November eNews
Welcome to this month's edition of our eNews!
We've had an exciting month filled with groundbreaking research and compelling updates, making it quite the challenge to narrow down the highlights for this issue. But we're thrilled to present our top picks for you.
In this edition, you'll find:
- Our Top 5 Most-Read Articles: Dive into the stories that captured the most attention this month.
- The Editor's Pick: An amazing discovery that you won't want to miss.
- The Featured Image of the Month: A visual highlight showcasing a standout moment from the past few weeks.
As always, if you have any questions, feedback, or simply want to reach out, please don't hesitate to email the News Team.
Happy reading,
News Team
Universities UK Research and Innovation Conference 2024
We are delighted to announce that we are sponsoring this year's Research and Innovation Conference 2024, taking place on 3rd December.
Join us to discover how universities can navigate the innovation funding landscape, form enterprise partnerships, and look ahead to the next REF. Connect with leading experts and colleagues across the sector and use this opportunity to take back valuable lessons to your organisation. Register here.
Top 5 October 2024
1. Thirty Years of Alzheimer's Disease Research: Preventive Strategies Hold Promise for Risk Reduction While Cure Remains Elusive, published by IOS Press on 09/10/24
For more than 30 years, researchers have identified and quantified genetic and lifestyle factors for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other dementias. Despite extensive research, the fundamental mechanisms behind these neurodegenerative diseases are still not fully understood, and effective management of AD is taking longer than expected. There is a critical need for novel approaches to combat this longstanding disease. A special supplement celebrating the 100th volume of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (JAD), published by IOS Press (now part of Sage), provides a unique and insightful overview of the state of the art in the field.
Read the news
2. The cathedral at the end of the world, published by The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) on 25/08/24
Trondheim, Norway's Nidaros Cathedral is full of secrets, messages from the past written in stone. One researcher is now decoding these missives, half hidden in a very special spot in and around the most sacred place in the church.
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3. 2-billion-year-old rock home to living microbes: New research could help us understand very early life on Earth and the hunt for evidence of life on Mars, published by the University of Tokyo on 03/10/24
Pockets of microbes have been found living within a sealed fracture in 2-billion-year-old rock. The rock was excavated from the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa, an area known for its rich ore deposits. This is the oldest example of living microbes being found within ancient rock so far discovered. The team involved in the study built on its previous work to perfect a technique involving three types of imaging – infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy and fluorescent microscopy
– to confirm that the microbes were indigenous to the ancient core sample and not caused by contamination during the retrieval and study process. Research on these microbes could help us better understand the very early evolution of life, as well as the search for extraterrestrial life in similarly aged rock samples brought back from Mars.
Read the news
4. Dedalus Discoveries | Machine learning framework boosts residential electricity clustering for demand-response, published by yours.com on 04/10/24
The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), one of the DEDALUS scientific partners, has completed a study on grouping residential electricity consumers, based on their historical electricity consumption, to create more targeted demand-response programmes.
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5. Body weight is an important health factor in pregnancy – regardless of country of birth, published by Linköping University on 04/10/24
Overweight is a major contributor to complications during pregnancy and childbirth – this applies to both women born in Sweden and women who have moved here, something that has not been well researched so far. Interventions that promote a healthy weight have the potential to prevent complications for all women, the researchers conclude. The study was conducted by researchers at Linköping University and Karolinska Institutet and is published in The Lancet Public Health.
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Editor's pick
New space molecule largest ever detected using radioastronomy, published by Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia on 22/10/2024
An asteroid has helped researchers discover the largest molecule ever detected by radioastronomy, and the third-largest identified in space. The discovery, published in Science, provides further clues to an astrochemical mystery: Where does carbon, the building block of life, come from and go to in the universe, including in our own solar system?
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Image caption: Dr. Ilsa Cooke stands in front of the Green Bank Telescope. Photo: Dr. Brett McGuire
Image of the month
Why langurs drink salt water, published by German Primate Center on 28/10/2024
A study by the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen and Leipzig Zoo shows the remarkable adaptability of the critically endangered Cat Ba langurs. Despite low genetic diversity, the langurs have retained key genetic traits that help them survive in their isolated environment on Cat Ba Island in Vietnam. One of these remarkable adaptations is the ability to drink salt water (Nature Communications).
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Cat Ba langurs show remarkable adaptability and cleverly use their tails to drink salt water. This unique technique shows us the adaptability of nature and emphasizes the resilience of these primates. Photo: Nguyen Van Truong