Neat News - Neat things do happen

As a proof of principle, a continuously working transistor has been developed that is made of wood in which parts are replaced by a conductive plastic. It is still slow and bulky but has development potential.

related: #transistor #wood

Brazilian president Lula da Silva has declared six territories of some 6200 square kilometres to indigenous reserves, protecting the land which includes an area of Amazon rainforest from mining and other destructive activities.

related: #nature #reserve #Brazil

In experiments with mice, a novel gel with known cancer drugs is applied to the holes left after removing the cancer by surgery. 100 percent of the mice were cured giving hope for an effective treatment for aggressive glioblastoma brain cancers.

related: #gel #brain_cancer

Studying data from Spotify it has been found that the music people use for falling asleep and as background music when studying is very similar in terms of tracks, genres, and audio features.

related: #music #study #sleep

Negotiators of the European Parliament, the EU member states and the European Commission have agreed to move toward Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). From 2025 two percent of the fuels must be biofuels, by 2030 six percent, and step wise up to 70 percent by 2050.

related: #flight #EU

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by immune cells, so-called myeloid cells, attacking the protective layer of nerves. Now in experiments with mice, additional myeloid cells loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs have been infused to the animals. This way paralysis could be partially reversed and movement restored.

related: #multiple_sclerosis #therapy

Many people sit for too long and this is bad in particular for people with diabetes type 1. "Activity snacks" in form of, for instance, three minute walks every half an hour seem to improve blood sugar levels, as a new small study indicates. Everybody should be encouraged to take such "activity snacks", also as a preventive measure.

related: #activity_snack

A new study finds that cranberries and products such as cranberry juice reduce the risk of a urinary tract infection in women by more than a quarter and in children and people susceptible to these infections by more than half.

related: #cranberry #urinary_tract_infection

Using a simple test 969 people of 69 years with no cognitive impairment had categorize items on cards. Based on how well they did it was possible to make prediction of how likely it is that they develop cognitive impairment within ten years.

related: #cognition #impairment #test

There is a small study with few healthy participants that shows that two sleeping pills can reduce the level of Alzheimer proteins in the brain. It is too early to tell whether this may result in medication that can slow down or stop Alzheimer's disease.

related: #sleeping_pill #Alzheimer

A new capsule has been developed that may in the long run be able to replace slow-acting insulin injection. The capsule has a coating that allows it pass through the acidic stomach to the small intestines, where it dissolves. The capsule may be useful for other medication as well.

related: #insulin #capsule

Pancreatic cancer is very aggressive and difficult to treat. In experiments with animals, now a new immunotherapy approach to implant cells smaller than a grain of rice consisting of antibodies into the pancreas made the tumours shrink.

related: #pancreatic_cancer #immunotherapy

In a preclinical study researchers obtained promising results of partially restoring the function of the retina by transplanting stemcells into experimental models of damaged retinas.

related: #stemcell #retina #vision

According to an estimate of the WHO/Europe, Covid-19 vaccinations saved more than a million lives in Europe alone.

related: #vaccination #Covid19

A new study finds that a three-day weekend has health benefits compared to a two-day weekend. This is partly due to less sitting, more physical activity, and more sleep.

related: #4dayWeek #health

After 62 years of electricity production by nuclear power, Germany shuts off its remaining three nuclear power plants today, finally saying good-bye to this least sustainable form of energy production. However, for many years to come there will still be the question of how to store the nuclear waste.

related: #nuclear #Germany

A new approach of vaccinating against the norovirus has been found by attaching to it a protein of an unrelated harmless strain of a virus for which effective vaccines exist.

related: #norovirus #vaccine

With the same amount of physical activity some people feel happy and others exhausted. Now a new study finds that this it to a degree due to the dopamine level in the brain.

related: #dopamine #physical_exertion

Glioblastoma is a very aggressive type of brain cancer. Now a new study with animals found that a combination of chemotherapy and removing certain amino acids from the diet of the animals shows promise in killing the cancer cells.

related: #brain_cancer #diet

Immunotherapy is a new hope against many forms of cancer, now also against aggressive prostate cancer. A new drug, called enoblituzumab, has been successfully tested in a phase 2 study.

related: #immunotherapy #prostate #cancer

Elephants like bananas and typically eat them with the skin. One elephant living at the Berlin Zoo, Germany, seems to have learned peeling bananas by watching her caretakers and peels now yellow-brown bananas before eating them.

related: #elephant #banana #learning

A sort of snailfish has been discovered in the deepest parts of the ocean near Japan at a depth of 8336 meters. The fish has to withstand very high pressures and can do this because of so-called osmolytes in their cells.

related: #snailfish #depth

Researchers managed to print perovskite solar cells on a foil just as a newspaper. This might lead to a big step in bringing prices of solar cells down.

related: #perovskite #solar

The Portuguese government has announced to waive VAT (Value Added Tax) on 44 basic food items such as bread, pasta, rice, and milk in order to combat inflation and support people with a low income.

related: #Portugal #VAT

A new study found that bleached corals can help new corals to grow in a similar way as burnt down trees can help new trees to grow.

related: #coral #recover

Scientists managed to grow a tiny human heart from stem cells. The so-called organoid can be used to study diseases and therapies.

related: #organoid #heart

Some implanted devices such as insulin pumps or pacemakers need an energy supply in form of batteries which either need to be replaced or recharged. Now a prototype of a device has been developed that can produce the electricity in the body directly from blood sugar making replacing or recharging of batteries obsolete.

related: #electricity #blood_sugar

Some enzymes, called nickel-iron hydrogenase, have been taken as a blueprint to synthesize a molecule that can be used to produce hydrogen. The process may in the future play an important role in the production of renewable energy.

related: #hydrogen #enzyme

Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and other health issues often lead to a visual decline in patients. Now for the first time a form of omega-3 fatty acid has been developed that can cross into the eye's retina preventing such a decline.

related: #omega3 #Alzheimer

In a study with more than 4000 participants the effect on blood pressure, heart rate, stress, and coping has been monitored. It has been found that people with positive experiences in good relationships do better than others.

related: #relationship #health