New reactor could save millions when making ingredients for plastics and rubber from natural gas

Illustration Credit: Courtesy of University of Michigan / Department of Chemical Engineering

A new way to make an important ingredient for plastics, adhesives, carpet fibers, household cleaners and more from natural gas could reduce manufacturing costs in a post-petroleum economy by millions of dollars, thanks to a new chemical reactor designed by University of Michigan engineers.

The reactor creates propylene, a workhorse chemical that is also used to make a long list of industrial chemicals, including ingredients for nitrile rubber found in automotive hoses and seals as well as blue protective gloves. Most propylene used today comes from oil refineries, which collect it as a byproduct of refining crude oil into gasoline.

As oil and gasoline fall out of vogue in favor of natural gas, solar, and wind energy, production of propylene and other oil-derived products could fall below the current demand without new ways to make them.

Natural gas extracted from shale holds one potential alternative to propylene sourced from crude oil. It’s rich in propane, which resembles propylene closely enough to be a promising precursor material, but current methods to make propylene from natural gas are still too inefficient to bridge the gap in supply and demand.

“It’s very hard to economically convert propane into propylene,” said Suljo Linic, the Martin Lewis Perl Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering and the corresponding author of the study published in Science.

New vaccine against a highly fatal tropical disease – and potential bioterror weapon – demonstrates efficacy in animal studies

Burkholderia pseudomallei infecting a human cell. The bacteria (red) are polymerizing actin (green).
 Photo Credit: Courtesy of Christopher T. French.

In a mouse study, UCLA researchers tested a vaccine against the bacterium that causes melioidosis and found it was highly protective against the disease, which is endemic in many tropical areas, causing approximately 165,000 cases with 89,000 fatalities around the world each year. 

The bacterium, called Burkholderia pseudomallei, is spread through contact with contaminated soil and water through inhalation, ingestion or broken skin. It is so dangerous that it is categorized as a Tier 1 Select Agent of bioterrorism, and it can cause rapidly fatal pneumonia when inhaled in low doses. If aerosolized and unleashed in a terror attack, it could lead to widespread death.

To date there are no licensed vaccines against the bacterium, said senior author Dr. Marcus Horwitz, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, in the division of infectious diseases, and of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

“A safe and effective vaccine is needed to prevent this disease as melioidosis is often difficult to diagnose, requires very lengthy treatment lasting three to six months, and has a high fatality rate even in high resource settings,” Horwitz said. “Such a vaccine would be of great benefit to people living in endemic regions, travelers, and military personnel stationed in these areas, and it would also reduce the risk from an intentional release of B. pseudomallei in a bioterrorist attack.” 

Scientists uncover evidence that microplastics are contaminating archaeological remains

The study identified 16 different microplastic polymer types across both contemporary and archived samples.
PHoto Credit: York Archaeology

Researchers have for the first-time discovered evidence of microplastic contamination in archaeological soil samples.

The study identified 16 different microplastic polymer types across both contemporary and archived samples. Pic credit: York Archaeology

The team discovered tiny microplastic particles in deposits located more than seven meters deep, in samples dating back to the first or early second century and excavated in the late 1980s.

Tiny particles

Preserving archaeology in situ has been the preferred approach to managing historical sites for a generation. However, the research team say the findings could prompt a rethink, with the tiny particles potentially compromising the preserved remains.

Microplastics are small plastic particles, ranging from 1μm (one thousandth of a millimeter) to 5mm. They come from a wide range of sources, from larger plastic pieces that have broken apart, or resin pellets used in plastic manufacturing which were frequently used in beauty products up until around 2020.

Climate change disrupts vital ecosystems in the Alps

Photo Credit: Samuel Walker

Reduced snow cover and shifting vegetation patterns in the Alps, both driven by climate change, are having major combined impacts on biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems in the high mountains, according to new research published today.

Mountain ranges covering vast areas of the world are warming much faster than surrounding lowland areas, triggering huge reductions in snow cover and rapid upward movement of dwarf-shrubs, such as heather.

Scientists at The University of Manchester have found that these changes are disrupting the timing of crucial alpine ecosystem functions performed by plants and soil microorganisms.

The research, published today in the journal Global Change Biology and funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, shows that high mountain ecosystems may be less capable of retaining the important nutrients needed to sustain plant growth and maintain biodiversity in these harsh environments.

Millions are at risk using high arsenic water for cooking

Rice is one of the major cereal crops in the world, contributing to the dietary energy and nutrition of more than half of the world's population.
Photo Credit: Eduardo Prim

The use of water contaminated with higher than recommended levels of arsenic could pose a serious health risk to millions, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found.

Around 32 per cent of the world's population live in countries that do not adhere to the World Health Organization's recommendations on safe limits of arsenic in drinking water

Rice is already known to contain more inorganic arsenic than other cereals

Cooking rice with water containing more than 10 µg L-1 (parts per billion) inorganic arsenic amplifies the risk of arsenic exposure

Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic in water can cause serious health problems such as cancers, diabetes and pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases

Rice is one of the major cereal crops in the world, contributing to the dietary energy and nutrition of more than half of the world's population

The use of water contaminated with higher than recommended levels of arsenic could pose a serious health risk to millions, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found.

How clean is hydrogen for the energy transition?

Romain Sacchi and his colleagues at Leiden University have analysed the life cycle of nine different hydrogen production processes and extrapolated them globally for the first time.
Photo Credit: Paul Scherrer Institute/Markus Fischer

In a joint study, researchers from Leiden University and the Paul Scherrer Institute have calculated the environmental impact of hydrogen production from today to 2050. For the first time, nine different production processes were considered in one study and extrapolated globally. The result: hydrogen, yes, but only green, please!

All hydrogen is not equal. It comes in many colors – from black to green. This does not refer to its physical color but rather to a terminology identifying its origin (see Additional information below). When we talk about green hydrogen, for example, we mean that it has been produced using water electrolysis that relies on renewable energy and water. We call it black, like coal, when it is produced using hard coal.

Currently, hydrogen is mainly required for chemical conversion processes, such as ammonia production using the Haber-Bosch process, which is used as a fertilizer component. In industrial processes, hydrogen is used as a protective gas and is required in metal and glass production, for example. The steel industry is also dependent on large quantities of this light gas. And hydrogen can be converted directly into electricity via fuel cells, which can be used in vehicles.

Neighboring synapses shape learning and memory

A mathematical model reveals how interactions between neighboring contact sites of nerve cells influence learning.
Image Credit: University of Basel, Biozentrum

A researcher at the University of Basel, in collaboration with a colleague in Austria, has developed a new model that provides a holistic view on how our brain manages to learn quickly and forms stable, long-lasting memories. Their study sheds light on the crucial role of interactions among neighboring contact sites of nerve cells for brain plasticity – the brain’s ability to adapt to new experiences.

In 1949, the Canadian psychologist Donald O. Hebb described that connections between neurons become stronger when the neurons are active at the same time and that strengthened connections facilitate signal transmission. The ability of our brain to modify the connections between neurons is fundamental for learning and memory.

 “It has long been assumed that these adaptations occur mostly on a one-on-one basis at specific synapses, the contact sites between two neurons”, explains Dr. Everton Agnes from the Biozentrum, University of Basel. “Interestingly, synapses that undergo changes also affect multiple neighboring synapses.” As these complex synaptic interactions are difficult to investigate experimentally, Agnes and his colleague Prof. Tim Vogels from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have built a theoretical model to disentangle this phenomenon, also known as co-dependency. Their work has recently been published in Nature Neuroscience.

World's first high-resolution brain developed by 3D printer

Franziska Chalupa-Gantner and Aleksandr Ovsianikov at work.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Technische Universität Wien

In a joint project between TU Wien and MedUni Vienna, the world's first 3D-printed "brain phantom" has been developed, which is modelled on the structure of brain fibres and can be imaged using a special variant of magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI). As a scientific team led by TU Wien and MedUni Vienna has now shown in a study, these brain models can be used to advance research into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis. The research work was published in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used diagnostic imaging technique that is primarily used to examine the brain. MRI can be used to examine the structure and function of the brain without the use of ionizing radiation. In a special variant of MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI), the direction of the nerve fibers in the brain can also be determined. However, it is very difficult to correctly determine the direction of nerve fibers at the crossing points of nerve fiber bundles, as nerve fibers with different directions overlap there. In order to further improve the process and test analysis and evaluation methods, an international team in collaboration with the TU Wien and the Medical University of Vienna developed a so-called "brain phantom", which was produced using a high-resolution 3D printing process.

Icy impacts: Planetary scientists use physics and images of impact craters to gauge the thickness of ice on Europa

Brandon Johnson and his team study impact craters around the solar system for clues about planetary bodies’ history and composition.
Photo Credit: Rebecca Robinos / Purdue University

Sometimes planetary physics is like being in a snowball fight. Most people, if handed an already-formed snowball, can use their experience and the feel of the ball to guess what kind of snow it is comprised of: packable and fluffy, or wet and icy.

Using nearly the same principles, planetary scientists have been able to study the structure of Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon.

Europa is a rocky moon, home to saltwater oceans twice the volume of Earth’s, encased in a shell of ice. Scientists have long thought that Europa may be one of the best places in our solar system to look for nonterrestrial life. The likelihood and nature of that life, though, heavily depend on the thickness of its icy shell, something astronomers have not yet been able to measure.

A team of planetary science experts including Brandon Johnson, an associate professor, and Shigeru Wakita, a research scientist, in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences in Purdue University’s College of Science, announced in a new paper published in Science Advances that Europa’s ice shell is at least 20 kilometers thick.

Adding ribociclib to hormone therapy reduces the risk of breast cancer recurrence

Photo Credit: National Cancer Institute

A new treatment approach that combines a targeted therapy drug with hormone therapy significantly increased the amount of time a person with stage 2 or 3 HR-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer lives without the cancer returning, according to a new study co-led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators.

The team found adding ribociclib, a drug that belongs to a class of CDK4/6 inhibitors, to standard hormone therapy not only improved invasive-free survival in women with this type of early-stage breast cancer, but also improves distant disease-free survival and recurrence-free survival.

The results were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and findings were presented last year at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago.

“We found that adding ribociclib to the standard hormone therapy resulted in a relative reduction in the recurrence rate by as much as 25%,” said first author of the study Dr. Dennis Slamon, chair of hematology-oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of clinical and translational research at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “And that’s huge for this the group of patients, who make up 70% to 75% of breast cancer cases.”

Many patients with this type of breast cancer are treated with surgery, and in some cases with radiation and chemotherapy, followed by endocrine therapy for up to 10 years to help reduce their risk of recurrence.