Neat News 5625 (added 2022-03-31)

Avocado for healthy heart

In a 30 year study with more than 110000 people it was found that eating two servings of avocado per week significantly lowers the risk of cardiovascular problems. Likewise it is good for the heart to replace butter, cheese, or bacon by avocado.

related: #avocado #cardiovascular

Neat News 5624 (added 2022-03-30)

Star found 12.9 billion light years away

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A star called Earendel has been found with the Hubble Space Telescope at a distance of 12.9 billion light years. This is significantly farther than the previous record holder with a distance of 9 billion light years.

related: #Hubble_telescope

Neat News 5623 (added 2022-03-29)

Hydration for heart health

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Being well-hydrated is associated - just as a low salt intake - with a smaller risk of having heart failure, a new study finds. It is recommended that women have a fluid intake of 1.5 to 2.1 litres per day and men between 2 to 3 litres.

related: #hydration #heart_health

Neat News 5622 (added 2022-03-28)

People want constructive feedback

Often feedback is not given since it is assumed to be unwelcome. However, a new study finds that people typically appreciate constructive feedback, however this desire is underestimated by others.

related: #constructive_feedback

Neat News 5621 (added 2022-03-27)

Measuring gravitational waves by moon orbit

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Gravitational waves as predicted in the early 20th century were detected for the first time in 2015. Since they are hard to observe, it has now been proposed to use the Moon's orbit as detector. The distance between the Earth and the Moon can be measured with very high precision (less than 1cm at an average distance of about 384,400km).

related: #gravitational_wave

Neat News 5620 (added 2022-03-26)

Protein important for HIV treatment found

Antiretroviral therapy gives HIV patients a lifeline to suppress AIDS. However, the virus is not eliminated and lifelong treatment is required. Now, there is a better understanding of the problem: HIV patients lack a particular protein, CD73. Possibly the insight can lead to a new therapy in the long run.

related: #HIV #antiretroviral

Neat News 5619 (added 2022-03-25)

Conservation works for bitterns

For bitterns, Britain's loudest birds and members of the heron family, the conservation efforts in wetlands is paying off with 228 males counted in 2021, up from 209 in 2019 and only 11 in 1997.

related: #bittern #conservation

Neat News 5618 (added 2022-03-24)

Daily coffee for health

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Two to three cups of coffee a day are not only good for the heart but are also related to living longer, a new study finds. Caffeinated coffee is preferable over decaf coffee.

related: #coffee #health

Neat News 5617 (added 2022-03-23)

Stomach bugs down due to increased hygiene

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In England the number of stomach bug problems had more than halved in the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic, assumed due to increased hygiene and reduced contacts.

related: #hygiene #stomach_bugs #norovirus

Neat News 5616 (added 2022-03-22)

Workout using virtual reality

Working out using active videogames, so-called exergaming, may make working out more fun and can this way contribute to people keep going so that they are more active, new research finds.

related: #workout #virtual_reality

Neat News 5615 (added 2022-03-21)

Calculus to STEM

In a report it is stated that a big step towards motivating students to keep going with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects, is to convey calculus in a way that they have a better experience with it.

related: #calculus #STEM

Neat News 5614 (added 2022-03-20)

Gene to protect from Parkinson's disease

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Scientists have found a key protein in fruit flies and mice which can protect brain cells against Parkinson's disease. In the long run this may lead to a gene therapy against the disease.

related: #Parkinson

Neat News 5613 (added 2022-03-19)

Stroke less likely in green areas

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People who have green spaces less than 300 metres from their homes, have a 16 percent lower risk to suffer a stroke than those who do not. Increased levels of NO2, however, increase the risk.

related: #stroke #urban_trees

Neat News 5612 (added 2022-03-18)

How to capture carbon

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Carbon capture may play a role in limiting global warming, however, it is currently quite inefficient. Now research is done how to make the CO2 more reactive using electricity and bind it to some suitable molecule. One goal of the research is to find suitable molecules that need minimal amounts of energy.

related: #carbon_capture

Neat News 5611 (added 2022-03-17)

Increasing healthspan

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In two studies involving some 7000 people each in England, it was studied whether increased lifetime (comparing 1991 and 2011) goes along with an increased time of healthy years. It was found that most of the extra years gained were healthy years.

related: #health

Neat News 5610 (added 2022-03-16)

Hostages free

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori who were held hostage by the Iranian state for more than five and four years, respectively, are on their way home to the UK after the UK settled a debt of almost £400m.

related: #hostage #freed

Neat News 5609 (added 2022-03-15)

Learning creativity

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In a new training method people learn how to be creative by making up stories. This way they imagine alternative worlds and learn to shift perspective resulting in unexpected actions.

related: #creativity

Neat News 5608 (added 2022-03-14)

Stabilizing a fragile protein to fight cancer

The p53 protein protects cells from cancer. However, using it as a therapy is difficult since it is fragile. Now a method has been found to make it more stable: adding a spider silk protein to it.

related: #cancer #p53_protein

Neat News 5607 (added 2022-03-13)

Biology inspired data storage

Reliable ways to store huge amounts of data is one of the challenges of the information age. Now such a method may have been found, taking the double-helix of the DNA as a blueprint, however, instead of taking just the letters A, G, C, and T as alphabet, using eleven nucleotides in total.

related: #data_storage

Neat News 5606 (added 2022-03-12)

Cleaning solar panels by repulsion

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Solar panels lose a significant part of their efficiency when dirty. Using water to clean them is wasteful and may be difficult in deserts. Now an electrostatic repulsion technique has been developed that causes dust particles to detach.

related: #solar_panel #repulsion

Neat News 5605 (added 2022-03-11)

Shackleton's sunken ship found

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Ernest Shackleton's ship, the Endurance, was crushed and sank in 1915 in Antarctica, forcing the crew to escape on foot and in small boats. Now the shipwreck has been discovered and is in remarkable condition.

related: #Endurance

Neat News 5604 (added 2022-03-10)

Rejuvenation in experiments with mice

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In experiments with mice, scientists managed to rejuvenate the cells of elderly mice by adding a mixture of four reprogramming molecules, the so-called Yamanaka factors to resetting them to stem cells and thereby increase the lifespan of the mice.

related: #rejuvenation

Neat News 5603 (added 2022-03-09)

Prehistoric recycling

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Examining 500,000 year old flint tools, researchers assume now that at that time people recycled flint tools that had been made, used, and discarded by their predecessors.

related: #prehistory #recycling

Neat News 5602 (added 2022-03-08)

Houseplants for better air

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Common houseplants improve the indoor air quality. In particular, they can reduce nitrogen dioxide in the air by 20 percent, as a new study finds.

related: #houseplants #air_quality

Neat News 5601 (added 2022-03-07)

6000 to 10000 steps for longer life

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A meta-analysis of 15 studies involving almost 50000 people confirmed that walking is linked to longer life. Adults younger than 60 should do 8000 to 10000 steps per day, older people between 6000 and 8000 steps.

related: #steps_for_life

Neat News 5600 (added 2022-03-06)

Ukrainian refugees welcomed in Poland and Hungary

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As a consequence of the Russian aggression on Ukraine more than a million people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries such as Poland and Hungary, which previously rejected refugees. More than 700,000 people have been welcomed to Poland alone up to now.

related: #refugees_welcome

Neat News 5599 (added 2022-03-05)

Fighting ovarian cancer with `drug factory'

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In experiments with mice, a `drug factory' was very successful in fighting ovarian and colorectal cancer by providing high doses of interleukin-2 which activates white blood cells to fight cancer.

related: #cancer_treatment

Neat News 5598 (added 2022-03-04)

Anti-inflammatory drug to help Covid-19 patients

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An existing anti-inflammatory drug, called baricitinib, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis can cut the death risk in Covid-19 infections by about a fifth and may be used in combination with other drugs.

related: #Covid19 #anti_inflammatory

Neat News 5597 (added 2022-03-03)

UN resolution against plastic

In the assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme, 175 countries agreed yesterday to come up with a global treaty to end plastic pollution within two years.

related: #plastic_pollution

Neat News 5596 (added 2022-03-02)

Keep exercising

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In new research it has been found that it is important to keep exercising, since otherwise a particular protein called Piezo1 will be deactivated, making exercising more difficult, since the blood flow to the muscles will be reduced.

related: #exercising

Neat News 5595 (added 2022-03-01)

New treatment for sickle cell disease

In sickle cell disease blood cells become sticky and block blood vessels. For the first time in 20 years, a new drug is given to patients, crizanlizumab, that binds to a protein on blood cells preventing them from clumping.

related: #sickle_cell_disease