Reconfigurable metasurfaces provide nanoscale light control: Technique inspired by the art of paper cutting used to make metasurfaces that could benefit optical displays and information encoding
Researchers have designed electromechanically reconfigurable ultrathin optical elements that can be controlled and programmed on a pixel-by-pixel level. These versatile metasurfaces could offer a new chip-based way to achieve nanoscale control of light, which could lead to better optical displays, information encoding and digital light processing. “Metasurfaces are ultrathin and compact optical elements that can […]
Insect protein has great potential to reduce the carbon footprint of European consumers
Researchers at the University of Helsinki and LUT University, Finland, have analysed the extent to which insect protein could help to reduce global warming associated with food consumption in Europe. They have especially focused on insect protein use and soybean-protein use in the production of broilers. The results support previous research suggesting that insect protein […]
Actuator discovery outperforms existing technology: Researchers use organic semiconductor nanotubes to create new electrochemical actuator
University of Houston researchers are reporting a breakthrough in the field of materials science and engineering with the development of an electrochemical actuator that uses specialized organic semiconductor nanotubes (OSNTs). Currently in the early stages of development, the actuator will become a key part of research contributing to the future of robotic, bioelectronic and biomedical […]
Making methane from CO2: Carbon capture grows more affordable: Methane made from CO2 and renewable hydrogen offers a new path toward cheaper carbon capture
In their ongoing effort to make carbon capture more affordable, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a method to convert captured carbon dioxide (CO2) into methane, the primary component of natural gas. By streamlining a longstanding process in which CO2 is converted to methane, the researchers’ new method reduces […]
Stem-like T cells could aid immunotherapy in cancer treatment
In a new study by Yale Cancer Center, researchers show stem-like T cells within certain lymph nodes could be natural cancer fighters. Targeting these T cells, which are a type of white blood cells, with immunotherapy drugs could increase the number of cancer patients that respond to treatment. The findings were reported online today in […]
Prior exposure to common cold coronaviruses enhances immune response to SARS-CoV-2
Researchers from Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) have shown that certain immune cells, which are found in people previously exposed to common cold coronaviruses, enhance the body’s immune response to SARS-CoV-2, both during natural infection and following vaccination. The […]
Novel mechanism links genetic defect in IBD patients to gut leakiness: Study in mice and human tissue is the first to show how a disease mutation weakens barrier properties of epithelial cells lining the gut
A team of researchers led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has identified a novel mechanism by which loss-of-function mutations in the gene PTPN2, found in many patients with inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, affect how intestinal epithelial cells maintain a barrier. The intestinal epithelium, a single layer of cells, plays […]
Researchers use artificial intelligence to predict which COVID-19 patients will need a ventilator to breathe
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed an online tool to help medical staff quickly determine which COVID-19 patients will need help breathing with a ventilator. The tool, developed through analysis of CT scans from nearly 900 COVID-19 patients diagnosed in 2020, was able to predict ventilator need with 84% accuracy. “That could be […]
Novel assessment of platelet-rich plasma treatment shows efficacy in patients with osteoarthritis
A pilot study conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine combined wearable technology and patient-reported outcomes to assess the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment in osteoarthritis (OA). The results, published in the journal Regenerative Medicine, showed that a single injection of leukocyte-rich/PRP in the knee joint significantly improved functional mobility, pain and quality […]
Bacterial bloom as the Earth thawed: Photosynthetic organisms during the Snowball Earth
Some researchers hypothesize that ice sheets enveloped the earth during the Marinoan glaciation (650-535 million years ago) in what is dubbed the “Snowball Earth.” The glaciation also impacted the climate and chemical compositions of the oceans, restraining the evolution of early life. Yet, as the earth warmed, and the Ediacaran period dawned, biotic life began […]