Scientists make breakthrough in understanding how penicillin works

The mechanism which allows β-lactam antibiotics, including penicillin, to kill MRSA has been revealed for the first time.

Distributed protocol underpinning cloud computing automatically determined safe and secure

In an important step toward ensuring the protocols that dictate how our networked services operate are safe, secure and running as expected, University of Michigan researchers have automated a technique called formal verification.

Infection with COVID carries much higher risk of developing neurological complications than vaccine, says new study

COVID-19 is more likely to cause very rare neurological events than vaccines, according to a new study involving experts from the University of Nottingham.

Urgent action is needed to reduce uncertainty on carbon dioxide storage prospects, researchers warn

An urgent increase in policy support and investment would be needed for carbon capture and storage (CCS) to achieve the scale needed to meet global decarbonisation goals, according to University of Queensland and Princeton University researchers.

Researcher advances understanding of how the nervous system controls organs

An international team of researchers, led by University of Houston Cullen Endowed Professor of biomedical engineering Mario Romero-Ortega, has progressed electroceutical research for treatment of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and sepsis. Romero-Ortega partnered with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) at the University of Wollongong in Australia.

Call-and-response circuit tells neurons when to grow synapses

Brain cells called astrocytes play a key role in helping neurons develop and function properly, but there's still a lot scientists don't understand about how astrocytes perform these important jobs. Now, a team of scientists led by Associate Professor Nicola Allen of The Salk Institute For Biological Studies has found one way that neurons and astrocytes work together to form healthy connections called synapses. This insight into normal astrocyte function could help scientists better understand disorders linked to problems with neuronal development, including autism spectrum disorders. The study was published September 8, 2021, in the journal eLife.

Q and A: Reducing men's risk of cardiovascular disease

Q: What's the top cause of death in men, and what can guys do to reduce their risk?

Tiny microscopic hunters could be a crystal ball for climate change

It's hard to know what climate change will mean for Earth's interconnected and interdependent webs of life. But one team of researchers at Duke University says we might begin to get a glimpse of the future from just a few ounces of microbial soup.

New molecule targets, images and treats lung cancer tumors in mice

Lung cancer can be elusive to spot and difficult to treat because the markers for it are found in other tissues, too. Now, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed a finely tuned molecular agent that can target lung and other cancer cells for imaging and treatment.

Aquatic fungus has already wiped amphibians off the map and now threatens survival of terrestrial frogs

A water-borne fungus that has led to the extinction of several species of amphibians that spend all or part of their life cycle in water is also threatening terrestrial amphibians. In Brazil, researchers supported by FAPESP detected unprecedented mortality among a genus of tiny frogs known as pumpkin toadlets that live in the Atlantic Rainforest far from any aquatic environments. The animals were severely infected by chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), which causes chytridiomycosis.

COVID-19 immunity in young Swedish adults investigated

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have analyzed the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and memory cells of the immune system in young adults. The results, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, show that over one in four had antibodies due to the infection. Fewer of these individuals had measurable levels of memory B and T cells compared with other age groups. The researchers will now continue to study long COVID in young adults and the effects of vaccination on immunity.

Use of stimulants in older adults associated with higher risk for cardiovascular events in first month

New research led by Mina Tadrous, Assistant Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto shows that use of prescription stimulant medications in older adults increased the risk of a cardiovascular events by 40 per cent within the first thirty days of medication use.

Research finds higher disease protection in fat cells in females

Research from the University of Cincinnati finds a higher presence of mitochondria in fat tissue in females. The research suggests this provides women protection against obesity and metabolic diseases. The study was published in Nature Metabolism.

Seagrass restoration study shows rapid recovery of ecosystem functions

As the dominant seagrass species on the U.S. West Coast, eelgrass supports a wide range of ecosystem services and functions, making its preservation and restoration a top priority for the region. Eelgrass restoration has a spotty record of success, however, and studies of restoration sites have rarely assessed the full range of ecosystem functions.

Study shows environmental and social factors contribute to higher rates of pneumonia in children

A new study led by researchers in the LSU Superfund Research Program demonstrates that children who are exposed to a certain type of environmental air pollution are more likely to contract community acquired pneumonia, or CAP, and to be hospitalized for longer periods of time. Social factors, including race and socioeconomic status, were also found to be associated with living in high-risk areas for CAP.

Perovskite solar cells with atomically coherent interlayers on SnO₂ electrodes

A research team, led by Professor Sang Il Seok in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has set a new efficiency record for a perovskite solar cell (PSC) at 25.8% by forming an interlayer between electron-transporting and perovskite layers to minimize interfacial defects, contributing to the decrease in the power conversion efficiencies. The new record, according to the research team, is the world's highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) reported so far. Besides, the record, certified by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is also the highest confirmed conversion efficiency of 25.5%.

Ammonia synthesis by mechanocatalysis in a ball mill

A breakthrough in the fight against hunger, three Nobel Prizes, and 150 million tonnes of annual production—yet still a tricky topic for research: For over 100 years, the chemical industry has been using the Haber-Bosch process to convert atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia, an important component of mineral fertilizers and many other chemical products. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung have now found a surprisingly simple way to produce ammonia at ambient temperature—and even at atmospheric pressure—and thus under much milder conditions than those required for the Haber-Bosch process. The reactants are passed through a mill that grinds the catalyst used to facilitate the reaction between the inert nitrogen and hydrogen. The result is a thin but continuous stream of ammonia.

Why are cases of pancreatic cancer rising in young women?

In his work with patients who have pancreatic cancer, Dr. Srinivas Gaddam was bothered by something that he was seeing.

Astronomers may have discovered the first planet outside of our galaxy

Signs of a planet transiting a star outside of the Milky Way galaxy may have been detected for the first time. This intriguing result, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, opens up a new window to search for exoplanets at greater distances than ever before.

How cancer cells engineer macrophages to support cancer growth

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a means by which cancer cells engineer the conversion of immune cells known as macrophages from destroyers of tumors to supporters of their growth and survival. The new research, led by Ludwig Lausanne's Ping-Chih Ho and postdoctoral fellow Giusy Di Conza, reveals that in mouse models of the skin cancer melanoma, this transformation of macrophages within tumors is prompted by a fat molecule, or lipid, released by cancer cells.