news 2023

Study by the Universities of Bonn and St. Andrews proposes a solution to one of the great mysteries of cosmology The universe is expanding. How fast it does so is described by the so-called Hubble-Lemaitre constant. But there is a dispute about how big this constant actually is: Different measurement methods provide contradictory values.

Inserm press room - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale press room Certain treatments to combat the Ebola virus, notably those based on monoclonal antibodies 1 , have increased the survival rate of patients suffering from the disease and are now recommended. Researchers from IRD, Inserm, ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases and INRB have assessed, for the first time, the antibody response of survivors of the tenth Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who received specific anti-viral drugs.

New genetic research has revealed how British otters were able to recover from species loss in the 1950s with the help of their counterparts from Asia. Using genome sequencing data, a team from Cardiff University's Otter Project showed that much of the genetic diversity of British otters was lost when chemical pollution led to severe population declines in the 1950-1970s.

In a step toward more autonomous soft robots and wearable technologies, researchers have created a device that uses color to simultaneously sense multiple mechanical and temperature stimuli. Robotics researchers have already made great strides in developing sensors that can perceive changes in position, pressure, and temperature - all of which are important for technologies like wearable devices and human-robot interfaces.

Good news for researchers working with high-resolution fluorescence microscopy: Biocompatible molecular rulers are available for the first time to calibrate the latest super-resolution microscopy methods. Latest super-resolution microscopy methods now achieve an optical resolution in the range of a few nanometres.

Modelled on nature: researchers have developed a new material that replicates the structure responsible for the blue feathers of the North American song bird, among many other birds. It also has other striking advantages. The eastern bluebird is a special bird. The blue of its feathers is unique. However, this colour is not based on pigments but on the special structure of the feather.

School students experience a wide range of achievement emotions during the years they spend attending school. Some of those emotions, such as joy and pride, are positive. Yet students also experience boredom and anger when they find achievement activities too difficult or too easy. These differing emotions are important for adolescents' development trajectories.

Researchers find that babies don't begin to process phonetic information reliably until seven months old which they say is too late to form the foundation of language. We believe that speech rhythm information is the hidden glue underpinning the development of a well-functioning language system. Professor Usha Goswami Parents should speak to their babies using sing-song speech, like nursery rhymes, as soon as possible, say researchers.

Patients given transitional care before and during discharge from hospital - such as joint discharge planning follow up visits or phone calls - are less likely to be readmitted according to University of Manchester researchers. meta study of data from 126trials with 97, 408participants, published in JAMA Network Open today (30/11/23) showed the interventions were associated with significant reductions in the odds of readmissions at 180 days after discharge.

Increasing the amount of folate through our diet or taking supplements could help to reduce bowel cancer risk. These are the findings of new research , co-led by Dr Konstantinos Tsilidis from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London. It suggests that increasing the intake of folate - which can be found in leafy greens, such as spinach, cabbage and broccoli - could help to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by up to 7%.

In today's medical landscape, antibiotics are pivotal in combatting bacterial infections. These potent compounds, produced by bacteria and fungi, act as natural defenses against microbial attacks. A team of researchers delved into the intricate world of glycopeptide antibiotics - a vital resource in countering drug-resistant pathogens - to uncover their evolutionary origins.

Slow waves that usually only occur in the brain during sleep are also present during wakefulness in people with epilepsy and may protect against increased brain excitability associated with the condition, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL.

Remote teams are less likely to make breakthrough discoveries compared to those who work onsite, according to published in Nature [29 Nov], led by the universities of Oxford and Pittsburgh into the international rise of remote collaborations among scientists and inventors. The researchers' key finding was that, while remote collaboration has the potential to deliver new and creative scientific ideas through easier access to a global knowledge pool, it is harder for such teams to integrate effectively to deliver breakthroughs.

Levels of banned chemicals in UK-stranded orcas are 30 times over the toxic threshold, uncovers new research. Levels of banned chemicals in UK-stranded orcas are 30 times over the toxic threshold, uncovers new research. The finding is just one alarming discovery from the investigation into the scale at which chemical pollution threatens the future of marine mammals.

Researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine find a way to use 3D printing to produce heart valves for eventual use in surgery on children with cardiac defects. In a breakthrough in pediatric cardiac science, Canadian researchers have successfully produced a bio-ink that could someday be used to print functional, durable heart valves, offering hope for improving the prognosis of children with heart defects.

Freiburg neuroscientists identify signals in the brain of zebrafish larvae that suppress the activity of nerve cells during locomotion When the eye jumps from one point to another, the image of our surroundings rapidly passes across the retina and triggers a wave of neuronal activity. In order not to be overwhelmed by the sensory impressions produced by our own movements, the brain suppresses processing of the stimuli as this happens.

To ensure safe and efficient traffic, the various objects in road and air traffic must be able to quickly detect their spatial environment using radar and communicate with each other via radio networks. In order to investigate the radar reflection of a so-called VTOL drone (short for "Vertical Take-Off and Landing"), which can take off and land vertically without a runway, the Electronic Measurements and Signal Processing (EMS) Group at TU Ilmenau has set up a test facility at the BiRa test facility has just completed an extensive measurement campaign at the BiRa test facility.

The University of Innsbruck is enhancing its science communication in the fields of climate, biodiversity, and sustainability. A key development in this initiative is the creation of a new online platform, designed to showcase the university's extensive scientific expertise. This platform, part of the 'PEAK' project (Perspectives on Engagement, Accountability, and Knowledge), offers insights into current research and includes a growing database of expert profiles.

An international team of researchers including Prof. Badri Krishnan at Radboud University has verified an important property of black holes known as the no-hair theorem using gravitational wave observations. Their research is published in the journal Physical Review Letters. It is a remarkable fact of nature that black holes are extremely simple objects.

Facial expressions are extremely important in understanding what the other person is saying, according to PhD research by Naomi Nota. Frowning in particular turns out to play a major role. Nota will defend her PhD thesis at Radboud University on 6 December. In the past, linguists mainly looked at speech and how it affects language processing.