News

  • Chemists Find New Route to Popular Biodegradable PHAs

    November 21, 2019
    Plastic waste has been a serious, unaddressed problem for more than a decade. The tide may finally be turning though as public awareness continues to increase. In the laboratory, chemists like Eugene Chen think a class of biomaterials called PHAs, or polyhydroxyalkanoates, are the answer to today’s plastic problem. read more

  • Newly Identified Risk Gene Adds to Alzheimer’s Hereditary Puzzle

    November 22, 2019
    Researchers think “hidden” genomic regions may be key to understanding Alzheimer’s disease, especially the genes that influence the neurodegenerative disease’s high heritability. read more

  • The Impact of Climate Change on Kelp’s Reproductivity

    November 22, 2019
    In 2014, National Science Foundation graduate research fellow Jordan Hollarsmith, was living on the California coast when a marine heat wave hit. Beside the massive marine heat wave itself, something curious happened: much of the giant kelp in the north died, while the kelp in the south survived. read more

  • The Search for New Antibiotics

    November 22, 2019
    Antibiotic/antimicrobial resistance already claims the lives of more than 2 million people per year in the United States, and experts warn that it could prompt a global economic crisis by 2050 if left unchecked. Given the overuse of antibiotics in both human health and agriculture for the past 50 years, most scientists agree it is probably too late for the first generation of antibiotics. read more

  • Material Captures, Converts Toxic Air Pollutant to Industrial Chemical

    November 25, 2019
    An international team of scientists has developed a metal-organic framework, or MOF, material that provides a selective, fully reversible and repeatable capability to capture a toxic air pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, produced by combusting diesel and other fossil fuels. read more

  • AI Can Determine if Immunotherapy is Working for Patients

    November 25, 2019
    Since immunotherapy began to take off in the second decade of the new millennium, it has provided hope, strength and healing to patients with cancer. Although scientists have made great strides, the technology is still in its infancy. Researchers at the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics at Case Western Reserve University are dedicated to changing that. read more

  • Study Shows Olive Oil Staves Off Dementia in Mice

    November 25, 2019
    Boosting brain function is key to staving off the effects of aging. And if there was one thing every person should consider doing right now to keep their brain young, it is to add extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to their diet, according to new research. EVOO is a superfood, rich in cell-protecting antioxidants and known for its multiple health benefits, including helping put the brakes on diseases linked to aging, most notably cardiovascular disease. read more

  • Cannabis Can Reduce Headache Pain by 50 Percent

    November 26, 2019
    Inhaled cannabis reduces the perceived severity of headaches and migraines by nearly 50 percent, regardless of THC and CBD potency, according to a new study. Despite medical marijuana being legal in 33 of 50 states in the U.S., not much research exists examining its treatment success. read more

  • Gut Microbes Alter Characteristics of Norovirus Infection

    November 26, 2019
    Each year, norovirus is responsible for 200,000 deaths, mostly in the developing world. There are no treatments for this intestinal virus, often incorrectly referred to as stomach flu. A new study has shown that gut microbes can tamp down or boost the severity of norovirus infection based on where along the intestine the virus takes hold. read more

  • Biotech Breakthrough Turns Waste Biomass into High-value Chemicals

    November 26, 2019
    A move toward a more sustainable bio-based economy has been given a new boost by researchers who have been able to simplify a process to transform waste materials into high value chemicals. read more

  • AI-based Algorithm Improves TBI Treatment

    November 27, 2019
    Traumatic brain injury is not well understood in the research laboratory, nor the clinical setting. Now, Rahul Raj and his team of researchers from Helsinki University Hospital (Finland) have applied a 21st-century solution to the problem—an AI-based algorithm that can predict the probability of a patient dying with 80 to 85 percent accuracy. read more

  • Researchers Look to RNA for a Better Flu Shot

    November 27, 2019
    At best, the flu vaccine is only effective 40% to 60% of the time. Michigan State University researchers have data that show how cellular RNA levels change following infection or vaccination. Their work could help make future flu vaccines work better or even aid in the design of a universal vaccine. read more

  • Cutting Nanoparticles Down to Size

    November 27, 2019
    A new technique in chemistry could pave the way for producing uniform nanoparticles for use in drug delivery systems. read more

  • Scientists Develop First Implantable Magnet Resonance Detector

    November 28, 2019
    A team of neuroscientists and electrical engineers from Germany and Switzerland developed a highly sensitive implant that enables to probe brain physiology with unparalleled spatial and temporal resolution. read more

  • FDA-approved Drug Shows Promise Against ALS in Mice

    November 29, 2019
    The cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)--a disabling neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and leads to weakened muscles and early death--is not fully understood, but accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory processes may play a role in the initiation and progression of the condition. read more
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