Neat News - Neat things do happen

A new transparent coating has been developed that makes porcelain surfaces such as toilets water repellent. As a consequence the coating prevents bacteria from sticking to corresponding surfaces. The coating involves a silicone oil as well as tungsten carbide.

related: #porcelain #coating

All 41 workers who were trapped inside a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, have been saved after 17 days and are recuperating in hospital.

related: #tunnel #collapse #saved

A study finds that just visiting different locations every day - even without strenuous exercises - is associated with higher wellbeing, in particular in people with depression or anxiety.

related: #locations #wellbeing

A new study finds that restricting a particular amino acid, called isoleucine, can increase the lifespan in male mice up to 33 percent and in female mice up to 7 percent. The mice on the diet also scored better on 26 different health measures.

related: #lifespan #amino_acid

Studying actual apologies it was found that in apologizing men typically use language that is assertive, confident, and self-assured, whereas women language that is warm, communal, and nurturing. Apologies are particularly successful in repairing trust when they break through such stereotypical language patterns.

related: #apology #language

A new study finds that bilingual persons are better at ignoring irrelevant information. A possible explanation is that they can better control their attention.

related: #bilingual #information

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is an important diagnostic approach to get high quality images from inner organs. They involve strong magnetic fields and a narrow tube in which patients are positioned. Now with improved algorithms images of comparable quality can be produced with much weaker magnets, thereby reducing the size of the device and the amount of helium needed to build the machine, giving more space to patients in the tube.

related: #MRI #magnet

Often cancer patients do not use up their medication. In a study in the Netherlands, it has been found that redispensing such unused oral cancer medication can be achieved. The medication is fitted with a sensor to guarantee that the returned medication was kept within the required temperature range. This costs on average 37 euros per patient but saves 613 euros. In total many millions can be saved and the environmental impact of the medication can be reduced.

related: #medication #redispensation

In a new study it has been found that when the bell rings and you snooze for some extra minutes this does not make you sleepier. The research actually suggests that it can help people in the transition from deep sleep to being awake.

related: #snooze #sleep

Hair follicles are not only responsible for growing hair, but play also an important role in producing sweat and helping the skin heal. Now for the first time hair follicles have been cultured in the lab. Much more work is needed before the technique can be applied in regenerative medicine.

related: #hair #lab

Bats play an important role in our ecosystem, for instance, in pest control. Unfortunately, for the USA it is estimated that up to 150 bats are killed per year by a single wind turbine. Now research is conducted how this number could be reduced, for instance, by switching on the warning lights for air planes only when air planes are nearby, or by emitting ultraviolet lights that might deter bats.

related: #wind_turbine #bat

A new study finds that bringing out sunlight reflecting particles in the atmosphere could slow down ice melting in Antarctica if done right.

related: #ice_melting #climate

A new study with 840 persons over 65 finds that those people who follow a Mediterranean diet have a lower risk of cognitive decline. The health benefit is linked to particular saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

related: #Mediterranean_diet #health

In new research it has been found that coating the electrodes of car batteries with tungsten oxide protects them from corrosion during start-up/shutdown, considerably enhancing the lifetime of the batteries.

related: #battery #lifetime #protection

New studies have found that premature babies have much better chances of survival if their umbilical cord is clamped only after a delay of at least two minutes after the birth.

related: #birth #umbilical_cord #survival

Studying people in their 50ies to 70ies who may or may not take medication to lower their blood pressure, it was found that by reducing the salt intake the blood pressure can be reduced by 7 to 8 mm Hg in three quarters of the cases.

related: #blood_pressure #salt

Many age related health issues are caused by damaged mitochondria, the organelles that are crucial in producing the energy in body cells. In experiments with worms it has been found now that a molecule called MIC, a form of coumarin, can facilitate the elimination and replacement of damaged mitochondria.

related: #mitochondria #replacement

In a study using data from 15 years it was found that babies born to mothers who took vitamin D supplements during pregnancy have a reduced risk of asthma and other respiratory problems.

related: #pregnancy #vitamin_D #asthma

The many devices in the so-called Internet of Things in our homes need small amounts of electricity, which are either provided by batteries that need to be replaced or by cables that need to be connected. In order to avoid this now solar technology has been adapted so that indoor light can be used to provide the small amount of electricity needed.

related: #Internet_of_Things #electricity #solar

The long beaked echidna is an egg-laying mammal which was thought to be extinct. Now on a wild camera in the Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia, a living long beaked echidna has been seen.

related: #echidna #Cyclops_Mountains

A new form of melanin has been developed that accelerates wound healing of the skin, for instance, in the case of sun burns.

related: #melanin #skin #heal

An implant has been developed that stimulates the nerves in the spine and thereby restored the ability of a man with advanced Parkinson's disease to walk again.

related: #Parkinson #implant #walking

Scientists are developing a brain implant that can produce speech from the thoughts a person has about what they are going to say. It is perceivable that such a tool could be further developed so that people could communicate their thoughts directly without producing speech.

related: #brain #thought #speech

A new study finds that with today's technology 53 percent of European freestanding homes could satisfy their energy needs by harvesting solar energy on their own roofs. This rate could be extended to 75 percent by 2050. [However, the current cost structure does not give sufficient incentives.]

related: #solar #decentralized

Researchers found that under certain conditions, light can make water evaporate directly, that is, without heating it up, by knocking out water molecules at the border to the air. Concretely they experimented with a hydrogel, but assume that the effect is more widespread such as in the formation of fog. The new insight may lead to a more efficient way of light based water desalination.

related: #light #water #evaporation

The James Webb Space Telescope has been used to get images from stars that are about to form. One of them, HH212, is estimated to be not older than 50,000 years and may give an idea how our Sun may looked like at that age.

related: #star #James_Webb

In a study in the USA it was found that consumers are willing to pay more when they know that the products they buy are part of a circular take-back programme. Take-back programmes reduce rubbish and give people control over the disposal of the products.

related: #take_back #cost

The Earth contains huge fragments of unusual material, related to Moon material. The fragments were found studying seismic waves through the Earth. Now scientists have come up with a theory that these fragments are remnants of a planet that crashed into Earth billions of years ago and the Moon was formed from the debris of this gigantic impact.

related: #Moon #Earth

In three cities in Columbia, the strategy to release mosquitoes infected by the Wolbachia bacteria to fight dengue fever seems to bear fruit in that the number of infections dropped by 97 percent.

related: #dengue

A new study finds that people over 60 that lose one percent of their deep sleep per year have a 27 percent higher risk of dementia. This suggests that improving the deep sleep phases may be a means to reduce the dementia risk.

related: #deep_sleep #dementia