Latest News

Even very light smokers run serious heart attack risk

Very light smokers significantly increase their risk of a heart attack, shows research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Furthermore, women are much more susceptible than men to the detrimental effects of tobacco, even if they don’t inhale.

The findings are based on a population sample of over 12,000 men and women taking part in the Copenhagen City Heart Study, which began in 1976.

The participants, all aged 20 or older at the start of the study, were monitored up

Thigh length of babies in the womb linked to later childhood health

The thigh length of babies in the womb is as strong an indicator of subsequent childhood – and potentially adult – blood pressure as birthweight, suggests a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Researchers scanned 707 developing fetuses to measure the dimensions of their abdomen and head circumferences and the length of the thigh bones (femurs). The growing babies were scanned five times each between 18 and 38 weeks of pregnancy. Blood pressure was then measured in 300

Starquakes reveal stellar secrets

Looking into the interior of the Earth or the Sun is a bit similar to examining a baby in its mother`s womb using an ultrasound scan. Light cannot penetrate the area, so we make pictures in these cases using sound waves, which human ears cannot hear. With SOHO, ESA has probed deeply into the Sun using the sound-waves principle, and with great success. The future missions, Solar Orbiter and Eddington, will look inside our Sun and other stars, respectively, in a similar way.

Here on Earth, whe

The trouble with the weather

Last year was characterised by extremes of weather all over the globe, making it the second-hottest year on record, beaten only by 1988. This year is set to follow that pattern, beginning with a major heat wave: during the first quarter of the year, temperatures were 0.71 degrees Celsius (1.3 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the mean for temperatures between 1961 and 1990. What`s behind the apparent increase in weather extremes? To answer this increasingly urgent question, we need precise and detailed

Multimode Magnetic Field and Position Sensor from Oxford University

Researchers at Oxford University’s Physics Department have developed an extraordinarily versatile proximity sensor for the detection of objects, composed of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, ceramics, glasses and plastics. This new device could be used as a position or speed sensor in automotive suspension, gearbox and engine management systems, amongst many other uses.

Researchers had identified the need for a relatively simple, but highly versatile proximity sensor to detect the motion of a

Research Shows That Male Smokers Who Want a Long Life Should Get Married

New research by economists at the University of Warwick reveals that men who smoke but who want a long life should marry without delay as marriage reduces the risk of death by even more than the act of smoking increases the risk of dying.

University of Warwick researchers Professor Andrew Oswald and Dr Jonathan Gardner examined the data from the British Household Panel survey – a nationally representative sample of over 5,000 British households containing over 10,000 adults who had been stu

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Physics and Astronomy

Schematic depiction of production and incorporation of cosmogenic10Be into ferromanganese crusts. Image Credit: HZDR / blrck.de

Deep Sea Anomaly: Unveiling New Marine Innovations

Extraordinary accumulation of rare atoms could improve geological dating methods  Beryllium-10, a rare radioactive isotope produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere, provides valuable insights into the Earth’s geological history….

The BioSCape team is poctured with NASA and South African aircraft. Image Credit: Jeremey Shelton/Fishwater Films

Measuring Life on Earth from Space: A Global Research Project

Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and…

ALMA observations of the protoplanetary disk around HD 142527. The white bars show the directions of the magnetic field revealed by the orientation of the dust grains. The strength of the magnetic field is 0.3 milligauss. For comparison, a typical refrigerator magnet has a magnetic field of about 1,000,000 milligauss. Image Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), S. Ohashi et al.

“Unveiling Stars’ Magnetic Fingerprints Through Dust Analysis”

For the first time astronomers have succeeded in observing the magnetic field around a young star where planets are thought to be forming. The team was able to use dust…

Life Sciences and Chemistry

Thomas Karikari, Ph.D. Image Credit: UPMC

New Biomarker Test Detects Alzheimer’s Earlier, Pitt Study Finds

Years before tau tangles show up in brain scans of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a biomarker test developed at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine can detect small amounts…

Gas transport through a metal cluster-containing crystalline solid.Hydrogen and carbon monoxide travel at different speeds due to their molecular size relative to the size of nanoscale tunnels in the structure. While hydrogen binds reversibly, carbon monoxide binds irreversibly and distorts the original crown-motif of the platinum and gold atoms into a chalice-motif. Image Credit: Tokyo Metropolitan University

Gas Adsorption Insights on Platinum and Gold Nanotunnels

Understanding gas diffusion in nanoscale voids key to new gas technologies  Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have elucidated how hydrogen and carbon monoxide is adsorbed into solids…

UC Davis Researchers Complete Total Synthesis of Ibogaine

Discovery creates opportunities to study therapeutic properties of ibogaine and related compounds  Ibogaine — a psychoactive plant derivative — has attracted attention for its anti-addictive and anti-depressant properties. But ibogaine…

Materials Sciences

Spintronics memory innovation: A new perpendicular magnetized film

Long gone are the days where all our data could fit on a two-megabyte floppy disk. In today’s information-based society, the increasing volume of information being handled demands that we…

Materials with a ‘twist’ show unexpected electronic behaviour

In the search for new materials that can enable more efficient electronics, scientists are exploring so-called 2-D materials. These are sheets of just one atom thick, that may have all…

Layer by Layer

How simulations help manufacturing of modern displays. Modern materials must be recyclable and sustainable. Consumer electronics is no exception, with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) taking over modern televisions and portable…

Information Technology

TU Graz AI System Boosts E-Mobility Powertrain Development

The new method optimises the technical design with regard to classic objectives such as costs, efficiency and package space requirements and also takes greenhouse gas emissions along the entire supply…

Parsimonious models may be the norm in science, but complex models can be more flexible and accurate.

Exploring Ockham’s Razor: Simplifying Complex Innovations

Medieval friar William of Ockham posited a famous idea: always pick the simplest explanation. Often referred to as the parsimony principle, “Ockham’s razor” has shaped scientific decisions for centuries. But…

AI Tool Analyzes Speech Patterns to Identify Depression

Evaluation of an AI-based voice biomarker tool to detect signals consistent with moderate to severe depression Background and Goal: Depression impacts an  estimated 18 million Americans each year,  yet depression…