Earth
Researchers from Bochum and Berkeley have investigated why cages can increase the catalytic activity of enclosed molecules. Using terahertz spectroscopy and complex computer simulations, they showed that water encapsulated in a tiny cage has special properties - that are structurally and dynamically distinct from any known phase of water. The water forms a droplet inside the cage that facilitates the encapsulation of a host molecule, i.e. to access the catalytic centre.
Experts in Japan recently discovered that atmospheric conditions near Alaska can affect sea ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean months later. The team used various data, including ship-based data from 2018, to uncover how a single atmospheric event over the northern Pacific Ocean caused significantly delayed sea ice formation in the Pacific Arctic region.
The biodiversity in Germany's agricultural landscape has declined considerably in recent years, even in nature reserves. In their joint statement "Biodiversity and Management of Agricultural Landscapes - Wide-ranging action is now crucial", the German Academies of Sciences make recommendations in eight fields of action. They state the protection of biodiversity as an urgent and complex challenge. A change in society as a whole towards sustainable farming is required. It is important to also take the economic, political, legal, and social parameters of agriculture into account.
Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) jointly with the colleagues from Siberian State Medical University (SSMU) and Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (IKBFU) studied the properties of calcium phosphate coatings deposited on titanium implants in various inert gases environment. The researchers managed to discover that the use of xenon positively affects the physicochemical, mechanical and biological properties of the coatings used in oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopedics and traumatology.
From safety and effectiveness to who should use sunscreen and how to apply it, Canadian dermatologists review the latest evidence and guidelines on use of sunscreen.
The review, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), recommends that everyone older than six months of age should use sunscreen to protect against skin cancer https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.201085.
Sophia Antipolis - 12 December 2020: Patients diagnosed with non-cardiac chest pain are reluctant to believe they do not have heart disease. A new study shows that explaining the test results convinces patients and reduces the likelihood of future chest pain. The research is presented at EACVI - Best of Imaging 2020, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1
Experts have warned that a 'no deal' Brexit will result in the exclusion of the UK from the 24 European Reference Networks (ERNs) that were established to improve the care of patients bearing the lifelong burden of a rare disease, which require highly specialised diagnosis and treatment.
According to the results of research led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), one the various strategies deployed by the Leishmania parasite to avoid triggering the human immune system is to activate the SHP-1 protein.
The parasite does this by secreting a molecule capable of interacting with the Mincle receptor expressed by antigen-presenting dendritic cells that help induce T-lymphocytes to trigger an immune response.
Balancing proliferation and differentiation in a developing organ are a complex act, especially when these two processes occur at the same time in the same space. The retina is an important interface between the body and the external world: it sits at the back of our eyes and receives and encodes all the visual information, so that our brain can continuously process the pictures of what the world has to offer.
Older people who undergo emergency surgeries on their operating surgeon's birthday may be more likely to die within a month than patients who go through similar procedures on other days, a new UCLA-led study suggests.
The study, published today in the peer-reviewed medical journal BMJ, shows that 30-day mortality rates are approximately 23% higher for patients 65 and older who are treated on a surgeon's birthday. While the authors suspect that surgeons may be more distracted on their birthdays than other days, they said more research is needed to explain why this may happen.
Sophia Antipolis - 11 December 2020: Climbing four flights of stairs in less than a minute indicates good heart health, according to research presented at EACVI - Best of Imaging 2020, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1
A deficiency in Vitamin D on the mother's side could explain why Autism spectrum disorder is three times more common in boys, say researchers from The University of Queensland.
Photoluminescence (PL) is light emission from a substance after the absorption of photons stimulated by temperature, electricity, pressure, or chemistry doping. An international team of scientists led by Dr. Wenge Yang from Center for High Pressure Science &Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR) presents a strong tricolor PL achieved in non-PL pyrochlore Ho2Sn2O7 through high pressure treatment. Interestingly the PL can be much enhanced after pressure release and recovered to ambient conditions. Their study is published in the recent issue of Physical Review Letters.
The Last interglacial period was the last warm period before our present Holocene age and dates back some 129,000 to 116,000 years ago. It is more and more in the focus of research interest, as this period could be used as a possible test bed for warmer conditions in the future. A look at the climate evolution during the last interglacial may allow us to draw conclusions about how the present climate will change in a warming world.
In a new study, researchers at Uppsala University have been able to show differences in how Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody drug, interacts with the blood of healthy individuals compared to patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. This has awakened hopes that this analysis method could pave the way for important breakthroughs in immunotherapy research and treatment.