Neat News - Neat things do happen

New research points in the direction that the food supplement inulin may improve knee arthritis and improve grip strength.

related: #inulin #arthritis

In North Florida, many native milkweeds have been planted along rural highways. They start to attract the monarch butterfly, which is an important pollinator.

related: #milkweed #pollinator

In Cologne, Germany, a project has started to provide the heating for 50,000 dwellings by a big heat pump that will take the warmth from the river Rhine. It is planned that the system, part of the decarbonization, will be up and running by 2028.

related: #heat_pump #river

A new alloy, a so-called cobalt aluminium nanolaminate, has ten times the strength of steel, without showing the usual trade-off of being very brittle.

related: #alloy #strength

In a new study it has been found that drinking (caffeinated) coffee has diverse effects on the general health. One to three cups of coffee a day seem to hit the sweet spot where the benefits are bigger than the drawbacks.

related: #coffee #health

New research found that vitamin C can act as a nitrosation inhibitor, that is, block nitrates and nitrites from becoming carcinogenic. This may also explain inconsistent findings in the hazardousness of nitrates and nitrites.

related: #vitamin_C #cancer

New research found that age related mental decline is partly due to damages to the blood-brain barrier, which is kept intact with the help of a protein called KLF4. KLF4 is produced by so-called endothelial cells, which lose their ability to produce KLF4 with increasing age. The insight may offer a pathway to treat the condition.

related: #blood_brain_barrier #brain #health

New research finds that old people who participate in cultural activities such as going to the cinema, visiting museums, or attending concerts appear mentally and physically about three years younger than those who do not. It is not clear yet whether there is a causal link, however.

related: #culture #activity #health #ageing

From ancient graves, which are some 780,000 years old, we know that early humans collected crystals. Now it has been found that chimpanzees share this fascination for crystals.

related: #early_human #crystal #chimpanzee

There is currently research ongoing to quantify the effects of measures to keep houses cool in extreme external heat by relatively easy measures: use external shading to keep the sunlight out, keep windows closed during the day, open windows at night, avoid dark curtains, and use secure night-time ventilation.

related: #heat #coolness

A new drug has been developed that is formed of an antibody which is made entirely from human proteins. In preclinical tests, the drug stopped the growth of the tumour as well as the spread in form of metastases in the case of an aggressive type of prostate cancer.

related: #protein #prostate_cancer #treatment

New research has uncovered a mechanism that explains why exercising is important for the health and strength of muscles. It triggers a molecular switch of a repair mechanism - in particular in old people.

related: #muscle #health

A new superconductor has been built, consisting of mercury, barium, calcium, copper, and oxygen that operates at ambient pressure and a temperature of about -122 degrees Celsius (compared to typical superconductors which operate at nearly absolute zero, -273.15 degrees Celsius).

related: #superconductor

A new approach to treat cancer has been developed and tested with cell cultures and mice. It works by dying the cancer cells using aminocyanine (a standard substance used in medical imaging) and then exposing them to near-infrared light which makes the cells to vibrate at about 40 trillion times a second. This destroys the membrane of the cancer cells with a 99 percent success rate in the cell culture and about 50 percent of mice treated with it became cancer free.

related: #cancer #dye #oscillation #membrane

New research suggests that healthy ageing can be supported by higher amounts of protein intake and by more exercising.

related: #age #health #protein #exercise

Adding small amounts of water to diesel can help to reduce harmful emissions by more than half while maintaining the efficiency of the engine, new research found.

related: #diesel #water #pollution

A new spray-on powder has been developed that can stop life threatening bleeding in a single second.

related: #powder #bleeding

Using MRI and blood tests on more than 2000 older adults (on average 69) it has been found that those with higher levels of vitamin C also have brains with higher connectivity and higher integrity of the grey matter.

related: #vitaminC #brain #connectivity #integrity

In a study it has been found that a diet called DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) outperforms others such as the Mediterranean diet in positive effects on the brain. It is similar to the Mediterranean diet, but limits added sugars, red meat, and alcohol.

related: #diet #DASH #brain #health