovative method includes incorporating artificial ground reflectors, a simple yet powerful enhancement.
Sedentary lifestyle puts strain on young hearts
According to a recent study, high levels of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity from childhood strain the heart in adolescence. High cardiac workload predicts heart failure and other heart diseases. In light of the findings, increasing moderate and vigorous physical activity from childhood onwards is particularly important in preventing heart diseases.
Years after his death, late scientist's work could yield new cancer treatments
Recent reproductive research has opened the door for new treatments for solid cancer tumors, including breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma.
US geographic region results in vastly different anal cancer risk for people with HIV
For people with HIV, the risk of anal cancer varies according to their geographic region.
Researchers show that slow-moving earthquakes are controlled by rock permeability
A research group explores how the makeup of rocks, specifically their permeability -- or how easily fluids can flow through them -- affects the frequency and intensity of slow slip events. Slow slips' role in the earthquake cycle may help lead to a better model to predict when earthquakes happen.
'Better than graphene' material development may improve implantable technology
Move over, graphene. There's a new, improved two-dimensional material in the lab. Borophene, the atomically thin version of boron first synthesized in 2015, is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger and more flexible than graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Now, researchers have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality -- or handedness -- on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices.
Intermittent fasting protects against liver inflammation and liver cancer
Fatty liver disease often leads to chronic liver inflammation and can even result in liver cancer. Scientists have now shown in mice that intermittent fasting on a 5:2 schedule can halt this development. The fasting regime reduces the development of liver cancer in mice with pre-existing liver inflammation. The researchers identified two proteins in liver cells that are jointly responsible for the protective effect of fasting. An approved drug can partially mimic this effect.
Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance
How well bees tolerate temperature extremes could determine their ability to persist in a changing climate. But heat tolerance varies between and within populations, so entomologists examined bee physical traits to understand how these traits interact with environmental conditions, pathogens and other factors.
Seeking medical insights in the physics of mucus
Understanding how mucus changes, and what it changes in response to, can help diagnose illnesses and develop treatments. Researchers develop a system to grow mucus-producing intestinal cells and study the characteristics of the mucus in different conditions. The process involves growing a layer of intestinal cells on a laboratory plate exposed to air. These cells produce a layer of mucus that the researchers can easily access for testing. Using a magnetic wire, they can measure the consistency of the mucus without affecting its properties, and the platform can explore the effects of pathogens and help develop medications to combat them.
Study sheds light on cancer cell 'tug-of-war'
Researchers used a breast cancer cell line panel and primary tumor explants from breast and cervical cancer patients to examine two different cellular contractility modes: one that generates collective tissue surface tension that keeps cell clusters compact and another, more directional, contractility that enables cells to pull themselves into the extracellular matrix. They found that more aggressive cells pull more strongly on the ECM than on themselves while noninvasive cells pull more strongly on themselves than on the ECM -- and that the different pulling behaviors are attributed to different structures of actin cytoskeleton inside the cells.
Low-energy process for high-performance solar cells
Finding reliable, eco-friendly power sources is crucial as our world grapples with increasing energy needs and the urgent call to combat climate change. Solar energy offers one solution, with scientists devising ever more efficient materials for capturing sunlight.
Fruit fly model identifies key regulators behind organ development
A new computational model simulating fruit fly wing development has enabled researchers to identify previously hidden mechanisms behind organ generation. An research team developed a fruit fly model to reverse engineer the mechanisms that generate organ tissue.
A new mother's immune status varies with her feeding strategy
In one of the first studies of its kind, UC Santa Barbara researchers have found that the immune status of postpartum mothers shifts with how she feeds her baby. Certain inflammatory proteins -- substances that are secreted as part of an immune response -- peak at different times of day, correlating with whether the mothers breastfeed, pump or formula-feed their babies.
Genetics, not lack of oxygen, causes cerebral palsy in quarter of cases
The world's largest study of cerebral palsy (CP) genetics has discovered genetic defects are most likely responsible for more than a quarter of cases in Chinese children, rather than a lack of oxygen at birth as previously thought.
New device that emits magnetic field may offer hope for treating depression
In an exploratory clinical trial, four male patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder underwent eight weeks of treatment with a device that generates a low-frequency ultralow magnetic field environment (ELF-ELME). An improvement in depressive symptoms was observed, with no adverse effects, among all patients. If the efficacy of the device can be confirmed in larger clinical trials with a control group, this therapy could serve as an alternative treatment for patients who do not want to take antidepressant medications.
Progression of herpesvirus infection remodels mitochondrial organization and metabolism
Researchers have found that herpesvirus infection modifies the structure and normal function of the mitochondria in the host cell. The new information will help to understand the interaction between herpesvirus and host cells. Knowledge can be utilized in the development of viral treatments.
How a 'conductor' makes sense of chaos in early mouse embryos
The earliest stages of mammalian embryo development are like an orchestra performance, where everyone must play at the exact right moment and in perfect harmony. New research identifies one of the conductors making sense of the chaos.
New super-pure silicon chip opens path to powerful quantum computers
Researchers have invented a breakthrough technique for manufacturing highly purified silicon that brings powerful quantum computers a big step closer.
Millions in costs due to discharge of scrubber water into the Baltic Sea
Discharge from ships with so-called scrubbers cause great damage to the Baltic Sea. A new study shows that these emissions caused pollution corresponding to socio-economic costs of more than EUR 680 million between 2014 and 2022. At the same time, the researchers note that the shipping companies' investments in the much-discussed technology, where exhaust gases are 'washed' and discharged into the sea, have already been recouped for most of the ships. This means that the industry is now making billions of euros by running its ships on cheap heavy fuel oil instead of cleaner fuel.
The natural vein structure found within leaves -- which has inspired the structural design of porous materials that can maximize mass transfer -- could unlock improvements in energy storage, catalysis, and sensing thanks to a new twist on a century-old biophysical law.
Small pump for kids awaiting heart transplant shows promise
A new type of surgically implanted pump that can support a child's failing heart has passed the first stage of human testing in a recent trial.
Free-forming organelles help plants adapt to climate change
Plants' ability to sense light and temperature, and their ability to adapt to climate change, hinges on free-forming structures in their cells whose function was, until now, a mystery. Researchers have now determined how these structures work on a molecular level, as well as where and how they form.
Three ingots from the site of Los Escoriales de Do a Rama (Belmez) and dating from the Roman era demonstrate the importance of lead production and exportation in northern Cordoba.
Researchers use foundation models to discover new cancer imaging biomarkers
Researchers have harnessed the technology behind foundation models, which power tools like ChatGPT, to discover new cancer imaging biomarkers that could transform how patterns are identified from radiological images. Improved identification of such patterns can greatly impact the early detection and treatment of cancer.
Caterbot? Robatapillar? It crawls with ease through loops and bends
Engineers created a catapillar-shaped robot that splits into segments and reassembles, hauls cargo, and crawls through twisting courses.