Hydrogen peroxide reacts with copper to produce hydroxyl radicals with strong antibacterial properties. However, this requires high copper concentrations because two copper atoms have to come close together, which occurs by chance. Now, scientists have engineered a long polymer with copper-containing side units that create regions with locally high copper density, boosting the antibacterial activity of hydrogen peroxide and paving the way to a new drug design concept.
Scientists have invented an instrument to peer deeply into billions of Twitter posts — providing an unprecedented, minute-by-minute view of popularity, from rising political movements, to K-pop, to emerging diseases. The tool — called the Storywrangler — gathers phrases across 150 different languages, analyzing the rise and fall of ideas and stories, each day, among people around the world. The Storywrangler quantifies collective attention.
One of the main problems preventing optimal regeneration following peripheral nerve injuries is that axons within severed nerves have difficulty regenerating and reaching their target. This may be attributed in part to misguided axons that sprout in multiple directions, decreasing probability to reach their target organs. A new technique fills a nerve conduit with gel containing physical and chemical components that promote and align axon regrowth.
A Sussex team — including university mathematicians — have created a new modelling toolkit which predicts the impact of COVID-19 at a local level with unprecedented accuracy. The details are published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, and are available for other local authorities to use online, just as the UK looks as though it may head into another wave of infections.
Babies younger than four weeks old, called neonates, were once thought not to perceive pain due to not-yet-fully-developed sensory systems, but modern research says otherwise, according to researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan.
Acoustic waves in gases, liquids, and solids usually travel at an almost constant speed of sound. Rotons are an exception: their speed of sound changes significantly with the wavelength, it is also possible that the waves travel backwards. Researchers are studying the possibilities of using rotons in artificial materials. These metamaterials might be used in the future to manipulate or direct sound in ways that have never been possible before.
A research team, led by Professor Dai-Sik Kim in the Department of Physics at UNIST has developed a new technique of predefining the crack pattern on a flexible substrate by a sequential deposition of metallic layers which leads to a formation of a “zero-nanometer gap, or a “zerogap,” between the adjacent lateral patterns.
A water disinfectant created on the spot using just hydrogen and the air around us is millions of times more effective at killing viruses and bacteria than traditional commercial methods, according to scientists.
The Uttarakhand region of India experienced a humanitarian tragedy on Feb. 7, 2021, when a wall of debris and water barreled down the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga and Dhauliganga river valleys. This debris flow destroyed two hydropower facilities and left more than 200 people dead or missing. A self-organized coalition of 53 scientists came together in the days following the disaster to investigate the cause, scope and impacts.
Nem Chua is eaten raw but doesn’t cause food poisoning when prepared correctly. Food scientists went to explore why – and discovered a powerful new bacteria-killer. A new study reveals the ideal growth conditions to potentially make the bacteriocin at industrial scales.
