Tech

The Arctic Ocean in summer will very likely be ice free before 2050, at least temporally. The efficacy of climate-protection measures will determine how often and for how long. These are the results of a new research study involving 21 research institutes from around the world, coordinated by Dirk Notz from the University of Hamburg, Germany.

UNSW medical researchers have achieved unprecedented resolution capabilities in single-molecule microscopy to detect interactions between individual molecules within intact cells.

The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the development of super-resolution fluorescence microscopy technology that afforded microscopists the first molecular view inside cells, a capability that has provided new molecular perspectives on complex biological systems and processes.

In our information society, the synthesis, distribution, and processing of radio and microwave signals are ubiquitous in wireless networks, telecommunications, and radars. The current tendency is to use carriers in higher frequency bands, especially with looming bandwidth bottlenecks due to demands for e.g. 5G and the "Internet of Things". "Microwave photonics", a combination of microwave engineering and optoelectronics, might offer a solution.

Worldwide focus meat analogs keeps increasing to start producing vegetable protein non-cholesterol products containing essential amino acids. Extrusion is the best way to texture vegetable proteins. This is a method of processing raw materials in which the destruction of secondary bonds in protein molecules occurs, thus increasing their digestibility.

In recent years, high-humidity extrusion technology has become widely used as it makes it possible to obtain a fibrous meat-like structure from vegetable proteins.

On April 1, water managers across the West use the amount of snowpack present as a part of a simple equation to calculate the available water supply for a given region that year. Historically, this method has accurately predicted whether large areas of the western U.S. will experience drought and to what degree. But new research from CU Boulder suggests that during the 21st century, our ability to predict drought using snow will literally melt away.

A new research result from iPSYCH shows that forty per cent of the women who suffer a psychosis after giving birth - known as postpartum psychosis - do not subsequently become ill again.

Out of every thousand mothers, one or two will suffer a postpartum psychosis, but psychological vulnerability in connection with childbirth does not necessarily follow them through the rest of their lives. This is shown by in a research project including partners from iPSYCH.

Wind turbine noise (WTN) influences people's perception of the restorative effects of sleep, and also has a small but significant effect on dream sleep, otherwise known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, a study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows. A night of WTN resulted in delayed and shortened REM sleep.

Knowledge of how sleep is affected by WTN has been limited to date. Research involving physiological study of its impact using polysomnography, the top-ranking method of sleep recording, is lacking.

Aquaculture - rearing aquatic organisms such as fish and shellfish - plays a vital role in food security in many countries (it supplies more than half of the aquatic animals consumed by humans worldwide). It is particularly important for developing countries, for instance in Asia, which accounts for 90% of global output.

Fish farmers use large quantities of antimicrobials to treat or prevent disease on their farms. However, when used inappropriately, antimicrobials are ineffective and foster the development of resistant bacteria.

"How are the many different cell types in the body generated during embryonic development from an egg, which is only a single cell? This is one of the most fundamental questions in biology," explains Dr. Pierre Neveu, group leader at EMBL Heidelberg, setting out the rationale behind the research he and his group have performed in collaboration with the group of Dr. Lars Hufnagel.

Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have proposed a method that speeds up the calculation of nanobubble diffusion in solid materials. This method makes it possible to create significantly more accurate fuel models for nuclear power plants. The paper was published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials.

Why does nuclear fuel 'age'?

Food insecurity in Vermont has increased by one-third during the coronavirus pandemic, from 18.3% to 24.3%, according to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Vermont at the end of March and announced in a series of briefs today.

The increase in food insecurity was strongly correlated with employment status. Among survey respondents overall, 45% had lost their jobs, been furloughed or had their hours reduced during the pandemic. Among food insecure Vermonters, two-thirds (66%) had experienced job losses or work disruptions since the outbreak of the pandemic.

For a long time, the production of ceramic coatings has only been possible by means of sintering techniques conducted at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius. However, a novel spraying method, Powder Aerosol Deposition (PAD), enables their production at normal room temperatures. It is therefore highly attractive for industrial applications. Engineering scientists from the University of Bayreuth under the direction of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Moos are working in the frontline of ongoing development of this technology.

In an analysis that included information on adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 40 and 49 years of age, almost all patients could have been diagnosed earlier if they had been screened according to current family history-based screening guidelines. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Globalisation has revolutionised food production and consumption in recent decades and cultivation has become more efficient As a result, diets have diversified and food availability has increased in various parts of the globe. However, it has also led to a situation where the majority of the world population live in countries that are dependent on, at least partially, imported food. This can intensify vulnerabilities during any kind of global crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, as global food supply chains are disrupted.

A study to be presented at European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID)* shows that rates of Escherichia coli related sepsis in different regions of the UK could be directly linked to the levels of pathogenic (disease causing) E. coli in the community, as determined by its presence in sewage in that area. The study is by Dr Mark Toleman, Cardiff University, UK and colleagues.