Tech
Tokyo - Materials that absorb hydrogen are used for hydrogen storage and purification, thus serving as clean energy carriers. The best-known hydrogen absorber, palladium (Pd), can be improved by alloying with gold (Au).
New research led by The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science explains for the first time how Au makes such a difference, which will be valuable for fine-tuning further improvements.
Hamilton, ON (July 9, 2018) - McMaster University researchers have developed a new theory on Huntington's disease which is being welcomed for showing promise to open new avenues of drug development for the condition.
Huntington's disease is caused by a mutation in the gene that makes the protein called huntingtin. A team of researchers led by McMaster has found there is a unique type of signalling coming from damaged DNA, that signals huntingtin activity in DNA repair, and that this signalling is defective in Huntington's disease.
Earth's oxygen levels rose and fell more than once hundreds of millions of years before the planetwide success of the Great Oxidation Event about 2.4 billion years ago, new research from the University of Washington shows.
The evidence comes from a new study that indicates a second and much earlier "whiff" of oxygen in Earth's distant past -- in the atmosphere and on the surface of a large stretch of ocean -- showing that the oxygenation of the Earth was a complex process of repeated trying and failing over a vast stretch of time.
The perception of having Albert Einstein's body may help unlock previously inaccessible mental resources, finds a new study. Following a virtual reality "Einstein" experience, participants were less likely to unconsciously stereotype older people while those with low self-esteem scored better on cognitive tests. Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the study suggests the way our brain perceives our body is surprisingly flexible.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (July 9, 2018) - In diabetes, both the tightly woven endothelial cells that line our blood vessels and the powerhouses that drive those cells start to come apart as early steps in the destruction of our vasculature.
Now scientists have evidence that these breakups occur as another relationship falls apart.
SAN DIEGO, CA - Young pitchers who exceed pitch count limits are more prone to elbow injuries, according to research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting in San Diego. Season statistics of players were compared relative to pitch count limits established by the Japanese Society of Clinical Sports Medicine.
Phase change random access memory (PCRAM) has been successfully applied in the computer storage architecture, as storage class memory, to bridge the performance gap between DRAM and Flash-based solid-state drive due to its good scalability, 3D-integration ability, fast operation speed and compatible with CMOS technology. Focusing on phase change materials and PCRAM for decades, we have successfully developed 128 Mb embedded PCRAM chips, which can meet the requirements of most embedded systems.
Super Typhoon Maria's seven nautical-mile wide eye appeared very clearly in a visible image from NASA's Aqua satellite on July 6.
When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Northwestern Pacific Ocean on July 6 at 0350 UTC (July 5 at 11:50 p.m. EDT), the MODIS instrument or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer provided a visible-light image of Super Typhoon Maria. The MODIS image revealed a clear, small eye, surrounded by a powerful ring of strong thunderstorms.
Washington, DC - July 6, 2018 - Researchers have shown that higher levels of Plasmodium falciparum antibodies are protective against severe malaria in children living in Papua New Guinea. Children who have higher levels of antibodies to a specific short amino acid sequence in the malaria parasite, P. falciparum, have much lower rates of clinical and severe malaria. This amino acid sequence, an antigen, is similar among P. falciparum strains elsewhere in the world, suggesting that this antigen would make a good target for a malaria vaccine.
Tropical Depression 2 strengthened into a compact hurricane on July 6 as NASA's Aqua satellite gathered temperature data on the storm.
At 2:30 p.m. EDT on July 5, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Beryl. At 5 a.m. EDT on Friday, July 6, Beryl became the first hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season.
Researchers at Kyushu University's Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics Research (OPERA) in Japan have demonstrated a way to split energy in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and surpass the 100% limit for exciton production, opening a promising new route for creating low-cost and high-intensity near-infrared light sources for sensing and communications applications.
India will need to feed approximately 394 million more people by 2050, and that's going to be a significant challenge. Nutrient deficiencies are already widespread in India today--30 percent or more are anemic--and many regions are chronically water-stressed. Making matters worse, evidence suggests that monsoons are delivering less rainfall than they used to. But a study published today in Science Advances shares a brighter outlook: replacing some rice with less thirsty crops could dramatically reduce water demand in India, while also improving nutrition.
Barcelona, 4 July 2018: The inclusion of nuts in a regular diet significantly improves the quality and function of human sperm, according to results of a randomised trial which measured conventional semen parameters and molecular changes over a 14-week study period. The findings, say the investigators, "support a beneficial role for chronic nut consumption in sperm quality" and reflect a research need for further male-specific dietary recommendations.
The Auk: Ornithological Advances presents a study on a Northern Spotted Owl pedigree, consisting of almost 14,200 individuals over 30 years, which determined inbreeding varies across the species' range. Selection against inbreeding based on decreased future reproduction, fewer offspring, and overall survival of individuals was also supported. These results indicate that Spotted Owl conservation efforts need to address owl breeding more. Another implication of this work is the need to increase genetic diversity to prevent further population decline.
This week, we see the first papers in PLOS Medicine's Special Issue on Climate Change and Health being published, advised by Guest Editors Jonathan Patz, the Director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the John P.