ScienceDaily: All - November 27, 2023
Today's top research news
Mixing heat with hair styling products may be bad for your health
Hair products often contain ingredients that easily evaporate, so users may inhale some of these chemicals, potentially posing health repercussions. Now, researchers have studied emissions of these volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including siloxanes, which shine and smooth hair. The scientists report that using these hair care products can change indoor air composition quickly, and common heat styling techniques -- straightening and curling -- increase VOC levels even more.
New method verifies carbon capture in concrete
Carbon capture is essential to reduce the impact of human carbon dioxide emissions on our climate. Researchers have developed a method to confirm whether carbon in concrete originates from the raw materials, or from carbon in the air which has been trapped when it reacts with the concrete to form the mineral calcium carbonate. By measuring the ratio of certain carbon isotopes in concrete that had been exposed to the air and concrete that hadn't, the team could successfully verify that direct air carbon capture had occurred. This method could be useful for the industrial sector and countries looking to offset their carbon emissions.
Extra practice blending letter sounds helps struggling readers
New research has shown that extra practice in blending printed letter sounds can help struggling beginner readers (age 4-5) learn to read.
How heat can be used in computing
Physicists have demonstrated that, combining specific materials, heat in technical devices can be used in computing. Their discovery is based on extensive calculations and simulations. The new approach demonstrates how heat signals can be steered and amplified for use in energy-efficient data processing.
raigvi/shutterstock.com
New way of searching for dark matter
Wondering whether whether Dark Matter particles actually are produced inside a jet of standard model particles, led researchers to explore a new detector signature known as semi-visible jets, which scientists never looked at before.
Scientists devise new technique that can pinpoint the causes and treatments of autoimmune diseases
An international team of researchers has developed a method that combines advanced high-throughput microfluidics and gene editing technology to source new treatments that could potentially help people with autoimmune conditions and cancer. In validating the new technique, they discovered a molecule they believe could inhibit interferon gamma production in the gut which -- if proven in clinical trials -- could represent an ideal means to control inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Alien haze, cooked in a lab, clears view to distant water worlds
Scientists have simulated conditions that allow hazy skies to form in water-rich exoplanets, a crucial step in determining how haziness muddles important telescope observations for the search of habitable worlds beyond the solar system.
Fish IgM structure sheds light on antibody evolution
Researchers have analyzed the antibody Immunoglobulin M in rainbow trout to shed some light on why these proteins may have evolved over time.
Vampire bats make northward flight seeking stable climates
A new article predicts that vampire bats -- currently only found in Mexico and Central and South America -- are on the move, with the United States being a viable home in 27 years.
New method uses crowdsourced feedback to help train robots
A new technique enables an AI agent to be guided by data crowdsourced asynchronously from nonexpert human users as it learns to complete a task through reinforcement learning. The method trains the robot faster and better than other approaches.
New platform solves key problems in targeted drug delivery
Cell and gene therapies hold promise for treating various diseases, but technology to deliver targeted medicines to specific cells is lacking. Engineered cells produce multifunctional particles, designed to carry cargo and target specific cell types. In experiments, the particles successfully delivered gene editing cargo to T cells.
Stem cell-based treatment controls blood sugar in people with Type 1 diabetes
An innovative stem cell-based treatment for Type 1 diabetes can meaningfully regulate blood glucose levels and reduce dependence on daily insulin injections, according to new clinical trial results. The therapy aims to replace the insulin-producing beta cells that people with Type 1 diabetes lack. Dubbed VC-02, the small medical implant contains millions of lab-grown pancreatic islet cells, including beta cells, that originate from a line of pluripotent stem cells.
The Fens of eastern England once held vast woodlands
The Fens of eastern England, a low-lying, extremely flat landscape dominated by agricultural fields, was once a vast woodland filled with huge yew trees, according to new research. Scientists have studied hundreds of tree trunks, dug up by Fenland farmers while ploughing their fields. The team found that most of the ancient wood came from yew trees that populated the area between four and five thousand years ago.
