Eurekalert

Plastic waste is considered one of the biggest environmental problems of our time. IASS researchers surveyed consumers in Germany about their use of plastic packaging. Their research reveals that fundamental changes in infrastructures and lifestyles, as well as cultural and economic transformation processes, are needed to make zero-waste shopping the norm.

Contrary to what science once suggested, older people with a declining sense of smell do not have comprehensively dampened olfactory ability for odors in general -- it simply depends upon the type of odor. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen reached this conclusion after examining a large group of older Danes' and their intensity perception of common food odors.

Parasitoid wasps are one of the most species rich animal taxa on Earth, but their tropical diversity is still poorly known. Now, scientist have discovered the Dolichomitus meii and Polysphincta parasitoid wasp species previously unknown to science in South America. The new species found in the rainforests entice with their colors and exciting habits. Researchers at the University of Turku have already described 53 new animal species this year.

Mitosis, the mechanism of cell division that is so important for life, involves more than 100 proteins at its core. The group of Professor Andrea Musacchio from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund has been able to fully reconstitute the engine of the mitosis machinery, called kinetochore. This is the first step towards the making of artificial chromosomes, that may one day be used to restore missing functions in cells.

There is a significant discrepancy between theoretical and observed amounts of lithium in our universe. This is known as the cosmological lithium problem, and it has plagued cosmologists for decades. Now, researchers have reduced this discrepancy by around 10%, thanks to a new experiment on the nuclear processes responsible for the creation of lithium. This research could point the way to a more complete understanding of the early universe.

In Optica, The Optical Society's (OSA) journal for high impact research, researchers describe a new approach for digitizing color. It can be applied to cameras and displays -- including ones used for computers, televisions and mobile devices -- and used to fine-tune the color of LED lighting.

Flower generalization has often been viewed as a suboptimal solution to managing the needs of different visitors. Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have developed a framework to examine flower-animal interactions and how different types of visitor-mediated trade-offs affect flower evolution. They found that mitigating trade-offs can lead to novel combinations of traits that enhance floral diversity. These findings could explain the discrepancy between observed flower visitors and those predicted based on a flower's traits.

An international research collaboration has conducted an IPD meta-analysis with the aim of resolving discrepancies between previous research as to what beneficial effects, if any, short bouts of aerobic exercise have on cognitive function. Their results highlight the importance of appropriate test design that takes into account individual differences between participants. The findings of this analysis will hopefully contribute towards more reliable studies on the relationship between exercise and cognition.

Conservation concern as alien aphid detected on Kangaroo Island.

Scientists show that an ocean-bottom seismometer deployed close to the calving front of a glacier in Greenland can detect continuous seismic radiation from a glacier sliding, reminiscent of a slow earthquake.

Our changing relationship with cash and dramatically reduced foot traffic in CBDs around the globe has prompted street performers to find different ways to generate income and sustain their careers.

Exercise training can help support management of overweight and obesity in adults, and can contribute to health benefits beyond "scale victories". The supplement published today in Obesity Reviews, based on the work of an expert group convened under the auspices of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), provides scientific evidence on health and wellbeing benefits of exercise training for people living with overweight and obesity.

Heart failure patients aged 80 and above are less likely to receive recommended therapies and dosages compared to their younger counterparts, according to research presented today at Heart Failure 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). 'Guidelines recommend the same treatments for all heart failure patients regardless of age,' said study author Dr. Davide Stolfo of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

In a new study, Molly Crockett, an associate professor of psychology at Yale, examined whether people trust leaders who make utilitarian decisions during a pandemic. To find out, she and her co-first authors -- Yale's Clara Colombatto and the University of Kent's Jim Everett -- assembled a multidisciplinary team of 37 international researchers to study people's trust in leaders around the globe.

Despite only limited evidence that fertility add-ons increase the odds of having a baby, the majority of women (82%) have used one or more of these treatments as part of their IVF.This is the conclusion of a retrospective study of 1,590 Australian patients which also found more than seven in 10 (72%) had incurred additional costs for these unproven additional therapies and techniques which range from Chinese herbal medicine to endometrial scratching.

For women diagnosed with breast cancer in Florida, breast cancer-specific mortality rates have decreased more among Black and Hispanic women than white women since 1990. Despite these advances, Black women still have double the five- and 10-year mortality rates of non-Hispanic white women.

New research published today in the journal Internal and Emergency Medicine provides the first real-world evidence that people switching from cigarettes to exclusive use of glo, BAT's flagship Tobacco Heating Product (THP), can significantly reduce their exposure to certain toxicants and indicators of potential harm related to several smoking-related diseases compared with continuing to smoke.

New research from marine biologists offers answers to a fundamental puzzle that had until now remained unsolved: why are some fish warm-blooded when most are not? It turns out that while (warm-blooded) fish able to regulate their own body temperatures can swim faster, they do not live in waters spanning a broader range of temperatures.

More than 9 of 10 patients with cancer showed good immune response to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines after receiving both doses, but subsets of high-risk patients did not, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson, and Swiss collaborators.

Nanosized molecules of a particular chemical element can inhibit the formation of plaque in the brain tissues. This new discovery by researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, in collaboration with researchers in Croatia and Lithuania, provides renewed hope for novel treatments of, for instance, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease in the long run.