Pioneering 3-D printed device sets new record for efficiency

A new 3-D printed thermoelectric device, which converts heat into electric power with an efficiency factor over 50% higher than the previous best for printed materials—and is cheap to produce in bulk—has been manufactured by researchers at Swansea University's SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers warn: junk food could be responsible for the food allergy epidemic

Experts at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition are today presenting the results of a study that show higher levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), found in abundance in junk food, are associated with food allergy in children.

* This article was originally published here

Antarctic glacier named after GFZ satellite mission 'GRACE'

A glacier in the West Antarctic has been named after the German-American satellite mission GRACE. GRACE stands for "Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment." Between 2002 and 2017, the scientific mission measured the Earth's gravity field, from which conclusions can be drawn about the growth and melting of glaciers.

* This article was originally published here

Behavioural correlations of the domestication syndrome are decoupled in modern dog breeds

Scientists since Darwin have been intrigued by the simultaneous alteration of multiple morphological, physiological and behavioural traits across a wide range of domesticated animals, such as horses, pigs and dogs. For instance, reduced brain size, floppy ears, increased docility and hormonal changes are commonly seen in domesticated animals but not their wild ancestors. This phenomenon is known as the domestication syndrome, and the traits within this syndrome are assumed to change together in a correlated fashion during domestication. But surprisingly, whether or not any of these traits are in fact correlated has never been formally tested.

* This article was originally published here

Tissue engineering: The big picture on growing small intestines

Babies born prematurely often face intense medical challenges, including intestines that are underdeveloped or diseased. While an intestine transplant can benefit some patients, many babies are simply too small to endure this procedure. Children's Hospital Los Angeles surgeon Tracy Grikscheit, MD, is a leader in the field of tissue engineering—growing intestines from stem cells. In an article published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, Dr. Grikscheit and co-authors highlight how stem cell therapy is poised to become a game-changer for these babies.

* This article was originally published here

Mississippi seeks seafood disaster amid spillway complaints

Mississippi's governor wants the federal government to declare a fisheries disaster as freshwater from a Mississippi River spillway gushes into what's normally a partly salty estuary, killing countless oysters and crabs.

* This article was originally published here

How to speed up the discovery of new solar cell materials

A broad class of materials called perovskites is considered one of the most promising avenues for developing new, more efficient solar cells. But the virtually limitless number of possible combinations of these materials' constituent elements makes the search for promising new perovskites slow and painstaking.

* This article was originally published here

Using a simulation framework to study spine behaviors of quadruped robots

Researchers at the Robert Bosch center for cyber physical systems in Bangalore, India, have recently proposed a simulation framework to systematically study the effects of spinal joint actuation on the locomotion performance of quadruped robots. In their study, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, they used this framework to investigate the spine behaviors of a quadruped robot called Stoch 2 and their effects on its bounding performance.

* This article was originally published here

Discovery sheds light on synthesis, processing of high-performance solar cells

Halide perovskite solar cells hold promise as the next generation of solar cell technologies, but while researchers have developed techniques for improving their material characteristics, nobody understood why these techniques worked. New research sheds light on the science behind these engineering solutions and paves the way for developing more efficient halide perovskite solar cells.

* This article was originally published here

Quinn on Nutrition: Online nutrition tools

It was a tricky moment. I was sitting in a coffee shop ... pastry shop, actually. In walks a former patient who had come to me for weight management. As she walked to a table with her soda and donut, she pretended not to see me. I did the same. Awkward.

* This article was originally published here