LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

2026-06-22T10:01:35.546-07:00

Urban rodents may be evolving against common poisons

Rutgers researchers find signs that rats and mice are adapting to decades of rodenticide use

Rutgers University

video:

A rat steals bait from a trap without getting caught, illustrating the kind of behavior Rutgers researchers Changlu Wang and Jin-Jia Yu are studying as they investigate why some urban rodent populations are becoming more difficult to control.

Credit: Wang Lab/Rutgers University

For years, pest control professionals throughout the Northeast have reported a troubling pattern. In some neighborhoods, rodents seemed increasingly more difficult to eliminate, even when standard control methods were used.

Now researchers at Rutgers University believe they may know one reason why.

A study found that 84% of house mice sampled from urban areas in the Northeast carried at least one genetic mutation linked to rodenticide resistance, suggesting many mouse populations may be evolving ways to survive the poisons commonly used to control them. The research was published in the international journal Pest Management Science.

“Pest management professionals often told us that rodent control was becoming more difficult in some areas, even though they applied the effective rodenticides,” said Jin-Jia Yu, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Entomology at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the first author of the study. “I wanted to find out whether this was occurring in the northeastern United States, especially the metropolitan areas, and how widespread the problem might be.”

Yu works in the laboratory of Changlu Wang, an extension specialist in the Department of Entomology and one of the nation's leading experts on the management of urban pests, including cockroaches, bed bugs and rodents.

The researchers analyzed DNA from 147 house mice and 143 Norway rats collected from urban areas in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. They focused on a gene called Vkorc1, where certain mutations have been associated with resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides, the most widely used rodent-control chemicals in the U.S.

The results were striking.

Among the house mice examined, 84% carried at least one mutation in the Vkorc1 gene, and nearly 70% carried mutations already known to help mice survive common rodenticides. About 35% of the Norway rats also carried mutations in the same gene.

“We found that resistance appears to be much more widespread in house mice than many people realized,” Yu said. “Norway rats also carried genetic mutations, but scientists do not yet know whether most of those mutations affect Norway rats' susceptibility to rodenticides.”

The team also identified several genetic variants that had never before been reported in house mice or Norway rats. Scientists don’t yet know whether those newly discovered mutations contribute to rodenticide resistance.

The study emerged from several years of conversations between Rutgers researchers and pest-management professionals, many of whom reported persistent rodent problems despite repeated treatments.

The findings point to a long-running evolutionary contest between humans and one of their oldest urban adversaries. Anticoagulant rodenticides have been used for decades to suppress rat and mouse populations. Over time, rodents carrying mutations that help them survive exposure to those chemicals may gain an advantage, allowing resistance traits to spread through populations.

Researchers found that house mice appear to be adapting more rapidly than rats. One possible explanation involves behavior. Mice are naturally curious and more likely to investigate and consume unfamiliar food sources, including poison baits, Yu said. Rats, by contrast, tend to be cautious and suspicious of new objects.

“Rats are very clever," Yu said. "They will approach the novel food many times before they really take the food or the bait.”

The findings have important implications for public health. Rodents, which contaminate food, damage buildings and infrastructure, can spread diseases and parasites. If commonly used rodenticides become less effective, communities may face greater challenges controlling infestations.

“This research provides some of the first information on rodenticide resistance in the northeastern United States,” Yu said. “By understanding how prevalent the mutations are and where resistance exists, pest management professionals and public health agencies can make better decisions about how to control rodents.”

Wang, a coauthor of the study, said the findings underscore the need for a broader approach to rodent management.

“Rodents are more than a nuisance,” Wang said. “As resistance becomes more common, it becomes even more important to use science-based management strategies that protect both public health and the environment.”

The scientists’ goal is to help communities manage rodent populations effectively while reducing environmental risks. “Studies like this help us understand how rodent populations are changing and how our management strategies need to evolve with them,” he added.

Rather than relying exclusively on chemical controls, researchers recommend combining multiple strategies, including sealing entry points, improving sanitation, modifying habitat and using traps when appropriate.

“Ultimately, we want to help communities maintain effective rodent control, reduce unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health,” Yu said.

Other Rutgers researchers who contributed to the study included: Alvaro Toledo, an assistant professor; Xiaodan Pang, a postdoctoral associate, and Babatunji Daramola, a graduate student, all in the Department of Entomology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

Explore more of the ways Rutgers research is shaping the future.

Rutgers University researchers Changlu Wang, right, and Jin-Jia Yu found that many urban rats and house mice in the Northeast carry genetic mutations associated with resistance to commonly used rodenticides.

Credit

Rutgers University

Journal

Pest Management Science

DOI

10.1002/ps.70833

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animal tissue samples

Article Title

Distribution and frequency of Vkorc1 polymorphisms in house mice and Norway rats in the northeastern United States

Article Publication Date

21-Apr-2026

COI Statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships influencing the results reported in this study.

2026-06-22T09:55:22.738-07:00

Building a clean energy future with molecular sponges

A comprehensive review assesses metal-organic frameworks for simultaneous carbon capture, methane utilization, and hydrogen storage

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

image:

Next-generation metal–organic frameworks for CO₂ capture, CH₄ utilization, and H₂ integration: toward a circular and clean energy future

Credit: Mohssine Ghazoui, Otmane Boudouch, Aboubacar Sidigh Sylla & Reda Elkacmi

The world faces an urgent challenge to achieve carbon neutrality, demanding innovative solutions for managing strategic gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and hydrogen (H2). CO₂ capture is vital for emissions reduction, CH₄ requires careful valorization and control due to its potent global warming impact, and H2 is rapidly emerging as a cornerstone of future energy systems. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of porous materials recognized by the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, are rapidly changing possibilities for strategic gas management due to their exceptional tunability.

A new review in Carbon Research provides a critical and integrated assessment of MOFs' potential across these three domains. Led by Reda Elkacmi from Sultan Moulay Slimane University, the authors detail how MOFs’ unique attributes—including surface areas exceeding 6000 m² g⁻¹, tunable pore environments, and modular coordination chemistry—enable significant CO₂ uptakes, high methane storage capacities, and impressive hydrogen volumetric densities. These properties empower MOFs to address multiple environmental and energy challenges simultaneously.

A Unified Strategy for Strategic Gases

The review’s core contribution is its unified analysis of MOFs for all three strategic gases. Rather than treating CO₂ capture, CH₄ storage, and H2 adsorption in isolation, the authors identify common performance drivers, shared bottlenecks, and potential synergies. This integrated approach clarifies actionable insights for carbon mitigation, methane utilization, and hydrogen storage, revealing how optimal material design principles can be applied and adapted across different applications for a cohesive clean energy strategy.

From Lab Bench to Industrial Scale

Despite impressive laboratory performance, the path to industrial deployment for MOFs contains significant hurdles. The review details challenges concerning stability and durability in real-world conditions, particularly when exposed to moisture and other impurities in gas streams. Production costs remain high compared to conventional adsorbents, and scaling up synthesis while maintaining quality, consistency, and mechanical robustness continues to be a major obstacle. The review emphasizes that overcoming these limitations requires more than just high adsorption capacity; it demands reliability and economic viability.

Charting the Path to a Circular Future

The authors emphasize that translating MOFs from promising academic materials to operational technologies requires an integrated strategy. Innovations in green chemistry, such as aqueous or mechanochemical synthesis, aim to reduce the environmental footprint and production costs associated with MOFs. The development of robust, shaped MOF architectures and hybrid composites is also essential for improving durability and facilitating integration into existing industrial processes, guiding the scientific community toward practical, scalable solutions.

Looking ahead, the review posits that MOFs possess the potential to become key enablers of the clean energy transition. Their continued development, when aligned with industrial and policy frameworks, can advance them from promising research prototypes to operational components in a circular and low-carbon energy economy. This includes combining their adsorption capabilities with catalytic functions for converting CO₂ into valuable chemicals or supporting hydrogen conversion in fuel cells, paving the way for truly multifunctional systems.

Suggested author quote for approval

"To truly contribute to a carbon-neutral, hydrogen-centered future, MOFs must bridge the gap between their remarkable laboratory performance and the robust demands of industrial scale," states Reda Elkacmi, a corresponding author from Sultan Moulay Slimane University. "Our review aims to provide a clear roadmap for this transition, emphasizing the need for integrated design, scalable synthesis, and sustained durability across all strategic gas applications."

Corresponding Author: Reda Elkacmi

Original Source: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44246-026-00268-2

Contributions: All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Mohssine Ghazoui and Reda Elkacmi performed the literature search, data collection, data analysis, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Otmane Boudouch, Aboubacar Sidigh Sylla, and Nadia Anter contributed to the literature analysis and visualization. Safa Aharrouy, Siham Dabali, and Abderrafia Hafid contributed to writing—review and editing. Reda Elkacmi supervised the project. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

Journal

Carbon Research

DOI

10.1007/s44246-026-00268-2

Method of Research

Literature review

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Next-generation metal–organic frameworks for CO₂ capture, CH₄ utilization, and H2 integration: toward a circular and clean energy future

Article Publication Date

22-Jun-2026

2026-06-22T09:53:21.553-07:00

Freshwater sediments may play a bigger role in slowing methane emissions than previously thought

University of Southern Denmark

image:

Lake Ørn in Denmark, where the study was done

Credit: Professor Bo Thamdrup/University of Southern Denmakr

Methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, and wetlands together with inland waters are among its largest natural sources. But in the freshwater sediments, specialized microorganisms consume part of this methane before it can escape into the air.

A new study sheds light on the environmental controls governing this natural methane consumption. The study was published in Limnology and Oceanography and is available here: https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/lno.70373

The study was performed in the group of Bo Thamdrup, who is a Professor of geomicrobiology at the Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark (SDU). The experimental efforts were led by postdoc Alina Mostovaya and PhD student Michael Wind-Hansen, who are now both at Aarhus University but were at SDU when the work was conducted.

The researchers investigated sediments from Lake Ørn in Denmark and managed to quantify, for the first time, how the availability of sulfate and iron controls anaerobic oxidation of methane in freshwater sediments.

Their findings provide new insight into the microbial processes that regulate methane emissions from lakes, wetlands, and other aquatic environments.

Freshwater environments like lakes are often considered important natural contributors to climate change, because methane is released from the water surface. Often, one can see the methane leave the water as bubbles that burst once they reach the surface, releasing methane directly into the air.

But according to the researchers, a considerable amount of methane could very well be consumed in the sediment.

“If this mechanism was not at play, more methane would leave the lakes”, says corresponding author Alina Mostovaya.

The researchers describe the mechanism as an underappreciated methane sink that should be considered when making models for balancing production and consumption of methane in freshwater environments.

The driver of the investigated methane consumption in the studied Lake Ørn is microbial activity. Certain microbes use sulfate and iron in the sediment to consume methane under oxygen-free conditions.

Neither sulfate nor iron are rare elements in freshwater sediments. Sulfate may, for example, enter with rain and runoff from soils, nearby fertilized fields, wastewater or seawater intrusion. Iron is one of the most abundant elements on Earth and may come from weathering of rocks and soil or is carried by rivers and groundwater.

The methane-consuming microbes at play belong to the archaeal group ‘Candidatus Methanoperedenaceae’, and they appear to be quite efficient even in low-resource freshwater environments:

“Our work in Lake Ørn shows that even relatively low concentrations of sulfate can support efficient methane removal in freshwater sediments,” says co-author Michael Wind-Hansen.

The researchers found that sulfate-dependent methane oxidation in Lake Ørn operates efficiently at sulfate concentrations in the low micromolar range — far lower than typical values reported from marine systems. This suggests freshwater microbial communities have evolved high-affinity strategies for scavenging scarce resources.

The team also showed that iron-dependent methane oxidation requires relatively high concentrations of reactive iron minerals, but nevertheless represents an important pathway for methane removal in the lake.

Their experiments further revealed that dissolved organic compounds resembling natural humic substances can shuttle electrons between microbes and iron minerals, significantly stimulating methane oxidation under certain conditions.

“These electron-shuttling compounds may help microorganisms take advantage of iron minerals that would otherwise be difficult to use,” Alina Mostovaya says, “That means natural organic matter may play a dual role in many freshwater environments, both as a source of methane and as a regulator of methane consumption and emissions.”

The findings have broader implications beyond a single Danish lake.

“We expect that the same pattern can be found in many other lakes and freshwater environments in other parts of the world, so this is a factor that should be considered when making global models of methane production, consumption, and emissions in these environments”, says Professor Bo Thamdrup.

Journal Limnology and Oceanography, April 23, 2026: Kinetics of sulfate- and iron-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation in freshwater lake sediment. doi: 10.1002/lno.70373. Authors: Alina Mostovaya, Michael Wind-Hansen, Bo Thamdrup.

The study was financed by the European Research Council (project NOVAMOX) and the Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Lake Ørn in Denmark, where the study was done

Credit

Professor Bo Thamdrup/University of Southern Denmark

Journal

Limnology and Oceanography

DOI

10.1002/lno.70373

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Kinetics of sulfate- and iron-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation in freshwater lake sediment

Fungi help lock carbon into Arctic fjord sediments

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

LMU-Researchers show that fungi play an important role in the marine carbon cycle.

Arctic fjords are among the most efficient natural systems for absorbing and long-term storage of carbon. However, as the Arctic is warming around four times faster than the global average, fjord ecosystems are changing rapidly. Against this backdrop, understanding the biological processes that regulate carbon storage is becoming increasingly important. Yet the microbial mechanisms that control whether carbon is stored in sediments or returned to the environment are still not fully understood.
A new study led by Professor William Orsi of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences now shows that fungi may play a surprisingly important role in keeping carbon locked into the seafloor. Working in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, an international team of researchers found that marine fungi living in sediments efficiently assimilate dissolved organic matter and retain it as microbial biomass, rather than allowing it to be rapidly remineralised.

A poorly understood part of the marine carbon cycle

Fungi are known to play important roles in how carbon is processed, retained, and stored in terrestrial soils, yet their contribution to carbon cycling in marine sediments has remained largely unknown. Understanding this role is particularly important in Arctic fjords, where microbial activity at the sediment surface influences whether dissolved organic matter (DOM) is converted into microbial biomass, remineralized to CO₂, or ultimately buried and sequestered as organic carbon in the sediments.

To investigate this, the researchers sampled sediments, seawater, soils, and glacial environments across Kongsfjorden, a high Arctic fjord on the west coast of Svalbard. They then used isotope-tracing techniques to follow how fungi and bacteria consumed DOM and contributed to carbon cycling across these interconnected habitats.

The results showed that fungi in fjord sediments assimilated dissolved organic matter (DOM) with relatively high efficiency. As a result, more carbon was retained in microbial biomass rather than being remineralized to CO₂. Higher fungal assimilation was associated with increased fungal-to-bacterial biomass ratios, suggesting that fungal metabolism promotes carbon retention at the seafloor and may enhance long-term carbon sequestration in fjord sediments.

A distinct fungal community in the fjord

The study also showed that the fungal communities in Arctic fjord sediments are distinct from those in nearby soils and overlying seawater. Using quantitative stable isotope probing, the researchers linked amino acid assimilation – free amino acids are an essential component of DOM - to more than 80 fungal taxa in fjord sediments.

These findings suggest that free-living marine fungi are not just present in Arctic fjords, but are active participants in carbon cycling, helping stabilise labile organic matter in sediments that are important carbon sinks.

„Our study shows that fungi in the Arctic ocean can contribute significantly to carbon storage in sediments via their highly efficient metabolism. This is important because it is a previously unknown mechanism of microbial carbon storage in fjords, key geological settings that store more than ten percent of all the carbon buried below the seafloor”, resumes Orsi.

Juan Carlos Trejos-Espeleta, PhD student at LMU and first author of the study, adds: "The Arctic is changing before our eyes at unprecedented rates and the efforts to understand its ecosystems functioning remain insufficient. Only recently we are looking at marine fungi as important participants in the marine carbon cycle, having a potential role in carbon sequestration, just as it is known for terrestrial environments. Future research should not ignore fungi anymore as key agents of carbon cycling."

James Bradley, CNRS researcher at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography and co-author of the study, says: “Sampling and developing experiments in the High Arctic is still a challenging task, just like understanding fragile, dynamic ecosystems such as a glaciated fjord. This is why studies in these parts of the planet are rare but paradoxically have a high level of urgency."

Journal

PLOS Biology

DOI

10.1371/journal.pbio.3003783

Article Title

Fungi enhance microbial carbon retention in high Arctic fjord sediment

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2026

2026-06-22T09:48:26.188-07:00

Nanoplastics: new method provides clearer picture of the risks

Universiteit van Amsterdam

Micro- and nanoplastics are now popping up everywhere: in seawater, snow, food, and even in our bodies. The very smallest particles, in particular, are difficult to measure, meaning we still know too little about their spread and associated risks. UvA chemist Maria Hayder and her colleagues have developed a new measurement method that maps nanoplastics in water and the environment much more accurately. On Wednesday, 24 June, she will defend her PhD dissertation on this research at the University of Amsterdam.

Much plastic waste, of which millions of tons are produced annually, breaks down into increasingly smaller particles: microplastics and ultimately nanoplastics. Microplastics are particles between 1 micrometer and 5 millimeters; nanoplastics are even smaller, from 1 nanometer to 1 micrometer.

It is these minuscule particles that are a cause for concern, because they end up in water and food, and thus eventually in our bodies as well.

Combining two techniques

It is particularly difficult to accurately determine the amount of nanoplastics in the environment because they are so tiny and also behave differently from microplastics. ‘Many techniques are already used for microplastics, but they usually don’t work for nanoplastics,’ says Hayder.

To achieve a more reliable measurement, Hayder combined two complementary techniques: one for separating the plastic particles by size and one for chemically recognising and measuring the different types of plastic.

This new method proved capable of identifying and quantifying specific nanoplastics in wastewater.

No simple pattern

The new method was immediately deployed to discover how everyday plastics, which the researchers had exposed to fresh and seawater for years, break down into increasingly smaller particles.

‘We found the nanoplastics in both fresh and seawater,’ says Hayder. Remarkably, the plastic particles did not break down according to a simple "increasingly smaller" pattern but were present in all sorts of different sizes and also appeared at all depths regardless of their density.

Especially common in food

Hayder also examined what is currently known about plastic particles in our food and drinks. ‘Quite a bit of research has been done on seafood, while other important components of our diet – such as fruit, vegetables and grains – have received less attention.’ Yet the researchers estimate the highest daily intake for precisely those food types.

‘We mainly see the commonly used plastics, such as packaging plastic,’ says Hayder. ‘But how you measure largely determines what you find – and that makes studies difficult to compare.’

What happens in our gastrointestinal tract?

And what actually happens if we swallow the plastic particles via water and food and they enter our gastrointestinal tract? To find out, the researchers recreated the digestive process in the lab and subjected plastic particles of various sizes and with diverse properties to it.

‘In the gastrointestinal tract, small particles clump together into larger lumps, mainly due to the action of digestive enzymes. As a result, they become larger and the chance of them passing through the intestinal wall and entering the body is reduced, although this research shows that we still have much to learn about that,’ says Hayder.

Better measurements desperately needed

Better measurements to properly assess the health risks of plastic pollution are sorely needed. ‘Currently, measurement methods vary widely between laboratories, making results difficult to compare. This hinders not only scientific research but also policy regarding plastic use and pollution,’ says Hayder.

‘Our approach is not yet perfect, but it is a good step towards much more precise measurements of nanoplastics in the future. This will be crucial in helping us estimate their spread and potential health risks.’

Thesis details

Maria Hayder, 2026, 'Analytical approaches for studying occurrence and fate of environmental micro- and nanoplastics'. Supervisors: Prof. G.J.M. Gruter and Prof. A.P. van Wezel. Co-supervisors: Dr A. Astefanei and Dr C. Angelici.

2026-06-22T09:44:07.974-07:00

Tiny additive has big impact on compostability of bioplastic

A simple step dramatically improves the biodegradability of PLA while retaining the plastic’s useful qualities

American Chemical Society

image:

PLA plastic (left piece) usually takes months to break down in industrial composting facilities, but incorporating a sprinkling of an organic additive dramatically speeds the process for a modified PLA plastic (right piece) to less than three weeks.

Credit: Jinsol Yook

Compostable plastics could be part of a solution to the world’s plastic waste problem. But currently these materials need industrial composting facilities to break down. In a step toward making a home-compostable plastic, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have augmented polylactide (PLA) — a widely used biobased and compostable polymer— with a small amount of an additive. Tests show it helps the material degrade substantially faster without sacrificing critical qualities like strength or transparency.

“PLA can be made to degrade much more effectively under practical composting conditions without compromising the properties that make it useful in everyday applications.” — Marc Hillmyer

PLA is currently found in products such as food packaging, textiles, and biomedical devices, and it accounts for roughly two-thirds of total bio-based and biodegradable plastics production worldwide. “Composting is considered one of the most effective end-of-life strategies for PLA products, especially food-contaminated single-use products, because it eliminates the need for additional sorting and washing processes,” says Marc Hillmyer, a corresponding author of the paper. This process converts organic waste into environmentally innocuous products such as small organic acids. However, PLA “is only industrially compostable in engineered environments where it degrades over a few months,” he adds. The bioplastic usually needs high temperatures and humidity to break down over practical timescales.

Inspired by this limitation, Hillmyer, Christopher Ellison and colleagues wanted to develop a PLA-based material that breaks down faster and under a broader set of conditions. Instead of adding organic acids directly, which can weaken PLA during processing, the team blended PLA with small amounts of organic anhydrides. These compounds are “masked acids,” because once exposed to water, they activate and help catalyze the breakdown of the plastic’s polymer chains.

The researchers created two plastic films containing different organic anhydrides: phthalic anhydride or 2-sulfobenzoic acid cyclic anhydride. They found that PLA blends modified with either substance maintained their mechanical properties, including strength and transparency, compared to pure PLA films.

The 2-sulfobenzoic acid cyclic anhydride additive worked especially well, even at trace levels as low as 100 parts per million. Under industrial composting conditions at 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius), PLA containing 0.1% of this additive completely degraded within 21 days, surpassing unmodified PLA, which reached 83% biodegradation after 90 days. The researchers also had success with improving the biodegradability of the modified PLA around 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius), a temperature within the range of healthy home composts.

The authors say their approach could expand the practical use of PLA by helping it degrade not only in industrial composting facilities but also in home composting bins. However, more testing is still needed to understand how modified PLA materials behave in various settings and environments.

The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and a University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.

###

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books, and news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Registered journalists can subscribe to the ACS journalist news portal on EurekAlert! to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

Journal

ACS Central Science

DOI

10.1021/acscentsci.6c00395

Article Title

Tiny additive has big impact on compostability of bioplastic

Article Publication Date

17-Jun-2026

2026-06-22T09:38:36.895-07:00

Teenagers whose parents are more distracted by phones are more insecure

Teenagers who report competing with caregivers’ phones for attention are more likely to have insecure attachment styles, which could damage wellbeing

Frontiers

We worry about the time kids spend using screens — but what if the time their caregivers spend on phones is also harmful? Scientists working on digital mental health noticed increasing reports of teenagers struggling with their parents’ phone use and decided to investigate. Their new findings show that teenagers who report that their caregivers are often distracted from them by devices are more likely to display insecure attachment styles, which can have serious negative consequences for their future health and wellbeing.

“About 10 years ago I started to notice some concerning primary caregiver device use behaviors,” said Dr Don Grant of the Center for Research and Innovation at Newport Healthcare, a corresponding author of the article in Frontiers in Psychology. “In addition, my teen clients began sharing their negative feelings about the same behaviors. These were also introduced by kids during our family counseling sessions.

“Finally, a clinical psychologist colleague of mine, who is also a fantastic mom and familiar with my work in the device behavior space, came to me several years ago and shared that her daughter had asked if she loved her phone more than her. My brilliant colleague was both dumbstruck and devastated.”

Competing with a smartphone

Smartphones affect every aspect of our lives, including parenting: for example, in one study, children and teenagers reported that they were competing with their parents’ phones for attention. The researchers wanted to find out if behavior like this affects teenagers’ attachment style, which describes how they relate to others. People with an insecure attachment style can become anxious and cling to others for reassurance, or avoid relationships to minimize the risk of emotional pain. Insecure attachment is associated with poorer mental health and problems with healthy relationships, while secure attachment is associated with more successful relationships and greater wellbeing.

“Attachment is malleable,” said Grant. “Thus, even if there is an established secure attachment with a child, it can be pivoted to an insecure one, even during teenaged years. Obviously, this is not something any parent would want for their child.”

To investigate, the team developed the ‘device attachment interference scale’. The measure asked teenagers to rate their feelings about their caregivers' device use and their perceptions of how caregivers' device use affected attention, availability, and interactions with them. The scientists wanted to know if higher scores on the scale were associated with higher levels of insecure attachment.

The scientists then recruited a sample of 600 teenagers aged 12-17, representative of the United States’ general population, and asked them to fill out both a survey that investigates attachment style and the device attachment interference scale.

Alarming results

The scientists found that the higher the score on the scale, the greater levels of both anxious and avoidant insecure attachment reported by the affected teenagers.

“The fact that our results were so significant across the board means that this issue appears to be much more prevalent than even I thought,” said Grant. “I believe millennials especially really need to know about this research. Considered by some to be the first ‘digital native’ generation, they were in turn more potentially vulnerable to becoming dependent on their devices. They are now becoming parents themselves. I really want them to know about our study to help them avoid potentially negative outcomes of their device behaviors in terms of their children’s attachment security.”

However, the researchers pointed out that although this study showed a strong correlation between insecure attachment and caregivers’ device use, it can’t confirm causation. For instance, it’s possible that children with insecure attachment styles tend to perceive their caregivers as unavailable, regardless of their phone habits.

But while more research is being carried out, the scientists say these results call for caution. Because smartphones are so ubiquitous, even comparatively small effects of distraction on teenagers’ attachment styles could have negative consequences over time.

“We are not saying that every time a child submits a bid for attention a parent has to drop everything, including whatever they are doing on their devices, and answer it,” explained Grant. “We are recommending that when those bids occur, a parent does acknowledge and respond to them in some way.”

Journal

Frontiers in Psychology

DOI

10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1766665

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

"Mommy, Do You Love Your Phone More Than Me?": Parental Device Use and the Adolescent-Caregiver Attachment Bond

Article Publication Date

18-Jun-2026

2026-06-22T09:37:20.642-07:00

Americans’ Ability to Afford Healthcare Falls to Five-Year Low

Estimated 2.8 million more Americans struggled to afford healthcare in 2025 than the previous year

West Health Institute

image:

Share of U.S. Adults Who Are "Cost Secure" Dips Below Half

Credit: West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 18, 2026 — New research released today from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America finds that fewer than half of Americans (49%) are considered “Cost Secure,” meaning they can consistently afford healthcare and prescription medications when and where they need them, the lowest level recorded since West Health and Gallup launched its Healthcare Affordability Index in 2021.

In the past year alone, 2.8 million Americans dropped out of the Cost Secure category, unable to keep up with rising healthcare costs. The new data largely extend last year’s downward trends, with continued declines in affordability evident among traditionally vulnerable populations, including Black and Hispanic adults and lower-income households.

“The fact that fewer than half of Americans can reliably afford healthcare should alarm every person, policymaker and healthcare leader in the country,” said Tim Lash, President, West Health Policy Center. “Millions of Americans are being priced out of healthcare because costs are rising faster than their ability to pay. Without meaningful reforms that better address healthcare delivery, high prescription drug prices and rising insurance premiums, Americans will continue to struggle and affordability will only continue to deteriorate.”

Healthcare spending is on the rise in the U.S., reaching $5.3 trillion in 2024, a 7.2% increase from the prior year and growing more than twice the rate of overall inflation (2.9%). Hospital prices climbed 3.4% in 2024, the fastest increase since 2007, while prescription drug spending rose approximately 7.9%.

The new findings about healthcare affordability come from the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index, which measures Americans’ ability to access and pay for healthcare based on self-reported experiences as collected through timely, nationally representative surveys. Based on their responses, Americans fell into one of three groups:

Cost Secure — able to consistently access and afford needed healthcare and prescription medications (49% of U.S. adults in 2025)
Cost Insecure — lacking access to care or recently unable to pay for either care or medicine (41% of U.S. adults in 2025)
Cost Desperate — lacking access and recently unable to pay for both care and prescription drugs (10% of U.S. adults in 2025)

Study Highlights

Growing racial disparities — Currently, just 38% of Black adults and 32% of Hispanic adults are classified as Cost Secure, compared with 55% of White adults. Since 2021, these gaps have consistently widened, with cost security declining more dramatically among Black (-16 percentage points) and Hispanic (-19 points) adults than among White adults (-3 points).
Middle class getting squeezed — About one in three adults in households earning between $120,000 to $179,999 were not Cost Secure in 2025, nor were even one in five earning $180,000 or more a year.
Young adults struggling — Adults aged 18 to 29 saw the sharpest decline in healthcare affordability. Less than a third of this group (32%) were Cost Secure in 2025, a 17-point decline since 2021 and a seven-point drop in the last year alone.

Troubling trends for older adults — Though largely covered by Medicare, cost security among people 65 and older fell from 73% in 2021 to 61% in 2025, one of the sharpest declines among age groups.
Chronic conditions straining affordability — Little more than a third of people with COPD (34%) or compromised immune systems (38%) were Cost Secure in 2025, about equal to the share of people reporting mental health conditions including anxiety (39%) or depression (37%).

Gender gap reaches record high — Women have been less Cost Secure than men since 2021 and the gap is growing. In 2025, 42% of women were Cost Secure compared with 57% of men — the largest difference on record. Women were six percentage points less likely to be considered Cost Secure in 2025 than the previous year.

The future appears grim and uncertain for millions of Americans who are increasingly worried about their ability to pay for healthcare in the year ahead. According to the West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index, worry rose from 42% of respondents to 51% and concerns about paying for prescription drugs jumped to 42% from 30% between 2021 and 2025.

"The new findings point to a sustained shift in how Americans perceive the affordability of healthcare," said Joe Daly, Global Managing Partner at Gallup. "Since 2021, the share of Americans who say healthcare is affordable has declined steadily, suggesting this is part of a longer-term pattern rather than a one-time drop since last year."

Survey Methods

Results are based on a Gallup Panel study completed by 5,660 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, conducted Oct. 27-Dec. 22, 2025. The Gallup Panel is a probability-based panel of U.S. adults recruited via random-digit-dial phone interviews and address-based sampling (ABS) methods. Respondents with internet access completed the survey online; those without regular internet access were sent a printed questionnaire to complete and return by mail. The sample was weighted to be demographically representative of the U.S. adult population using the most recent Current Population Survey figures. The maximum margin of sampling error is ±2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Margins of error are higher for subsamples. Prior-year surveys were conducted as follows: 2024 (n=6,296, Nov. 18-Dec. 27, 2024); 2023 (n=5,149, Nov. 13, 2023-Jan. 8, 2024); 2022 (n=5,551, June 21-July 1, 2022); 2021 (n=4,843, Sept. 27-30 and Oct. 18-21, 2021).

About the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America

The Center on Healthcare in America is a joint initiative from West Health and Gallup dedicated to elevating the voices and experiences of Americans within the healthcare system. Through rigorous research and human-centered storytelling, the Center aims to drive actionable insights and inform policy solutions nationwide. Visit westhealth.gallup.com.

About West Health

Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations that include the Gary and Mary West Foundation and Gary and Mary West Health Institute in San Diego and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs to enable seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality and affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. Learn more at westhealth.org.

About Gallup

Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 90 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organization in the world.

###

2026-06-22T09:36:03.535-07:00

What drives academic misconduct by professors and research students?

University of Technology Sydney

Ensuring the research that we all rely on – whether for our health, environment or economy – is trustworthy is important for universities, governments and business. Unfortunately, academic misconduct is a growing concern where researchers break the rules, such as making up results or copying others’ work making their research untrustworthy.

An international study published in Higher Education Research & Development sheds light on the key factors that drive research misconduct in universities, offering crucial insights for strengthening research integrity worldwide.

The study has found that academics believe that research misconduct is significantly more likely when penalties for misconduct are weaker, the likelihood of investigation is low, and the perceived harm caused by misconduct is minimal.

At the lower end of the scale they believe misconduct is least influenced by how complex the research is, whether experts are involved, and whether researchers are exposed to formal training and policies.

Lead author, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business Professor Paul Burke said this made preventing fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other questionable research practices primarily about addressing academic incentives, deterrence, and perceived consequences.

The research was conducted by business and ethics researchers from UTS and the University of New South Wales and surveyed the views of more than 900 researchers across Australia, the United States and Europe.

The study applied a discrete choice experiment to investigate research integrity, a method more commonly used in economics. Rather than asking researchers to rate factors individually, participants made trade-offs, revealing how they prioritise different drivers in real-world scenarios.

“This approach gives us a much clearer picture of what actually matters in relative terms,” Professor Burke said. “It moves beyond simple checklists to understanding which different pressures matter more.

“The findings highlight that researchers respond to the same kinds of incentives and disincentives we see in other decision-making contexts. When the risks are low and the consequences limited, misconduct becomes more likely. Education on misconduct matters but deterrence matters more.”

Importantly, the study identifies three distinct groups of researchers, each with different perspectives on what drives misconduct.

For experienced researchers, focus on penalties and the likelihood of investigation matters more. Early-career researchers are most influenced by observing the poor behaviours of senior academics. Mid-career STEM researchers emphasise peer pressure, mentoring, and perceived impact.

“These differences matter,” Professor Burke said. “They show that a one-size-fits-all approach to research integrity is unlikely to be effective.”

The findings point to several practical actions universities can take to promote research integrity including increasing transparency around misconduct investigations and outcomes; strengthening and consistently applying penalties for misconduct; creating safe, accessible pathways for reporting concerns; ensuring senior academics model ethical research behaviour; and tailoring integrity initiatives to different career stages and disciplines.

The study also highlights broader cultural challenges in academia. While most researchers reported low personal engagement with misconduct, around one-third indicated they had experienced pressure to engage in questionable practices, and only just over half believed research integrity is strongly prioritised in their field.

With public trust in science under increasing scrutiny, the study underscores the importance of strengthening research integrity systems globally.

“Universities, funders and journals all have a role to play,” Professor Burke said. “Promoting integrity isn’t just about rules – it’s about creating environments where ethical research is the norm and supported at every level.”

Journal

Higher Education Research & Development

DOI

10.1080/07294360.2026.2627872

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

What drives academic research misconduct? The viewpoint of researchers

2026-06-22T09:35:07.819-07:00

UT San Antonio's Center for Military Affiliated Students receives enhanced technology support through T-Mobile partnership

New investment will expand student services and long-term infrastructure for the Center for Military Affiliated Students

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY

University of Texas at San Antonio

The University of Texas at San Antonio has announced a new collaboration with T-Mobile to bring advanced 5G infrastructure to the university’s Center for Military Affiliated Students (CMAS), strengthening digital services and expanding support. The enhanced infrastructure will support high-capacity connectivity for up to 1,000 students and 50 staff members and will help power key CMAS functions, including academic advising, virtual mental health services, hybrid programming and career development.

Military-affiliated students often balance their education with other demands including service commitments, career transitions and family responsibilities. Expanding digital infrastructure at CMAS will help UT San Antonio deliver more flexible, responsive and secure support for a student population that is central to the university’s mission and community impact.

Through a five-year agreement, T-Mobile will deploy a hybrid network from the Advanced Network Solution portfolio at the CMAS facility, providing dedicated, licensed-spectrum connectivity, secure backhaul and Secure Access Service Edge architecture to support critical student services. The investment, valued at approximately $1.69 million, includes equipment, software and support services, along with subsidized connectivity, cybersecurity and managed network services.

“UT San Antonio is committed to expanding opportunity, removing barriers and providing all students with the support they need to succeed,” said UT San Antonio President Taylor Eighmy. “This collaboration not only allows us to achieve critical accessibility for our military population by strengthening the infrastructure but also creates new possibilities for connection, care, and student success. By addressing the unique challenges often faced by military-affiliated students and their families, we can ensure they have the support and resources necessary to thrive in both their academic and personal journeys.”

San Antonio is recognized nationally as Military City USA. UT San Antonio and its CMAS serve the largest military population of any university within The University of Texas System with over 6,300 enrolled service members, veterans, and military-affiliated family members and dependents. Beyond academic services, the CMAS provides wraparound support through dedicated benefits certification, tailored advising, mental health partnerships, priority registration, peer support initiatives, and innovative programming that sets the standard for veteran service in higher education. As a result, UT San Antonio has been consistently recognized as a “Best for Vets” university by the Military Times.

In addition to the multitude of services offered through the CMAS, the university’s academic health center, UT Health San Antonio, provides a comprehensive network of health, wellness and support services for veterans, active-duty service members, military-affiliated students and the broader military community. Together, these resources reflect UT San Antonio’s commitment to addressing the unique educational, health and well-being needs of those who have served, are currently serving, and the families who support them.

“Our students often carry a great deal as they work toward their degrees, and our role is to make sure they have the support and flexibility they need to thrive,” said Michael Logan, senior director for veteran and military affairs at UT San Antonio. “This technology will strengthen how we deliver advising, connect students to services and create more consistent access to programs that support their academic progress, well-being and career development.”

The relationship with T-Mobile marks an important early milestone in a broader, multiyear effort to strengthen the infrastructure and services that support military affiliated students at UT San Antonio.

“Connectivity plays a critical role in expanding access to opportunity,” said David Bezzant, vice president at the T-Mobile Business Group. “Through this collaboration with UT San Antonio, T-Mobile’s hybrid network is helping build a stronger digital foundation for the Center for Military Affiliated Students so veterans, service members and military families can stay connected to the support systems that help them succeed.”

By securing enterprise-grade connectivity and long-term operational support through this agreement, UT San Antonio is expanding its ability to serve military-affiliated students with the tools, resources and flexibility needed to support their academic and personal success.

2026-06-22T09:25:05.853-07:00

Understanding the role of the military in politics: doctoral thesis introduces an analytical framework and shows how the Russian Armed Forces have served Putin’s foreign policy

Abo Akademi University

National and international security alike depend on the military being both willing and able to comply with the political preferences of a civilian-led government – but how can we accurately describe the role of the military in politics? Drawing on a new theory of military compliance and a method for structured, theory-grounded analysis, a doctoral thesis at Åbo Akademi University in Finland presents a new framework for describing the role of the military in foreign policy. The thesis applies the framework to Putin’s military campaigns in Georgia and Syria.

Fredrik Westerlund seeks to contribute to research by describing, in a reliable and meaningful way, how the military relates to civilian authority. In his doctoral thesis in political science, he aims to establish a theory-grounded approach to describing military compliance with political preferences.

He does this by presenting a framework which proposes that the role of the armed forces in policy implementation can be characterised through four ideal-type roles: Servant, Shaper, Sinker and Spoiler.

“The roles are based on the degree of willingness and ability to comply with political preferences. A Servant is both willing and able to serve the political leadership, whereas a Shaper has considerable capacity to influence policy but uses this position to advance the military’s own interests. A Sinker is willing but has limited ability to adhere to the preferences of the political leadership. Finally, a Spoiler is neither willing nor able to follow political preferences,” says Westerlund.

Russia as a case study

To assess the analytical framework, Westerlund applies it to two contemporary Russian military operations: those in Georgia in 2008 and Syria in 2015–2020. These examples provide theoretically significant contexts, as the cases represent the full range of variation in military campaigns conducted beyond Russia’s borders during the Putin era.

“To date, few studies have examined civilian control over the use of Russian military force abroad since Vladimir Putin came to power. At the same time, the Kremlin has repeatedly used armed force in its foreign policy, with significant consequences for international security. Military operations are difficult cases, and civil-military relations in contemporary Russia pose a challenge to the Western-dominated theory. My thesis offers concepts and tools for understanding why the military complies, how civilian and military actors interact in Russia, and how the country thinks and acts in war.”

The framework is robust

The results show that Western theories of civil-military relations are useful for studying military operations during the Putin era. The analytical framework presented in Westerlund’s thesis can serve as a template for other research designs examining the role of the military in policymaking.

“The findings provide new empirical knowledge about contemporary Russian civil-military relations, including the description of the armed forces as a Servant during Russia’s military campaign in Georgia. They also support the hypothesis that the military, on behalf of Russia’s political leadership, repeatedly and flagrantly violates national and international law in order to fulfil political preferences.”

The thesis makes a significant theoretical contribution by proposing and testing an innovative approach to studying military compliance in interventions abroad, both in Russia and elsewhere, and deepens our understanding of an important aspect of civil military relations in contemporary Russia. At the same time, it challenges an established view of military compliance during the 2008 war in Georgia and offers new insights into how repeated Russian violations of international law in military operations abroad can be explained.

Fredrik Westerlund will defend his doctoral thesis on 23 June 2026 at Academill in Vaasa, Finland. The thesis ”Sinker, Shaper, Spoiler, or Servant? A framework for analysing the role of Armed Forces in policy making, exemplified by Putin-era military campaigns abroad” can be read here.

Further information:
Fredrik Westerlund, doctoral candidate at Åbo Akademi University
Email: fredrikwesterlund72@gmail.com

2026-06-22T09:18:49.812-07:00

Regulating the hydrogen transfer pathways for electrochemical nitrate-to-ammonia at industrial current density

Science China Press

image:

The introduced Cu-O-Ce sites allow an additional *H-dependent hydrogenation pathway, suppressing HER and promoting highly selective NH3 electrosynthesis.

Credit: ©Science Bulletin

The motivation

Ammonia is an essential chemical feedstock and a promising carbon-free energy carrier. However, the Haber-Bosch process remains highly energy-intensive and contributes significantly to global CO2 emissions. Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) offers a sustainable alternative by converting nitrate pollutants in wastewater into ammonia under ambient conditions using renewable electricity.

Despite rapid progress, achieving high NH3 selectivity at industrial current densities remains extremely challenging. One of the major bottlenecks originates from the imbalance in active hydrogen (*H) utilization. During NO3RR, surface *H species are required for stepwise hydrogenation of nitrogen intermediates, yet excessive *H tends to participate in HER instead of nitrate reduction.

Moreover, pristine Cu2O catalysts exhibit a hydrogenation mechanism: the early-stage nitrate reduction follows a Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L-H) pathway involving surface *H, while the later NO-to-NH3 conversion mainly proceeds through an Eley–Rideal (E-R) pathway independent of adsorbed hydrogen. This may lead to residual *H accumulation and accelerated HER under high current densities.

We therefore asked: can we redesign the catalytic active sites to continuously channel active hydrogen toward nitrogen intermediate hydrogenation rather than hydrogen evolution?

The origin of the idea

Copper-based catalysts are widely regarded as one of the most promising systems for NO3RR because of their favorable nitrate adsorption and moderate binding strength toward nitrogen intermediates. However, their hydrogenation pathways are difficult to regulate.

We hypothesized that introducing rare-earth elements with strong electronic modulation capability could alter the adsorption configuration and hydrogenation behavior of key intermediates. Cerium, with its dynamic Ce redox properties and strong oxygen affinity, emerged as an ideal candidate.

This concept led us to design a Ce-doped Cu2O catalyst, where atomically dispersed Ce induces the formation of Cu-O-Ce active centers alongside the intrinsic Cu0-Cu+ sites. We envisioned that these new interfacial sites could activate an additional *H-mediated hydrogenation route and improve active hydrogen utilization efficiency.

Our approach: dual active-site for hydrogen pathway regulation

We developed a Ce-Cu2O catalyst containing synergistic Cu0-Cu+ and Cu-O-Ce dual active centers. Structural characterization confirmed that Ce atoms were uniformly incorporated into the Cu2O lattice without forming CeO2 aggregates.

The newly formed Cu-O-Ce sites introduced an additional hydrogenation pathway involving the *NHOH intermediate, fundamentally changing the reaction mechanism of NO3RR. Instead of relying solely on the traditional E-R hydrogenation route, Ce-Cu2O enabled cooperative L-H and E-R hydrogenation processes throughout nitrate reduction.

This design effectively redirected excessive surface *H toward nitrogen intermediate hydrogenation, thereby suppressing HER and enhancing ammonia selectivity under high current densities.

What we did and key experiments

To validate the mechanism and catalytic origin, we combined advanced operando spectroscopy with theoretical calculations:

In situ DEMS experiments tracked reaction intermediates under NO3−, NO2−, and NO feeding conditions, revealing the emergence of the *NHOH intermediate exclusively on Ce-Cu2O.
The t-BuOH trapping experiments confirmed that the newly introduced hydrogenation pathway strongly depended on surface active hydrogen, indicating the dominant L-H mechanism.
Operando Raman and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy monitored the dynamic evolution of nitrogen-containing intermediates during electrocatalysis.
In situ XAFS demonstrated that the Cu0-Cu+ ratio remained stable during long-term electrolysis, indicating that the dynamic Ce redox couple stabilized catalytically active sites under reducing conditions.
DFT calculations showed that Cu-O-Ce sites significantly lowered the energy barriers for key hydrogenation steps, including *NO3 → *NO2OH and *NO → *NOH. Electronic structure analysis further revealed the stronger orbital coupling between Ce 4f states and adsorbed *NO intermediates.
Electrochemical measurements demonstrated excellent catalytic activity, achieving a Faradaic efficiency of 96.48% and long-term stability at industrial current densities up to 1 A cm−2.

Why it matters

This work introduces a new catalyst design principle based on active hydrogen pathway regulation. Rather than simply increasing catalytic activity, we demonstrate that controlling how surface hydrogen participates in elementary reaction steps is crucial for achieving efficient nitrate-to-ammonia conversion.

The discovery of cooperative L-H and E-R hydrogenation pathways provides new mechanistic insight into multi-step electrocatalytic hydrogenation reactions. More importantly, the Cu-O-Ce dual-site strategy offers a general framework for regulating hydrogen utilization in other electrochemical systems, including CO2 reduction, nitrite reduction, and biomass upgrading.

From a sustainability perspective, this work advances the development of decentralized ammonia production technologies powered by renewable electricity while simultaneously enabling nitrate wastewater remediation.

Outlook

We envision several promising future directions:

Expanding rare-earth modulation strategies to other transition-metal catalysts for tuning hydrogenation pathways.
Designing adaptive catalytic interfaces capable of dynamically regulating active hydrogen coverage under industrial operating conditions.
Integrating NO3RR systems into scalable flow-cell electrolyzers for practical wastewater-to-ammonia conversion.

We hope this work encourages the community to view active hydrogen not merely as a reaction intermediate, but as a controllable reaction resource whose transfer pathway can fundamentally determine catalytic efficiency and selectivity.

Journal

Science Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2026.05.053

Method of Research

Experimental study

2026-06-22T09:14:37.493-07:00

Beautiful scenery, rich biodiversity: New springtail species discovered in China

Pensoft Publishers

image:

The new species of Lepidodens: L. maculata

Credit: Dr. Yitong Ma

There is a Chinese saying that east or west, Guilin scenery is the best. Guilin and Chongqing, located in the western part of China, are famous for their many mountains and rivers. They also harbor unique flora and fauna, such as the scaly-sided merganser, a globally endangered species restricted to eastern Asia.

In 2023 and 2024, Dr. Yitong Ma from Nantong University, China, collected springtail specimens from the Huaping Nature Reserve in Guilin and the Yintiaoling Nature Reserve in Chongqing. “Springtails are the most common arthropods living in the soil - you can find them in your yard, in the flowerpot, or on the lawn,” he says. “Although they are very small, usually 2-3 mm in length, their density can be amazing. As decomposers, they can break down the organic matter and promote material cycling, so they play an important key role in soil ecosystems.”

After checking the specimens from the two reserves under microscopes, Dr. Ma and his colleague from Nantong University, Xiaowei Qian, found rich biodiversity and about 80 different species of springtails. In a study published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, they described five new scaled species belonging to three genera of the springtail family Entomobryidae.

The genus Lepidodens contains five species, all found in China. The researchers find one new species, which is also the first species of the genus from the western part of China.

They also report the first sighting in China of the genus Lepidosira, which thrives best in Oceania. In Huaping Nature Reserve and Yintiaoling Nature Reserve, they found three new species of the genus.

Among the fifty species of the genus Willowsia in the world, about 30 species have been reported from China. However, the authors concluded this genus is not well represented in the two reserves, and only found one new species in Chongqing.

In the future, the researchers will further study those specimens collected from the two reserves. “Given the subtropical monsoon climate, mountainous topography and little human disturbance of the reserves, it is likely that more new species will be found” they say.

Original source:

Qian X-W, Ma Y-T (2026) Five new species of Entomobryinae (Collembola, Entomobryidae) from China. ZooKeys 1275: 81-115. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1275.158254

The new Willowsia species：W. zhangi

One of the new Lepidosira species：L. montis

Habitus of Lepidosira cheni

Habitus of Lepidosira guilinensis

Credit

Dr Yitong Ma

Journal

ZooKeys

DOI

10.3897/zookeys.1275.158254

Article Title

Five new species of Entomobryinae (Collembola, Entomobryidae) from China

2026-06-22T09:13:20.209-07:00

SPACE/COSMOS

Mars mission: a stress test for the search for life

Rock samples from Mars could reveal whether life existed there billions of years ago. Researchers are preparing with the help of lab analyses of meteorites

Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

image:

The meteorite Murchison

Credit: MPS / T. Klawunn

Billions of years ago, environmental conditions on Mars were significantly more hospitable than they are today. Our neighbouring planet was likely warm, humid, and surrounded by a dense atmosphere. Whether simple microorganisms could have evolved at that time, remains an open question. NASA rovers have found organic molecules in Martian rock, but none of them can unambiguously be linked to life. Rosalind Franklin is set to join the “search team” on Mars starting in 2030. The European rover specialises in detecting organic molecules, among other things. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), the University of Göttingen, and Côte d’Azur University in Nice (France) have now subjected the measurement principle used for this purpose to a new stress test.

Proving that life once existed on Mars is a difficult task, even for ESA’s rover. How can organic molecules that were part of an organism billions of years ago be distinguished from those that formed by non-biological processes? And which molecules are particularly suited to revealing their past? The researchers are pinning their hopes on pristane (C19H40) and phytane (C20H42), two hydrocarbons that derive from living organisms and occur on Earth as components of petroleum. They are particularly stable. “If life once existed on Mars, then molecules like pristane and phytane represent important molecular biosignatures that could have survived to this day,” said MPS scientist Guillaume Leseigneur, lead author of the new study.

Mirrored molecules

Another property makes pristane and phytane promising indicators of life: like many other organic compounds, they are chiral, meaning that they can exist in different configurations, known as enantiomers. These differ only in the spatial, mirrored arrangement of their atoms within the molecule — a bit like the fingers of the left and right hands. “Chirality is a valuable tool in the search for past extraterrestrial life,” said co-author Uwe Meierhenrich of Côte d’Azur University. In organisms, chiral organic molecules occur almost exclusively in one of the two possible mirror configurations. This is true on Earth — and, due to life’s self-replicative properties, must also apply to any potential extraterrestrial life. However, if the same molecules are of non-living origin, both mirror forms are expected to be present in equal parts.

Meteorite and Mars Substitute

The Rosalind Franklin rover is capable of distinguishing between organic molecules of different chirality. This task is performed by the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), an instrument that combines a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, small furnaces, and an excitation laser. It was developed and built under the leadership of the MPS. Using the gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer, the instrument analyzes the volatile components of rock samples that have been heated in the furnaces. The resulting gas mixture then passes through various capillary tubes that have been coated on their inner surfaces. Since chiral variants of the same type of molecule react at different rates with the coatings, they can be separated in time.

In the current measurements, for which the team used identical MOMA tube replicas, this has now been achieved for pristane and phytane for the first time. Both substances are extremely unreactive. “Chiral separation of pristane and phytane requires high instrument sensitivity and measurement accuracy, both of which we show MOMA can achieve”, explained co-author and MOMA team member Fatma Yesil Sahan from the MPS. As a substitute for Martian rock, the researchers used samples from the Murchison meteorite, which fell in Australia in 1969. Like other space rocks, it contains a variety of organic molecules: some that are part of its original composition, and others that were added through biological contamination, for example at the site where it was found. The researchers assumed that pristane and phytane likely belong to the latter group.

Mysterious Contaminants

However, the results of the measurements were surprising: the Murchison meteorite contains all chiral variants of pristane and phytane in equal proportions — quite unlike any biomass it could have come into contact with at its discovery site. The researchers concluded that the contaminants must have been picked up during its descent through the atmosphere by contact with aerosols from fossil fuel burning. This is suggested by comparative measurements of pristane and phytane preserved in oil shales, sedimentary rocks containing a petroleum precursor. “Petroleum forms in these rocks over millions of years at great depths under the influence of heat and pressure”, said co-author Manuel Reinhardt from the University of Göttingen. Under such conditions, the chiral imbalance is lost, which plausibly explains the equal proportions of all chiral variants of pristane and phytane in the Murchison meteorite.

The research team views the new measurements not only as a successful trial run for MOMA’s activities on Mars. Rather, the results also raise further questions about the origin of organic molecules found in meteorites, and about the increasing concentrations of petroleum contamination in our atmosphere.

The instrument MOMA is part of ESA’s ExoMars Mission to Mars. It was developed and built under a programme of, and funded by, the European Space Agency.

Journal

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

DOI

10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120141

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Racemic isoprenoids in the Murchison meteorite derive from petroleum-based aerosol pollutants

SwRI-led Lucy mission reveals wobbling peanut asteroid

Asteroid Donaldjohanson provides a taste of what is to come from the NASA mission

Southwest Research Institute

image:

During its April 20, 2025, encounter with the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft discovered evidence for iron-rich clays on the surface of the asteroid using its infrared spectrometer. Recent studies led by SwRI scientists found that the clays are similar to those found in carbon-rich meteorites such as QUE 97990 and indicate the presence of water on the asteroid in the distant past.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Dan Gallagher Image of Donaldjohanson: NASA/Goddard/SwRL/JHU-APL

SAN ANTONIO — June 18, 2026 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists studying the inner main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson have found that its rotation wobbles. Rather than rolling through space in a steady pattern, Donaldjohanson turns on two axes, rotating end-over-end once every 10.5 Earth days while wobbling around its horizontal axis then once every 26.5 days.

“This is just one of many surprising things learned since NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew by Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025,” said SwRI’s Dr. Simone Marchi, deputy principal investigator of the Lucy mission and the study’s lead author. “Lucy images confirmed its elongated shape, initially suggested by Earth-based telescope observations. The flyby revealed that the small asteroid, half a mile in diameter, resembles a peanut, with a two-lobed structure connected by a narrower neck.”

The spacecraft also detected iron-rich clay minerals, formed long ago from the presence of liquid water. These findings indicate that the asteroid likely formed from fragments of a larger, carbon- and water-rich asteroid that broke apart 155 million years ago, following a collision in the main asteroid belt, the region between Mars and Jupiter.

Lucy’s encounter with Donaldjohanson is considered a test run for its primary mission to explore the Trojan asteroids, two swarms of ancient objects that lead and trail Jupiter as it orbits the Sun. Scientists think these populations of space rocks have been preserved since they formed in the early history of the solar system.

“This encounter gave us an opportunity to test our instruments and our procedures to make sure we are ready when we get to Jupiter’s Trojans,” Marchi said. “Once we start learning more about the Trojans, a completely different population of space rocks with very different histories, our understanding of solar system formation is likely to be challenged.”

Donaldjohanson is named for the paleontologist Donald Johanson who discovered “Lucy,” the fossilized skeleton of an early hominin found in Ethiopia in 1974. Lucy is one of the oldest human ancestors ever found and was the inspiration for the Lucy mission’s name.

To read the Science paper titled “The Lucy flyby of (52246) Donaldjohanson: A bilobed asteroid with tumbling rotation,” go to DOI: 10.1126/science.aec0503

Click here to watch a video of the asteroid's rotation - https://youtu.be/Qi4f8xwRiKI.

For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/earth-space/space-research-technology/space-science/planetary-science.

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.aec0503

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

The Lucy flyby of (52246) Donaldjohanson: A bilobed asteroid with tumbling rotation

2026-06-22T09:07:53.137-07:00

New battery management system makes electric car batteries safer and more durable

In the EU project Nemo, a research team involving TU Graz has developed new models that make battery management systems significantly more intelligent. They detect damage at an early stage and increase the service life of electric car batteries

Graz University of Technology

image:

Electric car batteries can be monitored much more effectively whilst in use thanks to the upgraded battery management system.

Credit: VSI - TU Graz

Just as an orchestra needs a conductor, a battery management system (BMS) controls the power storage of an electric vehicle. However, up to now the monitoring is only based on the voltages, currents and temperatures of the individual battery cells. Their ageing or possible damage can only be checked externally using complex calculations. In the EU project Nemo, Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and partners from industry have developed intelligent models and algorithms that enable the safety, service life and performance of batteries to be monitored directly in the vehicle’s system.

Avoiding dangers

“The battery management system is an important tool for operating electric vehicles more safely and sustainably,” says Christoph Drießen from the Vehicle Safety Institute at TU Graz. “If we recognise faults and damage to individual battery cells at an early stage via the BMS, many dangers can be avoided. And thanks to the monitoring of the ageing process of each individual cell, their service life can also be extended substantially through intelligent control.”

The team at the Vehicle Safety Institute at TU Graz focused primarily on the safety aspects of the batteries. To this end, the researchers at the institute’s Battery Safety Center examined battery cells that were mechanically deformed, for example to simulate parking damage. They used this laboratory data to train models and algorithms they had developed themselves so that the BMS can recognise damage independently and indicate when maintenance is required. In order to obtain the necessary data from inside the cell, the team is using new sensor technology known as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which measures the electrical resistance inside the cells in the vehicle.

Internal findings on ageing

In addition, the Graz researchers developed a model that predicts the change in physical volume of the cells during charging and discharging. As excessive expansion increases the mechanical pressure in the battery pack and can lead to cracks and deformations, this model helps to minimise the risk of internal short circuits and thermal peaks.

The algorithms and models pertaining to service life and ageing were developed at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Their implementation in the BMS offers clear advantages over previous models or external checks. “Up to now, a test only showed how much the capacity has decreased compared to the original battery condition,” says Christoph Drießen. “But the new models also give us an insight into the changes within the cells as they age. This enables adjustments that are beneficial for performance, service life and safety.”

Demonstrator as a model for series production

Despite the numerous new functions, the enhanced BMS would not be significantly larger or heavier than before. For the additional EIS measurements, however, additional sensors and a correspondingly adapted integration into the BMS are required.

In order to further demonstrate the developed technologies, a follow-up project will work on their continued development and transfer towards industrial application. A demonstrator at module level has already been set up for this in the current project.

The project was Co-funded by the European Union. Additional funding came from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. In addition to TU Graz and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Infineon Technologies Austria, Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr (IAV) and the Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) were on board as hardware and software providers as well as TTTech for the cloud implementation and ICONS as partners.

As part of the development of the battery management system, battery cells were subjected to a number of tests.

Credit

VSI - TU Graz

Journal

Journal of Power Sources

DOI

10.1016/j.jpowsour.2026.240029

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Development of a P2D-based model for battery swelling prediction under mechanical constraints

2026-06-22T09:05:06.468-07:00

Unlocking the carbon secrets of flooded rice fields

New research reveals how iron and microbes drive greenhouse gas emissions and carbon fate in paddy soils

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

image:

Mechanism and modeling of biogeochemical turnover of organic carbon fractions in paddy soil during flooding process

Credit: Chengli Hu, Pei Wang & Tongxu Liu

Paddy soils are critical ecosystems for global food security, yet also significant contributors to atmospheric greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. These unique wetland environments, characterized by prolonged flooding, play a complex role in the global carbon cycle. Scientists at the Guangdong Academy of Sciences and South China Normal University undertook a detailed investigation to understand the specific biogeochemical turnover of organic carbon fractions within these soils during flooding. This work aims to unravel the intricate mechanisms that govern carbon's fate, helping to predict and manage emissions from these vast agricultural lands.

Iron's Dual Role in Carbon Turnover

The research team, led by Tongxu Liu, utilized a 40-day anoxic microcosm cultivation experiment to simulate flooding conditions. They discovered that iron minerals, initially protecting organic carbon, undergo a significant transformation under oxygen-depleted conditions. This reductive dissolution of iron minerals destabilizes soil aggregates, releasing previously bound organic carbon. This initial "release process" during the first 20 days accounts for a substantial decrease in the inert carbon pool, making carbon more accessible for microbial activity.

Microbial Shifts Drive Greenhouse Gas Production

As flooding progresses, microbial communities adapt and take over as the primary drivers of carbon turnover. The study identified a shift towards dominant genera such as Clostridium and Fonticella in the later stages. These microbes are crucial in driving both iron cycling and methane production. This microbial decomposition phase, particularly after 20 days, leads to a marked increase in potent greenhouse gas emissions, with methane becoming increasingly dominant over carbon dioxide.

Quantifying Carbon Pathways with a Kinetic Model

To quantify these dynamic processes, the researchers developed a sophisticated kinetic model. This model elucidated the intricate pathways and rates of carbon transformation between active, chronic, and inert organic carbon pools. It revealed that while the inert carbon pool rapidly converts into active fractions, these active pools are then quickly decomposed and mineralized into CH₄ and CO₂. The model also explains the accumulation of the chronic carbon pool, attributing it to its inherent molecular persistence and resistance to further breakdown, despite significant transformation from the inert pool.

The study provides compelling quantitative insights into these transformations. During the 40-day flooding period, the active carbon pool saw a modest decrease, while the inert carbon pool dropped by nearly 14% of the total soil organic carbon. Concurrently, the chronic carbon pool increased by a comparable 14.36%. This dynamic interplay results in a net decrease in overall carbon stability within paddy soils, directly impacting the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

Informing Sustainable Carbon Management

These findings have profound implications for agricultural practices and climate change mitigation. Understanding the specific mechanisms and rates of carbon turnover, particularly the role of iron reduction and microbial shifts, allows for more accurate predictions of greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields. The model provides a theoretical framework for developing strategies to enhance carbon sequestration and reduce emissions in these critical agricultural ecosystems. Future investigations will delve into the influence of varying soil iron contents and additional dynamic experiments to refine the model's predictive power.

Suggested author quote for approval:

"Our research reveals that the long-term flooding of paddy soils triggers a complex dance between minerals and microbes, dictating whether carbon is stored or released as powerful greenhouse gases," says Tongxu Liu, a corresponding author from the Guangdong Academy of Sciences. "Quantifying these processes through our kinetic model is a vital step toward better carbon management and emission reduction in these essential agricultural landscapes."

Corresponding Author: Tongxu Liu

Original Source: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44246-026-00273-5

Contributions: All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Investigation and data analysis were performed by Chengli Hu, Pei Wang, Yang Yang, Kuan Cheng, Wenting Chi, Chao Guo, Guojun Chen and Zebin Hong. Supervision was provided by Tongxu Liu and Xiaomin Li. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Chengli Hu and Pei Wang, and Shiwen Hu, Xiaomin Li and Tongxu Liu commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Journal

Carbon Research

DOI

10.1007/s44246-026-00273-5

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Mechanism and modeling of biogeochemical turnover of organic carbon fractions in paddy soil during flooding process

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2026

COI Statement

Tongxu Liu is an editorial board member of Carbon Research and was not involved in the editorial review, or the decision to publish, this article. All authors declare that there are no competing interests.

Researchers uncover "intelligent molecular module" for rice chilling recovery and nitrogen use efficiency

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters

Global climate change has increased the frequency of regional cold spells, causing substantial yield losses and even crop failure. Meanwhile, excessive nitrogen fertilizer use in agriculture has increased non-point-source pollution. Improving both stress resilience and nitrogen use efficiency has therefore become a major challenge for sustainable crop production.

In rice production, farmers commonly apply nitrogen fertilizer after chilling stress to stimulate tiller regeneration and reduce yield loss. Although this practice is widely used, it increases production costs and environmental impacts. Furthermore, the molecular mechanism linking post-chilling recovery with nitrogen utilization had not been well understood.

Now, a team led by Prof. CHONG Kang from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has identified what it calls an "intelligent molecular module," Chilling Phoenix (CHPO), which coordinates chilling resilience and nitrogen use in rice by automatically changing its function depending on environmental conditions. During chilling stress, CHPO enhances chilling tolerance. Conversely, when temperatures return to normal, CHPO promotes nitrogen uptake and tiller regeneration during recovery.

The study was published in Nature on June 17.

To provide a framework for their study, the researchers established the post-chilling tiller regeneration rate as a key indicator of chilling resilience. They subsequently employed genome-wide association studies (GWAS), quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and map-based cloning to identify CHPO as a key genetic module that jointly regulates chilling resilience and nitrogen use efficiency.

The researchers identified two alleles: The superior allele, CHPOjap, originated from Chinese common wild rice and was positively selected during the domestication of temperate japonica rice. Compared with CHPOjap, the indica allele CHPOind carries a different number of GCG repeats in its coding region, leading to distinct cold responses, DNA-binding preferences, and contrasting effects on chilling resilience.

Mechanistic analyses revealed that CHPOjap dynamically switches its regulatory program between the chilling and recovery phases. During chilling stress, it accumulates in the nucleus and activates chilling-related genes to enhance chilling tolerance. During recovery, it directly activates the nitrogen transporter gene OsNRT2.4 while repressing OsTCP19, thereby enhancing nitrogen use efficiency and promoting tiller regeneration.

"To evaluate the breeding potential of this molecular module, we established a novel phenotyping system for chilling resilience to test the breeding potential of CHPOjap, which is of critical importance for agricultural applications," Prof. CHONG said.

Following chilling stress, plants were allowed to recover under different nitrogen conditions before being transplanted to the field for yield evaluation. Under all nitrogen treatments, CHPOjap-overexpressing plants consistently produced higher grain yield per plant and exhibited greater nitrogen use efficiency than wild-type plants, while chpo mutants showed the opposite phenotype.

The findings demonstrated the robust breeding potential of CHPOjap as a molecular module for molecular-design breeding aimed at improving yield and nitrogen use efficiency under post-chilling conditions.

The study uncovers the molecular mechanism that coordinates chilling resilience with nitrogen use efficiency. It also provides a genetic explanation for the long-standing agricultural practice of applying nitrogen fertilizer to promote tiller regrowth after chilling stress. In addition, it offers a molecular module and breeding strategy for developing climate-resilient rice varieties with stable yield and efficient nitrogen utilization.

Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-026-10682-6

Article Title

CHPO coordinates chilling recovery and nitrogen use in rice

Article Publication Date

17-Jun-2026

2026-06-22T09:00:20.799-07:00

Repurposed drug thalidomide shows promise for hard-to-treat brain and spinal cord arteriovenous malformations

Science China Press

image:

This graphical abstract summarizes the study design and main findings. The researchers constructed a KRAS-driven mouse model of sporadic brain arteriovenous malformation, identified thalidomide through transcriptomic drug screening, and validated its therapeutic potential in mice and patients. Thalidomide may promote vascular stabilization by reducing ANGPT2 expression and restoring mural cell coverage.

Credit: ©Science Bulletin

Central nervous system arteriovenous malformations, or CNS-AVMs, are abnormal tangles of blood vessels in the brain or spinal cord. They form direct high-flow connections between arteries and veins and can cause hemorrhagic stroke, seizures, headache, neurological deficits, or progressive disability, especially in children and young adults. Current treatments, including microsurgery, embolization, and stereotactic radiosurgery, can be effective but are invasive and may carry substantial risks for patients with complex lesions. This considerable therapeutic gap underscores the urgent need for effective pharmacological strategies against sporadic CNS-AVMs.

A research team led by investigators from Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, has reported preclinical and early clinical evidence that thalidomide may help stabilize and shrink sporadic CNS-AVMs.

A major obstacle to drug development for sporadic CNS-AVMs has been the lack of an animal model that closely resembles human disease. To address this challenge, the researchers developed a mouse model of sporadic brain arteriovenous malformation, or BAVM, driven by KRASG12V, a mutation associated with human sporadic CNS-AVMs. The model reproduced key features of human BAVM, including feeding arteries, a nidus, draining veins, high-flow vascular shunting, hemorrhagic changes, impaired vascular integrity, and reduced mural cell coverage.

The researchers then compared gene-expression profiles from human and mouse BAVMs and found strong cross-species similarity. Using the Connectivity Map platform, which predicts compounds that may reverse disease-associated molecular signatures, thalidomide emerged as a top candidate among FDA approved drugs.

In BAVM mice, thalidomide improved survival, reduced lesion growth, decreased hemorrhage, lowered abnormal blood-flow velocity, improved neuromuscular performance, and increased mural cell coverage around malformed vessels. These findings suggest that thalidomide may help convert fragile, unstable vessels into more mature and stable vascular structures.

The researchers also found the therapeutic mechanism of thalidomide in sporadic CNS-AVMs. Thalidomide reduced endothelial angiopoietin 2, or ANGPT2, a molecule associated with vascular destabilization and abnormal endothelial-mural cell communication. Blocking ANGPT2 with a neutralizing antibody produced key therapeutic effects similar to those of thalidomide in the mouse model, supporting ANGPT2 as a potential mediator of the drug’s benefit.

To evaluate clinical relevance, the team conducted a proof-of-concept clinical study involving patients with refractory sporadic brain or spinal cord arteriovenous malformations who were refractory invasive treatment. Among 28 patients who completed thalidomide therapy and follow-up digital subtraction angiography, no lesion growth was observed. Eleven patients had stable lesions, while 17 showed lesion regression. Some patients showed shrinkage of the nidus, feeding arteries, draining veins, or aneurysms. Adverse events were mild to moderate, with no grade 3 or higher events reported.

Human tissue analysis further supported the proposed mechanism. In cutaneous arteriovenous malformation samples from patients with metameric spinal cord arteriovenous malformations, thalidomide treatment increased mural cell coverage and reduced endothelial ANGPT2 expression, consistent with the findings in mice.

The authors emphasize that the clinical study was exploratory, single-arm, and limited by its small sample size and relatively short follow-up. Larger controlled studies are needed to confirm efficacy, determine optimal dosing, and evaluate long-term safety. Nevertheless, the findings provide a potential pharmacological strategy for patients with complex sporadic CNS-AVMs, particularly those who are poor candidates for invasive treatment or may benefit from preoperative lesion regression.

“This study provides a representative experimental model for sporadic brain arteriovenous malformations and offers early evidence that thalidomide may promote vascular stabilization through ANGPT2 downregulation and mural cell restoration,” the authors said. “These findings open a new direction for developing medical therapies for these challenging vascular disorders.”

Journal

Science Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2026.05.076

Method of Research

Experimental study

2026-06-22T08:56:08.754-07:00

Respiratory symptoms in people with COPD worsen when walking in areas with high levels of black carbon

A study in Catalonia concludes that walking on days with high soot concentrations may increase cough and mucus production in people with COPD

Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)

Physical activity, particularly walking, is a common recommendation for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, carrying out this activity in polluted areas may increase exposure to airborne contaminants. A study published in the journal Thorax and conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, links black carbon (soot) to an increase in certain respiratory symptoms in people with COPD.

Although in the general population the benefits of physical activity may outweigh the effects of air pollution, this interaction is still not fully understood in people with COPD. “Our aim was to assess how walking and exposure to air pollutants affect daily respiratory symptoms in people with COPD,” explains Alícia Josa Culleré, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study.

To do so, the research team followed 105 people with COPD in Catalonia over two seven-day periods. They recorded daily walking activity, exposure to three air pollutants — fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and black carbon (soot) — as well as symptom intensity, including cough, sputum production, breathlessness and wheezing.

More cough and mucus on days with high soot levels

Black carbon, also known as soot, consists of microscopic carbon particles produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (especially older diesel engines), wood and biomass (for example, in wildfires). The study found that when black carbon concentrations were high, longer walking duration was associated with increased cough and sputum production. By contrast, walking when levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) or nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were high did not worsen respiratory symptoms, suggesting that walking under those conditions remains advisable for people with COPD.

“These findings may be explained by the fact that black carbon particles tend to be smaller and can penetrate more deeply into the lungs,” explains Judith Garcia Aymerich. “In addition, they often carry compounds that increase their toxicity and their impact on respiratory health.”

The lack of a similar association with PM2.5 and NO₂ may be due to several factors, including the low concentrations recorded during the study, which remained below the limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). It may also be related to behavioural changes among participants on more polluted days — such as increased inhaler use or walking at lower intensity — or to the possibility that the benefits of walking offset the negative effects of PM2.5 and NO₂ exposure.

Physical activity remains a cornerstone of COPD management

The study examined the short-term effects of walking on respiratory symptoms within the same day, but did not assess the benefits of maintaining regular physical activity. Therefore, the findings do not call into question the benefits of physical activity for people with COPD. Previous studies have shown that physical activity can help open the airways and assist in clearing accumulated lung secretions, meaning that walking may help expel mucus through coughing.

“Our findings support the recommendation to walk for people with COPD, provided that busy roads are avoided where black carbon concentrations are high,” explains Judith Garcia Aymerich. “It is important to provide accessible spaces for safe walking, as well as to reduce black carbon emissions, a ‘super pollutant’ that is harmful both to respiratory health and the climate.”

Reference

Josa-Culleré, A., Koch, S., Rivas, I., Gimeno-Santos, E., Buekers, J., Delgado-Ortiz, L., Alcaraz, V., Blanco, I., Garcia-Olivé, I., Rodríguez-Chiaradía, D., Cirach, M., Valentin, A., Morawska, L., & Garcia-Aymerich, J. (2026). Effects of the interaction between walking activity and air pollution on daily respiratory symptoms in people with COPD. Thorax, thorax-2025-224411. https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2025-224411

Journal

Thorax

DOI

10.1136/thorax-2025-224411

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

2026-06-22T08:53:44.516-07:00

Uniting Norway’s research community for the future of the Arctic Ocean

Paul E. Renaud of Akvaplan-niva has been appointed program director of Arctic Ocean 2050 (Polhavet 2050). He succeeds Bodil Bluhm, who has served as Acting Program Director since January 2026

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

image:

New Program Director Appointed: Paul E. Renaud leaves Akvaplan-niva to lead Norway’s national research team in Arctic Ocean 2050

Credit: Photo: Fredrik Broms

Paul E. Renaud of Akvaplan-niva has been appointed program director of Arctic Ocean 2050 (Polhavet 2050). He succeeds Bodil Bluhm, who has served as Acting Program Director since January 2026.

“It is a great honour to be selected as the leader of Arctic Ocean 2050,” says Renaud. “It is something of a dream to work in the Arctic Ocean with more than 500 researchers, advanced technologies and models, and innovative tools from both the natural and social sciences over the next decade.”

Arctic Ocean 2050 is one of Norway’s largest research initiatives, bringing together the Norwegian research community in a shared interdisciplinary program. Over the next decade, the program will generate both fundamental and applied knowledge. Its goal is to support updated principles for managing the new blue Arctic Ocean.

Renaud will commence the position on 1 October 2026.

Chair of the Arctic Ocean 2050 Board, Jørgen Berge, welcomes the appointment

“Paul Renaud is a highly experienced and accomplished researcher with extensive Arctic experience,” says Berge.

According to Berge, Renaud has played an active role in developing the Arctic Ocean 2050 science plan and thus has a strong understanding of the program’s objectives and ambitions leading up to and throughout the upcoming International Polar Year (IPY).

“I look forward to working with Paul as program director in the years ahead. At the same time, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to interim director Bodil Bluhm. She has done an excellent job and laid a very strong foundation for the work Paul is now taking on,” Berge concludes.

A Growing Need for Knowledge About the Arctic

Renaud has extensive knowledge of a marine region that will be central to Norwegian and international research in the decades ahead. He has participated in several of Norway’s largest Arctic marine research initiatives, including The Nansen Legacy, and will now lead the largest of them all.

“Throughout my career, I have worked extensively on interdisciplinary scientific questions from academic, industrial, and management perspectives. I have sought to make research more visible and useful to a wide range of stakeholders. In Arctic Ocean 2050, we are fortunate to have many experts with the ambition and expertise to connect new knowledge with the needs of different users,” says Renaud.

The need for Arctic knowledge has never been greater

“We must balance a strong need for conservation with aspirations for resource use. That requires a broad spectrum of knowledge, ranging from climate change and ocean-atmosphere interactions to biodiversity and ecosystem vulnerability,” says Renaud.

Over more than 30 years as a polar researcher, Renaud has witnessed major changes in both the natural environment and society’s interest in the Arctic.

“One could point to changes in species composition or sea ice cover, but what has impressed me most is the growth in interest—not only from the research community, but also in areas such as security and preparedness, industry, geopolitics, and governance. Everyone wants to learn more about the opportunities, challenges, and future of the Arctic, and Arctic Ocean 2050 will help provide those answers,” says Renaud.

Renaud has extensive experience

Renaud joins the program from his position as Director of Climate and Ecosystems Research at Akvaplan-niva, where he has worked since 2005. He also served as an adjunct professor at The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) from 2009 to 2025.

Over more than three decades, he has established himself as a leading Arctic marine biologist, with extensive field experience in the Barents Sea, around Svalbard, and northward toward the Arctic Ocean. His research has focused particularly on benthic ecology, biodiversity, and the impacts of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems. At Akvaplan-niva, he has also contributed important scientific knowledge supporting environmental monitoring and management in northern regions.

Renaud is expected to contribute to a greater understanding of a warming Arctic and to the development of knowledge relevant to policymakers and society as they respond to rapid change in the Arctic Ocean.

Research vessel Kronprins Haakon on a research cruise to the Arctic ocean in 2024.

Credit

Photo: Trine Lise Sviggum Helgerud

Chair of the Board, Jørgen Berge is pleased with the appointment.

Credit

Photo: Ingrid Ballari Nilssen

2026-06-22T08:48:24.384-07:00

Orangutans seek out medicinal plants

University of Exeter

video:

Bornean orangutan feeding in tree.

Credit: Georgia Allen

Orangutans seek out plants with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties, new research shows.

Based on 20 years of observations of orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, scientists assessed how often the animals ate plants with known medicinal benefits.

The findings suggest orangutans eat combinations of plants in specific sequences – consistent with "self-medication" seen in other species.

It's not clear how they learn to do this, but the researchers think it may involve instinct and/or behaviour passed down over many generations.

"At this stage, we cannot say that orangutans are consciously 'diagnosing' themselves in the same way humans would," said Georgia Allen, who led the study as part of her Masters in Conservation and Biodiversity at the University of Exeter.

"However, our findings suggest they selectively consume certain plants with medicinal properties in ways that go beyond simple nutrition.

"What makes the findings interesting is that some plant species appeared together in the orangutan diet far more often than we would expect by chance.

"Several of these plants are known to contain compounds linked to antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, or wound-healing effects.

"Importantly, many of these plants are not major parts of the orangutan diet overall, suggesting they may be eaten for specific benefits rather than as everyday food sources."

Chimpanzees are known to engage in "self-medication", for example by eating plants that reduce internal parasite infections. Similar behaviours have also been observed in bonobos, gibbons and gorillas.

The new study used long-term observations of orangutans living in a peat-swamp forest in Central Kalimantan.

Some of the plants eaten by the orangutans are also used by local Indigenous people for medicinal purposes, and the findings highlight the importance of preserving Indigenous knowledge for biodiversity conservation and global health research.

Georgia Allen led the study under the supervision of Dr Kimberley Hockings, and supported by Dr Elodie Freymann.

The study was initiated by Dr Helen Morrogh-Bernard, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and Founder of the Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF).

The research used long-term orangutan behavioural data collected through the Orangutan Behaviour Project in collaboration with the University of Palangka Raya – CIMTROP.

The research was made possible with the generous support of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Ape Conservation Fund, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, ARCUS, The Orangutan Project (TOP) and Re:Wild.

The paper, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is entitled: “Investigating medicinal resource combinations in the Bornean orangutan diet.”

Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-026-52614-4

Article Title

Investigating medicinal resource combinations in the Bornean orangutan diet

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2026

Bornean orangutans feeding in tree

Bornean orangutan feeding in tree

Credit

Georgia Allen

2026-06-22T08:43:39.722-07:00

Time for better opioid detoxification strategies, researchers say

Addiction services must urgently consider the way in which they offer support for opioid substitute withdrawal

Imperial College London

Addiction services must urgently consider the way in which they offer support for those wanting to come off opioid substitutes through their detoxification, according to researchers at Imperial College London.

Following a review of relevant studies, they say different strategies are needed to better support individuals who are diagnosed with opioid dependence but who aspire to live an opioid-free life, if results are to improve.

Among their recommendations are: specialist training for addiction services staff to manage opioid withdrawal during detoxification; better provision of medication to alleviate withdrawal symptoms; and more control by individuals over their own tapering (gradual withdrawal) process.

Other strategies they suggest include supporting people going through detoxification from experienced peer support workers, and enabling psychological support during the process. They also recommend increasing the availability of in-patient or residential settings for those without an appropriate home environment.

Amy Bagshaw at Imperial College London, the first author of the paper, said: “In our experience as an addiction research team, many people with opioid dependence do want to come off opioids and their substitutes completely, at some stage. But few people are managing to do this successfully every year. Having reviewed the evidence and the factors involved in successful withdrawal, we believe these steps could really help to improve the present situation.”

She added: “Staff at addiction services may not be aware of how to adequately support individuals through the detoxification process, or how to approach the initial conversations.”

Globally, 16 million people have been diagnosed with opioid dependence and there are over 120,000 opioid overdose deaths a year. Patients can be treated with opioid substitution therapy, involving treatments like buprenorphine and methadone, sometimes coupled with psychosocial support. This has resulted in improved wellbeing and long-term stability for many patients. While for many this is sufficient, and complete detoxification is often not recommended for people with addiction problems, many people decide they want to come off the substitute therapies completely. But withdrawal is notoriously challenging.

The researchers note that the number of individuals leaving their treatment ‘free of opioid dependence’ in England has been falling over the last decade, from around 37% to around 23%.*

The researchers, in the Addiction team at Imperial College London, reviewed existing research studies of individuals with a diagnosis of opioid dependence undergoing detoxification from substitution therapies, as well as of staff responsible for providing the treatment.

Their systematic narrative review study, published today in Addiction journal, examined 41 research studies originating from the USA (22), UK (7), Sweden (6), as well as single papers from each of Canada, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Australia and China.

The medications explored across the studies included methadone (28), buprenorphine (5), both forms (6), and unspecified treatments (2).

The study found that key barriers to success included psychological challenges, such as fear of withdrawal, relapse and instability; low confidence or motivation; and physical challenges including severe withdrawal symptoms during the dose taper. Social environmental and service-related factors strongly influenced outcomes, with unstable housing, negative social networks, and inadequate professional support all hindering detoxification. The researchers also highlight a lack of recommended medicines to alleviate the emergence of opioid withdrawal symptoms. These varied symptoms are currently treated with a mixture of benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antihistamine, and anti-inflammatories. The only drug licensed to support multiple symptoms of opioid withdrawal, Lofexidine, is no longer available in the UK, although it is available in the United States.

Dr Louise Paterson at Imperial College London’s Department of Brain Sciences said: “Detoxification from opioid substitutes is a difficult process to complete, but here we have found a clear roadmap to better treatment provision to support people who want to undertake it. In fact, many of these strategies are routine in alcohol detoxification pathways but less often present for opioid detoxification. Our recommendations should be urgently considered by addiction services to improve results for those who aspire to live an opioid-free life.”

The work was funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and Medical Research Council.

Barriers and Facilitators to Detoxification from Opioid Substitution Treatment: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review, by Amy Bagshaw, Louise Paterson et al, is published in Addiction. DOI 10.1111/add.70482

* Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Adult substance misuse treatment statistics 2023 to 2024: report [Internet]. GOV.UK; 2024 [cited 2025]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-treatment-for-adults-statistics-2023-to-2024/adult-substance-misuse-treatment-statistics-2023-to-2024-report.

-ENDS-

This press release uses a labelling system developed by the Academy of Medical Sciences to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE.pdf

About Imperial College London

We are Imperial – a world-leading university for science, technology, engineering, medicine and business (STEMB), where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.  

As a global top ten university in London, we use science to try to understand more of the universe and improve the lives of more people in it. Across our nine campuses and throughout our Imperial Global network, our 22,000 students, 8,000 staff, and partners work together on scientific discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. Their work navigates some of the world’s toughest challenges in global health, climate change, AI, business leadership and more. 

Founded in 1907, Imperial’s future builds on a distinguished past, having pioneered penicillin, holography and fibre optics. Today, Imperial combines exceptional teaching, world-class facilities and a habit of interdisciplinary practice to unlock scientific imagination. 

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/

Journal

Addiction

DOI

10.1111/add.70482

Method of Research

Systematic review

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Barriers and Facilitators to Detoxification from Opioid Substitution Treatment: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review

Article Publication Date

18-Jun-2026

2026-06-22T08:41:50.255-07:00

Researchers find caregivers of children hospitalized for cancer, blood disorders at risk for food insecurity

Wake Forest University School of Medicine study finds caregiver food insecurity during hospitalization is associated with longer stays for children

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., June 18, 2026 — Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine found caregivers of children hospitalized for cancer and blood disorders may experience food insecurity during their child’s stay, even if they don’t face that issue at home, and it could be linked to longer stays.

The study, published this spring in Pediatric Blood & Cancer, highlights an overlooked issue, “inpatient food insecurity,” or when families don’t have enough to eat while their child is in the hospital because of the hardships that time might create like missed work or additional expenses.

“We found caregivers who otherwise wouldn’t be food insecure at home had trouble accessing food when their child was in the hospital,” said Joanna Robles, M.D., assistant professor, hematology and oncology, pediatrics, at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “These are not only times of stress for a family, but they incur additional expenses that go beyond medical bills.”

The study examined survey responses from more than 300 caregivers of children hospitalized in 2022 and 2023 at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Brenner Children's Hospital and found nearly one in five caregivers of children admitted to pediatric hematology-oncology units reported experiencing food insecurity during their child’s hospital stay. And most of them — more than 70% — said they did not experience food insecurity at home outside of hospitalization times.

Food insecurity can also impact the overall outcome of the sick child, the study also found. Children whose caregivers experienced food insecurity during the hospitalization stayed in the hospital about one third longer on average compared to those who did not. These children also had higher rates of readmission within 30 days of discharge.

“This shows the value in that additional screening question,” Robles said. “Not only should we assess if a patient’s family struggles with access to food, but we should also specifically screen during the hospital stay and offer help in real time, like meals or other financial assistance.

Robles said additional research is needed to better understand how inpatient food insecurity affects clinical outcomes and whether targeted support, such as caregiver meal assistance, transportation support or broader financial screening, can reduce hospital length of stay or readmissions.

To address inpatient food insecurity at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Brenner Children’s Hospital, families who need help are offered three free hot meals a day while their child is in the hospital in addition to a 24/7 food pantry with shelf-stable items. Families are also referred to state and federal assistance programs with the ability to apply onsite to ease the process.

“Families go through a lot when a child is sick,” she added. “If we can help provide the basics, they can focus on their child’s health, and it could even improve outcomes.”

About Wake Forest University School of Medicine  

Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the academic core of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health and a recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research. It directs the education of nearly 1,900 students and fellows, including physicians, basic scientists and allied clinical professionals. The school of medicine also strategically investigates opportunities that will expand basic and clinical research, resulting in nationally and internationally recognized excellence in biomedical research. The school has two campuses, each co-located with leading-edge innovation districts, The Pearl, in Charlotte, and Innovation Quarter, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. These affiliated life-sciences innovation districts focus on advancing health care through new medical technologies and biomedical discovery.  

About Advocate Health

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. A preeminent academic health system at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovation and research, it delivers care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Nationally recognized for expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, Advocate Health is also a pioneer in the delivery of virtual health care. It is accelerating discovery by making research participation part of the standard-of-care through its one-of-a-kind National Center for Clinical Trials, plus two affiliated life-sciences-focused innovation districts and one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs. With more than 165,000 teammates serving patients at 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations across eight states, Advocate Health reinvests over $6 billion each year to improve community health, making it one of the nation’s largest providers of community benefit.

###

Journal

Pediatric Blood & Cancer

DOI

10.1002/1545-5017.70358

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Inpatient Food Insecurity and Pediatric Hematology Oncology Hospitalization Outcomes

2026-06-22T08:41:24.562-07:00

A century-old concrete formula gets a long-overdue update for the modern age

Bentham Science Publishers

A new study published in The Open Civil Engineering Journal by Dr. Chenhui Jiang of the Department of Construction Engineering, Zhejiang College of Construction, Hangzhou, China, takes one of civil engineering's most foundational rules and brings it into the present. Abrams' Law — a relationship between concrete's water-to-cement ratio and its compressive strength, first set out by Duff Abrams in 1918 — has guided concrete mix design for over a century. But as the construction industry has increasingly adopted fly ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants, as a partial substitute for Portland cement, the original formula has shown clear limitations. It simply was not designed with such mineral additives in mind, and applying it directly to fly ash concrete can produce inaccurate strength predictions, complicating the design of safe and sustainable structures.

What the Research Set Out to Solve — and How

The study tackled this gap by introducing two important changes to the original Abrams' formula. First, the standard water-to-binder ratio was replaced with what the researcher calls an "effective" water-to-binder ratio — one that accounts for fly ash's pozzolanic reactivity, meaning its capacity to chemically contribute to strength over time. Second, the proportion of fly ash in the concrete mix was added as a second independent variable, since the original law only considered one factor. To test and calibrate this updated formula, the researcher produced 40 concrete mixtures using two types of Portland cement and two types of fly ash, with fly ash replacing cement at rates ranging from 0% up to 80%. Compressive strength was measured at four points in time — 14, 28, 60, and 120 days. Multi-linear regression analysis was then applied to determine the formula's three empirical constants across all these combinations.

Results That Hold Up Across a Wide Range of Conditions

The augmented formula performed well across the full scope of mixtures tested. The regression analysis produced coefficients of determination (R²) of 0.95 or higher for most mixture combinations — a threshold that, in the inherently variable world of concrete research, indicates a strong and reliable fit between the model and measured data. To further confirm its validity, the formula was tested against compressive strength data drawn from three independent sources in published literature, and the predicted values closely matched the measured results across all four ages examined. The research concludes that this updated version of Abrams' Law can reliably predict the compressive strength of concrete containing fly ash across a broad range of mix proportions and curing ages, offering engineers a more accurate tool for designing greener, more durable concrete structures. This research was supported by the General Scientific Research Program of the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province, the Teaching Reform and Research Program of Zhejiang Higher Vocational Education, and the General Scientific Research Program of the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Zhejiang Province, China.

Read the published article here: https://bit.ly/3PQBxAm

JOURNAL

The Open Civil Engineering Journal

DOI: 10.2174/0118741495439121260414095419

If you want to publish your article please visit : https://bit.ly/4de0DRi

Journal

The Open Civil Engineering Journal

DOI

10.2174/0118741495439121260414095419

Article Title

An Augmentation of Abrams’ Law: Correlate Compressive Strength with Water-binder Ratio of Concrete Containing Fly Ash

2026-06-22T08:31:56.375-07:00

Mystery of 17th century shipwreck holding 400 gold coins finally solved after 30 years

Bournemouth University

image:

Examples of the gold coins recovered from the wreck.

Credit: British Museum

The identity of a centuries-old shipwreck discovered off the south coast of England, holding 400 gold coins has finally been identified as the Dutch trading ship “Dom van Keulen” which left Morocco for the Netherlands in the autumn of 1633.

A new publication identifies the mysterious wreck that, for almost 30 years, a team of divers and researchers from the British Museum, Bournemouth University (BU) and the South West Maritime Archaeology Group have worked to identify. The book, called ‘From Morocco to the Coast of England: The Story of the Dom van Keulen and its Remarkable Cargo’ reveals that the Dutch ship came across some adverse weather.

Independent Historian, Ian Friel who helped identify the ship has uncovered documents in the National Archive relating to its voyage from Morocco to the Netherlands during which the crew “met with much tempestuous weather”. The ship sprang a leak and sank close to the coastal town of Salcombe, Devon off the south coast of England. All the crew survived.

Dave Parham, Professor of Maritime Archaeology at BU, who edited the book alongside Venetia Porter, former Senior Curator for Islamic and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art at the British Museum who worked with the South West Maritime Archaeology Group to find out more about the cargo and its ship after it was discovered in 1995.

Dave Parham said: “Among its cargo were 150 bags of gum arabic, 64 bags of saltpetre, 320 goat skins and 9,000 Barbary ducats, gold Moroccan coins. It is thought that most of the cargo was salvaged at the time, but more than 400 coins remained on the seabed until they were discovered by the South West Maritime Archaeology Group in 1995.”

Dave continued: “This provides important context for the wealth and architecture of the Sa‘dian Sharifs, the trade in African gold, and tangible evidence of the flourishing 17th-century maritime trade linking Morocco, the Low Countries and Britain.”

The 400 coins which along with other material from the wreck are on display at the British Museum originated from the Barbary Coast, recognised today as Morocco. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch merchants actively traded by exchanging manufactured goods for highly valued, pure West African gold. At this time the Dutch had a large maritime industry and had a global trading empire. Many of the foreign imported ducats were melted down to produce their own Dutch gold coins which became one of the world’s most widely accepted trade currencies.

Very little is known about the appearance or size of the Dom van Keulen and no known paintings of the ship exist. Professor Parham says that the wreck site is about 30 metres long. It lies at a depth of around 18 metres and includes cannons and anchors amongst other small items of cargo.

Other items brought up from the wreckage and now in the ownership of the British Museum include a pewter bowl and spoon, gold jewellery, a sounding weight in the shape of a fish, a stamp seal, pottery and a gold finger nugget.Head of Research at the British Museum, Jeremy D Hill, said:

“The discovery of African gold from under the sea off the coast of Devon was an amazing discovery that raised so many questions about how it came to be there. Answering those questions has taken a team of experts, working collaboratively. The story can now be told of how a Dutch ship carrying North African gold was wrecked off the English coast, making this a discovery of international importance. It reminds us how much there is still to be found under our seas.”

The book offers a detailed account of the find and the recovery process of the shipwreck. It also provides a cultural history of the Sa’dian Sharifs, an Arab Sharifian dynasty that ruled Morocco at the time the ship's crew would have been trading with them.

The wreck site is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and is closely managed by Historic England. Diving on the site is restricted to those that hold a licence granted by the Secretary of State at DCMS. The wreck is monitored by the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Prawle Point station, which overlooks the site. Devon & Cornwall Police’s marine unit also undertake regular patrols in the vicinity as part of Operation Birdie, a national initiative to tackle illegal interference with historic wreck sites.

An Open Access version of the book can be found online with physical copies available for purchase from the British Museum online shop.

DOI

10.48582/eh04-q803

More gold coins and recovered jewellery from the site

Other recovered artefacts including - pewter bowl and spoon, a ceramic sounding weight shaped as a pilchard, stamp seal and finger nugget

Credit

British Museum

A diver above the wreck site with cannons below on the sea bed.

Credit

Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST)

2026-06-22T08:31:13.303-07:00

Menopausal women taking hormones more likely to have overall healthier lifestyles

New large-scale study identifies patterns of dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep across menopause and hormone therapy groups

The Menopause Society

CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 17, 2026)—Menopause is associated with a number of adverse health effects, some of which can be mitigated by an array of modifiable health behaviors (MHBs), including diet, exercise, and sleep duration. A new study sought to determine whether menopause and hormone therapy status had any association with MHBs. Initial results suggest that a link exists. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.

During the menopause transition, there is a significant increase in the risk of chronic diseases, along with an increased incidence of such bothersome symptoms as hot flashes and urogenital problems. The use of hormone therapy often serves as a treatment option to manage these menopause symptoms. However, whether hormone therapy affects health outcomes and chronic disease risk directly or indirectly through altered health behaviors is unclear.

Research to date around this topic has produced mixed results, with some research suggesting that postmenopausal women focus more on a healthy lifestyle. A first-of-its-kind cross-sectional analysis involving more than 10,000 women sought to identify to what extent menopause status and the use of hormones was linked with a healthy lifestyle as defined by diet, physical activity, and sleep duration.

The research showed that postmenopausal women who never used hormone therapy reported a lower intake of fruit and vegetables. Never-users of hormone therapy were 19% less likely to meet strength-based activity guidelines. Sleep duration was also shorter in postmenopausal women who had never used hormone therapy. The likelihood of meeting sleep guidelines was 14% lower in never, 26% lower in current, and 24% lower in past hormone therapy users compared with premenopausal and perimenopausal women.

According to the researchers, these findings may be related to elevated follicle-stimulating hormone levels, as expected in postmenopausal women who do not use hormone therapy, and the lower estradiol levels associated with menopause, which have been associated with poorer sleep. In addition, menopause-related hot flashes and urogenital symptoms can contribute to sleep disturbances, but these symptoms may be alleviated by hormone therapy.

Survey results are published in the article “Menopause and hormone therapy in relation to dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep and meeting lifestyle guidelines.”

“This large observational study underscores that women who use hormone therapy tend to adopt overall healthier lifestyles. Although this association may partly reflect better symptom control enabling healthier behaviors, healthy-user bias is likely a significant contributor. Women who choose to use hormone therapy are often more proactive in their healthcare and may systematically differ from nonusers in socioeconomic resources, access to care, and health literacy. This largely explains why early observational studies of hormone therapy suggested cardiovascular benefits that were not confirmed in subsequent randomized, controlled trials,” says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society.

For more information about menopause and healthy aging, visit www.menopause.org.

The Menopause Society is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals and providing them with the tools and resources to improve the health of women during the menopause transition and beyond. As the leading authority on menopause since 1989, the nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization serves as the independent, evidence-based resource for healthcare professionals, researchers, the media, and the public

Journal

Menopause

DOI

10.1097/GME.0000000000000002805

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Menopause and hormone therapy in relation to dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep, and meeting lifestyle guidelines

Article Publication Date

17-Jun-2026

2026-06-22T08:29:34.411-07:00

Data center emissions could be curbed with underground carbon capture

By tapping into underground saline aquifers, researchers estimate that up to 90% of data center carbon dioxide emissions could be stored, offering a scalable path to decarbonization

American Chemical Society

Over the last two decades, annual carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. have declined significantly. In recent years, however, this trend has slightly reversed, likely due to the explosive growth of data centers. As energy-intensive data centers proliferate, their emissions could undo years of decarbonization efforts. According to an analysis of data in the public domain, capturing and storing emissions in underground reservoirs could halt this reversal, researchers report in ACS’ Energy & Fuels.

More data centers are needed to keep up with the rapidly growing demand for computational power, particularly to support emerging artificial intelligence models. Study authors Hon Chung Lau and Steve C. Tsai project that the power requirement of data centers in the U.S. will more than quadruple, going from 40 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 to an estimated 169 GW in 2030.

Meeting this demand will require greatly expanding energy production. Fossil fuels — particularly natural gas, which is more abundant and relatively cleaner burning than coal — is the most reliable solution. “Natural gas combined cycle [NGCC] power plants equipped with carbon capture and storage technologies [CCS] will be the best way to provide power to these data centers and prevent carbon dioxide from being emitted to the atmosphere,” says Lau.

Previous researchers have suggested that saline aquifers — deep layers of rock with salt water-filled pores — could be used to store carbon dioxide gas captured from fossil fuel-based power plants. Injecting the carbon dioxide into these spaces would trap it there permanently.

The researchers calculated that powering all data centers in the U.S. with fossil fuels would raise yearly carbon dioxide emissions from 90 million tons in 2025 to 404 million tons by 2030. Next, they mapped the data centers and underground saline aquifers to assess how much of these emissions could be stored there.

The mapping found that 34 U.S. states have sufficient saline aquifers to store carbon dioxide for more than a century. If emissions in these states were injected into saline aquifers starting in 2025, nearly three-fourths of data center emissions could be mitigated by 2030. Transporting carbon dioxide captured in other states via pipelines to neighboring states with saline aquifers would raise that figure to 90%. Locating data centers close to both natural gas reservoirs and saline aquifers would minimize the cost of energy supply to data centers and reduce the cost of large-scale decarbonization efforts like CCS.

Although CCS is a mature technology, groundwork is still needed to deploy it at scale. Decarbonizing data centers would require partnerships between data center owners, utilities, and CCS providers, Lau says.

The authors are associated with Low Carbon Energies, LLC, a consulting company involved in the ongoing energy transition.

###

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and science news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Registered journalists can subscribe to the ACS journalist news portal on EurekAlert! to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

Journal

Energy & Fuels

DOI

10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6c01309