Connecting Research and Experts with Journalists

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Scientists have the first direct evidence that the powerful magnetic fields created in off-center collisions of atomic nuclei induce an electric current in “deconfined” nuclear matter. The study used measurements of how charged particles are deflected when they emerge from the collisions. The study provides proof that the magnetic fields exist and offers a new way to measure electrical conductivity in quark-gluon plasma.

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A lack of detailed record-keeping in clinics and emergency departments may be getting in the way of reducing the inappropriate use of antibiotics, a pair of new studies suggests. About 10% of children and 35% of adults who got an antibiotic prescription during an office visit had no specific reason for it in their record.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a strain of gut bacteria can boost immune responses and enhance cancer immunotherapy to fight sarcoma tumors in mice. Shown is a rendering of microbes in the intestine.

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A paper in the journal Science Advances describes how the moving parts of a particular plant protein control whether plants can grow and make energy-intensive products such as oil — or instead put in place a series of steps to conserve precious resources. The study focuses specifically on how the molecular machinery is regulated by a molecule that rises and falls with the level of sugar — plants’ main energy source.

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A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that repeat vaccination with updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccine promotes the development of antibodies that neutralize a wide range of variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as related coronaviruses.

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The sweet taste receptor, expressed in taste bud cells, conveys sweetness from the mouth when it is activated. Monell researchers delved into how the sweet-taste receptor might be the first stop in a metabolic surveillance system for sugar. They team found that stimulation and inhibition of the receptor demonstrates that it helps regulate glucose metabolism in humans and may have implications for managing such metabolic disorders as diabetes.

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Vaccines remain the gold standard of protection against dangerous pathogens, but take considerable time and vast resources to develop. Rapidly mutating viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 can blunt their effectiveness and even render them obsolete.

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Dr. Karen K. Resendes, Associate Dean of Assessment and the First Year Experience, Professor of Biology at Westminster College (New Wilmington, PA), has been elected to serve as the Council on Undergraduate Research Board of Directors’ Treasurer for the membership year 2024-2025.

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A research team from New Jersey Institute of Technology is uncovering mysteries surrounding fluids in nanoporous materials, and has been recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support this research.

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Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that a protein responsible for the synthesis of a key plant material evolved much earlier than suspected. This new research explored the origin and evolution of the biochemical machinery that builds lignin, a structural component of plant cell walls with significant impacts on the clean energy industry.