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Minerals are inorganic substances, whereas enzymes are organic substances (e.g., proteins). However, many types of Earth-abundant minerals exhibit intrinsic enzyme-like activities when their particles decrease to the nanometer (nm) scale (so called "mineral nanozymes"). The discovery of nanomaterials as new enzyme mimetics has changed the traditional idea that nanomaterials are chemically inert in Earth systems. Now researchers in Tianjin discuss the critical roles played by nanozymes in environmental biogeochemical cycles.

Supermassive black holes (SMBH) occupy the center of galaxies, with masses ranging from one million to 10 billion solar masses. Some SMBHs are in a bright phase called active galactic nuclei (AGN).

Susceptibility of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients to cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction associated with exposure to metals in particles with aerodynamic diameter ? 2.5 μm (PM2.5) remains poorly evidenced. Recently, based on a panel study in Beijing, China, Chinese researchers recruited both COPD patients and healthy controls and used heart rate (HR) as an index of cardiovascular autonomic function. Their findings indicate that COPD could exacerbate HR difference following exposure to metals in PM2.5.

The detailed structure of glass has always been a major mystery in science. A research team co-led by scientists at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has successfully discovered that the amorphous and crystalline metallic glass have the same structural building blocks. And it is the connectivity between these blocks that distinguishes the crystalline and amorphous states of the material. The findings shed light on the understanding of glass structure.

Researchers from China described a comprehensive landscape of RNA editing events in LUAD by integrating transcriptomic and genomic data and defined a new prognosis-related and chemotherapy-sensitive subtype of LUAD patients based on RNA editing sites.

Researchers have developed a new forecasting method that provides more precise tropical cyclone intensity forecasts.

A new measurement of heart function developed at UVA Health could improve survival for people with heart failure by identifying high-risk patients who require tailored treatments, a new study suggests.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancer subtypes not just because it is difficult to diagnose early, but because it is inherently resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In a recent study, scientists from Japan investigated the relationship that exists between the radiation resistance of pancreatic cancer cells, the natural cell cycle, and a cellular mechanism called autophagy, or "self-digestion." Their results pave the way for novel radiosensitizers and improved therapeutic strategies for resistant cancers.

A new study from UC Davis and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai confirms that surgical masks effectively reduce outgoing airborne particles from talking or coughing, even after allowing for leakage around the edges of the mask. The results are published June 8 in Scientific Reports.

Critically ill COVID-19 patients treated with non-altered stem cells from umbilical cord connective tissue were more than twice as likely to survive as those who did not have the treatment, according to a study published today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

People in the UK with sleep problems are at an increased risk of dying, finds a new study from the University of Surrey and Northwestern University.

In the first-known study to examine the effect of the combination of insomnia and diabetes on mortality risk, participants who had both diabetes and frequent sleep disturbances were 87% more likely to die in following 9 years than those who did not have diabetes or frequent sleep difficulties. The study asked one simple question, which the study authors said clinicians and patients should be asking themselves to help address underlying causes of sleep disturbances sooner.

CooperVision today announced its scientific research program for the 2021 British Contact Lens Association Virtual Clinical Conference and Exhibition. More than papers and posters span a range of topics that underpin the contact lens industry's evolution, including new data and insights on the complex lifestyle factors involved with addressing presbyopia, misperceptions surrounding soft toric lens fitting, and understanding children's acceptance of innovative optical interventions for slowing the progression of myopia.

Published in a Nature journal, an unprecedented UN analysis of 9,500 Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) events recorded globally over 33 years shows harm rising in step with the aquaculture industry, marine exploitation and coastal development. 109 scientists in 35 countries conducted the 7-year study and report HAB events have increased in some regions, decreased or held steady elsewhere -- creating the world's first baseline against which to track future changes.

Pregnancy disorders are usually diagnosed during the second or third trimester of gestation when they have often already had a serious impact on the health of the mother and baby. The current methods to diagnose pregnancy disorders are not sensitive or reliable enough to identify all at risk pregnancies.Now scientists have found a way to test hormone levels in the placenta to predict which women will have serious pregnancy complications.

Natural selection can reverse evolution that occurs through sexual selection and this can lead to better females, new research shows.

Scientists have published the first detailed atomic-level model of the SARS-CoV-2 "envelope" protein bound to a human protein essential for maintaining the lining of the lungs. The findings may speed the search for drugs to block the most severe effects of COVID-19.

New research has shown that by injecting an alkalinizing agent into the ocean along the length of the Great Barrier Reef, it would be possible, at the present rate of anthropogenic carbon emissions, to offset ten years' worth of ocean acidification.

Researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Beijing Tiantan Hospital have recently uncovered a new gene mutation responsible for the non-familial patients of cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) -- a brain vascular disorder which inflicted about 10-30 million people in the world.

A new 3D bioprinter developed by UC San Diego nanoengineers operates at record speed--it can print a 96-well array of living human tissue samples within 30 minutes. The technology could help accelerate high-throughput preclinical drug screening and make it less costly.