Author: Ranveer Kumar

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Giant kelp, the world’s largest species of marine algae, is an attractive source for making biofuels. In a recent study, we tested a novel strategy for growing kelp that could make it possible to produce it continuously on a large scale. The key idea is moving kelp stocks daily up to near-surface waters for sunlight and down to darker waters for nutrients. Unlike today’s energy crops, such as corn and soybeans, growing kelp doesn’t require land, fresh water or fertilizer. And giant kelp can grow over a foot per day under…

Colorado health officials responsible for controlling air pollution in the state this month ordered staff to relax their measuring of pollutants, including potentially harmful sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulates, according to a whistleblower complaint filed Tuesday. Officials in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Air Pollution Control Division on March 15 ordered employees who conduct required modeling used to estimate emission levels to stop their work on these pollutants at scores of facilities that receive permits from the state, the complaint filed by the Maryland-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility on behalf of three air pollution division employees contends. These pollutants…

WASHINGTON — In 2017, as Donald J. Trump was announcing the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, the largest global effort to attack planetary warming, he declared, “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” On Wednesday, President Biden traveled to Pittsburgh to try to make the opposite case: that the workers Mr. Trump was appealing to have more to gain from combating climate change than to lose. It is going to be a tough bet. To Mr. Biden, a $2 trillion infrastructure plan is about creating union jobs, hundreds of thousands of them, in wind and solar…

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) – In his outdoor laboratory, University of Hawaii at Manoa associate professor Camilo Mora smiles as he scoops up a handful of seeds he collected from native trees. “This one here is the koa seeds. We have about 150,000 seeds of this guy. Look at this! To me, this is like gold,” he said. The seeds will eventually go into the ground as part of Mora’s mission to plant one million trees a year in his battle against climate change. “That is what drives me,” he said. “We can make Hawaii go into the history books as…

Investigative reporter Sharon Lerner explains how 270,000 pounds of the chemical ethylene oxide vanished from the public record. THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Agency under the Trump administration invited companies to retroactively amend emissions records of a deadly carcinogenic chemical. This week on Intercepted: Investigative reporter Sharon Lerner explains how 270,000 pounds of the chemical ethylene oxide vanished from the public record right after the EPA determined that it was more toxic than previously known. Ethylene oxide is a colorless and odorless gas used to produce many consumer goods and used extensively as an agent in the sterilization of medical equipment. Despite the EPA’s transition to…

Officials said the so-called breakthrough cases are expected with any vaccine. How COVID-19 vaccines work A visual explainer on how vaccines work, including how they work with the body’s immune system and their use in preventing coronavirus. Over 100 people in Washington state have tested positive for COVID-19 more than two weeks after becoming fully vaccinated against the disease, officials said. The Washington State Department of Health is investigating reports of the so-called breakthrough cases, which it said are expected with any vaccine. Out of the 1.2 million people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Washington, epidemiologists have reported…

Scientists find evidence that antibody-based treatments in clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases may trigger an inflammatory response in human brain immune cells, eroding their positive effects. SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE LA JOLLA, CA–A team led by scientists at Scripps Research has made a discovery suggesting that experimental antibody therapies for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s have an unintended adverse effect–brain inflammation–that may have to be countered if these treatments are to work as intended. Experimental antibody treatments for Parkinson’s target abnormal clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein, while experimental antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s target abnormal clumps of amyloid beta protein. Despite promising results in mice, these…

American Heart Association Scientific Statement Statement Highlights: Two-thirds of people with heart disease are ages 60 and older. People who have had a heart attack or stroke are 20 times more likely to have additional cardiac events compared to people without heart disease. Lifestyle modifications and medication adherence are key strategies to address heart disease. Mobile health technology, which incorporates apps, devices, texting and phone calls, can inform and monitor older adults to support lifestyle modifications. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT / 5 a.m. ET Thursday, April 1, 2021 DALLAS, April 1, 2021 — Mobile health technology can be beneficial…

The solution, which connects smart cabinets to a mobile app, will begin implementation next month Netanya-based IDENTI has recently won a tender with French procurement organization UniHA to provide its digital platform for the management of medical implants and supplies that are used in operating and procedural rooms. According to the four-year agreement, the Israeli technology will be implemented in 1,000 hospitals across the country. Hospitals that are part of UniHA will be able to improve their management processes and reduce their budget costs due to IDENTI data-capture sensors that can easily track and manage core inventory. It uses a…

MEDIA CONTACT: Kathy Fackelmann: kfackelmann@gwu.edu, 202-994-8354 WASHINGTON (March 31, 2021) — New research published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives from Environmental Defense Fund and the George Washington University shows air pollution takes an enormous toll on health in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the impacts vary dramatically within neighborhoods. The magnitude of the health burden from pollution demonstrates the need for urgent action to cut air pollution and protect health, particularly in areas facing the highest impacts. The analysis estimated that exposure to particle pollution (soot) resulted in more than 3,000 deaths and 5,500 new childhood asthma cases every year in the Bay…