ScienceDaily: All - September 20, 2024
Today's top research news
Volcanoes may help reveal interior heat on Jupiter moon
By staring into the hellish landscape of Jupiter's moon Io -- the most volcanically active location in the solar system -- astronomers have been able to study a fundamental process in planetary formation and evolution: tidal heating.
Image: TarikVision/Shutterstock.com
Breakthrough study predicts catastrophic river shifts that threaten millions worldwide
Researchers have uncovered key insights into the dangerous phenomenon of 'river avulsion,' offering a way to predict when and where rivers may suddenly and dramatically change course.
A new study offers the most detailed glimpse yet into how Earth's surface temperature has changed over the past 485 million years. The data show that Earth has been and can be warmer than today -- but humans and animals cannot adapt fast enough to keep up with human-caused climate change.
Study reveals gaps in access to long-term contraceptive supplies
Researchers find that despite the enactment of 12-month contraceptive supply policies in 19 U.S. states, most patients do not receive a long-term prescription.
Pushing kidney-stone fragments reduces stones' recurrence
Researchers found that patients who underwent the stone-moving ultrasound procedure had a 70% lower risk of such a recurrence.
Innovating alloy production: A single step from ores to sustainable metals
Scientists design a process that merges metal extraction, alloying and processing into one single, eco-friendly step.
New cancer cachexia treatment boosts weight gain and patient activity
A nationwide clinical trial shows positive results for cancer patients with this common wasting syndrome.
Nonfatal opioid overdoses in youth spiked during pandemic
Drug overdose mortality has risen faster among adolescents than the general population in recent years, largely due to fentanyl, a potent opioid pain medication. A new study sheds light on trends in nonfatal opioid overdoses in youth -- an area that was not as well characterized, but key to formulating prevention strategies to save lives.
Revolutionary visible-light-antenna ligand enhances samarium-catalyzed reactions
Divalent samarium compounds are important reagents for reductive transformations in organic chemistry. However, currently, a high amount of this reagent is required in most reactions, and it also necessitates the use of harmful chemicals. To address this issue, researchers have developed a visible-light-antenna ligand that coordinates with stable trivalent samarium compounds, which, upon exposure to visible light, are reduced to divalent samarium, enabling milder conditions and smaller amounts of samarium for reactions.
An unexpected involvement of sodium transport in mitochondrial energy generation
A new study offers a fresh perspective on the role of sodium in mitochondrial physiology and points the way to future research into the relationship between complex I disorders and a host of neuronal diseases.
Origami paper sensors could help early detection of infectious diseases in new simple, low-cost test
Researchers have developed an innovative new method for identifying biomarkers in wastewater using origami-paper sensors, enabling the tracking of infectious diseases using the camera in a mobile phone. The new test device is low-cost and fast and could dramatically change how public health measures are directed in any future pandemics.
Breakthrough in hydrogen research
Hydrogen is in great demand due to its promising role as a sustainable resource in the energy transition. Researchers have made an important breakthrough in the efficient and cost-effective provision of isotopes. These are the three forms in which hydrogen occurs in nature -- as protium, deuterium or tritium. The team has taken a big step towards realizing its dream of separating hydrogen isotopes at room temperature at low cost.
A new ventilator-on-a-chip model to study lung damage
Scientists are now able to directly compare the different kinds of injury that mechanical ventilation causes to cells in the lungs. In a new study, using a ventilator-on-a-chip model, researchers found that shear stress from the collapse and reopening of the air sacs is the most injurious type of damage.
Lake ice quality degrading as planet warms -- skaters, hockey players, ice truckers on thin ice
Ice may look safe for a game of pick-up hockey on the lake, but as a new study has found, looks can be deceiving. Warming winters are not only affecting ice thickness and timing -- when a lake freezes and thaws -- but also quality, making it potentially unstable and unsafe. The problem, say researchers, is that the unpredictable and warmer winter weather is creating thinner layers of black ice and sometimes a corresponding thicker layer of white ice, the unstable kind. The two combined can make for treacherous conditions.
Linnaeus collected 643 different plant species that were then fed to horses, cows, pigs, sheep and goats. The results were carefully compiled but not analyzed until now, 275 years later.
Genetic tracing at the Huanan Seafood market further supports COVID animal origins
A new study provides a list of the wildlife species present at the market from which SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, most likely arose in late 2019. The study is based on a new analysis of metatranscriptomic data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data come from more than 800 samples collected in and around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale market beginning on January 1, 2020, and from viral genomes reported from early COVID-19 patients.
Adhesive cortical device enables artifact-free neuromodulation for closed-loop epilepsy treatment
Researchers have developed a groundbreaking soft cortical device that could revolutionize the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.
The mystery of human wrinkles: What do the cells say?
A research team has successfully recreated the structure of wrinkles in biological tissue in vitro, uncovering the mechanisms behind their formation.
Coronavirus spike proteins can be selectively detected in 5 minutes
Can an immunoassay be created and selectively detect a virus in under 5 minutes? In a new study, researchers report that it can be done using a low-power laser like a laser pointer with a little liquid sample like a sesame seed.
Adhesive comes unglued on command
Modern integrated microelectronic devices are often poorly repairable and difficult to recycle. Debondable adhesives play a key role in the transition to a circular economy with sustainable resources, less waste, and intelligent repair/recycling strategies. A research team has now introduced a method for making adhesives that can be deactivated 'on command'.
Organic matter on Mars was formed from atmospheric formaldehyde
Researchers have developed a Martian atmospheric evolution model to propose a new theory about Mars's past.
Discovering a new fashion of regulation in red blood cell production
A research team has discovered a mechanism in which blood stem cells respond to acute, severe anemia, through lipoprotein metabolism modification. It has been known how immediate erythroid precursors respond under acute anemic conditions, however, whether and how more immature stem cells react remained unknown. The outcome of this research is expected to contribute to the development of novel therapies for treating severe anemia patients who do not respond to existing treatments.
Low oxygen levels in tumors could enhance some of the body's immune responses against cancer
Researchers have found evidence that low oxygen levels in tumors could actually enhance some of the body's immune responses against cancer, in contrast with the general paradigm that hypoxia exclusively helps cancer progression. Their findings identified a macrophage subpopulation displaying more potent immune responses under low oxygen concentrations in tumors.
Scientists discover novel approach to rejuvenate aged egg cells
Researchers have developed an innovative technique to rejuvenate aged oocytes, or immature egg cells, to boost their quality, paving the way for improved outcomes for in-vitro fertilization. This groundbreaking approach involves constructing hybrid ovarian follicles by transplanting aged oocytes into a young follicular environment to partially restore their reproductive potential.
A new forecasting model based on gene activity predicts when Japan's cherry buds awake from dormancy
Researchers have developed a model that uses gene activity to predict when Somei Yoshino cherry tree buds awake from dormancy. Their findings could not only help improve the accuracy of flowering forecasts, but also highlight the potential of climate change to threaten flowering in Japan's southern region.
New organic thermoelectric device that can harvest energy at room temperature
Thermoelectric devices are devices that can convert heat into electrical energy. Researchers have now developed a thermoelectric device composed of organic materials that can generate electricity from ambient temperature alone. The device is made from copper phthalocyanine and copper hexadecafluoro phthalocyanine as charge transfer materials and was combined with fullerenes and BCP as electron transport layers.
New research reenvisions Earth's mantle as a relatively uniform reservoir
Lavas from hotspots - -whether erupting in Hawaii, Samoa or Iceland -- likely originate from a worldwide, uniform reservoir in Earth's mantle, according to an evaluation of volcanic hotspots.
Low-carbon ammonia offers green alternative for agriculture and hydrogen transport
A new way of making ammonia by harnessing the unique power of liquid metal could lead to significant cuts in carbon emissions caused by production of the widely-used chemical. Ammonia is used in fertilizer to grow much of our food, but also plays a role in clean energy as a carrier to safely transport hydrogen.
Insights into South African population history from 10,000-year-old human DNA
Ancient DNA has provided spectacular insights into human history, particularly in Europe and Asia, where researchers have reconstructed the genomes of thousands of people. However, fewer than two dozen ancient genomes have been recovered from southern Africa -- specifically Botswana, South Africa and Zambia -- which has some of the world's earliest evidence of modern humans, with the oldest genomes dating back around 2,000 years.
Stopping plants from passing viruses to their progeny
Scientists have learned how plants keep viruses from being passed to their offspring, a finding that could ensure healthier crops. The discovery could also help reduce the transmission of diseases from mothers to human children.
Arctic warming may fuel ice formation in clouds
Rising temperatures are thought to reduce the number of ice crystals in clouds, leading to the formation of liquid-dominated clouds. However, a new study has found that Arctic warming is causing an increase in the emission of natural aerosols from snow/ice-free barren and vegetated areas in the Arctic. These aerosols can encourage ice crystal formation in mixed-phase clouds, potentially affecting cloud composition and the Arctic climate.
Activity in brain system that controls eye movements highlights importance of spatial thinking
The superior colliculus is a midbrain region that is traditionally thought to help animals orient themselves toward important locations in space, like directing their eyes and head toward a bright flash of light. New research shows that this part of the brain also plays a role in complex cognitive tasks like visual categorization and decision making.
Breastfeeding is crucial to shaping infant's microbes and promoting lung health
Human breast milk regulates a baby's mix of microbes, or microbiome, during the infant's first year of life. This in turn lowers the child's risk of developing asthma, a new study shows.