Eurekalert

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are becoming increasingly popular. Transactions are usually anonymous, fast and inexpensive. But in certain situations, fraud is possible, users can discover information about other users that should be kept secret, and sometimes delays occur. TU Wien has now developed an improved protocol which solves these problems.

In 2019 the climate movement experienced an unprecedented growth in its mobilization capacity and its political and media impact. The success of the movement is closely linked to the figure of Greta Thunberg and the global impact of her discourse and the "Fridays for Future" movement in hundreds of cities around the world.

A school-based scientific study in Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Mauritius and Japan shows that young people know too little about reciprocal disease transmission from animals to humans (zoonoses) and the integrative management of health risks (One Health concept). The results of the international study were published in the scientific journal Frontiers in public health.

Microplastics do not just end up in the open sea - in fact, a lot also end up in the ecosystems of the coastal zones, a new study shows and this may threaten wildlife.

Artificial intelligence that enhances remote monitoring of water bodies - highlighting quality shifts due to climate change or pollution - has been developed by researchers at the University of Stirling.

A team of researchers from A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) have identified a genetic mutation associated with exfoliation syndrome, characterised by abnormal protein material accumulating in the front of the eye. It is the most common cause of glaucoma, and a major cause of irreversible blindness. The findings could lead to further research on the causes of the systemic disorder and potential cures.

For the first time, international experts in psychology have built a framework to diagnose Compulsive Buying-Shopping Disorder - promising help for people struggling to manage their spending behavior and mental wellbeing. The new guidelines, published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, confirms that excessive buying and shopping can be so serious as to constitute a disorder, giving researchers and clinicians new powers to develop more targeted interventions for this debilitating condition.

Researchers at Tampere University Photonics Laboratory have demonstrated how two interfering photons can bunch into various shapes. These complex shapes are beneficial for quantum technologies, such as performing fast photonic quantum computations and safe data transfer. The method opens new possibilities also for creating enhanced measurement and sensing techniques.

Certain immune cells can cause damage to the aging central nervous system, according to a novel study by scientists of the University Hospital and the University of Würzburg.

Almost half of the parents who have children together with a parent with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, are themselves burdened by psychological issues. This can affect family life and the children. This is shown in the research result from the major Danish psychiatry project iPSYCH.

Research funding agencies around the world are testing creative approaches to address urgent needs while laying the foundation for discoveries that will meet the unpredictable demands of the future. According to a new expert panel report from the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), Canada can bolster its research capacity by reducing administrative burdens, experimenting with funding approaches, and cultivating a robust, resilient, and diverse scientific workforce.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University improve HIV care by gamifying it. Study shows users of mobile gaming app achieved viral suppression and better medication adherence.

Astronomers have identified more than 4,000, and counting, confirmed exoplanets -- planets orbiting stars other than the sun -- but only a fraction have the potential to sustain life.Now, new research from UBC's Okanagan campus is using the geology of early planet formation to help identify those that may be capable of supporting life.

A study to understand the dating violence experience and perpetration of college-age women, as well as how they conceptualize violence in dating relationships, reveals normalization of unhealthy violent behaviors where sexual pressure or sexualized verbal harassment are viewed as an innate part of men, supporting the idea that "boys will be boys." Study participants demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the forms of dating violence and its consequences. They accepted, rationalized and provided excuses for these acts of violence.

Professor Arda Gozen looks to a future someday in which doctors can hit a button to print out a scaffold on their 3-D printers and create custom-made replacement skin, cartilage, or other tissue for their patients.

Cancer of the colon and rectum is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, and has in recent years affected growing numbers of young people. In the largest registry study to date, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Harvard University in the USA demonstrate a possible connection between colorectal polyps in close relatives and the risk of developing colorectal cancer. The study, which is published in The British Medical Journal, is of potential consequence for different countries' screening procedures.

A study released in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine offers hope for those suffering from a chronic, difficult to treat condition called non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung infection.

In a randomized, controlled study published online in the journal, Nutrients, researchers found that including mixed tree nuts in a weight management program resulted in significant weight loss and improved satiety.

In its latest clinical practice guideline on community-acquired pneumonia the American Thoracic Society's guidelines panel addresses the use of nucleic acid-based testing for non-influenza viral pathogens. The guideline was published online in the May 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. An explainer video may be viewed here.

Sudhir Kumar's team reconstructed the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 progenitor and its early pedigree from a dataset of coronavirus genomes. They found the SARS-CoV-2 progenitor was already circulating with an earlier timeline, at least 6 to 8 weeks prior to the first genome sequenced in China. They have also developed an intuitive mutational fingerprint and Greek symbol classification categorization system of the major strains, sub-strains and variants infecting an individual or colonizing a global region.