Other Sciences News

Hackmanite turns purple under UV irradiation, and the color fades back to white in a few minutes under regular white light. Image credit: Mika Lastusaari.

Natural Aluminosilicate Minerals Change Color Under UV Light

Jun 22, 2022 by News Staff

Hackmanite, tugtupite, and scapolite change their color from white to purple, pink, and blue, respectively, under UV irradiation, according to a team of...

Graphene related materials are extensively used to reinforce polymers. Image credit: Empa / Chortarea et al., doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129053.

Study: Dust of Graphene-Related Materials Is Not Harmful

Jun 21, 2022 by News Staff

Graphene-related materials (GRMs) are often used to reinforce polymers. In small concentrations of up to 5% (weight), they can significantly enhance the...

Schematic overview of the mechanism of action of the implemented snake venom proteins. Ecarin, a procoagulant snake venom protein bypasses the activation of series of clotting factors via intrinsic and extrinsic clotting pathway and directly activates prothrombin to thrombin thereby producing a fibrin blood clot. Once the clot is formed, clot breakdown (fibrinolysis) is initiated by the activation of plasminogen mainly by tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), forming active plasmin which proteolytically acts on the fibrin blood clot. Textilinin, an antifibrinolytic snake venom protein binds to plasmin with high specificity and inhibits the action of plasmin, stabilizing the fibrin blood clot. Image credit: Yegappan et al., doi: 10.1002/adhm.202200574.

Researchers Create Snake Venom Hydrogel that Rapidly Stops Uncontrolled Bleeding

Jun 20, 2022 by News Staff

The newly-developed rapid wound sealant is composed of two snake venom proteins: ecarin, which rapidly initiates blood clotting, and textilinin, which...

Biswas et al. examined the effects of actual caffeine intake on spending. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Caffeine Consumption Leads to Impulsivity during Shopping, New Study Shows

Jun 17, 2022 by Natali Anderson

New research conducted at multiple retail stores across different countries and in the lab indicates that consuming a caffeinated (vs. non-caffeinated)...

Low levels of vitamin D were associated with lower brain volumes and an increased risk of dementia and stroke. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study Shows Link between Vitamin D Deficiency and Brain Health

Jun 15, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research led by University of South Australia scientists supports a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency on brain health, notably for the risk of...

Healthy brain temperature varies by time of day. Image credit: Rzechorzek et al., doi: 10.1093/brain/awab466.

Study: Human Brain Temperature is Higher and Varies More Than Previously Assumed

Jun 14, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists have established a 4D map of human brain temperature and shown how this parameter varies with time of day, brain region, age, and sex in adults....

Ukrainian borsch. Image credit: Liz West / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Polyphenol- and Nitrate-Rich Foods May Boost Performance in Athletes

Jun 9, 2022 by News Staff

Consumption of polyphenol- and nitrate-rich foods, such as the beetroot, the bright-red veggie more often found in the Ukrainian borsch than a breakfast...

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean Version 2 (IBCSO v2) is a digital bathymetric model for the area south of 50° S with special emphasis on the bathymetry of the Southern Ocean. Image credit: Dorschel et al.

Scientists Create New High-Resolution Map of Southern Ocean

Jun 9, 2022 by News Staff

After nine years of gathering, cleaning, processing and interpolating data, an international team of researchers this week released the second version...

The western honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: David Hablützel.

New Zealand Honeydew Honey Has Excellent Antioxidant Properties, Study Shows

Jun 8, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

A team of researchers at the Auckland University of Technology has profiled the chemical composition of New Zealand honeydew honey and compared its antioxidant...

Higher coffee intake is associated with a lower risk of incident acute kidney injury and could present an opportunity for cardiorenal protection through diet. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Drinking Coffee Daily May Lower Risk of Acute Kidney Injury

Jun 6, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

In a prospective cohort study with 14,207 middle-aged participants, those who drank any quantity of coffee every day had a 15% lower risk of acute kidney...

Example of illusorily expanding central region or ‘hole;’ viewing the image full screen is best for eliciting the effect. Image credit: Laeng et al., doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.877249.

New Visual Illusion Trick Your Brain into Thinking Static Black Hole is Expanding

Jun 3, 2022 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience shows that the ‘expanding hole’ optical illusion, which is new to science, is...

Excavation area in Cueva de Ardales with evidence from the Middle Paleolithic period. Image credit: Ramos-Muñoz et al. / CC-BY 4.0.

Study: Spain’s Cueva de Ardales Was Used by Ancient Humans for Over 50,000 years

Jun 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Cueva de Ardales is a hugely important Paleolithic site in Malaga, Spain, owing to its rich inventory of rock art. According to new research, Neanderthals...

Liu et al. found that compared to non-coffee drinkers, adults who drank moderate amounts (1.5 to 3.5 cups per day) of unsweetened coffee or sugar-sweetened coffee were less likely to die during a 7-year follow up period. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Drinking Coffee Daily, Even with Sugar Added, Reduces Mortality Risk: Study

May 31, 2022 by News Staff

Moderate dietary consumption (1.5 to 3.5 cups per day) of unsweetened or sugar-sweetened coffee is associated with a lower mortality risk, according to...

Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) technology and design principle of super hygroscopic polymer films (SHPFs): (a) key steps of AWH technology; (b) geographic distribution of world average annual relative humidity; regions with less than 40% relative humidity are indicated from brown to red (warm color) regions; (c) material design of SHPFs for AWH at low relative humidity; (d) qualitative comparison of different materials in terms of core requirements for practical application of AWH. Image credit: Guo et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30505-2.

Super Hygroscopic Polymer Film Can Harvest Water from Arid Air

May 31, 2022 by News Staff

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a low-cost polymer film made of renewable biomass and hygroscopic salt that can extract...

Han et al. developed the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot. Image credit: Han et al., doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.abn0602.

Scientists Create World’s Tiniest Remote-Controlled Walking Robot

May 27, 2022 by News Staff

Just 0.5 mm wide, the tiny walking robot developed by Northwestern University’s Professor John Rogers and his colleagues can bend, twist, crawl, walk,...

CCR5 expression and activation in the dorsal hippocampus after contextual fear conditioning. Image credit: Shen et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04783-1.

Study: FDA-Approved HIV Drug Restores Memory Linking in Middle-Aged Mice

May 26, 2022 by News Staff

Our real-world memories are formed in a particular context and are often not acquired or recalled in isolation. Time is a key variable in the organization...

Scientists Synthesize Crystalline Gamma-Graphyne

May 23, 2022 by News Staff

Graphynes are two-dimensional carbon allotropes similar to the wonder material graphene that is optically transparent and mechanically flexible, and yet...

The southern yellow-billed hornbill (Tockus leucomelas), adult female, in Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa. Image credit: Derek Keats / CC BY 2.0.

Rapid Global Warming is Driving Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbills to Local Extinction

May 20, 2022 by News Staff

In a study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, a team of scientists in South Africa assessed the effects of air temperature and...

Sustained intake of cranberry over a 12-week period produced significant improvements in memory and neural function in older adults who were cognitively healthy. Image credit: MrGajowy3.

Study: Daily Cranberry Consumption Improves Episodic Memory and Neural Function in Older Adults

May 19, 2022 by News Staff

Daily cranberry supplementation (equivalent to 1 small cup of cranberries) over a 12-week period improves episodic memory performance and neural functioning,...