ResearchPod

Acesulfame potassium is one of several low- and no-calorie sweeteners used as a healthy alternative to sugar. But what if there is a price to pay for a calorie-free sweetness?  Dr Patrick Guiney investigates the environmental fate and effects of sweeteners and applies ecological risk assessment methods to establish their environmental safety profiles.  Read more in Research Outreach Read the origi...

What if there was a way to deliver on the painkilling potential of opioids while reducing the likelihood of addiction? Dr Stefan Clemens and Dr Kori Brewer s' work at East Carolina University could mark a turning point in pain management and drug addiction. Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2020.172935

Whether it’s a just few sentences or a full paragraph outlining the way your organisation pursues goals like delivering on time or anticipating customer needs, a mission statement is a guide to how a company operates and the values it holds dear. Research led by Dana Kanze from London Business School now shows that your mission statements can also motivate your employees to embrace or disregard et...

Glycogen plays important roles in carbon and energy storage in bacteria, with highly branched structures linked with bacterial environmental durability, including the ability to survive in deep sea vents. Dr Liang Wang at the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai & Ms Qing-Hua Liu at Macau University of Science and Technology aim to better understand the structure and evolution of glycogen branching en...

In the deepest, darkest parts of our oceans live creatures that have mastered bioluminescence. Out of all these creatures and their colourful displays, what makes it so challenging to find species that emit light in the deep-blue region? Dr Masahito Oh-e at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, together with his collaborator Dr Akira Nagasawa, Professor Emeritus of Saitama University in Japan,...

The recent global pandemic has highlighted health inequities  across the world. Despite rapid medical and social advances in recent years, inequities related to reproductive choices and rights remain, especially for women in marginalised sectors of society. Dr Tracy Morison, a health psychologist at Massey University in New Zealand , focuses on the complexities around contraception choice and upta...

To understand some of what Critical Race Theory means as a term, and means in educational practice, we are joined again by Dr Jen Neitzel, Executive Director at the Educational Equity Institute, to discuss the past, present, and possible future of media discussions around race and racism in America. Listen to her previous interview here.

The use of robotic technology in gastric bypass surgery is increasing and heralds a major turning point in bariatric surgery. However, robotic bariatric surgery must be proven feasible and safe. Dr Rodolfo Oviedo has set out to demonstrate that robotic gastric bypass surgery provides numerous advantages to both patients and surgeons in terms of its safety profile and cost efficiency when performed...

Dr Alexander Lichius and colleagues from the University of Innsbruck in Austria have developed the inncelly experimentation chambers to closely study the fungal cell biology of mycoparasites in fungus-fungus-plant interactions. You can find more information on www.inncellys.com .  Read more about their research in Research Features .  Read the original article: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fjof7050...

What do Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk have in common? In addition to being founders of multi-billion-dollar companies, they are also outliers. wielding disproportionate influences on both the business world and society. Their inputs and outputs, either qualitative or quantitative in nature,  represents an exception to the normal rules. Dr G. Christopher Crawford at Rutgers Business Sc...

" Will Podcasting and Social Media Replace Journals and Traditional Science Communication? No, but... " is the perhaps controversially titled paper by Prof Matt Fox and a team at Boston University School for Public Health.  And, if the answer is no, what role can they play in the future? In this episode, we talk about the current state of academic publishing, the risks and opportunities...

With the global population growing rapidly every year and with millions already having limited access to enough food, where are the new productivity-enhancing farming practices that will enable the world to produce enough food to feed 9 billion people by 2050?  One new farming practice with the potential to improve crop yields is called ‘subsoil manuring’, developed by Peter Sale and his team at L...

There are said to be 50 million people living with dementia globally and this is expected to triple by 2050. Research conducted by Dr Hwajin Yang, Associate Professor at Singapore Management University, and colleagues, examines how the risk of developing dementia is affected by one’s sense of loneliness and sense of control. Read the original paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2020.1799891

Sexuality is an intrinsic part of identity. However, intimacy and sexuality in residential aged care are often contested issues, particularly in the case of people living with different types of dementia. Professor Mark Henrickson, Dr Catherine Cook, Dr Vanessa Schouten and Ms Sandra McDonald are researching consent in this domain. Read more about their research in Research Features. Read the orig...

Can the decisions, personal ties and politics underlying society be understood mathematically? And do irrational choices make sense when viewed as uncertain, quantum like probabilities? Andrei Khrennikov and Emmanuel Haven discuss their research into the quantum formalism behind political movements, financial markets, and personal relations. Read more: Quantum-like modeling: cognition, decision ma...

Global temperature rises and climate change will not only bring disruption to the planet’s ecosystems, weather systems, and sea levels – they will also have an impact on current and future human societies through economic turmoil.  Dr Patrick Brown, of San José State University, finds out when the benefits of meeting the Paris Agreement targets will begin to outweigh the costs. Read more: https://...

News coverage of the drug overdose crisis gripping America has, for a large part, focused on opioid drug deaths. However, this represents a small part of the ever-shifting landscape of drug use. Away from the mainstream, stimulants - both prescribed and illicit - continue to claim lives at an increasing rate. Joshua Black and Janetta Iwanicki from Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety discuss thei...

Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD) is characterised by an inability to fall asleep at a socially acceptable time,  and an inability to wake up at conventional early times for school or work. Dr Gregory Carter from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, is conducting research into  'night owl preference', and what can be done to realign ones circadian rhythm...

Prof Wiley investigates the emergence of new brain viral infections and their link to dementia. Read more about his work in Research Outreach , and find his original articles below:  Emergent Viral Infections of the CNS:  https://doi.org/10.1093/jnen/nlaa054   H1N1, but not H3N2, influenza A virus infection protects ferrets from H5N1 encephalitis:  https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01840-13   Emerging I...

Over the last 50 years, advances in surgical procedures, clinical understandings and targeted treatments have changed the prospects of many cancer diagnoses from terminal to treatable. However, this progress is not evenly distributed across the many different types of cancer, and nowhere is that more keenly felt than in cancers affecting children.  How might the advances and insights in treating b...

It has been well established that mental health problems increase vulnerability to corona virus, COVID-19, and those contracting the virus are at higher risk of nervous system disorders and mental illness.  The Mom2B study , led by Prof Alkistis Skalkidou and colleagues,  explores the mental health of pregnant women and those who have recently given birth.   Read their paper here: https://doi.org/...

Huntington's Disease is characterised by a clear line of heritability within families, and an early onset of disease towards the middle of ones life. As such, the more knowledge researchers gain about development of the disease, the earlier interventions may be developed, and the longer their benefits felt. Dr Jessica Cao is researching the onset of Huntington's Disease in a mouse model,...

Climate change is real, happening now, and happening the world over.  However, it is not an evenly distributed problem - coastal areas are the most susceptible to rising sea levels, and there is one coast that most people in the world will never get to see . The response of Antarctica to climate change is one of the big research questions facing the British Antarctic Survey.    David Barnes , mari...

Modelling human decisions under uncertainty has become a crucial issue in the field of Artificial Intelligence over recent years. Mathematical models of decision making under risk provide the user with an ‘optimal’ solution. These rational decision models, however, are not always able to describe the typical human approach to making decisions. Dr Serena Doria, from The Gabriele d'Annunzio Uni...

Since its adoption in 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has become the most widely ratified treaty in history. One of the underlying principles enshrined throughout the Convention is adult respect for children’s views. Professor Richard Mitchell argues the climate strikes and political activism inspired by Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, and Salvador Gómez-Colón among...