Various configurations of oxygen adsorption with corresponding energies. (a) Sulphur, molybdenum, and oxygen are represented by yellow, blue, and red spheres, respectively. The sulphur vacancy site is represented by the cross. (b) Nudged elastic band calculation of the energy barrier for migration of an oxygen molecule towards a sulphur vacancy and respective trapping. The energy barrier, measured from the starting point, is 56 meV. The calculation was performed in the spin-averaged state. (c) Calculated ionization levels for relevant defects (all energies are in eV). VBM and CBM refer to the valence band maximum and conduction band minima, respectively. (d) Representation of the charge density of the trapped electrons at sulfur vacancies.

National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers...

Annual mean heatwave degree days in Belgium. Historical on the left, and under business-as-usual climate change scenario on right. Not only the number of hot days days, but also the heatwave intensity are rising drastically under global warming, especially in the cities.

Heatwaves are intensifying in cities due to the double whammy of the urban heat island effect and global warming, according to a new study. The study’s authors used computer models to simulate with unprecedented detail the temperature changes through the mid-21st century in Belgian cities. They found that heatwaves become hotter, longer and more frequent because of greenhouse gas emissions, and that temperature above the heat stress alarm level increases by a factor of between 1.4 and 15 by the middle of this century.

“The...

A Comparison of Alkaline Water and Mediterranean Diet vs Proton Pump Inhibition for Treatment of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux. JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 2017; DOI: 10.1001/jamaoto.2017.1454

A plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet has been shown to provide the same medical benefits for treating laryngopharyngeal reflux as popular reflux medications. This is according to a study published in JAMA Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery by researchers from Northwell Health’s The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and New York Medical College.

When compared to patients who took the traditional reflux medication, proton pump inhibitors (PPI), those patients who consumed a 90-95% whole food, plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet paired with alkaline water had the same if not better r...

Cardiomyocyte‐Specific Telomere Shortening is a Distinct Signature of Heart Failure in Humans. Journal of the American Heart Association, September 2017 DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.116.005086

Each cell in the body has 23 pairs of chromosomes, with 4 telomeres on each pair covering the end, protecting it from deterioration or fusion with adjacent chromosomes. While there is a length range for a healthy telomere, research found for the first time that people with heart failure have shorter telomeres in cardiomyocytes.

A team of researchers from Penn Medicine, in collaboration with the University of Connecticut, is the first to have developed a method for measuring the length of telomeres using human heart tissues...