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In a paper published in NANO, researchers from Guizhou Meiling Power Sources Co., Ltd., China have reviewed the recent progress in biopolymer-based electrolyte. The biopolymer materials with unique characteristics including water solubility, film-forming capability and adhesive property played a key role in the design of zero pollution lithium battery. The biopolymers mentioned in this review were polysaccharide, protein, natural rubber and other polymers.

A new study finds that tropical storm days have had a steady relationship with El Niño and La Niña from 1965 to 2018. And the tropical storm day and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) relationship breakdown in the 1980s is due to the decoupling of SST anomalies associated with the PDO-East and PDO-West. The results have a significant implication for seasonal to decadal predictions of global tropical storm day.

Professor Hyung Joon Cha's team presents the interaction mechanism of components that make up the surface adhesive proteins.The research team reveals new synergy of adhesive molecules, clarifying the design principle of mussels' surface adhesive proteins.

The largest study of its kind has found people in the overweight or obese range who drink alcohol are at greater risk of liver disease and mortality.

Scientists have shown that the population of the Yakushima sika deer has declined due to natural factors, suggesting that the population can be regulated without culling.

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have designed and produced novel nanogap gas sensors through a reliable and scalable fabrication strategy. The gap between electrodes, which can be as small as 20 nm, allows for sensing oxygen with an unprecedented response time at relatively low temperatures, especially compared with microgap sensors. Their results pave the way towards general gas-sensing platforms for biomedical, industrial, and environmental applications.

Researchers at Nagoya University, Japan, have identified a plant enzyme that is key to activating a nitrate uptake mechanism in response to nitrogen starvation. This finding explains how plants meet their needs in challenging environments, opening doors to improving agriculture in such environments.

Seam performance of two sewing thread brands and three stitch densities in a selected suitable fabric for Ghanaian public basic school uniforms were evaluated with the aim of finding a suitable thread brand and stitch density for quality public basic school uniforms. The performance properties tested were strength, efficiency and elongation.

By ensuring ethnic diversity in a largescale genetic study, an international team of researchers, including a University of Massachusetts Amherst genetic epidemiologist, has identified more regions of the genome linked to type 2 diabetes-related traits.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used for studying DNA wrapping processes. The technique enables visualizing the dynamics of DNA-protein interactions, which in certain cases resembles the motion of inchworms.

New research published in Diabetologia has shown that if people achieve and maintain substantial weight loss to manage their type 2 diabetes, many can also effectively control their high blood pressure and stop or cut down on their anti-hypertensive medication.

A new study shows that tai chi mirrors the beneficial effects of conventional exercise by reducing waist circumference in middle-aged and older adults with central obesity.

A randomized controlled trial found that tai chi is about as effective as conventional exercise for reducing waist circumference in middle-aged and older adults with central obesity. Central obesity, or weight carried around the midsection, is a major manifestation of metabolic syndrome and a common health problem in this cohort. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

An emotion regulation strategy known as cognitive reappraisal helped reduce the typically heightened and habitual attention to drug-related cues and contexts in cocaine-addicted individuals, a study by Mount Sinai researchers has found

Researchers have developed a new concept to explain the phenomenon known as Green Sahara. They demonstrate that a permanent vegetation cover in the Sahara was only possible under two overlapping rainy seasons. Dr. Enno Schefuß of MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University of Bremen, Dr. Rachid Cheddadi of the University of Montpellier, and their colleagues have now published their study in the journal PNAS.

A scientific consortium led by Dr Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr of the University of Potsdam has found that ancient El Niño-like weather patterns were the primary drivers of environmental change in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 620 thousand years - the critical timeframe for the evolution of our species. The group found that these ancient weather patterns had more profound impacts in sub-Saharan Africa than glacial-interglacial cycles more commonly linked to human evolution.

Dr. HAN Fangpu's group from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with their collaborators, reported a reference sequence for the supernumerary B chromosome in maize.

Researchers say that the auditory feedback exchanged between wrens during their opera-like duets momentarily inhibits motor circuits used for singing in the listening partner, which helps link the pair's brains and coordinate turn-taking for a seemingly telepathic performance. The study also offers fresh insight into how humans and other cooperative animals use sensory cues to act in concert with one another.

Although sun radiation was relatively low, the temperature on the young Earth was warm. An international team of geoscientists has found important clues that high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were responsible for these high temperatures. It only got cooler with the beginning of plate tectonics, as the CO2 was gradually captured and stored on the emerging continents.

Phosphate Elimination and Recovery Lightweight (PEARL) membrane, a porous nanocomposite substrate, selectively sequesters up to 99% of phosphate ions from polluted water. Tunable membrane will address other environmental challenges through incorporation of specific nanomaterials. New tech meets need for sustainable, scalable and cost-effective solution that works outside the lab.