Researchers develop powerful strategy for creating new-to-nature enzymes
Engineering enzymes to perform reactions not found in nature can address longstanding challenges in the world of synthetic chemistry, such as upgrading plant-based oils into useful biochemicals. A team of researchers has developed a simple yet powerful strategy for creating new enzymes with novel reactivity that can produce valuable chemical compounds, building on their previous […]
Study reveals Stonehenge landscape before the world-famous monument
Four thousand years before Stonehenge was constructed, land within the World Heritage Site was covered by open woodland, with meadow-like clearings, inhabited by grazing animals and hunter-gatherers, according to new research by the University of Southampton. Scientists exploring Blick Mead, a Mesolithic archaeological site within a chalkland spring area about a mile from the iconic […]
India Stalls Updated COVID-19 Toll Showing Millions More Deaths: Report
The World Health Organization currently says on its website that 6.2 million people worldwide have died of COVID-19. But more than a year of research aimed at calculating the true death toll has led the public health authority to more than double that estimate, according to The New York Times. The WHO reportedly puts the […]
99% Of World’s Population Breathes Poor-Quality Air: WHO
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesn’t meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce fossil-fuel use, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year. The World Health Organization, about six […]
Amid war and disease, World Happiness Report shows bright spot: The pandemic brought an increase in social support and benevolence
In this troubled time of war and pandemic, the World Happiness Report 2022 shows a bright light in dark times. According to the team of international researchers, including McGill University Professor Christopher Barrington-Leigh, the pandemic brought not only pain and suffering but also an increase in social support and benevolence. As the world battles the […]
Obesity: A dangerous immune response
Obesity and overweight are among the biggest health challenges of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Almost 60 percent of Germans are considered overweight, while 25 percent are obese. Moreover, being overweight often triggers severe secondary diseases such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis, or heart attacks. Immunological processes determine the course of this […]
How Will COVID End? Experts Look To Past Epidemics For Clues
NEW YORK (AP) — Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the world has seen a dramatic improvement in infections, hospitalizations and death rates in recent weeks, signaling the crisis appears to be winding down. But how will it end? Past epidemics may provide clues. The ends of epidemics are not as thoroughly researched […]
9/11 Responders More Likely to Carry Genetic Mutations Tied to Cancer
Firefighters and emergency medical personnel who were among the first to respond to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on Sept. 11, 2001 harbor significantly higher rates of genetic mutations associated with blood cancers and other inflammatory diseases, researchers have found. A full 10% of WTC responders exposed to particulate matter from the burning twin […]
New understanding of complex catalysis advances catalyst design
Many of the catalytic reactions that drive our modern world happen in an atomic black box. Scientists know all the components that go into a reaction, but not how they interact at an atomic level. Understanding the reaction pathways and kinetics of catalytic reactions at the atomic scale is critical to designing catalysts for more […]
Climate drove 7,000 years of dietary changes in the Central Andes: Only under the Inca Empire did sociopolitical factors dampen local climate’s influence on diet
What a person eats influences a person’s health, longevity and experience in the world. Identifying the factors that determine people’s diets is important to answer the bigger questions, such as how changing climates will influence unequal access to preferred foods. A new study led by University of Utah anthropologists provides a blueprint to systematically untangle […]