Brown University News - SciTechDaily

Chilling Revelation: Frost on the Solar System’s Tallest Volcanoes

Brown University — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:00:22 +0000

Frost detected on Mars’ equatorial volcanoes suggests unexpected climate dynamics and ancient weather patterns, offering insights into the planet’s water cycle and atmospheric conditions essential for future Mars missions. An international team of planetary scientists has detected patches of water frost sitting atop the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars, which are not only the tallest volcanic [...]

Shaking Up Seismology: Geometry as the Groundbreaking Predictor of Earthquakes

Brown University — Sun, 09 Jun 2024 17:35:30 +0000

Brown University researchers found that fault geometry, including misalignments and complex structures within fault zones, plays a crucial role in determining earthquake likelihood and strength. This finding, based on studies of California’s fault lines, challenges traditional views that focus primarily on friction. By taking a close look at the geometrical makeup of rocks where earthquakes [...]

New Technique Achieves Unprecedented Precision in Moon Mapping

Brown University — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 13:01:16 +0000

Researchers at Brown University have enhanced the shape-from-shading technique for mapping the Moon, making the process faster and more detailed. This advancement will aid in safer and more effective mission planning, especially for targeted areas like the lunar south pole. A new research study may help redefine how scientists map the surface of the Moon, [...]

New “Space Snowman” Discovery Shakes Up Solar System Theories

Brown University — Mon, 06 May 2024 12:26:18 +0000

A recent study exploring the development of comets suggests that objects in deep space, such as the Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth, might act as time capsules, preserving ancient ices from billions of years in the past. A new study is shaking up what scientists thought they knew about distant objects in the far reaches [...]

How Curved Terahertz Waves Could Revolutionize Wireless Communication

Brown University — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 16:36:46 +0000

In a breakthrough that could help revolutionize wireless communication, researchers unveiled a novel method for manipulating terahertz waves, allowing them to curve around obstacles instead of being blocked by them. While cellular networks and Wi-Fi systems are more advanced than ever, they are also quickly reaching their bandwidth limits. Scientists know that in the near [...]

Revolutionizing Wireless Communication: How Tiny Chips Could Transform Medical Technology

Brown University — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 15:04:56 +0000

This innovative method furthers the development of wireless sensor technology and opens the door to the potential use of vast numbers of unobtrusive sensors in implantable and wearable biomedical microdevices in the future. Tiny chips may equal a big breakthrough for a team of scientists led by Brown University engineers. Writing in Nature Electronics, the [...]

Lack of Focus Doesn’t Equal Lack of Intelligence — It’s Actually Proof of an Intricate Brain

Gretchen Schrafft, Brown University — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 23:16:03 +0000

Research conducted by Brown University’s Carney Institute for Brain Science illustrates how parts of the brain need to work together to focus on important information while filtering out distractions. Imagine a busy restaurant: dishes clattering, music playing, people talking loudly over one another. It’s a wonder that anyone in that kind of environment can focus [...]

Counteracting Addiction: How Alcohol and Drugs Genetically Rewire Your Brain

Karla Kaun, Brown University — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 10:58:33 +0000

Research reveals addiction has a genetic basis and is influenced by changes in brain gene expression, which can be altered by medications and lifestyle, providing new treatment possibilities. Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards. Your brain interprets food as rewarding when you are hungry and water as rewarding when you are [...]

Invisible Menace: Newly Discovered Malaria Parasites Evade Detection and Treatment

Brown University — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 05:14:50 +0000

A team of scientists led by Brown University has conducted genomic surveillance, uncovering mutations in parasites that cause malaria, likely to challenge the eradication of malaria in Africa. Scientists discovered new variants of malaria parasites in Ethiopia that are resistant to existing treatments and undetectable by standard diagnostic tests. This situation could lead to a [...]

Clean Energy, Literally: Soap-Inspired Batteries for a Greener Future

Brown University — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 10:36:32 +0000

Researchers discovered that a highly promising electrolyte for creating more durable lithium batteries possesses intricate nanostructures, which function similarly to the way micelles behave in soapy water. In the quest for developing longer-lasting batteries, researchers from Brown University and Idaho National Laboratory have discovered that the answer might lie in understanding how things get clean [...]

Diving Into the Painful Truth: Brown University’s Surprising Belly Flop Study

Brown University — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 22:21:01 +0000

Experiments by a Brown-led research team investigated belly flop mechanics and found surprising insights about air-to-water impacts that could be useful for marine engineering applications. Anyone who’s ever done a belly flop into a swimming pool knows it ends with a blunt-sounding splat, a big splash and a searing red sting. What most people don’t [...]

Life on Venus? Tectonic Clues Point to a Habitable Past

Brown University — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 23:40:30 +0000

Simulations produced by a Brown-led research team offer evidence that Venus once had plate tectonics — a finding that opens the door for the possibility of early life on the planet and insights into its history. Venus, a scorching wasteland of a planet according to scientists, may have once had tectonic plate movements similar to [...]

A New Phase of Matter – Researchers Detail How Disorder Alters Quantum Spin Liquids

Brown University — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 04:48:45 +0000

A study led by Brown University scientists begins to address a longstanding question in condensed matter physics on whether disorder mimics or destroys the quantum liquid state in a prominent compound. Quantum spin liquids are difficult to explain and even harder to understand. To start, they have nothing to do with everyday liquids, like water [...]

Opioid Treatment Strategies Shift As Researchers Advocate for Higher Buprenorphine Dosages

Brown University — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 13:48:28 +0000

A new study led by Brown University researchers suggests a need to reevaluate opioid addiction treatment recommendations in the era of fentanyl. New research reveals that individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder who received a lower buprenorphine dose were 20% more likely to abandon their treatment compared to those on a higher dosage. This study, [...]

Melting Mysteries on Mars: Gullies May Have Formed by Recent Periods of Liquid Meltwater

Brown University — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 16:49:01 +0000

In a new study, scientists how gullies on the slopes of Martian craters could have formed by on-and-off periods of meltwater from ice on and beneath the planet’s surface. A study led by Brown University researchers offers new insights into how water from melting ice could have played a recent role in the formation of [...]

COVID-19 Vaccine Showdown: Moderna Takes the Edge Over Pfizer-BioNTech for Seniors

Brown University — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 18:36:51 +0000

A study of older U.S. adults led by researchers at Brown University found that the risk of negative effects of both mRNA vaccines is exceptionally low, but lowest with the Moderna vaccine. While mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 have been found to be safe and effective for the general population, in-depth evidence about safety and effectiveness [...]

New Study: Vitamin D Could Ease Psoriasis Severity

American Society for Nutrition — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 03:36:54 +0000

New research indicates that the consumption of vitamin D-rich foods or the use of supplements could be beneficial for those dealing with psoriasis. Over eight million individuals in the U.S. are affected by psoriasis, a skin disorder that results in cells accumulating and forming dry, itchy patches. Now, one of the largest studies to date [...]

2D Electronics Breakthrough: Researchers Resolve Long-Standing Roadblock by Observing Spin Structure in “Magic-Angle” Graphene

Brown University — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:05:56 +0000

A group of scientists, headed by researchers from Brown University, have discovered a solution to a longstanding obstacle in the realm of two-dimensional electronics, by studying the spin structure in “magic-angle” graphene. Over the past twenty years, physicists have been attempting to directly influence the spin of electrons in 2D materials such as graphene. Successfully [...]

Unexpected Dietary Habits of Elephants: Surprising Variation in Meals, Similar to Humans

Brown University — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 04:50:17 +0000

A detailed analysis of the dietary habits of elephants showed surprising variation from meal to meal, which could have important ramifications for wildlife protection and conservation strategies. Elephants eat plants. That’s common knowledge to biologists and animal-loving schoolchildren alike. Yet figuring out exactly what kind of plants the iconic herbivores eat is more complicated. A [...]

Pregnancy Exposure to “Forever Chemicals” May Fuel Childhood Obesity

Brown University — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 21:16:55 +0000

A federally funded study led by researchers at Brown University showed links between prenatal exposure to PFAS substances and slightly higher BMI in children. The risks of exposure to “forever chemicals” start even before birth, a new study confirms, potentially setting up children for future health issues. Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during [...]

A Toast to Science: Researchers Unveil the Mystery Behind Champagne’s Elegant Bubbles

Brown University — Tue, 23 May 2023 21:35:59 +0000

Fluid mechanics researchers found that surfactants give the celebratory drink its stable and signature straight rise of bubbles. Researchers from Brown University and the University of Toulouse discovered that surfactants, soap-like compounds, are responsible for the straight rise of bubbles in champagne. This unique bubble behavior, which differs from other carbonated drinks, has significant implications [...]

Pioneering Experimental Method Unlocks Spin Structure Secrets in 2D Materials

Brown University — Tue, 16 May 2023 18:45:37 +0000

By observing spin structure in “magic-angle” graphene, a team of scientists led by Brown University researchers has found a workaround for a long-standing roadblock in the field of two-dimensional electronics. Physicists have struggled for two decades to directly manipulate electron spin in 2D materials like graphene, which could unlock advances in 2D electronics. The standard [...]

Revolutionary Brain Tumor Treatment Discovered in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Brown University — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:56:18 +0000

Researchers found that a derivative of the natural compound indirubin offers a new approach to treating glioblastoma in mice, which will inform future research in humans. Scientists have discovered that a drug derived from the natural compound indirubin shows promise in treating malignant brain tumors in mice. The study, involving collaboration between institutions like Brown [...]

Saving Money and Improving Lives: The Benefits of Non-Drug Interventions for Alzheimer’s Care

Brown University — Sun, 16 Apr 2023 05:53:14 +0000

A Brown-led research team utilized computer modeling to demonstrate that, in comparison to conventional care, four interventions for dementia care resulted in cost savings of up to $13,000, a decrease in nursing home admissions, and an enhancement in the quality of life. Attention is often focused on the latest drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease, however, there [...]