A new study by the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) uses sea grapes, an algae species from the Indo-Pacific, to show how the quality of algae products can be further improved in terms of nutrition. The research was published in the journal Algal Research. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to increase to around 10 billion people. Food production will have to keep pace with this growth. The oceans, with their great, often still untapped potential as…
Atlas of pancreas tumors reveals important new findings in treatment resistance, possible new therapies. Pancreatic cancer has few treatment options and limited survival, with only 9% of patients still living five years after diagnosis. But a detailed analysis of pancreatic cancer by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has revealed details of two key transition points in the development of these tumors — the shift from normal cells to precancerous cells, and the change from precancerous…
The number of tree species growing in regions close to the equator is significantly higher than in regions further north and south of the earth. An international study published in „Nature Ecology and Evolution“ investigates the causes of this with a precision never before achieved. It emphasizes that the diversity of tree species in the tropics does not depend solely on bioclimatic factors. The study is based on a cooperation of 222 universities and research institutions. On the part of…
… and explain the recent surge in COVID-19 infections. A new study is one of the first to perform a robust biophysical analysis on the delta variant. Since June, the number of COVID-19 infections started rising again, as the most transmissible omicron variant started picking up delta variant mutations leading to new subvariants BA.4/BA.5 and Deltacron variants. Out of all the five known variants of concern, which have been shown to evade therapeutic antibodies and vaccines developed against unmutated, original…
Networks adapt over time and in this way form a kind of memory. This is the key finding of a new study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen and the Technical University of Munich. They show that the structure of blood vascular network is dynamic and can adapt to external factors. In particular, the scientists found that rarely used connections are weakening more and more until they disappear eventually. The vascular system within…
Understanding platinum degradation could reduce waste and lower cost of a promising green technology, hydrogen fuel cells. The Science Fuel cells generate electricity from hydrogen, a “clean” fuel that produces only water when burned. Platinum is a key catalyst in this process. However, platinum degrades unevenly in fuel cells, resulting in still-usable platinum being discarded when “worn out” fuel cells are replaced. To improve fuel cell durability and reduce waste, this research studied the causes of uneven platinum degradation. These causes include…
As the earth’s climate continues to warm, researchers predict wild animals will be forced to relocate their habitats – likely to regions with large human populations – dramatically increasing the risk of a viral jump to humans that could lead to the next pandemic. This link between climate change and viral transmission is described by an international research team led by scientists at Georgetown University and is published April 28 in Nature (“Climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risk” DOI…
Advance has implications for drug development and biological research. For nearly 40 years, drugmakers have used genetically engineered cells as tiny drug factories. Such cells can be programmed to secrete compounds that yield drugs used to treat cancer and autoimmune conditions such as arthritis. Efforts to develop and manufacture new biologic treatments may gain from a new technology for quickly sorting single, live cells in a standard laboratory setup. With microscopic, bowl-shaped hydrogel containers called “nanovials,” a UCLA-led research team…
Just like flash floods, flash droughts come on fast — drying out soil in a matter of days to weeks. These events can wipe out crops and cause huge economic losses. And according to scientists, the speed at which they dry out the landscape has increased. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Texas Tech University found that although the number of flash droughts has remained stable during the past two decades, more…
Researchers have observed extremely high rates of melting at the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet, caused by huge quantities of meltwater falling from the surface to the base. As the meltwater falls, energy is converted into heat in a process like the hydroelectric power generated by large dams. An international team of scientists, led by the University of Cambridge, found that the effect of meltwater descending from the surface of the ice sheet to the bed – a kilometre…
What happens if a disruptive technology literally disrupts daily life? One obstacle to realizing the dream of flying cars is noise — imagine 1,000 leaf blowers intruding over your backyard barbecue. It’s not just flying cars but drones as well. Complaints about the high-pitched keening of propellers could lead to restrictions or regulations that could hamper the growth of a new commercial drone industry. University of Cincinnati aerospace engineering students are studying solutions to dampen sound in assistant professor Daniel…
New findings also point to coastal construction as potential way of further spreading coral disease. A new study found that seafloor sediments have the potential to transmit a deadly pathogen to local corals and hypothesizes that sediments have played a role in the persistence of a devastating coral disease outbreak throughout Florida and the Caribbean. These new findings from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led research team could help mitigate the spread of the…
A study published in Indoor Air simulated the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on a flight from London to Hanoi and on another flight from Singapore to Hangzhou. When simulating the dispersion of droplets of different sizes generated by coughing, talking, and breathing activities in an airline cabin by an infected person, researchers found that SARS-CoV-2 virus contained in such droplets traveled with the cabin air distribution and was inhaled by other passengers. The scientists counted the…
Young research team publishes new method for accurate prediction of epidemic dynamics. Country comparisons included. The COVID-19 pandemic still poses major challenges in crisis management to governments and health systems. Epidemiologic models play a critical role in this effort, supporting policymakers by predicting future infection progression and hospitalization rates. A key challenge here is to determine non-measurable epidemiological states such as susceptibility to infection in real time. Young researchers at TU Wien have now published a new method that can…
Scientists from the University of Münster have developed a method to measure the full extent of eye movements during blinks for the first time. The new method uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), to take many fast measurements of an entire cross-section of the eye, unlike most common eye tracking that measures only the front of the eyeball. Scientists from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (WWU) Münster have developed a method to measure the full extent of eye movements during blinks for the first…
During long portions of the past 2.4 billion years, the Earth may have been more inhospitable to life than scientists previously thought, according to new computer simulations. Using a state-of-the-art climate model, researchers now believe the level of ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching the Earth’s surface could have been underestimated, with UV levels being up to ten times higher. UV radiation is emitted by the sun and can damage and destroy biologically important molecules such as proteins. The last 2.4 billion years represents an important chapter in the…
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