Science X Newsletter Mon, Mar 11

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for March 11, 2024:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

Testing an unsupervised deep learning model for robot imitation of human motions

An oscillating robot can propel itself via the reflection of water waves

Researchers investigate the properties of open cluster NGC 6383

Study offers insights into neural mechanisms involved in progression from aggressive motivation to action

The first Europeans reached Ukraine 1.4 million years ago, new study finds

For people who speak many languages, there's something special about their native tongue

Experts create blueprint to aid elderly people at storm flood risk

Immune cells can adapt to invading pathogens, deciding whether to fight now or prepare for the next battle

Saturday Citations: New hope for rumbly guts; 'alien' signal turns out to be terrestrial and boring. Plus: A cool video

How trustworthy is your dog's DNA test?

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: Using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells

Stratolaunch conducts first powered flight of new hypersonic vehicle off California coast

Blood-based marker developed to identify sleep deprivation

Protein 'brake' could help develop new cancer treatments

Mathematicians use AI to identify emerging COVID-19 variants

Nanotechnology news

	Combined microscopy technique observes nanoscale behavior of light-driven polymers Expanding our scientific understanding often comes down to getting as close a look as possible at what is happening. Now researchers from Japan have observed the nanoscale behavior of azo-polymer films while triggering them with laser light.
	Flexible AI optoelectronic sensors pave the way for standalone energy-efficient health monitoring devices From creating images, generating text, and enabling self-driving cars, the potential uses of artificial intelligence (AI) are vast and transformative. However, all this capability comes at a very high energy cost. For instance, estimates indicate that training OPEN AI's popular GPT-3 model consumed over 1,287 MWh, enough to supply an average U.S. household for 120 years.
	Researchers devise new ways to engineer carbon-based semiconductors for electronics of the future It might look like a roll of chicken wire, but this tiny cylinder of carbon atoms—too small to see with the naked eye—could one day be used for making electronic devices ranging from night vision goggles and motion detectors to more efficient solar cells, thanks to techniques developed by researchers at Duke University.
	Harnessing nature's shield: Enhancing sun protection with lignin nanoparticles in cosmetics Lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) have emerged as promising candidates for enhancing sun protection in cosmetics, offering superior UV-blocking capabilities compared to soluble lignin oligomers. However, the effects of the chemical structures of constituting lignin oligomers in LNPs and the particle size distribution of LNPs need further investigation. Additionally, the raw materials used in these works were mainly technical lignin, whose structures significantly changed during the extraction process, making them unsuitable for studying the structural effect of UV-blocking.

Physics news

	Cicadas' unique urination unlocks new understanding of fluid dynamics Cicadas are the soundtrack of summer, but their pee is more special than their music. Rather than sprinkling droplets, they emit jets of urine from their small frames. For years, Georgia Tech researchers have wanted to understand the cicada's unique urination.
	Quantum-mechanical 'molecules' spotted in superconducting devices Electronic states that resemble molecules and are promising for use in future quantum computers have been created in superconducting circuits by physicists at RIKEN.
	A project to build a new synchrotron in the Greater Caribbean Researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), the Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM), and the Centro Internacional de Física de Bogotá are working on a project to build a new synchrotron in the Greater Caribbean. The latest issue of Nature features an article on the history of this initiative and the steps being taken to make it a reality.
	New type of tunable filter reveals the potential for terahertz wireless communications Electromagnetic waves in the terahertz frequency range offer many advantages for communications and advanced applications in scanning and imaging, but realizing their potential poses challenges. Researchers at Tohoku University have addressed one of the key challenges by developing a new type of tunable filter for signals in the terahertz wave band. They published their work in the journal Optics Letters.
	Preventing magnet meltdowns before they can start The particle accelerators that enable high-energy physics and serve many fields of science, such as materials, medical, and fusion research, are driven by superconducting magnets that are, to put it simply, quite finicky.
	A 3D view into chaos: Researchers visualize temperature-driven turbulence in liquid metal for the first time Experiments with liquid metals could not only lead to exciting insights into geophysical and astrophysical flow phenomena, such as atmospheric disturbances at the rim of the sun or the flow in the Earth's outer core, but also foster industrial applications, for example, the casting of liquid steel.
	Giving particle detectors a boost: New device acts like a superconductivity switch In particle colliders that reveal the hidden secrets of the tiniest constituents of our universe, minute particles leave behind extremely faint electrical traces when they are generated in enormous collisions. Some detectors in these facilities use superconductivity—a phenomenon in which electricity is carried with zero resistance at low temperatures—to function.
	Statisticians and physicists team up to bring a machine learning approach to mining of nuclear data Physicists use theoretical models to study physical quantities, such as the mass of nuclei, where they do not have experimental data. However, using a single imperfect theoretical model can lead to misleading results. To improve the quality of extrapolated predictions, scientists can instead use several different models and mix their results. In this way, scientists make the most of the collective wisdom of multiple models and obtain the best prediction from the most current experimental information.
	Novel method for controlling light polarization uses liquid crystals to create holograms Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in controlling the polarization of light, a crucial property for various applications such as augmented reality, data storage, and encryption.

Earth news

	Experts create blueprint to aid elderly people at storm flood risk Emergency planners in Shanghai and New York City face increasing pressure to protect elderly citizens from the devastating impact of coastal flooding caused by storms and cyclones, a new study reveals.
	Researchers create global maps to show changes in irrigation across the planet Of all the ways that humans consume water, there is no practice that uses more water than irrigation, which accounts for more than 90% of humanity's water consumption. While irrigation is necessary to help increase global crop production, it can simultaneously lead to stress on freshwater resources if it is not done in a sustainable manner—leaving insufficient supply for nature and for other human needs.
	Study explores impacts of Arctic warming on daily weather patterns in the US Arctic sea ice is shrinking as the world continues to warm, and a new study led by researchers at Penn State may provide a better understanding of how the loss of this ice may impact daily weather in the middle latitudes, including the United States.
	Canals used to drain peatlands are underappreciated hotspots for carbon emissions, new study finds A new study led by UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography postdoctoral scholar Jennifer Bowen finds that canals used to drain soggy peatlands in Southeast Asia are likely hotspots for greenhouse gas emissions.
	Sinking US cities more exposed to rising seas: Study Sea level rise could hit major US cities like New Orleans and San Francisco harder than expected by mid-century because coastal land is sinking, researchers said Wednesday, warning current flood defenses leave people and property at risk.
	Using AI to develop early warning systems for flooding Susanne Nielsen realizes that it is probably only a matter of time before her parents' summer house at Slettestrand in North Jutland is affected by flooding. Because under the house, which is just 400 meters from the bay of Jammerbugt in the municipality of the same name, the groundwater level is now often so high that there is a risk that large amounts of rain will not be able to seep away, but rather enter the house.
	Why recycling plastic is not a quick fix Considering the climate crisis and worldwide plastic pollution, many people believe that recycling materials, in particular plastic, is the solution to our problems. Recycling can reduce resource use, prevent waste and reduce CO2 emissions. It is an important cornerstone of the circular economy. But while some materials are relatively simple to recycle, recycling plastics involves a complex conflict of objectives.
	Study raises concerns over rising river temperatures in Scotland Rivers in Scotland's west and northwest could be the most sensitive to climate change and should be monitored more closely, according to a study, published in the journal, Science of The Total Environment, by scientists at The James Hutton Institute and the University of Aberdeen.
	Scientists reveal effect of land conditions on Asian monsoon climate Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used numerical simulations to show how conditions on land impact weather during Asian summer monsoons. Focusing on the Tibetan plateau, they studied how varied land conditions combined with fixed maritime conditions illuminate the specific effects of the land on the weather. The work is published in the journal Climate Dynamics.
	Asia Pacific tops list of most impacted by weather perils Climate change will be the main driver of future economic risks, with countries in the Asia Pacific region among the most vulnerable to extreme weather events, according to new analysis.
	Satellite measurements show that global carbon emissions are still rising According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), human activities have significantly impacted the planet. As global greenhouse gas emissions (mainly carbon dioxide) have continued to increase, so too have global temperatures—with severe ecological consequences. Between 2011 and 2020, global surface temperatures rose by an estimated 1.07°C (2.01°F) above the average in 1850–1900. At this rate, temperatures could further increase by 1.5°C to 2°C (2.7°F to 3.6°F) in the coming decades, depending on whether we can achieve net zero by 2050.
	East Africa must prepare for more extreme rainfall during the short rainy season, says study East Africa has recently had an unprecedented series of failed rains. But some rainy seasons are bringing the opposite: huge amounts of rainfall.
	Europe must do more against 'catastrophic' climate risks: EU Europe could suffer "catastrophic" consequences from climate change if it fails to take urgent and decisive action to adapt to risks, a new EU analysis warned Monday.
	No recoverable oil is left in the water from sheen off Southern California coast, officials say No recoverable oil remains in the water after a sheen was reported off the Southern California coast, but the cause remains unclear, officials said Saturday.
	Five dead, three missing after French weekend storms Five people died over the weekend when violent storms swept southern France, authorities said Monday, as rescue services continued their search for three missing people, including two children.
	California can't let big polluters win by undermining climate change disclosure laws California took a big step last fall when lawmakers passed a pair of laws requiring big companies doing business in the state to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks, shining a light on their role in fueling the climate crisis.

Astronomy and Space news

	Researchers investigate the properties of open cluster NGC 6383 Using data from ESA's Gaia satellite, astronomers from Chile have inspected a young open cluster known as NGC 6383. Results of the new study, presented in a paper published March 1 on the pre-print server arXiv, yield important insights into the properties of this stellar grouping.
	Rethinking galactic origins of interstellar clouds with heavy-element mapping: Research challenges conventional theory A groundbreaking study of the origins of intermediate-velocity clouds (IVCs) challenges a 20-year-old theory and suggests a new era of deep-space research.
	Maximum mass of non-rotating neutron star precisely inferred to be 2.25 solar masses A study led by Prof. Fan Yizhong from the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has achieved significant precision in determining the upper mass limit for non-rotating neutron stars, a pivotal aspect in the study of nuclear physics and astrophysics.
	Webb peers into the tendrils of NGC 604 Two new images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) showcase the star-forming region NGC 604, located in the Triangulum galaxy (M33), 2.73 million light-years away from Earth. In these images, cavernous bubbles and stretched-out filaments of gas etch a more detailed and complete tapestry of star birth than seen in the past.
	More precise understanding of dark energy achieved using AI A UCL-led research team has used artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to infer the influence and properties of dark energy more precisely from a map of dark and visible matter in the universe covering the last 7 billion years.
	Webb and Hubble telescopes affirm the universe's expansion rate, but the puzzle persists The rate at which the universe is expanding, known as the Hubble constant, is one of the fundamental parameters for understanding the evolution and ultimate fate of the cosmos.
	Saturn's moon is a testing ground to gain a better understanding of the methane molecule Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and the only one with a dense atmosphere. At the top of this atmosphere, rich in nitrogen and methane, the sun's radiation produces a great diversity of organic molecules, some of which we also find on Earth as constituents of the basic unit of life, the cell.
	Jupiter's moon Europa produces less oxygen than we thought—it may affect our chances of finding life there Jupiter's icy moon Europa has long been thought of as one of the most habitable worlds in the Solar System. Now the Juno mission to Jupiter has directly sampled its atmosphere in detail for the first time. The results, published in Nature Astronomy, show that Europa's icy surface produces less oxygen than we thought.
	Astra Space goes private as it recovers from Space Coast launch failures The value of publicly traded Astra Space has been falling since it shelved a rocket design that only went for 2 for 7 on launches, including two highly visible failures from the Space Coast. Now the company is going private.
	Image: Barchan and linear dunes on Mars On Jan. 16, 2020, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured this image of two types of sand dunes on Mars: barchan and linear dunes.
	This hot Jupiter is doomed to crash into its star in just three million years In 2008, astronomers with the SuperWASP survey spotted WASP-12b as it transited in front of its star. At the time, it was part of a new class of exoplanets ("hot Jupiters") discovered a little more than a decade before. However, subsequent observations revealed that WASP-12b was the first hot Jupiter observed that orbits so closely to its parent star that it has become deformed. While several plausible scenarios have been suggested to explain these observations, a widely accepted theory is that the planet is being pulled apart as it slowly falls into its star.
	Crew-7 astronauts depart ISS after nearly 200 days in space After a slightly extended stay on board the International Space Station, four astronauts from four international space agencies climbed aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance and began their return trip to Earth.
	Total solar eclipse 2024: The moon's moment in the sun On April 8, 2024, much of North America will experience a solar eclipse: a cosmic alignment of sun, moon, and Earth, in that order. The moon's shadow path will make landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast, cross the United States from Texas to Maine, and exit North America via Newfoundland, Canada, continuing into the Atlantic Ocean.
	SpaceX knocks out Canaveral launch during busy week with Crew-7 return, possible Starship launch SpaceX sent up another batch of Starlink satellites on Sunday night from the Space Coast while prepping for the return of Crew-7 from the International Space Station and the potential third test flight of the Starship and Super Heavy.
	NASA launches Snap It! computer game to learn about eclipses On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible to more than 30 million people across North America. To help kids learn about solar eclipses, NASA is launching Snap It! An Eclipse Photo Adventure.

Technology news

	Testing an unsupervised deep learning model for robot imitation of human motions Robots that can closely imitate the actions and movements of humans in real-time could be incredibly useful, as they could learn to complete everyday tasks in specific ways without having to be extensively pre-programmed on these tasks. While techniques to enable imitation learning considerably improved over the past few years, their performance is often hampered by the lack of correspondence between a robot's body and that of its human user.
	An oscillating robot can propel itself via the reflection of water waves Odd things can happen when a wave meets a boundary. In the ocean, tsunami waves that are hardly noticeable in deep water can become quite large at the continental shelf and shore, as the waves slow and their mass moves upward.
	Stratolaunch conducts first powered flight of new hypersonic vehicle off California coast U.S. aerospace company Stratolaunch conducted the first powered test flight of a new unmanned craft for hypersonic research on Saturday and called it a success.
	Reconfigurable electronics: More functionality on less chip area Even the most complicated data processing on a computer can be broken down into small, simple logical steps: You can add individual bits together, you can reverse logical states, you can use combinations such as "AND" or "OR." Such operations are realized on the computer by very specific sets of transistors. These sets then form larger circuit blocks that carry out more complex data manipulations.
	TaskMatrix.AI: Making big models do small jobs with application programming interfaces A research team at Microsoft has designed an efficiency tool called TaskMatrix.AI that can be used to accomplish a wide variety of specific AI tasks. TaskMatrix.AI connects general-purpose foundation models like GPT-4, the model behind ChatGPT, with specialized models suitable for certain tasks—much like a human project manager. This research was published in Intelligent Computing.
	Robotic interface masters a soft touch The perception of softness can be taken for granted, but it plays a crucial role in many actions and interactions—from judging the ripeness of an avocado to conducting a medical exam, or holding the hand of a loved one. But understanding and reproducing softness perception is challenging because it involves so many sensory and cognitive processes.
	Physicists explore fiber optic computing using distributed feedback New research from U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers delivers a novel contribution to fiber optics computing. Titled "Fiber optic computing using distributed feedback," the paper published in Communications Physics journal brings the Navy one step closer to faster, more efficient computing technologies.
	False GPS signal surge makes life hard for pilots False GPS signals that deceive on-board plane systems and complicate the work of airline pilots are surging near conflict zones, industry employees and officials told AFP.
	In climate push, German chemical maker swaps oil for sugar At one of Europe's largest chemical complexes, German group Covestro is trialing the manufacture of a key product using sugar as a base material instead of oil, as the industry seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
	In bitcoin's shadow, another cryptocurrency, Ether, stages its own rally Bitcoin has captured the limelight in recent weeks as it surged to a new record high, yet another major cryptocurrency, Ether, has been enjoying its own meteoric rise.
	Proliferating 'news' sites spew AI-generated fake stories A sensational story about the Israeli prime minister's "psychiatrist" exploded online, but it was AI-generated, originating on one of hundreds of websites researchers warn are churning out tech-enabled fiction masquerading as news.
	Pressed for space, solar farms are getting creative Solar power is expected to dominate global electricity markets in the next few decades, and already accounts for three-quarters of renewable energy capacity, according to the International Energy Agency. This year, BloombergNEF predicts solar builds will climb another 25%, adding more than 500 gigawatts of capacity.
	April's eclipse will mean interruptions in solar power generation, which could strain electrical grids During the most recent total solar eclipse visible in the U.S., on Aug. 21, 2017, the skies darkened as the moon crossed in front of the sun. It blocked out all sunlight—except for that from a golden ring visible around the moon's shape, called the corona. Not surprisingly, solar power generation across North America plummeted for several hours, from the first moment the moon began to obscure the sun to when the sun's disk was clear again.
	Seeing green: Some older car owners show that there's more than one way of being eco-friendly The ongoing climate emergency requires us to fundamentally rethink how we get around. Transportation accounts for approximately 25% of European greenhouse-gas emissions. Of this, road transportation represents by far the largest percentage. While the COVID-19 epidemic briefly interrupted the rise in emissions, they've since resumed their upward climb.
	Detecting AI-manipulated content is a challenging arms race Nude photos of pop superstar Taylor Swift recently flooded social media X, where they were viewed and shared by millions of users. But the images weren't real—they were deepfakes created using artificial intelligence (AI). The incident fanned the debate about regulating deepfakes, and drew so much attention that the White House got involved.
	Going top shelf with AI to better track hockey data Researchers from the University of Waterloo got a valuable assist from artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help capture and analyze data from professional hockey games faster and more accurately than ever before, with big implications for the business of sports. The research paper, "Player tracking and identification in ice hockey," was published in the journal Expert Systems With Applications.
	In New York City, heat pumps that fit in apartment windows promise big emissions cuts For 27 years, the heat in Regina Fred's Queens apartment building came from a noisy steam radiator that she couldn't control and sometimes didn't come on at all, leaving her shivering. Sometimes, the radiators ran so hot that residents had to keep their windows open in the middle of winter for relief.
	ChargePoint CEO expects more electric vehicle stations as use and EV sales keep growing Sales growth of electric vehicles in the U.S. has started to slow, and polls show it's due in part to anxiety over running out of battery power and too few charging stations.
	EU states endorse scaled-back rules for app workers EU states on Monday endorsed controversial rules to cover app workers in the so-called gig economy, after weeks of wrangling over the watered-down text.
	Bitcoin zooms to record beyond $72,000 Bitcoin raced to an all-time peak above $72,000 Monday as the world's most popular cryptocurrency won further support on greater trading accessibility and dollar weakness.
	Global-local path choice model: A new method to understand the walkability of cities In many cities worldwide, the notion of walking as sustainable urban mobility is becoming increasingly popular. Improving the walkability of cities has many benefits, including improved health, reduced traffic, and consequently lower air pollution. To improve walkability, it is important to conduct a thorough analysis of what factors make cities more walkable.
	Harvesting human motion energy: The promise of wearable triboelectric nanogenerators There is a lot of mechanical energy in human activities, but human activities are low frequency and irregular. As such, traditional electromagnetic power generation mode cannot efficiently collect this energy without affecting the normal activities of the human body.
	Game lab provides accessibility toolkit for the game engine Unity The growing popularity of video games is putting an increased focus on their accessibility for people with disabilities. While large productions are increasingly taking this into account by adding accessibility features, this aspect is usually completely absent in indie productions due to a lack of resources.
	Cutting carbon emissions on the US power grid: Online model enables users to calculate the least-cost strategy To help curb climate change, the United States is working to reduce carbon emissions from all sectors of the energy economy. Much of the current effort involves electrification—switching to electric cars for transportation, electric heat pumps for home heating, and so on.
	Sam Altman returns to OpenAI board months after crisis CEO Sam Altman will return to the board of OpenAI, the company said on Friday, just months after a boardroom dustup that saw him fired and rehired by the company behind ChatGPT.
	Apple ends block on EU app store for Fortnite-maker Epic Apple reversed course on Friday and will allow Epic Games to develop a competing European app store for iPhones after a feud between the two companies tested a new law governing big tech on the continent.
	Activists protest Tesla plant expansion in Germany Several hundred people demonstrated Sunday against plans by Tesla to expand its electric car factory near Berlin, citing environmental concerns.
	US embrace of remote working empties offices, weighs on banks The popularity of remote work in the United States has emptied office buildings, a cause for worry as their value falls and owners risk losses on property loans—in turn putting pressure on smaller banks.
	UnitedHealth Group expects systems impacted by cyberattack returning by mid-March UnitedHealth Group is reporting progress on restoring systems impacted by a cyberattack last month that snarled pharmacies and blocked claims processing at hospitals and clinics nationwide.
	TikTok dragged into US election as Trump opposes ban In a major reversal, former US president Donald Trump on Monday said he was against a ban of TikTok as the fate of the popular video-sharing app was dragged into the US election campaign.
	12 hospitalized after technical problem on Boeing-made LATAM flight Twelve passengers were hospitalized Monday after a technical problem on a LATAM flight from Sydney to Auckland caused the Boeing-made plane to dip violently, the airline and first responders told AFP.
	A multi-dimensional image information fusion algorithm based on NSCT transform The intensity image is consistent with human vision, but sometimes, the target cannot be completely distinguished from the background. Polarization images can distinguish the target more effectively and highlight the contour and texture details, although it does not conform to human visual perception.
	French state hit by 'intense' cyberattack: PM's office Cyberattacks of "unprecedented intensity" have targeted several French government institutions just months before the Paris Olympics but have been contained, the prime minister's office said Monday.
	Energy management of hybrid electric propulsion system: Recent progress and a flying car perspective A paper aiming to provide guidance for research on the energy management strategies (EMSs) for flying cars driven by hybrid electric propulsion systems (HEPSs) by comprehensively summarizing the EMSs of HEPSs for vehicles and aircraft under three-dimensional transportation networks has been published in the journal Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation.

Chemistry news

	What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: Using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells Batteries are usually studied via electrical properties like voltage and current, but new research suggests that observing how heat flows in conjunction with electricity can give important insights into battery chemistry.
	A simple and robust method to add functional molecules to peptides Peptides are short strands of amino acids that are increasingly used therapeutically, as biomaterials and as chemical and biological probes. The capacity to isolate, manipulate and label peptides and larger proteins is limited, however, by the ability to reliably attach functional molecules, such as fluorescent compounds, to peptides in locations that won't affect the three-dimensional structure and function of the short amino acid strand.
	A new sensor detects harmful 'forever chemicals' in drinking water MIT chemists have designed a sensor that detects tiny quantities of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—chemicals found in food packaging, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer products.
	Greener, cheaper method to accelerate chemical reactions developed A new, greener, and cheaper method to accelerate chemical reactions has been developed by scientists at King's College London in collaboration with the University of Barcelona and ETH Zurich. Instead of using polluting and expensive metal-based catalysts, the team proved that electric fields can catalyze reactions to produce chemical compounds.
	Paganini's violin gets X-ray treatment in quest of sound secrets French experts fired X-rays at a 18th-century violin worth millions this weekend hoping to discover the secret of its magical sound, they said Monday.
	Materials research explores design rules and synthesis of quantum memory candidates In the quest to develop quantum computers and networks, there are many components that are fundamentally different than those used today. Like a modern computer, each of these components has different constraints. However, it is currently unclear which materials can be used to construct those components for the transmission and storage of quantum information.
	Unveiling inaoside A: An antioxidant derived from mushrooms Natural products have unique chemical structures and biological activities and can play a pivotal role in advancing pharmaceutical science. In a study published in Heliyon, researchers from Shinshu University have discovered inaoside A, an antioxidant derived from Laetiporus cremeiporus mushrooms. This breakthrough sheds light on the potential of mushrooms as a source of therapeutic bioactive compounds.
	Scientists design bifunctional catalyst to address environmental pollution problems A team of researchers from Bohai University in China has designed and synthesized a bifunctional catalyst that can solve the environmental pollution caused by mustard gas and phenolic compounds. They synthesized this bifunctional catalyst, a new three-dimensional polyoxovanadate-based metal-organic framework, under hydrothermal conditions.

Biology news

	How trustworthy is your dog's DNA test? Lila is a registered purebred beagle, but depending on what company does her DNA testing, she might be part rottweiler, part American foxhound, or not a beagle at all.
	Male roundworms are picky when choosing a mate, new research finds A piece of rotting fruit is likely covered in hundreds if not thousands of microscopic roundworms, including C. elegans—a popular experimental model system for studying neurogenetics. With a lifespan of only a few weeks, C. elegans must reproduce quickly and often.
	Scientists reveal new lineages of giant sea anemones in Japan and their surprising associations with anemonefish Anemonefish form mutualistic relationships with the sea anemones they live in and these associations are not random: some species such as the yellow-tail anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii) are generalists and can live in almost any sea anemone, others like the tomato clownfish (Amphiprion frenatus) are specialists, living in only one sea anemone species, the bubble-tip sea anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). Reasons for these preferences are unclear because we know very little about the genetic diversity of giant sea anemones.
	New research sets trap for potentially deadly sandfly Scientists have discovered the specific enzyme that a species of sandfly uses to produce a pheromone attractant, which could lead to the creation of targeted traps to control them and reduce the spread of the potentially fatal disease, Leishmaniasis.
	Monarch caterpillar found to switch from avoiding milkweed-toxin-rich latex to eating it as they age A trio of German entomologists has found that young monarch caterpillars switch from avoiding milkweed-toxin-rich latex to eating it as they get older. Their paper is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
	New study reveals transgenerational effects of pesticide linuron on frogs Grand-offspring of male frogs exposed to the pesticide linuron exhibited changes in their DNA that were linked to significant physiological impacts, a study from Stockholm University reveals. The research highlights the profound transgenerational consequences of environmental pollution on amphibian populations, which are already under threat of extinction. The study is published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
	Iron restriction keeps blood stem cells young, researchers find As we age, our hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells (HSCs) become less able to produce new red and white blood cells and other vital blood components—contributing to chronic inflammation and accelerating the onset of blood cancers and degenerative diseases.
	Scientists develop deep learning method to design bilin-binding proteins David Baker's group at the University of Washington, Seattle, U.S., have developed a novel deep learning method, RoseTTAFold All-Atom (RFAA), for prediction and design of complexes of proteins, small molecules, and nucleic acids. Subsequently, they developed RFdiffusionAA, which builds protein structures around small molecules.
	How cells manage their mRNA stockpile and its output In a typical cell, genes encoded in DNA are used to make messenger RNA (mRNA), which is used to make proteins, and this process of gene expression keeps the cell running. Gene expression is regulated in each cell such that specific genes are turned on (making proteins) and their output is dialed up or down, driving the identity and behavior of each cell.
	How cells in developing embryos change the way they use enhancers to regulate gene expression If you look at a nerve cell, a muscle cell, or a skin cell under the microscope, they appear strikingly different. However, every cell in our body has the same DNA and has descended from a common ancestor—the fertilized egg cell. The diversity we observe arises due to differentiation—a process during development where cells mature into their final functional forms.
	Research team develops new technique to release and study individual proteins in cells A research team led by biochemist Professor Helge Ewers from Freie Universität Berlin has developed a new technique for the light-mediated release and investigation of proteins in live cells. The technique makes use of a laser pulse to control the release of tagged protein molecules within a cell, allowing for the molecules' function to be more clearly observed. The team believes that this method has a wide variety of potential applications in future scientific research.
	Study illuminates the protective role of fluorescence in neon-colored sea anemones For the first time, a team of researchers at Stanford University and UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography has uncovered a direct genetic link between fluorescence and color in sea anemones—those soft and tentacled tide pool creatures often encountered by beachgoers.
	New biology unveiled for fundamental cellular machinery Cellular communication relies on receptor molecules on the cell surface. The periodic uptake and sorting of these receptors, critical for their degradation or recycling, are governed by an elaborate machinery prominently featuring the Commander complex.
	Cold plasma could be hot stuff for grain growers, say researchers Using plasma—the stuff of outer space—University of Alberta researchers have found an effective way to decontaminate grain tainted by mold and also boost seed germination. Their study is published in the Journal of Food Engineering.
	Muscaris grapes: Molecular secret of lychee aroma revealed A team of researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich has succeeded for the first time in identifying the odorants responsible for the characteristic lychee note of Muscaris grapes.
	'Molecular Rosetta Stone' reveals how our microbiomes 'talk' to us Researchers from Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego have uncovered thousands of previously unknown bile acids, a type of molecule used by our gut microbiome to communicate with the rest of the body.
	Researchers discover new insights hiding above a 60-year-old fire Microbes are vital to maintaining healthy, fertile soil, which, in turn, is vital to the overall health of ecosystems. But what happens to these microbes when humans cause long-term damage to the environment?
	A catalog of coral microbes and metabolites paves the way to monitoring reef health Researchers may have a new way to monitor the health of reefs around Hawaiʻi. A study co-led by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa doctoral student has revealed that each type of coral and algae from a coral reef produced a unique suite of chemical compounds. Many of these new metabolites haven't been studied before. They could provide important insight into how healthy the reef organisms are.
	'Bypass surgery for the Everglades': Scientists detail latest on restoration efforts When Steve Davis jumped out of the airboat and into the water in the middle of the Everglades, it rose to just below his waist, higher than last year when it pooled around his knees.
	Four most polluted national park sites are in California A couple years ago, as part of the Sierra Club's Outdoors for All campaign, Roberto Morales took a group of low-income Los Angeles area residents north to Sequoia National Park to help with a forest restoration project.
	Restored coral reefs can grow as fast as healthy reefs after just four years, researchers find The coral reefs of south Sulawesi are some of the most diverse, colorful and vibrant in the world. At least, they used to be, until they were decimated by dynamite fishing in the 1990s.
	The Great Barrier Reef's latest bout of bleaching is the fifth in eight summers—the corals now have almost no reprieve For the fifth time in just the past eight summers—2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and now 2024—huge swathes of the Great Barrier Reef are experiencing extreme heat stress that has triggered yet another episode of mass coral bleaching.
	How nature-based knowledge can restore local ecosystems and improve community well-being Organizations in the food and agriculture sector have been looking to nature for inspiration to improve soil health, maintain water quality and foster local food security in the places where they operate.
	Root phenotyping research: Automated total root length estimation from in situ images without segmentation Climate change stresses severely limit crop yields, with root traits playing a vital role in stress tolerance, thus highlighting the importance of root phenotyping for crop improvement. Recent advances in image-based root phenotyping, particularly through the minirhizotron (MR) technique, offer insights into root dynamics under stress. However, the manual and subjective nature of MR image analysis poses significant challenges.
	Study unveils how plants and soil biota forge ecosystems over time A study by ecologist Jan Frouz from Faculty of Science at Charles University has unveiled the intricate dynamics of plant-soil feedback across a wide range of spatiotemporal scales, from immediate effects to long-term legacies. Published in Soil Biology and Biochemistry, the research highlights the complex interplay between plants, soil, and soil biota, revealing the profound impact of their interactions on ecosystem engineering and sustainability.
	Pioneering agricultural resilience and sustainability in the face of climate change With climate change and growing global populations posing increasing threats to food security, the quest for agricultural sustainability and the resilience of crop yields becomes paramount. Current research strategies focus on genetic improvements to cultivate crop varieties better suited to these changes, alongside refining crop management practices to enhance resource efficiency.
	Giant fishes in the Mekong River at risk of extinction One of the world's most diverse rivers is under threat.
	Unveiling the genetic tapestry of tree growth: A model for Populus euphratica development A comprehensive understanding of the genetic architecture of tree growth, a complex interplay of genetics between the plant's above- and below-ground parts, remains undefined in plant studies. Research has increasingly focused on understanding how genes regulate growth, employing advanced methods such as transcriptome analysis and genome-wide association studies. Yet, these studies often narrow their focus to a few genes or traits, overlooking the holistic view of organ integrity and the full genetic network.
	Enhancing identifiability in plant growth models: A comprehensive framework for precision and reliability In the evolving landscape of plant growth modeling, there is a distinguished presence of mechanistic models aimed at capturing the intricate dynamics of plant development through parameter estimation from experimental data. However, these models face challenges in ensuring the uniqueness of parameter solutions, a problem addressed by structural and practical identifiability analyses.
	DomAda-FruitDet: Domain-adaptive anchor-free fruit detection model for auto labeling In the evolving landscape of the modern fruit industry, deep learning-based fruit detection applications have become integral, facilitating tasks such as fruit yield prediction and automated picking. Despite advancements, the labor-intensive process of training data labeling remains a bottleneck.
	Halloween toy among plastics swallowed by sea turtles A Halloween toy was among hundreds of plastic items found in the guts of dead sea turtles in the Mediterranean, a new study reveals.
	Higher bacterial counts detected in single-serving milks Cornell University scientists have detected higher bacterial counts in commercial, paperboard single-serving containers two weeks after processing than in milk packaged in larger containers from the same facilities.
	Step aside, wolves: The next Colorado wildlife reintroduction could be the elusive wolverine Colorado could return another native carnivore to its mountains if state lawmakers pass a bill allowing for the reintroduction of wolverines.
	Removing Washington salmon barriers surges to $1M a day, but results are murky The coho salmon has already conquered the Ballard Locks fish ladder, swum 17 miles through urban Seattle waterways and powered through a tunnel under nine lanes of Interstate 405.
	Massive whale slowly dies off Florida coast as helpless beachgoers watch, photos show A tragedy played out along Florida's Gulf Coast during spring break as a stranded 44-foot whale slowly died while stuck in the surf.
	Greenpeace urges creation of Galapagos high seas protected area Greenpeace on Monday urged governments to ratify a UN treaty for ocean protection to allow for the creation of a world-first marine preservation area in the high seas around Ecuador's famous Galapagos archipelago.

Medicine and Health news

	Study offers insights into neural mechanisms involved in progression from aggressive motivation to action The social behaviors of humans and animals often unfold over two distinct phases, namely a motivational and an action phase. The first of these phases entails instinctual and reward-seeking mental states, characterized by sexual or aggressive drives to perform specific actions. The second phase entails acting on these motivations and drives.
	For people who speak many languages, there's something special about their native tongue A new study of people who speak many languages has found that there is something special about how the brain processes their native language.
	Immune cells can adapt to invading pathogens, deciding whether to fight now or prepare for the next battle How does your immune system decide between fighting invading pathogens now or preparing to fight them in the future? Turns out, it can change its mind.
	Blood-based marker developed to identify sleep deprivation A blood test that can accurately detect when someone has not slept for 24 hours has been developed by experts at Monash University, in Australia, and the University of Birmingham, in the UK.
	Protein 'brake' could help develop new cancer treatments Some cancerous tumors hijack proteins that act as "brakes" on our immune system and use them to form a sort of shield against immune recognition. Immunotherapy treatments have been created that turn off these "brakes" and allow our body to attack foreign-looking cancer cells.
	Mathematicians use AI to identify emerging COVID-19 variants Scientists at The Universities of Manchester and Oxford have developed an AI framework that can identify and track new and concerning COVID-19 variants and could help with other infections in the future.
	Locating single neurons that monitor and regulate the heart and lungs The body self-regulates in a process known as homeostasis, and the brain is responsible for this as it is constantly monitoring all of the body's vital signals. If you need more oxygen, for example, then a message is sent to the brain that then tells the body to adjust your breathing and your heart rate. But the neurons involved in regulating breathing and cardiac rhythm had never been directly observed, until now, thanks to brain recording technology during brain surgery.
	Researchers uncover protein responsible for cold sensation University of Michigan researchers have identified the protein that enables mammals to sense cold, filling a long-standing knowledge gap in the field of sensory biology.
	Adding folic acid to table salt could prevent life-threatening birth defects A team of international researchers—including experts from the University of Central Florida and Emory University—has proven, for the first time in a field study, that using folic acid-fortified iodized table salt can prevent multiple severe birth defects.
	Obesity associated with poorer mental health, especially in women A trio of mental and physical health researchers with University College Cork's School of Public Health, has found evidence of poorer mental health in middle-aged to older people with obesity, independent of disease and lifestyle factors.
	New insights into the silencing of X chromosome genes passed on from fathers to daughters Daughters inherit two X chromosomes (one from the mother and one from the father), while sons inherent an X chromosome only from the mother. In new research published in Molecular Cell, investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) discovered that a large part of the X chromosome that a father passes on to his daughter is silent, even before fertilization.
	Growth cone in migrating neurons involved in promoting neuronal migration and regeneration in brain injury, study shows The structure and functions of the tip of migrating neurons remain elusive. A research group has found that the PTPσ-expressing growth cone senses the extracellular matrix and drives neuronal migration in the injured brain, leading to functional recovery.
	Online search data could be used to detect gynecological cancer cases earlier Search engine data could be used to detect gynecological cancer cases earlier, potentially months ahead of GP referrals, according to new research.
	AI research gives unprecedented insight into heart genetics and structure A study has used AI to understand the genetic underpinning of the heart's left ventricle, using three-dimensional images of the organ. It was led by scientists at the University of Manchester, with collaborators from the University of Leeds (U.K.), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (Santa Fe, Argentina), and IBM Research (Almaden, CA).
	Close research partnership with African scientists helps solve mystery of malaria-like illnesses Malaria prevalence has decreased drastically over the past two decades, but clinics in West Africa are still full of patients with fevers and symptoms similar to, but not exactly like, malaria.
	Researchers develop an ultrasensitive broadband transparent ultrasound transducer The 'ultrasound-photoacoustic dual-modal imaging system' combines molecular imaging contrast with ultrasound imaging, and it can visualize molecular and structural information inside the body in real time without any ionizing radiation. This advantage gives it the potential to enhance medical diagnosis by providing diverse physiological and histological information, ensuring greater accuracy and safety for patients.
	Exploring how the liver immune system eats up 'bad cholesterol' A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden reveals that immune cells in the liver react to high cholesterol levels and eat up excess cholesterol that can otherwise cause damage to arteries. The findings, published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, suggest that the response to the onset of atherosclerosis begins in the liver.
	Exploring the therapeutic potential of natural mushroom compounds to address psychiatric disorders A recent study suggests that mushroom extract containing psilocybin may exhibit superior efficacy when compared to chemically synthesized psilocybin. The findings are published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
	What archaeogenetics tells us about liver steatosis in ancient and modern humans Researchers from Würzburg University Hospital (UKW), Homburg University Hospital (UKS), and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (MPI-EVA), all in Germany, have analyzed the DNA from a worldwide database of more than 10,000 ancient and modern humans to search for the origin of a mutation in the fatty liver gene PNPLA3 and explain its strikingly high global presence today. The study is published in Gut.
	Study reveals shared blueprint in brain development across different functional areas In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School have investigated brain development to understand how different areas of the brain become specialized in handling information such as vision, sound, touch and planning.
	New AI-based, non-invasive diagnostic tool enables accurate brain tumor diagnosis, surpassing current methods Jointly developed by investigators of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology's (VHIO) Radiomics Group and the Bellvitge University Hospital's Neuroradiology Unit, the Diagnosis in Susceptibility Contrast Enhancing Regions for Neuroncology (DISCERN) is an open-access deep learning tool based on the training of patterns using artificial intelligence models from information of standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
	Tuberculosis bacteria also present in 90% of those with symptoms who are not diagnosed with TB, finds study Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria that causes a tuberculosis infection, is present in exhaled breath of 90% of those presenting with suspected tuberculosis. This includes those who were negative on conventional sputum testing and not diagnosed with TB. This raises the possibility that those who have tested negative may be unknowingly transmitting the infection.
	Man vaccinated for COVID 217 times reports no side effects: scientists A German man who deliberately got vaccinated for COVID-19 a whopping 217 times did not report any side effects from his many jabs, according to researchers studying possibly the "most vaccinated person in history".
	First over-the-counter birth control pill expected in stores within weeks: What patients need to know The first over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill, Opill, will be available at pharmacies, convenience stores, grocery stores and on the Opill.com website later this month or early April.
	Our brains take rhythmic snapshots of the world as we walk For decades, psychology departments around the world have studied human behavior in darkened laboratories that restrict natural movement.
	Most survivors of childhood cancer don't get the tests needed to detect serious long-term adverse effects, finds study Surviving childhood cancer does not always mean a clean bill of health, as the treatments that eradicate those cancers can put adult survivors at risk of new cancers and other serious health problems. Despite the existence of surveillance guidelines that recommend screening for adult cancers and other "late effects" of cancer therapy, childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are rarely up to date for recommended tests, according to a large study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
	Study finds worsening metabolic syndrome increases the risk of developing cancer New research indicates that individuals with persistent and worsening metabolic syndrome—which encompasses conditions such as high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, and abnormal cholesterol—face an elevated risk of developing various types of cancer. The findings are published in a paper titled "The association of metabolic syndrome scores trajectory patterns with risk of all cancer types" in Cancer.
	Financial toxicity found to affect at least one-third of Canadian patients with cancer At least one-third of Canadians diagnosed with cancer experience financial distress, called "financial toxicity," which adds to the burden of the diagnosis, write authors in a commentary published in Canadian Medical Association Journal.
	Male hormonal birth control? It may be closer than you think Matthew Treviño and Emily Fletcher are self-described DINKWADs—double income, no kids, with a dog. The Sacramento couple, who met and work at UC Davis, are as committed to each other as they are to not having children, which makes reliable birth control especially important. But except for condoms or a vasectomy, all birth control options currently available are for women. Treviño, 35, and Fletcher, 28, believe contraception should be more of a shared responsibility.
	What's behind the surge of fatty liver disease in Latinx kids? For Latinx kids, unreliable access to food at age 4 raises the odds of having fatty liver disease later in childhood by nearly four times, a new UC San Francisco-led study found.
	Primary care provider shortages heighten risk of emergency surgeries and post-surgical complications America's shortage of primary care doctors and nurse practitioners has a downstream effect in the nation's operating rooms, a new study finds.
	Blood pressure control in veterans declined during the COVID-19 pandemic A multi-institution team led by researchers at the White River Junction VA Medical Center in Vermont found that Veterans' blood pressure control worsened due to disrupted care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings were published in the journal Medical Care.
	Cut-price malaria vaccine to begin Africa rollout from May The world's biggest vaccine maker will start rolling out a cheap new malaria inoculation in Africa from May, bolstering the fight against one of the most deadly infectious diseases globally.
	Why is the brain so prone to inflammation? All living cells teem with ribonucleic acid (RNA), molecules that relay genetic messages to keep cells functioning. But these necessary molecules can also set off cellular alarms. The long twisted-together strands of RNA in viruses, for instance, are a tell-tale sign of an invader and the human immune system triggers inflammation in their presence.
	Can an apple a day truly keep the doctor away? It's not that simple A viral trend on TikTok has users sharing generational myths their parents told them. From how drinking water at night can cause nightmares to how—if swallowed—chewing gum can stay in your stomach for seven years. Health experts jumped on the trend to talk about the apple-a-day lore.
	When it comes to ketamine, Meta's posting policy is no party to decipher People keep talking about ketamine. The drug has become a favorite of celebrities, billionaires, and ordinary patients, many of whom view it as a potential miracle drug for depression and other mental health conditions.
	Sex hormones could be key to treating long COVID Among the many mysteries about long COVID, one of the most vexing has been why women seem to experience the condition more often and more severely than men. Now, scientists are starting to think hormones—and the different ways they affect women and men—could be part of the puzzle.
	How quickly could measles outbreak spread? Here's what 'worst-case scenario' looks like How quickly could measles actually spread in South Florida?
	Researchers reveal a new mechanism that regulates intestinal stem cells Adult stem cells have attracted great scientific interest because of their ability to self-renew and differentiate into other cell types. In an article published in Nature Communications, researchers reveal a new mechanism that regulates the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells.
	Study identifies successful methods to recruit South Asian women for breast cancer research South Asian American women increasingly are diagnosed with breast cancer at younger ages and with more advanced disease compared with other groups, a fact made even more alarming because they are underrepresented in studies, said Jaya Satagopan, an associate dean for faculty affairs and professor at the School of Public Health and member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
	Digitalized sexual health services wouldn't be trusted by young people, finds study Digital services, such as anonymous apps and texting services, could change how we engage with sexual health services, but young people wouldn't trust them, according to new research by Cardiff University.
	Gut microbiome: Meet Ruminococcus gnavus, the bacteria with a sweet tooth Having a sweet tooth isn't just a human characteristic. It turns out our gut microbes can have a preference for sweets, too—and one of these selfish, sugar-loving bacteria is Ruminococcus gnavus.
	Anxiety drug pregabalin is linked to a rising number of deaths. Here's what you should know There has been a significant rise in deaths linked to the commonly prescribed anxiety drug, pregabalin. While in 2018 there were 187 deaths linked to pregabalin in England and Wales, this number was more than double in 2022—with 441 deaths linked to the drug.
	Prosthetic device developed in Brazil improves results of chest malformation repair surgery In his day-to-day routine at the Heart Institute (INCOR) run by the University of São Paulo's Medical School (FM-USP) in Brazil, thoracic surgeon Miguel Tedde now and again sees patients with a rare disorder called pectus excavatum, also known as sunken chest, in which the breastbone and ribs grow inward, creating a depression in the chest wall. Even mild cases can cause mental distress due to self-image issues. Severe cases may involve compression of the heart and lungs by the breastbone.
	Dangers of smell impairment highlighted in new research More than a third of people who self-identify as having a smell disorder have had at least one gas safety scare in the last five years, according to new research published in the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, titled "Impact of olfactory disorders on personal safety and well‑being: a cross‑sectional observational study."
	Trauma screening may improve mental health service recommendations for children Each year between 200,000 and 270,000 children and youth enter foster care placements with child welfare services, and many more children receive child welfare services while remaining in their parent's care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
	Tissue remodeling as a primary mechanism for diverticula formation Colonic diverticulosis is a prevalent condition among older adults, marked by the presence of thin-walled pockets in the colon wall that can become inflamed and infected; they can then hemorrhage or rupture. A new study, published in the journal Gut now suggests that tissue remodeling is a primary mechanism for diverticula formation.
	Better contact increases stem cell donors' availability, shows study Every year, more than 20,000 people in Germany die of blood cancer. It is the most common type of cancer in children. Donations of stem cells from blood or bone marrow increase the chance of survival for people suffering from leukemia and other forms of blood cancer.
	Research highlights benchmarks for food safety standards Australia's high standards for food safety inspections set the bar high for cafes, restaurants and other shop owners to maintain hygiene standards, but new research by environmental health experts promotes the potential for more uniform and possible improvements in guidelines and training around the world.
	Q&A: Time to finally stop worrying about COVID? Is it finally time to stop worrying about COVID? The latest from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might leave that impression with some.
	Early childhood health interventions have 'big, multigeneration impacts,' research finds It was the late '90s, and Tania Barham, future associate professor of economics at the University of Colorado Boulder, was in Yemen, working as an economist for the World Bank, which had teamed up with UNICEF to improve that country's health, education and water.
	Increases in suicide rate linked to 'shocks' in the economy A study by the University of Southampton has shown a link between unexpected economic performance and a rise in the suicide rate.
	Sun plus certain foods, meds can bring on 'margarita rashes' Slicing some fresh limes for that margarita savored in the sun could be a bad combo for some people's skin, dermatologists warn.
	Poor trial results may prompt maker to pull ALS drug from market Following disappointing trial results, the maker of a controversial ALS drug may pull the medication off the market.
	Drug combo marks advance against bladder cancer A cancer drug duo more than doubled the survival of people battling the most common form of advanced bladder cancer, trial results show.
	Overall stroke rates down, but hemorrhagic stroke up in recent years Age-standardized stroke rates mostly declined from 1990 to 2019, with the exception of hemorrhagic stroke, the rates of which increased, according to a study published online March 4 in JAMA Neurology.
	Want to achieve your dreams? Try subdividing your goals Have a massive, daring goal in mind? Breaking it into smaller steps can help you achieve your dreams.
	Happiness can be learned, but you have to work at it, study finds We can learn to be happy, but only get lasting benefits if we keep practicing, a new study has revealed. "Long‑term analysis of a psychoeducational course on university students' mental well‑being," was published in Higher Education.
	Teen use of disposable e-cigarettes linked to persistent use patterns Among adolescents and young adults (AYAs), the use of disposable electronic cigarette devices is associated with increased risks for persistent e-cigarette use patterns, according to a study published online on March 11 in Pediatrics.
	Lighting the way to noninvasive blood glucose monitoring using portable devices Diabetes is a prevalent disease that, unfortunately, still has no cure. People with diabetes need to monitor their blood glucose levels (BGLs) regularly and administer insulin to keep them in check. In almost all cases, BGL measurements involve drawing blood from a fingertip through a finger prick. Since this procedure is painful, less invasive alternatives that leverage modern electronics are being actively researched worldwide.
	Paclitaxel-coated balloon effective for coronary in-stent restenosis: Study A paclitaxel-coated balloon is superior to an uncoated balloon for the composite end point of target lesion failure among patients undergoing coronary angioplasty for in-stent restenosis, according to a study published online March 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with Cardiovascular Research Technologies 2024, held from March 9 to 12 in Washington, D.C.
	Nurse-led strategy found to reduce cardiovascular risk factors for people with HIV Nurse-led management can lower cardiovascular risk factors among individuals with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy, according to a study published online March 5 in JAMA Network Open.
	Medical costs for kids' mental health jumped 31% in five years, study finds The cost to American families of caring for a child with a mental health condition rose by almost a third between 2017 and 2021, a new report finds, to an average of $4,361 per year.
	Most teens report feeling happy or peaceful when they go without smartphones, Pew survey finds Nearly three-quarters of U.S. teens say they feel happy or peaceful when they don't have their phones with them, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.
	In our cellular 'glue,' scientists find answers about heart attacks, strokes and more University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have found important answers about strokes, heart attacks, and cardiovascular diseases by probing the biological glue our bodies create to protect us from those deadly dangers.
	Improving care of hospitalized patients with HIV in Tanzania Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have shown that three months of social worker follow-up support to people hospitalized with HIV in Tanzania had health benefits at low cost. The protocol shortened the time it took participants to attend an HIV clinic and to start on antiretroviral therapy after discharge.
	New research shows sexual minority adults more willing to use digital health tools for public health Little is known about the willingness of sexual minority adults—people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other nonheterosexual orientation identities—to use digital health tools.
	Using markerless motion capture to assess injury risk in soldiers Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is using markerless motion capture to identify musculoskeletal injury risks in military service members during specialized training. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology describes how the SwRI-developed Engine for Automatic Biomechanical Evaluation (ENABLE) analysis tool can help identify individuals at risk for noncombat injuries before they occur.
	Researchers identify gene involved in neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer's disease Early stages of neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by the accumulation of proteins in discrete populations of brain cells and the degeneration of these cells. For most diseases, this selective vulnerability pattern is unexplained, yet it could yield major insight into pathological mechanisms.
	A health care device for tracking chronic diabetic wounds A KAIST research team has developed an effective wireless system that monitors the wound healing process by tracking the spatiotemporal temperature changes and heat transfer characteristics of damaged areas such as diabetic wounds.
	PFAS in blood are ubiquitous and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, finds study Since their invention in the 1950s, more than 10,000 different substances from the category of per and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFAS) have been developed, according to estimates.
	Permitless open carry laws may lead to more firearm-related suicides In states that relaxed firearm laws to allow openly carrying a loaded firearm in public without a permit, significantly more people died by firearms and suicide than in states without permitless open carry laws, according to study findings published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
	Our minds drift more as tasks drag on, researchers find The longer a person spends on a task, the more their mind starts to wander—regardless of whether the activity is difficult or easy. In fact, toward the end of the task, individuals are typically thinking about something else at least 50 percent of the time, according to a new University of Miami study.
	Wrist device that monitors activity could help provide early warning of Alzheimer's Monitoring daily activity patterns using a wrist-worn device may detect early warning signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to a recent study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
	Under newly-revised guidelines, more stroke patients qualify for life-saving thrombectomy UConn Health has elite expertise in a highly specialized cranial procedure known to be effective as an urgent intervention for certain types of stroke. Now, its neurosurgeons and interventional radiologists can offer this potentially life-saving procedure to more patients.
	New method for triggering and imaging seizures can help guide epilepsy surgery Researchers have developed a new method for triggering and imaging seizures in epilepsy patients, offering physicians the ability to collect real-time data to tailor epilepsy surgery. In contrast to previous practice, where physicians from neurology and nuclear medicine had to wait for hours to days in hopes of capturing the onset of a seizure, the new method is convenient, spares resources, and is clinically feasible. This research appears in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
	Researchers use microscopy plus deep learning to advance prostate cancer diagnosis Prostate cancer stands as a prevalent threat to men's health, ranking second in cancer-related deaths in the United States. Each year, approximately 250,000 men in the U.S. receive a prostate cancer diagnosis. While most cases have low morbidity and mortality rates, a subset of cases demands aggressive treatment.
	Wearable tech captures real-time hemodynamics on the go Researchers have developed a photoacoustic imaging watch for high-resolution imaging of blood vessels in the skin. The wearable device could offer a non-invasive way to monitor hemodynamic indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation that can indicate how well a person's heart is working.
	AI-generated food images found to look tastier than real photos of food With the Global Nutrition and Hydration Week 2024 starting today, researchers have announced an intriguing discovery—consumers generally prefer AI-generated images of food over real food images, especially when they are unaware of their true nature. The new findings have been published in Food Quality and Preference.
	'Study drugs' shown to set the stage for other drug use and mental health decline Taking "study drugs" like Adderall without a diagnosis is not only dangerous in itself but can lead to other drug use and a decline in mental health, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
	Emergency room culture may deter medical students from selecting specialty In a new UCLA Health study, 25 medical students pursuing emergency medicine were interviewed about their experiences working in an emergency room during clinical rotations.
	Researchers explore the connection between migraine headache and movement A study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) offers new insights into migraine pain mechanisms, particularly the emergence of worsening migraine headaches with movement. The findings offer a potential mechanism that may explain this clinical phenomenon.
	Pain in the pursuit of beauty: One in eight suffer chronic pain after cosmetic surgery, study finds Ten percent of respondents to a recent survey of Norwegian adults had undergone cosmetic surgery, with one in eight of these experiencing chronic post-operative pain, according to results published in the Scandinavian Journal of Pain. The study is the first to examine the prevalence of cosmetic surgery among Norwegian adults since 2008. It is also the first to examine post-operative pain in adults undergoing various cosmetic surgery procedures.
	Heart disease doesn't have to keep you from donating blood As blood centers and hospitals face critically low levels of blood supplies, many people with heart disease may wonder if they can help by donating.
	US FDA approves Wegovy to cut risk of heart problems The US Food and Drug Administration has given the green light for a popular anti-obesity drug to be used to prevent serious heart conditions for the first time, in a move likely to expand insurance coverage.
	France's Macron announces bill for assisted dying French President Emmanuel Macron will present a bill on assisted dying to go before parliament in May, he said in an interview published by French media on Sunday.
	Fact check: Checking health care claims in Biden's State of the Union address President Joe Biden touted his administration's accomplishments in health care in a wide-ranging State of the Union address on Thursday evening that touched on subjects such as immigration, the economy, crime, job growth, infrastructure, and the Israel-Hamas war.
	Penn medical students learn how to respond to bear attacks, avalanches, and dirty bombs The nine victims were scattered across an area half the size of a football field, their bodies hurled by the force from an explosive device.
	Colorado lawmakers target another $5 million for Denver Health amid fears of hospital's 'death spiral' A bipartisan group of Colorado lawmakers is again moving to direct a special $5 million infusion to Denver Health amid rising concerns about the hospital's financial security and fears of a potential descent into a "death spiral."
	California pushes to expand the universe of abortion care providers California's efforts to expand access to abortion care are enabling more types of medical practitioners to perform certain abortion procedures—potentially a boon for patients in rural areas especially, but a source of concern for doctors' groups that have long fought efforts to expand the role of non-physicians.
	International conference champions health benefits of intermittent fasting and Ramadan International experts have lent intermittent fasting and Ramadan fasting their support, saying going without food even for short periods can help alleviate the adverse impact of a host of health problems.
	Struggling with low vision? Learn how to reduce your risk for eye disease "Low vision" is a term that commonly means partial sight, or sight that isn't fully correctable with glasses, contact lenses, surgery or medications. Low vision can affect people of all ages, but the risk increases as you get older.
	European countries that allow assisted dying France could become the next European country to legalize assisted dying for the terminally ill under a proposal set out by President Emmanuel Macron.
	Why do some vaccines work better than others? If someone is vaccinated against the measles virus, they likely won't get measles.
	Dietitian breaks down the science, sifts through the myths, and offers a different way to think about food With so many types of diets being promoted online and on social media, a leading dietitian says flexibility is more sustainable than a rigid diet plan.

Other Sciences news

	The first Europeans reached Ukraine 1.4 million years ago, new study finds During warm periods in Earth's history, known as interglacials, glaciers the size of continents pulled back to reveal new landscapes. These were new worlds for early humans to explore and exploit, and 1.4 million years ago this was Europe: a Terra nullius unoccupied by humans.
	Saturday Citations: New hope for rumbly guts; 'alien' signal turns out to be terrestrial and boring. Plus: A cool video I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Rodents eating herbal remedies. I watched a truck mistaken for an alien message. All those moments will be lost in time, like the Upper West Side under land subsidence.
	'Missing' houses offer a new perspective on Britain's Roman period A rough site plan for the Roman-era village of Silchester in south-central England, now a ruin, has existed since antiquarians excavated it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though extensive, these efforts used techniques that are now outdated and, modern researchers note, represent only the most well-preserved structures.
	Best of Last Week—exception to heat law, adding AI-generated bass to music, sea ice to slow down It was a good week for physics research as a team led by a group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reported an exception to a 200-year-old scientific law governing heat transfer—they found an example showing that Fourier's Law does not always hold true at the macro scale. And a team of engineers and physicists at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center conducted tests that showed high-temperature superconducting magnets are ready for fusion. A combined team from Lanzhou University and Hubei University, proposed a new scheme for a quantum battery using waveguides that allows for overcoming environment-induced decoherence and charging distance limitations and based on a rectangular hollow metal waveguide.
	Researchers explains how streaks motivate us Friends out for a drink have hatched many a bright idea, but these insights (or what feel like insights at the time) don't usually end up published in academic journals. For researchers Jackie Silverman and Alixandra Barasch, though, a trip to a brewery sparked an idea that has blossomed into multiple published papers.
	A trip to the coast, a dip in the pool, and a snow-chilled drink: How ancient Romans kept cool in summer The dog days of summer are upon us. Or so the ancient Romans named the dies caniculares that followed the rise of the "dog star" Sirius which the ancients believed to signal the oncoming sweltering heat and drought of summer.
	Networking: An opportunity or an obstacle for women? Networking can help to build and improve informal working relationships. When done right, it can be a mutually beneficial exchange among individuals or groups, often leading to new opportunities or even promotions, making it a fundamental ingredient of professional success.
	The world is not moving fast enough on climate change—social sciences can help explain why In late 2023 the United States government released its Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA). The NCA is a semi-regular summation of the impacts of climate change upon the U.S. and the fifth assessment was notable for being the first to include a chapter on social systems and justice.
	Educators can foster interpartisan friendships on college campuses, suggests study As American society continues to divide along political lines, higher education and educators have unique potential to help foster interpartisan friendships, according to a new study from North Carolina State University.
	Child care costs, availability keeping New York parents at home, report finds Two out of five New Yorkers with children who participated in a recent poll report that a member of their household opts not to work, mostly because child care is too expensive, while child care workers earn among the lowest wages in the state, according to a report released March 8 by the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab.
	Research finds link between reducing stigma of poverty in schools and improved math, reading skills Researchers from Newcastle University have identified a link between reducing the stigma of poverty in schools and the reading and math attainment of pupils.
	Nigeria's ancient Ilorin city: Archaeologist uncovers more than 1,000 years of history Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, is a Nigerian city with a long and rich history. However, much of its distant past is not well known. Archaeology is now uncovering more of this history and the relationships of Ilorin to other ancient parts of the Yoruba world.
	Study: No, an anti-racist program in schools doesn't stress out kids A new study of how high school students respond to a program designed to increase the frequency and quality of conversations about race in school finds that the anti-racist intervention did not cause stress or feelings of alienation among study participants. The finding rebuts concerns that anti-racist programs are harmful to children and teens.
	Political rage on social media is making us cynical: Study Political anger and cynicism are rising in the United States and in many democracies worldwide, and both are associated with exposure to political attacks on social media, a new University of Michigan study shows.
	Gender equity: 'It's where you live that counts,' says Australian study Western Sydney University has released new research highlighting a significant spatial gap in the income levels between women in Western Sydney and the rest of Sydney.
	Prepayment technology is socially and financially isolating UK asylum seekers: Study A research team from the University of Oxford and the University of Glasgow has found that prepayment cards provided to U.K. asylum seekers by the Home Office are collecting their data and controlling their behaviors in ways that have highly detrimental impacts on their well-being.
	Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks, researchers say Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world and governments are too slow in taking action to reduce these climate risks. According to co-authors Robbert Biesbroek and Simona Pedde of Wageningen University & Research, many of these risks, which threaten our food security and financial stability, among other things, have already reached critical levels and could become catastrophic without a change of mindset towards urgent and decisive action.
	Q&A: How parents can set children up for reading success One of life's greatest pastimes may be settling in with a terrific book. In honor of March's National Reading Month, Laurie Gauger, Ph.D., an assistant clinical professor of speech, language, and hearing sciences at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions and director of the UF Reading Program, shares tips for parents on building children's reading and language skills, and signs that indicate a child may have dyslexia or another reading disability. With the right support and interventions, young children can become skilled and confident readers.

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