Eurekalert

Most of Asia, Europe, North America and South America have never experienced heatwave conditions that would prohibit electric fans from being a safe, effective and clean alternative to air conditioning, according to a new study.

Hokkaido University researchers have developed a simple method that converts existing generic polymers into luminescent polymers using mechanical force.

The build-up of calcium in a major blood vessel is linked with a 39% higher risk of serious falls in older women, new Edith Cowan University research has found. This calcium build-up, known as abdominal aortic calcification, is a hardening of the abdomen's largest artery, which can be identified early on a commonly used bone density machine scan.

A large-scale ethnically diverse genetic study involving USC researchers has expanded what is known about potential causes of type 2 diabetes. The genome-wide meta-analysis has identified more regions of the genome that are linked to blood glucose and insulin levels, features that contribute to the risk of type 2 diabetes. The findings demonstrate that a significant minority of genes linked to glucose and insulin levels are present in only one or two ethnic groups.

Using an ultrafast transmission electron microscope, researchers from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology have, for the first time, recorded the propagation of combined sound and light waves in atomically thin materials. The experiments were performed in the Robert and Ruth Magid Electron Beam Quantum Dynamics Laboratory headed by Professor Ido Kaminer, of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Solid State Institute.

Research from Pilar Gonalons-Pons of the University of Pennsylvania shows that, in cultures that value men as breadwinners, their unemployment can affect the long-term success of a romantic relationship. "Cultural ideas create support for those who conform to these norms," she says. "The flip side is, they create pressure that can negatively affect people who do not."

Leaders who encourage their employees to learn on the job and speak up with ideas and suggestions for change have teams that are more effective and resilient in the face of unexpected situations, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Windsor.

Research forthcoming in the Journal of Applied Psychology looks at how experiencing rudeness amplifies anchoring bias including in doctors' decision-making.

An estimated 8 million tons of plastic trash enters the ocean each year, and most of it is battered by sun and waves into microplastics--tiny flecks that can ride currents hundreds or thousands of miles from their point of entry

New research from the University of Notre Dame shows that "disagreeable" men in opposite-sex marriages are less helpful with domestic work, allowing them to devote greater resources to their jobs, which results in higher pay.

Researchers identify molecular mechanism for the anti-inflammatory activity of diabetes drug metformin and, in mouse studies, say it prevents lung inflammation in animals infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that children with average risk medulloblastoma can receive radiation to a smaller volume of the brain at the end of a six-week course of treatment and still maintain the same disease control as those receiving radiation to a larger area. But the dose of preventive radiation treatments given to the whole brain and spine over the six-week regimen cannot be reduced without reducing survival.

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study has identified mechanisms by which COVID-19 can lead to Alzheimer's disease-like dementia. The findings, published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, indicate an overlap between COVID-19 and brain changes common in Alzheimer's, and may help inform risk management and therapeutic strategies for COVID-19-associated cognitive impairment.

Most people listen to music throughout their day and often near bedtime to wind down. But can that actually cause your sleep to suffer? When sleep researcher Michael Scullin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, realized he was waking in the middle of the night with a song stuck in his head, he saw an opportunity to study how music -- and particularly stuck songs -- might affect sleep patterns.

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina and Harvard Medical School have identified a previously unknown early driver of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). In Science Translational Medicine, they report high levels of cis P-tau, a pathogenic protein, in human AD and VaD brains as well as preclinical disease models. Treatment with an antibody to the toxic protein prevented disease progression and reversed disease symptoms and restored cognitive function in older mice.

Climate change exerts great pressure for change on species and biodiversity. A recent study conducted by the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Environment Institute indicates that the few moth and butterfly species (Lepidoptera) capable of adjusting to a changing climate by advancing their flight period and moving further north have fared the best in Finland. In contrast, roughly 40% of Lepidoptera species have not been able to respond in either way, seeing their populations decline.

Researchers from Cornell University's School of Applied and Engineering Physics and Samsung's Advanced Institute of Technology have created a first-of-its-kind metalens - a metamaterial lens - that can be focused using voltage instead of mechanically moving its components.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida have published a first- of-its-kind study that shows that near-infrared (NIR) spectrum cameras can help python hunters more effectively track down these invasive snakes, especially at night.

Ketogenic metabolic therapy has been shown to successfully starve cancer cells of the glucose and glutamine they need to survive. In a new case study, a British man who rejected the standard of care to treat his glioblastoma has lived for more than 80 months with the typically fatal tumor after adopting a ketogenic diet, researchers report in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition

Inspired by people around the world who made music together while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from Bar-Ilan University and the University of Chicago fused the latest advances in social neuroscience and the field of music to highlight five key functions and mechanisms of the brain that contribute to social connection through music. The findings illustrate that music isn't just mere entertainment, but a core feature of human existence with important social implications.