Cognitive Neuroscientists discover New Blueprint for Making and Breaking Habits

Cognitive neuroscientists at Trinity College Dublin have published new research describing a brand new approach to making habit change achievable and lasting.

This innovative framework has the potential to significantly improve approaches to personal development, as well as the clinical treatment of compulsive disorders (for example obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction, and eating disorders).

The research was led by Dr. Eike Buabang, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab of Professor Claire Gillan in the School of Psychology, has been published as a paper titled “Leveraging cognitive neuroscience for making and breaking real-world habits” in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

Dr...

Read More

New method of Generating Eco-Friendly Energy uses Piezoelectricity

crystals
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers at University of Limerick in Ireland have developed a new method of growing organic crystals that can be used for energy-harvesting applications.

The energy that is being harvested as part of this research is being generated by squeezing amino acid molecules, the building blocks of proteins that exist in the human body.

Piezoelectricity, which translates from Greek to mean pressing electricity, usually found in ceramics or polymers, is also present in human biomolecules.

The research team from the Actuate Lab in the Department of Chemical Sciences and Bernal Institute at UL has previously utilized predictive computer models that allow them to identify how much electricity a biological material will generate when you squeeze it—maki...

Read More

First Pairs of White Dwarf–main sequence binaries discovered in clusters shine new light on stellar evolution

Astronomers discover first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars in clusters, shining new light on stellar evolution
This image from the ALMA telescope shows star system HD101584 and the complex gas clouds surrounding the binary. It is the result of a pair of stars sharing a common outer layer during their last moments. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Olofsson et al / Robert Cumming

Astronomers at the University of Toronto (U of T) have discovered the first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars—”dead” remnants and “living” stars—in young star clusters. Described in a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal, this breakthrough offers new insights into an extreme phase of stellar evolution, and one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics.

Scientists can now begin to bridge the gap between the earliest and final stages of binary star systems—two stars that orbit a shared center of g...

Read More

Protein in Soy may Reduce the Risk of Heart Failure by Affecting Gut Bacteria

A research team from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine has discovered a promising way to slow the progression of heart failure in mice. They fed mice a diet rich in the soybean protein, β-conglycinin (β-CG), which can support heart health by influencing gut bacteria. Their analysis revealed that the soybean protein rich diet increased the production of the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the intestine that play a role in protecting the heart. Their findings were published in Clinical Nutrition.

Many people with heart problems try to eat a nutritious diet to reduce their risk of disease. As part of a healthy diet, soybeans have long been recognized for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties...

Read More