Scientists Removed Amino Acids From the Diet of Lab Mice — and They Lost Weight

Legumes are a diverse group of plants from the Fabaceae family, including beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts, that grow in pods. They are a highly nutritious food, rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and are often considered a plant-based alternative to animal protein. Legumes also have the unique ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, which benefits soil health.
Photo Credit: Shelley Pauls

It’s not pleasant to shiver from the cold, but for some, it has the appeal of making the body burn more energy as heat than when staying in a warmer environment. According to several studies, exposure to cold is a reliable way to boost energy expenditure in mice and humans. This process of burning energy through heat loss is called thermogenesis.

While scientists and pharmaceutical companies are exploring ways to trick the body into thinking it’s cold—so that it activates thermogenesis and burns energy without the need for ice baths or winter walks in a T-shirt—obesity researchers Philip Ruppert and Jan-Wilhelm Kornfeld from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) set out to investigate another route:

A form of thermogenesis triggered by eating specialized diets rather than temperature.

Research finds self-control runs in the family

A WVU study finds when parents model discipline in work, health and finances, their teens tend to follow suit.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Shephard/WVU 

When it comes to self-control, adolescents tend to follow the patterns their parents establish, according to West Virginia University psychology research.

Professor Amy Gentzler of the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences led a six-month survey of 213 Appalachian adolescents and their parents, learning about their self-control in areas like health, work and school, money management, leisure activities and relationships.

She found that teens’ academic determination and the choices they made about wellness and money almost always reflected their mothers’, fathers’ or both parents’ self-control in similar areas.

The ability to resist immediate temptation in favor of long-term goals, self-control affects people’s academic achievement, physical health, financial stability and even the quality of their relationships, according to Gentzler.

SwRI-developed bioreactor replicates versatile induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Southwest Research Institute demonstrated its single-use 3D bioreactor to produce induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs), derived from adult skin, blood, and other somatic cells. Useful for personalized medicine, iPSCs offer an alternative to embryonic stem cells by differentiating into any other cell type in the body.
Photo Credit: Southwest Research Institute

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has demonstrated a new application for its cell-expansion bioreactor to advance tissue engineering and cell-based therapies for treatment of injuries and diseases. 

SwRI scientists used the bioreactor to replicate induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) derived from adult skin, blood, and other somatic cells. Their pluripotent state allows iPSCs to differentiate into any other cell type in the body, much like embryonic stem cells but without the same ethical ambiguity. Large quantities of iPSCs are needed for regenerative medicine and individualized healthcare, but current technology requires manual production. 

The Two Sides of Flood Protection

Flood waters in Rosenheim, Deutschland
Photo Credit: Julian Schneiderath

Climate change is leading to stronger flood disasters. TU Wien and Joanneum Research have developed a new model that shows how private and public protection measures interact.

In many regions of the world, people will have to prepare for more severe flood events in the coming decades. There are two ways to tackle this problem: individuals can protect themselves – for example, through insurance or home modifications – or communities can work together to reduce flood risks, for instance by building dams or retention basins.

The interaction between these approaches can be represented in mathematical models. A research team led by TU Wien used extensive data, that had surveyed thousands of Austrian households to study how natural conditions and human behavior interact in flood protection. Minimizing flood damage requires both approaches – individual and public.

New recharge-to-recycle reactor turns battery waste into new lithium feedstock

A photo of the electrochemical cell set-up in the Rice lab
Photo Credit: Jorge Vidal/Rice University

As global electric vehicle adoption accelerates, end-of-life battery packs are quickly becoming a major waste stream. Lithium is costly to mine and refine, and most current recycling methods are energy- and chemical-intensive, often producing lithium carbonate that must be further processed into lithium hydroxide for reuse.

Instead of smelting or dissolving shredded battery materials (“black mass”) in strong acids, a team of engineers at Rice University has developed a cleaner approach by recharging the waste cathode materials to coax out lithium ions into water, where they combine with hydroxide to form high-purity lithium hydroxide.

“We asked a basic question: If charging a battery pulls lithium out of a cathode, why not use that same reaction to recycle?” said Sibani Lisa Biswal, chair of Rice’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the William M. McCardell Professor in Chemical Engineering. “By pairing that chemistry with a compact electrochemical reactor, we can separate lithium cleanly and produce the exact salt manufacturers want.”

New material designed at OSU represents breakthrough in medical imaging

MRI contrast agent graphic
Image Credit: Courtesy of Kyriakos Stylianou / Oregon State University

Scientists at Oregon State University have filed a patent on a design for a new magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent with the potential to outperform current agents while being less toxic to patients and more environmentally friendly.

The new material is based on a structure known as a metal-organic framework or MOF, whose development in the 1990s earned this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry as MOFs’ many possible uses become increasingly apparent.

MOFs are made up of positively charged metal ions surrounded by organic “linker” molecules. They have nanosized pores and can be designed with a variety of components that determine the MOF’s properties.

Polar climate change could amplify global health risks, study warns

Photo Credit: Annie Spratt

Climate change in Earth’s polar regions is emerging as an under-recognised driver of global health risks, with consequences reaching far beyond the Arctic and Antarctic, researchers argue.

A study by an international team of scientists led by Professor Gail Whiteman from the University of Exeter Business School presents a comprehensive framework mapping the complex connections between physical changes in the Arctic and Antarctic which could amplify climate impacts to human health worldwide.

The researchers reviewed a wide range of scientific literature across climate science, public health and other fields. They found that current models underestimate the direct and indirect impacts of changing polar regions on global health issues – from chronic disease to mental health challenges, and pregnancy complications.

How plastics grip metals at the atomic scale

Hierarchical view of polymer–alumina direct bonding across multiple length scales.
Image Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

What makes some plastics stick to metal without any glue? Osaka Metropolitan University scientists peered into the invisible adhesive zone that forms between certain plastics and metals — one atom at a time — to uncover how chemistry and molecular structure determine whether such bonds bend or break.

Their insights clarify metal–plastic bonding mechanisms and offer guidelines for designing durable, lightweight, and more sustainable hybrid materials for use in transportation.

Combining the strength of metal with the lightness and flexibility of plastic, polymer–metal hybrid structures are emerging as key elements for building lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The technology relies on bonding metals with plastics directly, without adhesives. The success of these hybrids, however, hinges on how well the two materials stick together.

Sand mining reducing the flow of Southeast Asia’s largest lake, new report warns

The Tonle Sap Lake (TSL) in Cambodia is one of the most ecologically diverse lake ecosystems globally
Photo Credit: Marco De Gregorio

A new study led by Loughborough University has highlighted how sand mining is endangering the normal functioning of the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.

The Tonle Sap Lake (TSL) in Cambodia is one of the most ecologically diverse lake ecosystems globally, and is the fourth most productive in terms of fish productivity.  

Since 1997 the TSL has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Biosphere Reserve, serving as a habitat for globally significant populations of endangered amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds, spanning a diverse array of over 800 species. 

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XnConvert
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline

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