ScienceDaily: All - September 10, 2024
Today's top research news
Deserts' biggest threat? Flooding
A new study has found that the increase in soil erosion in coastal areas due to desertification is worsening flood impacts on Middle Eastern and North African port cities. The researchers focused their observations on the devastating 2023 floods in the city of Derna, Libya, which took the lives of more than 11,300 people and showed how the increase in soil erosion significantly contributed to the catastrophic toll of these unusual desert floods. The research was published almost a year after the deadly flood happened on the September 10, 2023.
Image: sumikophoto/Shutterstock.com
Grim statistics on koala survival odds
Records of koala admissions to veterinary hospitals in South East Queensland shows euthanasia was the most common outcome.
New AI can ID brain patterns related to specific behavior
Scientists have developed a new AI algorithm that can separate brain patterns related to a particular behavior. This work promises to improve brain-computer interfaces and aid with the discovery of new brain patterns.
A new psychology study shows that framing the need to address climate change as patriotic and as necessary to preserve the American 'way of life' can increase belief in climate change and support for pro-environmental policies among both groups.
A new study has found the pastoral practices of the Indigenous Maasai people of Kenya had almost no discernible positive or negative effect on the ecological well-being of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Green hydrogen: MXenes shows talent as catalyst for oxygen evolution
The MXene class of materials has many talents. An international team has now demonstrated that MXenes, properly functionalized, are excellent catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytic water splitting. They are more stable and efficient than the best metal oxide catalysts currently available. The team is now extensively characterizing these MXene catalysts for water splitting at the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II and Soleil Synchrotron in France.
Urate transporter structures reveal the mechanism behind important drug target for gout
Ten structures of URAT1 obtained by scientists provide a deep understanding of the mechanism of urate transport to guide gout therapeutic design.
Effective new gene therapy to treat multiple sulfatase deficiency
Researchers tested a preclinical model for an experimental gene therapy designed to treat multiple sulfatase deficiency (MSD), a disorder that affects the brain, lungs, skin, and skeleton with no currently approved treatments. The findings demonstrated several improvements in outcomes, paving the way for future translation into clinical trials.
Belief in academic ability key factor in academic success for low-income students
A strong belief in their own academic ability can help children from low-income families defy the odds and achieve academic success, according to new research.
How the scars of demolished brain tumors seed relapse
A study has discovered that recurrent tumors of the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) grow out of the fibrous scars of malignant predecessors destroyed by interventions such as radiotherapy, surgery and immunotherapy.
New research illuminates the impact of surface properties on bacteria movement
Scientists are studying how bacteria move across surfaces -- a process known as twitching motility. New findings led to the surprising discovery of the key role surface properties play in either enabling or preventing this movement.
Formation of super-Earths is limited near metal-poor stars
In a new study, astronomers report novel evidence regarding the limits of planet formation, finding that after a certain point, planets larger than Earth have difficulty forming near low-metallicity stars.
Now live: Living cells can be seen with infrared light
Scientists captured clear images of biomolecules in single live cells in water for the first time using infrared (IR) transmission imaging. The IR technique enables researchers to measure the mass of biomolecules such as proteins in a cell. Using simple components, the method has the potential to speed up advances in biomanufacturing, cell therapy development and drug development.
AI can slash indoor farming energy use
Integrating artificial intelligence into today's environmental control systems could reduce energy consumption for indoor agriculture by 25% -- potentially helping to feed the world as its population rises, engineers have found.
During the Age of Sail, sailors riding the trade winds past the equator dreaded becoming stranded in the doldrums, a meteorologically distinct region in the deep tropics. For at least a century, scientists have thought that the doldrums' lack of wind was caused by converging and rising air masses. Now, new research suggests that the opposite may be true.
Diagnostic tool identifies puzzling inflammatory diseases in kids
RNA is expelled from cells via cell death or active release, and can then find its way into blood plasma. Medical researchers have now developed machine learning models that use these cell-free molecular RNA dregs to diagnose pediatric inflammatory conditions that are difficult to differentiate. The diagnostic tool can accurately determine if a patient has Kawasaki disease (KD), Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a viral infection or a bacterial infection, while simultaneously monitoring the patient's organ health.
Chemical chameleon reveals novel pathway for separating rare-earth metals
Researchers have found a chemical 'chameleon' that could improve the process used to purify rare-earth metals used in clean energy, medical and national security applications.
COVID-19 lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains, study shows
New research has found that lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in females.
Air pollution exposure in infancy may limit economic mobility in adulthood
Higher exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) during infancy was associated with lower economic earnings in adulthood, according to a new study. The association was most pronounced in the midwestern and southern U.S.
Growing key biomethane crop on peat emits 3 times more CO2 than using natural gas
There has been a rapid expansion in growing crops such as maize to produce biomethane as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, to help reach Net Zero. But some of this increased cultivation, on drained peat, is emitting three times more carbon dioxide than it is avoiding by not using natural gas, according to a new study.
New study questions the theory of a violent invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the Late Prehistory
A new study challenges the theory that warrior groups with a 'Steppe' genetic component originating from Eastern Europe violently replaced the male population of the Iberian Peninsula some 4,200 years ago and presents a different scenario, in which groups with 'Steppe' ancestry mixed with other demographically weakened locals.
Artificial muscles propel a robotic leg to walk and jump
Researchers have developed a robotic leg with artificial muscles. Inspired by living creatures, it jumps across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner.
Researchers identify factor that drives prostate cancer-causing genes
Researchers have uncovered a key reason why a typically normal protein goes awry and fuels cancer. They found the protein NSD2 alters the function of the androgen receptor, an important regulator of normal prostate development. When androgen receptor binds with NSD2, it causes rapid cell division and growth leading to prostate cancer. The study may suggest a new way to therapeutically target prostate cancer.
New molecular engineering technique allows for complex organoids
A new molecular engineering technique can precisely influence the development of organoids. Microbeads made of specifically folded DNA are used to release growth factors or other signal molecules inside the tissue structures. This gives rise to considerably more complex organoids that imitate the respective tissues much better and have a more realistic cell mix than before.
How the brain's inner chamber governs our state of consciousness
Investigators studying the nature of consciousness have successfully used a drug to identify the intricate brain geometry behind the unconscious state, offering an unprecedented look at brain structures that have traditionally been difficult to study.
Hep C: We're closer than ever to solving mystery of deadly virus
Around 300,000 people die from hepatitis C every year. A new study has mapped the protein complex that enables the virus to infect our cells, potentially paving the way for an effective vaccine.
Breakthrough insights into carbon dioxide absorption using cement-based materials
Cement-based materials provide a potential solution for mitigating climate change by trapping and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide as minerals, via a process known as carbonation. Despite extensive studies, however, the exact mechanism of this process is not yet understood. Now, researchers have conducted a comprehensive investigation of carbonation reaction using a new method, revealing the role of structural changes and water transport, paving the way for advanced carbon dioxide-absorbing building materials.
Sharks are abandoning stressed coral reefs in warming oceans
Grey reef sharks are having to abandon the coral reefs they call home in the face of warming oceans, new research finds. Scientists, using a combination of satellite remote sensing and a network of acoustic receivers on the seabed, have discovered sharks are deserting coral reefs at times of environmental stress, such as high temperatures that can lead to coral bleaching events.
Researchers develop analytical pipeline to identify unexploited genes that hold research value
A research team has developed an analysis pipeline to identify unexploited genes for a given disease against five databases that provide gene-disease associations. They used their pipeline to study oxidative stress and its related disease, Parkinson's disease, as a case study.
'Out-of-body' research could lead to new ways to promote social harmony
Out-of-body experiences, such as near-death experiences, can have a 'transformative' effect on people's ability to experience empathy and connect with others, new research explains.
Extreme weather to strengthen rapidly over next two decades
The study shows how global warming can combine with normal variations in the weather to produce decade-long periods of very rapid changes in both extreme temperatures and rainfall.
How Japanese eels escape from their predator's stomach
Many prey species have defensive tactics to escape being eaten by their would-be predators. But a new study has taken it to another level by offering the first video evidence of juvenile Japanese eels escaping after being swallowed into the stomachs of their fish predators.
Scientists learn how to drug wily class of disease-causing enzymes
Microwaving waste cooking oil into useful chemicals
Converting biomass such as waste cooking oil into useful chemicals through catalysis can help create a more sustainable chemical industry. However, conventional techniques require enormous energy and generate harmful chemicals. Moreover, such techniques reduce the lifetime of catalysts. Now, researchers reveal a zeolite catalyst that can be efficiently heated up using microwaves.