ResearchPod

Since industrialisation, agriculture has been heavily dependent on synthetic fertilisers to boost crop growth and yield, resulting in environmental and economic challenges. Dr Francesco Vuolo of Sacco Srl, Italy, is making use of dairy fermentation leftover from manufacturing industries to build a circular, green economy for a more sustainable future. Read more in Research Features Read the origin...

One persons mild pain could be debilitating for another. Chronic pain comes with even further complications for diagnosis and treatment, and affects a great many more than you may expect.  Dr Lauren Harrison is a pediatric pain psychologist and pain researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her research on user-centered development of interventions for youth with chronic pain focuses o...

Many universities have kept online classes for some, if not all, of their teaching, but it requires lecturers to keep students attention and engagement. Dr Bei Hong from Singapore Management University’s School of Economics explores how simple games on economics courses can grab students curiosity and facilitate learning in a more engaging and memorable way.  Read the original article: https://doi...

Today, shopping is increasingly digital, the retailer and customer completely separated, and a customer’s value lies not in their friendly wave as they enter a store, but in the data displayed in their online behaviour.  Dr Kimberly Thomas-Francois, Thompson Rivers University, Canada, and Professor Simon Somogyi, University of Guelph, Canada, are scholars of consumer behaviour in the food business...

Taking an atomic view of health is means understanding the tiniest scales and interactions of why molecules act one way or the other within a cell. Professor David Punihaole at the University of Vermont leads a research team working with materials and medicines at that molecular scale, combining cutting edge spectroscopic techniques and microscopic views to investigate the fundamental chemistry be...

Weight lifting and heavy resistance exercise  are good for are good for your general health and muscle function. But what effect do they have on life after cancer?  And how does it do anything at all?  Dr Jessica Gorzelitz leads a team at the University of Iowa that aims to uncover muscle strengthening epidemiology, and what can be done to improve cancer patients strength throughout the balance of...

Crowdfunding is a method for raising funds to support for-profit, social, and cultural initiatives.   Sukanya Ayatakshi-Endow specialises in Environmental Economics at Bournemouth University, UK and explores gender and the unconscious bias disadvantages women experience in obtaining access to finance on equity crowdfunding platforms. Read the original research: doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14395-3_5

Autoimmune and allergic conditions are caused by dysfunctional immune responses that lead to excessive inflammation within the body. Such conditions include rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and eosinophilic esophagitis. Dr Roly Foulkes, Chief Scientific Officer at Revolo Biotherapeutics in the UK, is working to understand. Read more in Research Features : doi.org/10.26904/RF-148-4836987920...

Hearing loss is a disability that affects over one billion people worldwide, severely impacting wellbeing and quality of life by affecting an individual’s ability to communicate and socialise with others.  Professor Brandon Cox and colleagues at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA, have concentrated their efforts into understanding the process, mechanisms, and genes involved in ha...

How  does a company's mission and values affect applicants’ willingness to negotiate salary or make compensation demands?    Marko Pitesa at Singapore Management University is part of a research team that investigated language and framing around "social impact" in jobs. They find that the intrinsic fulfilment or moral satisfaction of a job as being “For The Greater Good” can hold ba...

Trust is the cornerstone to a healthy relationship,  to be earned and appreciated, not demanded without evidence. However, trust, expectation, and authority is ever-shifting in society, and for Science too. So, how can trust in science communication be saved? And does it need saving anyway? Prof Nicholas Dirks of the New York Academy of Sciences talks to us today about science and scientists in mo...

Establishing interdisciplinary research networks that bring researchers and innovators together is of utmost importance to all facets of academia.  The European Cooperation in Science and Technology Association (COST) does just that. We hear from its Action Chair, María Pilar de Lara-Castells on the COST Action ‘COSY’ which aims to provide computational and experimental building blocks for a funda...

Regulating ones own fertility and pregnancy has long been an essential part of women’s health and wellbeing. However, even with  multiple forms of birth control now available, there is not global, equal, independent access to them. Dr Tracy Morison of Massey University in New Zealand researches attitudes, accessibility and issues of justice around Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives in New Zeala...

In high-speed communications, very fast optical signals connect to your office or even your home. But these optical signals have not yet reached end-of-edge terminals such as personal computers and smart phones. Dr Hideaki Fukuzawa and Mr Takashi Kikukawa ( TDK Corporation , Japan) show that it’s possible to make these optical modulators with standard semiconductor industry processing, significant...

Cardiovascular disease is the world’s leading cause of death. Despite significant advances in its diagnosis, robust treatment remains elusive. US-based cardiovascular specialists Dr Bradley Bale and Dr Amy Doneen have developed a simple, holistic, and effective method to cure cardiovascular disease. The BaleDoneen Method® targets one of its biggest contributing factors: oxidative stress.   Read th...

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, affecting over 2 million women each year. The most important predictor of both recurrence and survival in patients with breast cancer is if cancer has spread to the axillary lymph nodes. Dr. Alyssa Cubbison at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center specialises in breast imaging.  She puts forward an algorithm she helped create...

Every year, millions of people require organ biopsies to check whether the cells are cancerous or not. However, problems can arise when unintended bleeding occurs after taking the biopsy sample and removing the guide needlerequire additional procedures, open surgery, blood transfusions, and longer costs and recovery time. In very serious cases, it can lead to death.   Single Pass Inc. have develop...

LED lighting provides brighter, lower-power, longer lasting illumination than traditional lighting systems, and can be programmed to change color and brightness instantaneously. Despite this, lighting in smart buildings still consumes a significant amount of energy. Professor Archan Misra and fellow researchers at Singapore Management University look at the development of a smart lighting control...

Rainer Maria Rilke's poems creatively expressed ideas that are hard to put into words, and his writings on the work of sculptor Auguste Rodin glorified their skill at creating tiny surfaces that reflect light to bring sculptures to life.  The poet’s apparent hero worship of Rodin’s sculpting talents is of great interest to Dr Nicholas Reynolds, a Lecturer in Modern Languages and Literatures a...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease, the precise cause of which is still unclear.  Professor Shunichi Shiozawa from Kobe University, Japan, uncovers the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of systemic autoimmunity and identifies a novel key player. Shiozawa demonstrates that overstimulation of the host’s immune system by an immunogenic pathogen kickstarts th...

The Austrian poet and writer, Rainer Maria Rilke, explored many powerful and emotive themes, making one consider life, experience, reality and much more.    In his monograph on the writings of Rilke, Dr Nicholas Reynolds, from Trinity University in San Antonio, explores the themes of sound and memory, and subsequently posits a theory of how artists tap into their subconscious in their creative pro...

Researchers are passionate about contributing to the ever-expanding network of knowledge. So, how can scholars ensure that their work is available for future generations to access and build on?     CLOCKSS is a digital archive for publishers and research libraries. Executive Director, Dr Alicia Wise, suggests that the work of the preservation community is in perpetual motion, and that collaboratio...

Cyanovirin-N, or CV-N for short, is a broadly binding molecule to glycopeptides and glycan structures on viral envelope spikes, which allows for screening of these structures by protein-interaction based sensor technologies. Dr. Irene Maier, Lecturer at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, examines the molecular understanding of immune diseases. Maier has designed new antiviral CV-N variants...

Strokes are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, leaving a pressing need for effective neuroprotective drugs.  A team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen led by Prof Petrine Wellendorph have developed a promising drug candidate that may offer a chance for improving brain function and working memory among stroke patients.  Their work is funded by the Novo Nordisk foundati...

Assessment is a powerful tool in education which can influence the way in which students respond to teaching, and their overall learning experience.  Innovative technologies have also paved the way for alternative assessment formats, including video-based evaluations and interactive tools like VR. A research team from Singapore Management University conducted a meta-analysis of the existing resear...