Neat News - Neat things do happen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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