Neat News - Neat things do happen

Preclinical experiments with a triple immunotherapy combination shows promise with significantly improved anti-tumour responses for pancreatic cancer, a particularly lethal type of cancer and a cancer that had so far resisted approaches to treat it using immunotherapy.

related: #pancreatic_cancer #combination_therapy #immunotherapy

A new study finds that singing therapy can help stroke victims who have difficulties to understand or generate spoken or written language. Singing not only supports communication and speech production, but also increases social activity and well-being.

related: #singing #therapy

All the planets will be visible tonight in the night sky in Europe, best shortly after sunset. Uranus and Neptune are better viewed using binoculars, the other five should be visible with the naked eye.

related: #planet #visible

A returnee to Senegal found that many of the trees he remembered from his youth were cut down without planting any. He has started now a project in which in the next five years five million trees will be planted.

related: #trees #Senegal #reforestation

Lymph nodes play an important role in the human immune system. However, they lose their effectiveness with increasing age. A new study finds a reason, namely normal tissue in the lymph nodes is replaced by fat. The insight may be a first step in preventing the progression of this effect.

related: #lymph_node #immune_system

Billions of litres of water are lost daily in England and Wales alone due to leaks of the water pipes. Since it is difficult to find the biggest leaks with traditional methods, in a project it is studied now how small robots can check the pipes from the inside.

related: #robot #water_leak

Glass frogs achieve their transparency during sleep by storing most of their red blood cells in the livers. The insight may lead to an understanding how to prevent blood clots.

related: #blood #frog

Using stem cells, scientists managed to use a 3D printer to make artificial human eye tissue. This will allow them to study certain diseases such as age-related macular degeneration using human eye tissue with unlimited supply of tissue.

related: #eye #artificial_tissue

In a study of the effects of booster vaccinations against Covid-19 it has been found that while the booster does not lead to a higher level of antibodies, it does lead to a significantly increased durability of the antibodies.

related: #booster #vaccination #Covid19

A new study confirms the health benefits of walking for older adults. Walking between 6000 and 9000 steps per day reduces the risk of a heart attacks and a stroke by 40 to 50 percent.

related: #heart_attack #stroke #walking

The so-called Benin Bronzes, valuable artifacts from the kingdom of Benin - part of Nigeria today - that were stolen during the time of colonialism and displayed in German museums for more than 100 years, are to be returned. The first ones were handed over by German government ministers now.

related: #benin_bronzes

Using stem cells and a technique called scaffolding, severe abnormalities in a baby's heart were repaired for the first time, giving the child back the chance of a normal life.

related: #stem_cell #heart

The Montreal biodiversity conference has decided to protect 30 percent of the Earth's land surface (currently 17 percent) and oceans (currently 8 percent) by 2030. Furthermore by 2025, 20 billion dollars per year (30 billion by 2030) will be provided to support low-income countries in their efforts to preserve biodiversity.

related: #biodiversity

Turfgrass, paspalum vaginatum, is a particularly resilient form of grass and has used in the 2022 Football World Cup. It can grow in quite difficult environments, for instance, it can be irrigated with saltwater. Understanding how this plant can be so resilient may help to grow more resilient crops.

related: #turfgrass #crops #environment

A new study finds that harvesting water from vapour found over the oceans is a very attractive but unused source to supply us with much needed fresh water; corresponding investments should be made.

related: #water #ocean #vapour

A new study finds that regularly drinking coffee may lower the risk for women who had diabetes during pregnancy.

related: #coffee #diabetes

In a four year study with more than 5000 people in the USA (mainly women) it turned out that people who did 10,700 steps a day were 44 percent less likely to get type 2 diabetes than those who did only 6,000.

related: #diabetes #walking

Gout is painful and potentially damaging for the joints. It is caused by excess uric acid which leads to the build-up of crystals. However, many people with high levels of uric acid in the blood do not develop the disease. Now it has been found that higher levels of a substance called lubricin reduces the risk of developing gout. The insight may lead to new medication against gout.

related: #gout #lubricin

A new transparent gold based nanocoating has been developed that when applied to lenses of glasses transforms sunlight to heat to prevent them from fogging in humid conditions. Likewise car windshields could be coated.

related: #coating #anti_fogging

As a consequence of the current high prices for fossil fuels there is a strong growth of renewable energy generation (by 2400 gigawatts in the five years to 2027). By 2025 renewables are expected to overtake coal as the largest electricity source, a report by the International Energy Agency finds.

related: #renewable_energy

A new study finds that four one-minute intense training routines (so-called VILPA for Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity) a day can reduce the risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease by almost half and from cancer by up to 40 percent.

related: #VILPA #mortality #training

Since 1996, there has been an institution in Hamburg, Germany, called the Hamburg Donation Parliament, which distributes donations and membership contributions following the decisions of its "parliament", a council of members. They support projects in the city against poverty and homelessness.

related: #donation #parliament

Often materials become brittle at low temperatures. A new alloy of chromium, cobalt, and nickel, however, has not only a very high fracture toughness (5 times as tough as the best steels) but keeps the qualities at temperatures as low as 20 kelvin, making it potentially useful for cryogenic applications.

related: #tough #alloy #low_temperature

Using a special salt electrolyte based on polymers (lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, or LiFSI for short), lithium-ion batteries can be prevented from catching fire while they still work at temperatures up to 100 Celsius.

related: #lithium #battery #fire

This week there are talks in Montreal, Canada, with the aim to achieve that by 2030, 30 percent of the Earth's land surface (currently 17 percent) and oceans (currently 8 percent) will be protected areas to preserve biodiversity and halt nature's current rapid decline.

related: #biodiversity

Searching for free glycosaminoglycans in blood and urine, scientists managed to develop a test for 14 types of cancer in an early state, such as bladder cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. It has currently an accuracy of 95 percent and should cost some 50 dollars.

related: #cancer_detection

Building started on the world's biggest telescope, which is to be completed in 2028 and will then consist of 200 big parabolic antennas and 131000 smaller dipole antennas in South Africa and Australia. It should then be able to detect very faint signals that allow to answer questions about the time immediately after the Big Bang.

related: #SKA #telescope

A new strategy, targeting a rare type of immune cells called bnAbs, to build a vaccine against HIV shows promise by showing a favourable safety profile in almost all of the vaccinated persons in a Phase 1 trial.

related: #HIV #vaccination

Since 1974 Cyprus is a divided island. Now there is a choir consisting of Greek and Turkish members who overcome the divisions on the island by music.

related: #Cyprus #choir

A study found that pregnant women who took a weekly wellness class for eight weeks benefited considerably from it. Even eight years later they were much less likely to become depressed.

related: #wellness #pregnancy #depression

A study with 1795 patients showed that for the first time a drug, called lecanemab, is effective in early stage Alzheimer's patients. Although the antibody, which tells the immune system to clear plague from the brain, does not stop the disease it slows the progression. There is hope that the medication can be improved to stop the disease.

related: #Alzheimer #treatment