Neat News 5931 (added 2023-01-31)

Biomaterial to heal tissue

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In the past biomaterials were developed that can be injected in the heart to start a healing process after a heart attack. Now a new type of biomaterial has been tested in animals that is transported to the damaged tissue (heart or brain, e.g.) by the blood.

related: #tissue #repair #healing

Neat News 5930 (added 2023-01-30)

Café au lait

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Coffee with milk seems to have an anti-inflammatory effect, since it contains a combination of proteins and antioxidants that supplement each other to stimulate immune cells, a new study finds.

related: #coffee #anti_inflammatory

Neat News 5929 (added 2023-01-29)

New low-cost solar cells

Perovskite solar cells are low-cost but very sensitive to temperature changes. Now solar cells based on perovskite enhanced by a polymer have been produced that can tolerate big temperature fluctuations.

related: #solar_cell #perovskite #temperature_tolerant

Neat News 5928 (added 2023-01-28)

Wearable ultrasound sensor for the heart

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A postage stamp sized ultrasound sensor has been developed that can be worn for up to 24 hours to take echocardiograms even during exercise. It offers a new diagnostic tool to check the heart.

related: #ultrasound #heart #wearable

Neat News 5927 (added 2023-01-27)

Walking for health

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In a new study with older women it was found that walking or other physical activity for half an hour per day reduces the risk of mild cognitive decline and dementia (by about a fifth to a third).

related: #walking

Neat News 5926 (added 2023-01-)

Higher birth weight in green neighbourhood

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In a new study in nine European countries with almost 70000 babies, it has been found that mothers who live in a green neighbourhood give birth to children with a higher birth weight.

related: #birth_weight #green_neighbourhood

Neat News 5925 (added 2023-01-25)

Humans understanding ape gestures

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In a new study, more than 5000 untrained participants were shown ten of the most common gestures (of some 80 known in total) used by apes in twenty videos. They could understand them in more than half of the cases, way more than could be expected by chance.

related: #sign_language #ape

Neat News 5924 (added 2023-01-24)

Carbon capture to methanol

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With increasing amounts of the greenhouse gas CO2 in the atmosphere, capturing it becomes more important. Now a relatively cheap approach for carbon capture has been suggested, namely, to first convert the CO2 to methanol, which can then be the starting point for the conversion to other materials.

related: #carbon_capture

Neat News 5923 (added 2023-01-23)

Beetroot for muscle force

Dietary nitrate as found in beetroot juice can significantly increase the muscle force while exercising, a new study finds. It is assumed that the nitrate serves as a source of nitric oxide.

related: #muscle #nitrate

Neat News 5922 (added 2023-01-22)

Meteorite found in Antarctica

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A 7.6 kg heavy new meteorite has been found in Antarctica.

related: #meteorite

Neat News 5921 (added 2023-01-21)

Helping visually impaired with smart stick

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A new smart walking stick for visually impaired people has been developed that uses a camera and with AI techniques can help people finding things such as certain goods in a grocery store.

related: #AI #visually_impaired #stick

Neat News 5920 (added 2023-01-20)

Overcoming blood-brain barrier

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When medication is applied to the brain, e.g., potential Alzheimer gene therapy, then there is the problem that the brain's protection mechanism, the so-called blood-brain barrier, prevents the medication from reaching the brain's cells. Now a nano-particle based approach has been found that can overcome this barrier.

related: #nano #therapy #brain

Neat News 5919 (added 2023-01-19)

Weight gain/loss linked to number of meals

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In a new five year study, time restricted eating could not be proved to be associated with weight loss; however, a small number of daily meals could be, as well as the reduction of the overall calorie intake.

related: #weight_loss #calorie

Neat News 5918 (added 2023-01-18)

Recycling clothes

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An estimate says that in the USA in 2018, 47 kg of textiles were thrown away per person on average and only a small amount (13 percent globally) is recycled. There are new approaches to increase this, for instance, by enzymes that can degrade PET (polyethylene terephthalate) molecules.

related: #recycling #clothes

Neat News 5917 (added 2023-01-17)

Healthy exposure to nature

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In a new study it has been found that people who are exposed three to four times per week to green and/or blue spaces in urban environments less frequently take psychotropic, antihypertensive and asthma medication.

related: #nature #medication

Neat News 5916 (added 2023-01-16)

Laser diversion for Lightning

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For the first time scientists managed to detour lightning by a high frequency laser. It is assumed that the intense laser pulses heat up the air forming a canal that has a higher conductivity thereby diverting the bolt. In the long run the approach may be used to protect infrastructure such as an airport.

related: #lightning #detour

Neat News 5915 (added 2023-01-15)

Do not sit for too long

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Too much sitting is a problem for many people, even those who exercise regularly. A new study finds that a five minute exercise "snack" every half hour of sitting can offset its harmful effects.

related: #sitting #exercise

Neat News 5914 (added 2023-01-14)

Support against depression

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People with a genetic depression risk benefit particularly well by the support from others in that their depression symptoms are reduced by the social interactions and help.

related: #support #depression

Neat News 5913 (added 2023-01-13)

Placebo against guilt

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People who feel guilty typically want to take remedial action such as apologizing. Their situation can also be improved by giving them a placebo pill. This is effective whether they are told that it is a real medication or openly told that it is a placebo.

related: #guilt #placebo

Neat News 5912 (added 2023-01-12)

Nice neighbourhood and walking

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Living in a nice and safe neighbourhood is correlated to people walking more than 150 minutes per week, a new study finds.

related: #neighbourhood #walking

Neat News 5911 (added 2023-01-11)

Healthy eating linked to lower risk of early death

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A new study finds that eating healthily according to four dietary pattern indexes are linked to a lower risk of premature death. The diet recommendation includes eating a broad range of vegetables and whole fruits and limiting trans fats and added sugars.

related: #diet #health

Neat News 5910 (added 2023-01-10)

Ozone layer recovering

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The international Montreal agreement of 1987 to stop using CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) is working and the ozone layer is recovering so that it should be fully restored over the Antarctic by 2066 and some 20 years earlier elsewhere (assumed the protection is maintained).

related: #ozone_hole #recovery

Neat News 5909 (added 2023-01-09)

Vitamin D reduces risk of skin cancer

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In a study with 500 people with an increased risk of skin cancer in Finland, it has been found that people who take vitamin D supplements have a considerably lower risk of catching melanoma.

related: #vitamin_D #skin_cancer

Neat News 5908 (added 2023-01-08)

Gardening for health

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A new study from the USA finds that gardening improves physical and mental health and may reduce the risk of cancer and chronic diseases.

related: #gardening #health

Neat News 5907 (added 2023-01-07)

Stability of Ancient Roman concrete

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Many modern concrete buildings crumble, but Ancient Roman concrete buildings keep strong after millenia. Now there is an indication why this is so. The Roman concrete contains tiny lime clasts that seem to provide it with the capability to refill cracks before they spread.

related: #concrete #Roman

Neat News 5906 (added 2023-01-06)

Record wind energy in the UK

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With more than a quarter of all electricity, in 2022 a record amount of electricity was generated using wind in the UK, whereas the use of coal was down to 1.5 percent compared to 43 percent in 2012.

related: #wind_energy

Neat News 5905 (added 2023-01-05)

Choosing climate friendly food

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A study in the USA found that around 10 percent of consumers go for food with a low carbon footprint if the corresponding information is provided on corresponding labels.

related: #consumer_choice #food #climate_friendly

Neat News 5904 (added 2023-01-04)

Keeping hydrated for good health

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A new study finds that adults who keep themselves well hydrated are healthier and live longer. They have fewer chronic conditions such as heart problems. A good level of fluid intake depends on different factors, one suggestion is that women should take in 1.5 to 2.2 litres daily and men 2 to 3 litres.

related: #hydration #health

Neat News 5903 (added 2023-01-03)

Cleaning rivers in the UK

Citizens in the UK are working towards cleaner rivers in the UK by different measures. On the one hand, they take rubbish such as plastic bottles out of the rivers, on the other hand, they take samples for testing the water quality to monitor the pollution.

related: #river #monitoring #cleaning

Neat News 5902 (added 2023-01-02)

Protecting elephants

A new study comes to the conclusion that policy makers should understand that elephants need protection since they are of very great importance which goes far beyond their mere economical value. They are not only important in themselves, but also play important roles in the socio-ecological systems in which they live.

related: #elephants #protection

Neat News 5901 (added 2023-01-01)

AI system to detect Alzheimer's

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An artificial intelligence system behind a chatbot program, called ChatGPT, can with an accuracy of 80 percent predict early stages of dementia from spontaneous speech of participants. It might be used in the future to help to detect Alzheimer's Disease.

related: #Alzheimer #diagnosis #AI