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Participants at the 6th Joint Science Conference of the Western Balkans Process have developed a "10 Point Plan" to control the coronavirus pandemic in the Western Balkans. They also discussed priorities for the time after the pandemic in the Western Balkans and South East Europe. These include a decent healthcare system, climate neutrality, reduction of air and water pollution, and the digitalization of education, public administration, industry and healthcare.

A study led by University of Barcelona researchers and carried out together with more than 1,650 students and their family members from 18 educational centres in Barcelona shows that citizen science is a valid approach able for doing high quality science, and in this case, able to provide nitrogen dioxide values with an unprecedented resolution and to assess the impact of the pollution in the health of their inhabitants.

Dysmenorrhea, painful and severe periods, is a common gynecological disorder with major impacts on quality of life and economic productivity. A new epidemiological study by the open access publisher Frontiers is the first to show that the risk of developing dysmenorrhea increases by more than 30 times for women and girls who are exposed long-term to air pollutants such as carbon and nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter

Medical researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have uncovered how signal proteins of the immune system regulate the development of atherosclerosis.

An elegant new algorithm developed by Danish researchers can significantly reduce the resource consumption of the world's computer servers. Computer servers are as taxing on the climate as global air traffic combined, thereby making the green transition in IT an urgent matter. The researchers, from the University of Copenhagen, expect major IT companies to deploy the algorithm immediately.

Using a cast is not more effective than a brace for treating broken ankles, according to University of Warwick researchers - a conclusion that could hasten the decline of the tradition of signing a cast.

Sleep deprivation - from lifestyle choices, pandemic stress, or late-night computer study - can quickly lead to loss of energy and function during the day and even feelings of anger and depression, an Australian sleep institute study has shown.The study, led by Flinders University, asked 34 health teenagers (20 males) aged between 15 and 17 to spent 10 days and nine nights in a specially designed sleep centre.

Recently, with the help of a steady-state strong magnetic field experimental device, scientists constructed nano-scale borate bioactive glass (Nano-HCA@BG), which can effectively reduce the biological toxicity of borate bioglass, improve the biocompatibility of the glass, and promote the effect of borate bioglass on skin repair.

The innovative material is eco-friendly, completely biological and non-toxic, and causes no harm to the body's tissues. The material is as strong as titanium and extremely flexible. The new development will allow for the charging of pacemakers using only the heartbeat, eliminating the need for batteries. The new material will make it possible to produce green energy activated by mechanical force that can be applied to other areas as well.

Recently, Prof. WANG Zhenyang's research group from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has prepared macroscopic thick three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene films.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are an emerging class of polymers with a plethora of potential applications thanks to their crystallinity, stability, and porosity. In a recent study, researchers from the National University of Singapore and Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology report a strategy to tune the emission properties of COFs by introducing atoms or small molecular groups as surface perturbations. Their findings provide a platform to further functionalize COFs for light-emitting and sensing applications.

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and so-called APOBEC proteins are important factors in the body's immune response and offer fast and effective protection against a large number of DNA and RNA viruses. A MedUni Vienna research team has now addressed the potential interrelations between AID/APOBECs and the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

We have developed a groundbreaking chemical reaction using an N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst that has a low environmental impact to cleave the bond between the benzene ring of an aryl halide and a halogen atom to generate an aryl radical. Since aryl radicals can thus be easily generated from aryl halides that are widely used in organic synthesis, this is expected to be a powerful technology for precisely synthesizing medical and agricultural drugs and chemical materials.

About 270,000 people suffer a traumatic brain injury in Germany every year. The over-65s are increasingly affected. This is the result of a study conducted by researchers from the BG Kliniken chain of hospitals under the direction of the Neurological Clinic of the Ruhr Universität Bochum (RUB) of the BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil. Falls are often the cause. The researchers advise more preventative measures, such as removing tripping hazards in the home or training the use of walking aids.

Recently, Prof. WANG Zhenyang's research group from Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has made new progress in the large-area preparation of macroscopic thick three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene films.

Scientists from Tohoku University and the University of Maryland have pinpointed the strong magnetic field of the early sun as the reason behind the radial variation of rock and metal in rocky planets' cores. This magnetic field, which pulled small iron grains inward, explains Mercury's big iron core and why Mars has so little iron in its core.

In 2016, researchers from the University of Liège (Belgium) proposed a new definition of the geological boundary between the Devonian and Carboniferous periods (359 million years). This new definition has been tested by hundreds of researchers around the world and the results are now compiled in a special issue of the journal Palaeodiversity & Palaeoenvironments.

Researchers from the Centre for Sleep and Cognition at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine found mindfulness-based therapy to be more effective than an active sleep hygiene programme in improving sleep quality. This study is the first preregistered and adequately powered trial to test sleep-targeted mindfulness-based therapy as a treatment for insomnia.

The Mid-infrared lasers (MIR) with high peak power and high repetition rate operating in the range of 2.7~3 μm have important application in laser surgery and optical parametric oscillator (OPO).

Toyohashi University of Technology developed a chlorine (Cl) substituted Na3SbS4 solid electrolyte for use in all-solid-state sodium (Na) ion batteries. The ionic conductivity of the Na3SbS4 solid electrolyte where sulfur (S) was partially substituted with Cl improved by up to three times. The team also demonstrated that the Cl-substituted Na3SbS4 has a crystal structure framework that allows Na ions to move easier in three dimensions, and they discovered that the Cl substitution showed superior stability.