As they age, steel and concrete structures often need to be retrofitted. One such way of strengthening is with Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer – or ‘CFRP’ – laminates. For certain applications, however, this can be a difficult and time-consuming process, and the resulting laminates are prone to debonding. In his research, Dr Abheetha Peiris at the University of Kentucky developed a new type of strengthening in the form of CFRP strip and rod panels. The panels can slot together seamlessly – makin...
Aug 02, 2023•8 min
Before an infant can learn the link between a word and an object by following a pointing gesture, Professor Nancy Rader’s team has found that infants can learn this association through ‘show gestures’. Show gestures entail bringing an object towards the child and rotating it, while synchronizing the movements with speech. While the effect of show gestures decreases with age during childhood, Rader and her colleagues have found that non-verbal children on the autism spectrum are very sensitive to...
Aug 02, 2023•6 min
Satellites are vital to modern civilization, powering the GPS in our phones, enabling long-range communication, and giving us insights into Earth’s climate and the universe beyond. We now launch thousands of new satellites into space each year, dramatically increasing the risk of collisions. Such satellite collisions create debris that can damage more satellites. Thomas Kleinig and his colleagues are developing and testing a new approach to avoid collisions by exploiting a unique property of the...
Jul 27, 2023•8 min
In a recent paper, Professor Radu Mares of Lund University in Sweden examines the UN’s recent efforts to create an international treaty for addressing human rights violations involving transnational corporations. He explores the history and context of this work and interrogates its effectiveness.
Jul 26, 2023•12 min
To understand how the smallest known particles in our universe form structures, scientists need to use sophisticated mathematical models and techniques. These help scientists to estimate the energies of these particles, to work out how they combine and interact. In a recent paper, Dr Eef Van Beveren from the Centre for Physics of the University of Coimbra and Dr George Rupp from the Centre of Physics and Engineering of Advanced Materials of the University of Lisbon review the techniques that hav...
Jun 21, 2023•8 min
The importance of the EU in global governance has been well researched. However, systematic analysis of the way it interacts with other international organisations has been side-lined. To address this gap, Axel Marx the University of Leuven and Oliver Westerwinter at the University of St. Gallen introduce a special issue of the Journal of European Integration. The research published in this issue explores how the EU interacts with different types of global governance institutions.
Jun 07, 2023•10 min
Migrants travel hopefully, dreaming of better lives. Some are successful, some less so. Many in both groups ultimately decide to return to their home country. Dr Tony Ward, a University of Melbourne historian, is himself a migrant, and descended from a family that returned from Australia. He sought out other stories of return migration from Australia to the UK in the 19th Century. His studies shed light on more general questions. How many migrants return? Which migrants are more likely to make t...
Jun 01, 2023•7 min
Each year, male Western fence lizards bob, charge, and battle rivals for a chance to win mates. For many of them, tick infestations threaten to hinder their best efforts by harming the lizards’ health. But just how harmful is tick parasitism for these unfortunate lizard hosts? In their recent research, Dylan Lanser, Dr Larisa Vredevoe, and Dr Gita Kolluru at California Polytechnic State University aimed to answer this question by staging contests between tick-free and tick-infested lizards....
May 31, 2023•8 min
The genetic secrets to extraordinary longevity, superhero-like healing and regeneration, and resistance to feeding disorders could be found hidden within the Earth. In underground caves in Dinaric Karst along the Adriatic Sea in the Western Balkans lives a cave salamander, the olm, whose remarkable adaptations mean its genome holds great promise for biomedical research. Dr Rok Kostanjšek and an international team of scientists at the Proteus Genome Research Consortium are tackling the challenge ...
May 17, 2023•9 min
Paediatric healthcare workers often experience poor mental health and burnout. While specially trained facility dogs have been found to positively impact patient well-being, little research has focused on the benefits for professionals. Clare Jensen and her colleagues from Purdue University and the University of Arizona have undertaken a study demonstrating the positive impact these dogs can have on the mental health of paediatric healthcare workers.
May 10, 2023•7 min
Past studies unveiled geographic associations in branding, with consumers in different locations preferentially purchasing goods from specific countries or regions. Professor Junhong Chu at Hong Kong University and the National University of Singapore recently carried out a study exploring inequalities and geographical differences in the patterns of trade between different Chinese provinces. Her findings highlight different factors that can contribute to these observed geographic branding asymme...
Apr 26, 2023•9 min
Arthropods – a group of invertebrates that includes insects, spiders, centipedes and woodlice – are everywhere, and have inhabited this planet for millions of years. They are found in most habitats on Earth – including our gardens and homes. It is in these built environments that a small number are considered a nuisance when sharing our ‘sacred space’. An even smaller number damage buildings or belongings, eat our food – even feed on us – so we label them… pests! Successful management of pest po...
Apr 12, 2023•8 min
Stroke can impair a person’s ability to communicate, resulting in a disorder known as aphasia. To facilitate recovery, scientists must understand how language is processed normally as well as how a stroke may impact the language system in the brain. Dr Cynthia K. Thompson, Ralph and Jean Sundin Professor of Communication Science and Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University, has been researching normal and disordered language for over thirty years. Her focus is on understanding and suppo...
Apr 12, 2023•15 min
After the amputation of a lower limb, amputees can learn to walk with an artificial replacement for that limb known as a prosthesis. However, this can be challenging due to the loss of somatosensory information such as the perception of touch and pressure. Dr Jozina de Graaf of Aix-Marseille University in France is working with colleagues to find a solution to this lack of somatosensory feedback and improve approaches to rehabilitation for lower limb amputees.
Apr 05, 2023•6 min
Capitalism and neoliberalism inform the way in which children in the USA are schooled. Mainstream education prioritises standardisation and conformity, and may not help students develop a sense of themselves, or tools to create good relationships with others. In a recent paper, teachers Austina Lee and Gareth Dylan Smith explore how this can be challenged through ‘punk’ pedagogy. They use the case study of a high-school choir to demonstrate how their ideas can be put into practice.
Apr 05, 2023•8 min
Child labour is a major social problem that contributes to poor physical health and lower educational achievement. A collaborative research team from Australia, India and the Netherlands conducted a large-scale study of children in rural areas of India. The team’s research confirms the hugely negative mental health impacts of child labour, and opens up important implications for policy, practice and future research.
Apr 05, 2023•7 min
The development of a talent pool in Science Technology Education and Medicine that is as diverse as our population, has been a difficult goal for decades. Increasing the diversity of scientists from underrepresented communities can drive both innovation and creativity within the sciences. The Molecular & Environmental Toxicology Centre at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, has run a summer research opportunity programme since 2011, providing scientific experiences and promoting scient...
Mar 22, 2023•20 min
Like other animals, humans have unique ways of approaching a potential mate and securing their affections. The goal of these ‘wooing’ processes is generally to establish a long-term romantic relationship with the person of interest. Victor de Munck, a Professor of Anthropology at Vilnius University, recently carried out a fascinating study exploring the most common patterns of courtship observed in the United States today, and the cultural influences underpinning these patterns.
Mar 15, 2023•8 min
Organic molecules dissolved in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans are essential to plant and animal life. Some of these molecules are also degraded and enter a complex cycle of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur containing compounds. Surprisingly, scientists currently have a limited understanding of the fate of these molecules. Dr Daisuke Minakata and his colleagues from Michigan Technological University are involved in an ambitious programme to overcome this critical knowledge gap.
Mar 13, 2023•9 min
Sexual pain, often referred to as vaginismus and dyspareunia, can be a debilitating condition that prevents many women from having penetrative sexual intercourse. While many studies have investigated this disorder, its psychological underpinnings are not yet fully understood. Dr Thula Koops, Christian Wiessner, Professor Johannes Ehrenthal, and Professor Peer Briken at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf recently explored some of the psychological dimensions of women’s sexual pain. T...
Mar 08, 2023•8 min
Limited research has explored the causes of sexual pain and difficulties with intercourse that are experienced by women across the world. Dr Thula Koops and Professor Peer Briken at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf have spoken to women experiencing these difficulties and listened to their real stories and thoughts on the origins of their sexual difficulties. Based on these interviews, two main themes emerged. The first links these difficulties to perceived implications of womanhoo...
Mar 08, 2023•8 min
There is a strong link between identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) and homelessness. Dr Ruth McNair from the University of Melbourne analysed data investigating risk and resilience factors associated with homelessness according to sexual identity in the Australian population to understand the associations with homelessness and to improve LGB-inclusive homelessness policy and services.
Mar 01, 2023•10 min
Professor Araceli Díaz Perales and her colleagues at the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics in Spain have made the discovery that mould spores on straw contribute to the increase in allergic asthma reactions. Their work utilising an experimental mouse model of human asthma has important implications for understanding, preventing and treating this common condition.
Mar 01, 2023•5 min
When considering proposed reforms of the US health care system, some physicians dismiss a single-payer system that would provide health care for all residents, as they believe their incomes would be reduced. In a recent study, Daniel Bryant, M.D., finds that state-based single-payer schemes may actually lead to increased personal incomes for physicians. His work also provides a template for evaluating the financial consequences for physicians within a single-payer health care system.
Feb 22, 2023•7 min
Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment and coercion of individuals into labour or other activities that entail their exploitation. While victims of human trafficking can be led to engage in any type of labour or criminal activity, most anti-trafficking efforts primarily focus on people who are exploited in sex work. Dr Veronica Marconi of Oregon State University recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding how anti-trafficking organisations in the Italian region of Tuscany...
Feb 15, 2023•9 min
Human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus played a crucial role in Azerbaijan’s politics and modern history. After being sentenced to 8.5 years in jail by the Azerbaijani government and being released due to health issues, Leyla and Arif Yunus shared the suffering and torture they endured as regime opponents and political prisoners in a book entitled The Price of Freedom. Dr Audrey L. Altstadt, a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently published a short articl...
Feb 15, 2023•8 min
How our mind frames information, processes it and makes decisions is an active field of research in psychology, neurosciences and behavioural sciences. Recent research aims to quantify our cognitive processes by mapping them to mathematical theories. Professor Ariane Lambert-Mogiliansky’s work at the Paris School of Economics looks at how we can link cognitive processes, such as learning and decision-making, to the mathematics of quantum mechanics. She establishes and tests a quantum version of ...
Feb 08, 2023•10 min
Western approaches to environmental science typically focus on existing and future issues, such as climate change, and technological solutions to these issues. While these frameworks have their value, they often set aside holistic perspectives on land management, coexistence with nature, and ecosystem preservation. Dr Kristiina A. Vogt, Dr Samantha De Abreu and Dr Maria Blancas at the University of Washington are exploring the potential of holistic storytelling practices common among Indigenous ...
Feb 08, 2023•12 min
Our planet’s oceans are undergoing significant challenges. Overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction, and the effects of climate change are devastating some of the world’s most spectacular and diverse habitats. To inform conservation efforts for fragile marine ecosystems, we need to properly characterise the habitats and sea-life in shallow water areas. Collecting data underwater poses its own unique challenges though, so Dr Talicia Pillay and her team at Nelson Mandela University in South Afr...
Feb 08, 2023•8 min
In a recent paper, Dr Philip Norcott at the Australian National University proposes a new strategy to improve nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging, a technique widely used in biology, chemistry, and medical imaging. A difficultly in these applications of nuclear magnetic resonance is low sensitivity and the potential for multiple signals to overlap, and existing techniques may only improve one of these factors without addressing the other. Dr Norcott suggests and tests a novel tec...
Feb 08, 2023•9 min
