Fitting regular walks into your daily routine can be a great way to get some active minutes into your day, but what if you make those walks as inefficient as possible? A new study has explored this idea via a pair of gaits exhibited in a famous Monty Python sketch, and found that by adopting this kind of ridiculous walking style for just 11 minutes a day, adults can reach their physical activity targets and lower their risk of mortality.Continue … [Read more...]

While we know much of the plastic waste we generate winds up in bodies of water, what happens to it from there is still a large unknown. A new study documenting the accumulation of microplastic particles on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea has shed some new light on the issue, with the authors coming to the striking conclusion that concentrations of this material on the floor of the Med has tripled since 2000.Continue ReadingCategory: … [Read more...]

Scientists at the University of Maryland have developed a novel material with excellent absorption abilities, which they imagine finding use everywhere from kitchens to operating theaters. The team’s gel sheet can soak up and hold around three times more liquid than your regular paper towel, and can also be used to absorb thicker fluids like blood and syrup.Continue ReadingCategory: Materials, ScienceTags: Hydrogels, Materials, Wound … [Read more...]

Scientists investigating new treatments for hand osteoarthritis (OA) have made promising new inroads through research on a drug originally developed for acne and psoriasis. In animal models, the team was able to show that the drug can prevent progression of the disease, with work now underway in human patients to ascertain its potential as a new clinical therapy.Continue ReadingCategory: Medical, ScienceTags: Osteoarthritis, Arthritis, University … [Read more...]

Today's autonomous drones are capable of impressive feats, and a system that enables them to also handle the recharging process without human intervention could keep them working wonders around the clock. Startup Skydio’s latest approach to this kind of functionality involves affordable and compact base stations that can be deployed in a variety of settings, as it looks to put self-charging drones in the hands of more and more users.Continue … [Read more...]

In what is being hailed as an historic moment for the environment, world leaders at the UN’s Biodiversity Conference COP15 in Montreal have reached an agreement to ramp up protections of the planet’s precious natural ecosystems. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commits countries to safeguarding 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030.Continue ReadingCategory: Environment, ScienceTags: Biodiversity, … [Read more...]