Article Highlights
Urban greenery: Not only trees are important
Technical University of Munich (TUM)Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) conducted a multi-year empirical study to assess the impact of trees on city temperatures. Taking the city of Würzburg as an example, the researchers showed that vegetation cover of approximately 40 percent is needed to bring about lower summer temperatures.
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Funder
- Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Healthy diet helps obese people with chronic inflammation and skin wound healing
Universität LeipzigWhy do chronic inflammatory conditions like psoriasis occur more in people with obesity? Experts at Leipzig University Hospital have investigated which factors negatively influence inflammatory reactions and wound healing in obese people. Among other things, they found that switching to a diet low in saturated fat has a positive effect.
- Journal
- Theranostics
For plasma with a hot core and cool edges, Super-H mode shows promise
DOE/US Department of EnergyFusion reactors face a challenge called “core-edge integration,” which involves maintaining a plasma that is hot at the core but not too hot to damage reactor walls. New research finds that a previously identified operating regime called Super H-mode can leverage the use of impurities such as nitrogen to address this challenge. The research also indicates that Super-H mode can be scaled up to future fusion plants.
- Journal
- Nuclear Fusion
Being good with numbers makes entrepreneurs more confident to start new ventures
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)Research has examined the factors that motivate people to become entrepreneurs, and shows how elements such as financial and numeracy skills, as well as each individual's belief in their own capabilities are key in leading them to found their own business. These findings, published in The Journal of Entrepreneurship, underline the need to enhance this knowledge to foster entrepreneurship. "There's a need to foster financial knowledge and numeracy skills in universities and other education settings, but also to work on self-confidence, as these are the things that help people to want to create businesses more," said Elisabet Ruiz, the principal investigator and a member of the UOC's Faculty of Economics and Business.
- Journal
- The Journal of Entrepreneurship
Fighting COVID-19: Machine learning to optimise filtration effectiveness of face masks
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), SingaporeBetter face masks with optimal filtration efficacy can be created with the aid of machine learning predictions which determine the ideal material combination, with significant time and cost savings.
- Journal
- Materials Today Advances
University of Minnesota technology allows amputees to control a robotic arm with their mind
University of MinnesotaA team of biomedical engineering researchers and industry collaborators have developed a way to tap into a patient’s brain signals through a neural chip implanted in the arm, effectively reading the patient’s mind and opening the door for less invasive alternatives to brain surgeries.
- Journal
- Journal of Neural Engineering
The Voting Rights Act increased racial economic equality that’s now diminishing
University of California - San DiegoAs many state legislatures consider weakening voter protections and Congress debates new voting rights laws, recent research from the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management reveals that the 1965 Voting Rights Act contributed to improvements of the economic status of Blacks. Conversely, after the Supreme Court rendered the Voting Rights Act ineffective in 2013, it led to economic disenfranchisement for Black families that continues to persist.
- Journal
- AEA Papers and Proceedings
Researchers stick out their necks to understand how fusion plasmas fuel up
DOE/US Department of EnergyThe nuclei that smash together to produce fusion energy in a reactor originate from ionized neutral particles. The edges of fusion devices have large numbers of neutrals available to gain or lose electrons to become ions. These neutrals influence several important features of the plasma, including the rate at which the plasma fuels a reactor. A new pinhole camera system called Lyman-alpha Measurement Apparatus (LLAMA) on the DIII-D tokamak helped researchers better understand these neutrals.
- Journal
- Review of Scientific Instruments
Newly discovered enzyme breaks down PET plastic in record time
Universität LeipzigPlastic bottles, punnets, wrap – such lightweight packaging made of PET plastic becomes a problem if it is not recycled. Scientists at Leipzig University have now discovered a highly efficient enzyme that degrades PET in record time. The enzyme PHL7, which the researchers found in a compost heap in Leipzig, could make biological PET recycling possible much faster than previously thought. The findings have now been published in the scientific journal “ChemSusChem” and selected as the cover topic.