Month: June 2022

GeoLaB: Future with Geothermal Energy

sarah JonasFeature

Locally available, emission-free and baseload-capable: geothermal energy is an essential component of the energy transition. With GeoLaB, a new and unique underground research infrastructure, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) are looking to expedite research and prepare the technology for broad application. The facility is to be built in the Black Forest or the Odenwald range, with the Helmholtz Association providing 35 million euros in funding.

Eligible younger U.S. adults less likely to meet recommended colorectal cancer screening guidelines and face greater disparities

sarah JonasResearch Results

Younger adults living in the U.S. are less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer than older U.S. adults, despite now being eligible under new screening guidelines, and face greater disparities than older U.S. adults who are eligible for screening, according to research from UTHealth Houston.

Study led by NUS researchers reveals High Mountain Asia hydropower systems are threatened by climate change

sarah JonasResearch Results

High Mountain Asia, the planet’s most extensive icy systems outside the polar regions, have the world’s largest undeveloped hydropower potential and are seeing numerous dams and reservoirs under construction or planning. However, climate change is destabilising the landscapes and threatening numerous hydropower projects according to a new study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

These red flags can let you know when you’re in an online echo chamber

sarah JonasResearch Results

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have identified specific elements of tone and style in online speech that are linked to hyperpartisan echo chambers. These language markers could also prove useful for flagging spaces where disinformation may be likely to emerge.

$5.3 million grant supports research into lung cancer recurrence

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are leading a national study aimed at identifying patients with early-stage lung cancer who are at high risk of having the cancer return, even after surgery and chemotherapy appear to have eliminated their tumors. The research is supported by a $5.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Physicists confront the neutron lifetime puzzle

sarah JonasResearch Results

To solve a long-standing puzzle about how long a neutron can “live” outside an atomic nucleus, physicists entertained a wild but testable theory positing the existence of a right-handed version of our left-handed universe.

Designed to identify wildlife by sound, the BirdNET app opens new avenues for citizen science

sarah JonasResearch Results

The BirdNET app, a free machine-learning powered tool that can identify more than 3,000 birds by sound alone, generates reliable scientific data and makes it easier for people to contribute citizen-science data on birds by simply recording sounds. Results of tests to measure the app’s accuracy are published in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

Dynamic cells linked to brain tumor growth and recurrence

sarah JonasResearch Results

Tumors are made up of many types of cells, both cancerous and benign. The specific complexity of the cells inside brain tumors has been a trademark of the disease, one that makes treatment extremely difficult. While scientists have long known about the variety of cells within a brain tumor, the ways these tumors grow has relied on the understanding that the cells are static, unmoving and relatively fixed.

Eight Columbia Engineering Professors Win NSF CAREER Awards

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Eight professors from Columbia Engineering are among this year’s recipients of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Early Career Development (CAREER) awards, one of the most prestigious recognitions for junior researchers. Their areas of expertise will contribute to gains in personalized cancer treatment, the analysis of cellular processes, distributed control in large-scale systems, quantum information theory, understanding multiphase flows, as well as cloud computing and storage operations.

Interrupting the Treatment of Vulnerable People on Immune-Suppressing Medicines, Doubles Their Antibody Response to COVID-19 Booster Vaccination

sarah JonasResearch Results

A major clinical trial, led by experts at the University of Nottingham working in partnership with several Universities and NHS hospitals, has found that by interrupting the treatment of vulnerable people on long-term immune supressing medicines for two weeks after a COVID-19 booster vaccination, their antibody response to the jab is doubled.

Maryland Smith’s Blockchain Business Imperative Open for New Cohort

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Launched in January 2022, the six-week synchronous online certificate program starts again July 11, 2022. It focuses on blockchain and its potential economic impact across industries. It’s also designed to help leaders identify how blockchain can enable them to innovate and drive growth in their businesses.

Common Antiretroviral Drug Improves Cognition in Mouse Model of Down Syndrome

sarah JonasResearch Results

Lamivudine, a commonly-used antiretroviral drug for treating HIV, improves cognition in a mouse model of Down syndrome, according to the findings of a joint new study by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, a centre jointly promoted by the “la Caixa” Foundation and the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The research is published today in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Un experto nos comparte sugerencias para evitar lesiones en los deportes que se juegan con «palos» o raquetas

sarah JonasFeature Expert

Aquel dolor de la muñeca en el lado opuesto al pulgar y conocido como dolor cubital de la muñeca es la causa frecuente de un dolor debilitante en los deportistas que usan «palos» o raquetas para practicar deportes como tenis, golf, hockey y lacrosse.

CoVPN Trial: Novavax’s Traditional COVID-19 Vaccine Correlates to Strong Antibody Response, Protection Against SARS-CoV-2

sarah JonasResearch Results

A new analysis of the Novavax PREVENT-19 clinical trial concluded that this recombinant protein vaccine produced an antibody response comparable to mRNA vaccines and, if authorized, could help bolster global vaccine supplies. This is the first study to directly support antibody correlates of protection for a recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine.

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research Expands Partnership with The Johns Hopkins University to Accelerate Groundbreaking Immunotherapy Research

sarah JonasAnnouncement

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (BKI) announced today a new $10 million commitment at The Johns Hopkins University to fund novel work and advance immunotherapy research to provide lifesaving breakthroughs to people with cancer.

Electrospinning Promises Major Improvements in Wearable Technology

sarah JonasResearch Results

In APL Bioengineering, researchers from Tufts University examine some of the latest advances in wearable electronic devices and systems being developed using electrospinning – the fabrication of nanofibers with tunable properties from a polymer base – and showcase the many advantages electrospun materials have over conventional bulk materials. Their high surface-to-volume ratio endows them with enhanced porosity and breathability, which is important for long-term wearability, and with the appropriate blend of polymers, they can achieve superior biocompatibility.

Defining Plasma Dose for Potential Future Cancer Treatments

sarah JonasResearch Results

Chinese researchers may have found a new approach to treat cancer by using a plasma treatment to induce apoptosis, without any obvious side effect to normal cells. A plasma-activated medium (PAM) can be treated as a drug, with a dose-effect relationship. In Physics of Plasmas, the scientists’ definition of a plasma dose, the equivalent total oxidation potential (ETOP), can be used for PAM to reveal the plasma dose-response relationship for different cell types.

Immune Molecules From a Llama Could Provide Protection Against a Vast Array of SARS-like Viruses Including COVID-19, Researchers Say

sarah JonasResearch Results

Mount Sinai-led researchers have shown that tiny, robust immune particles derived from the blood of a llama could provide strong protection against every COVID-19 variant, including Omicron, and 18 similar viruses.

Update Noise Regulations to Protect Seals, Porpoises

sarah JonasResearch Results

In The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, scientists in Denmark review recent experiments and find noise regulations may need to be changed to protect porpoises, seals, and other sea-dwelling mammals. Current guidance for seals and porpoises is based on few measurements in a limited frequency range; the guidance is still valid for these frequencies, but investigators found substantial deviations in recent studies of the impact of low frequency noise on seals and high frequency noise on porpoises.

Microfluidic-Based Soft Robotic Prosthetics Promise Relief for Diabetic Amputees

sarah JonasResearch Results

In Biomicrofluidics, scientists reveal their development of a new type of prosthetic using microfluidics-enabled soft robotics that promises to greatly reduce skin ulcerations and pain in patients who have had an amputation between the ankle and knee. They started with a recent device that uses pneumatic actuators and miniaturized the actuators by designing a microfluidic chip with 10 integrated pneumatic valves to control each actuator. The control box is small and light enough to be worn as part of the prosthesis.