SCIENCES ENERGIES ENVIRONNEMENT

 

Dear olivier hartmanshenn,

Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 45: Stronger cholesterol treatment shrinks more plaque in heart arteries, new clinical trial finds In 104 statin-naive adults with coronary artery disease, rosuvastatin plus ezetimibe reduced coronary plaque volume by 21.1% over 18 months, versus 13.6% with atorvastatin. LDL cholesterol fell by 65% versus 38%, respectively. Whether greater plaque regression reduces cardiovascular events remains unknown.   Knee osteoarthritis: Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment Knee osteoarthritis affects the whole joint, causing pain and functional limitations; imaging severity may not match symptoms. Exercise, physical therapy and weight loss when indicated are central treatments, with NSAIDs or steroid injections for pain relief. Knee replacement may help persistent severe symptoms; arthroscopic meniscectomy offers no added benefit over physical therapy.   Cannabis was used as an intoxicant as early as 2,800 years ago Cannabis seeds dated to the early eighth century BCE and cannabinoid signals in human hair from a Scythian tomb in southern Siberia suggest intoxicating use about 2,800 years ago. These provide the oldest directly dated evidence of such use, but consumption method, dose and plant THC content remain uncertain.   Physicists step closer to the 'Zeptoverse' after 42-year particle search Evidence for a neutral B meson decaying into two muons reached 3.2-sigma significance, below the five-sigma discovery threshold. The measured rate agrees with the Standard Model prediction of roughly one decay per 10 billion. More data are needed to confirm the signal and test the prediction more precisely.   Injectable glucose sensor component matches pricier alternative at one-tenth the cost β-Mannopentaose provided comparable glucose-sensing performance to α-mannopentaose at roughly one-tenth the cost, including in artificial interstitial fluid. An injectable hydrogel retained over 94% of the sensing assay over seven days. The platform remains a proof of concept requiring further development and testing before clinical use.   Theory predicting an older universe without dark matter or dark energy passes key cosmological tests The CCC+TL model proposes a 26.7-billion-year-old universe without dark matter or dark energy. Reported tests reproduce standard light-element abundances, expansion measurements and rotation curves of 175 galaxies. Cosmic microwave background results remain unpublished, and its Bullet Cluster explanation is preliminary.   Cholesterol transport protein emerges as possible target for Parkinson's treatment Elevated ABCA1 promoted neuronal cholesterol accumulation, lysosomal dysfunction and α-synuclein buildup in Parkinson’s disease models. Silencing Abca1 reduced neuronal loss and motor deficits in mice, while the ABCA1 inhibitor magnesium citrate reduced neuronal loss. Therapeutic benefits in humans remain unproven.   Scientists build whole-Earth simulation to help find life on other planets A whole-Earth model simulated 5 billion years of chemical exchange among the core, mantle, crust, surface and atmosphere without life, reproducing 19 planetary properties. Adaptable to rocky exoplanets, it provides a baseline for assessing whether observed atmospheres can arise without biological activity.   In parallel mouse studies, researchers fail to replicate many reported effects of psilocybin Across five parallel mouse experiments, a single psilocybin dose reproducibly increased acute anxiety and avoidance and reduced fear expression. Pooled data showed no reproducible changes in anxiety, depression-like behavior, fear or social interaction 24 hours later, nor reopening of social reward learning. These findings apply to the tested dose and protocols.   Fire losses to U.S. buildings could nearly triple by 2060 without new protections With moderate climate mitigation and no new fire adaptations, U.S. fire losses could nearly triple by 2060, damaging or destroying up to 449,100 buildings. Losses would be greatest in the West, while risk would rise fastest in the central U.S. High projected risk overlaps with socioeconomic vulnerability, supporting targeted mitigation.   Drawings of near-death experiences reveal patterns in what people remember seeing Drawings from 50 people recalling near-death experiences yielded 112 scenes, 108 fitting four geometric categories. Tunnel-like spaces were mostly dark, while open horizons were often colorful and spherical spaces bright white or gold. Long recall intervals and unrecorded sessions limit confidence in these reconstructed patterns.   National study pinpoints states with steepest warming trends since 1980 From 1980–2022, monthly averaged daily maximum temperatures warmed most strongly in Alaska, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. Warming was greatest in summer and fall, especially September and November. Alaska’s maximum temperatures rose by 2.5°C per degree of global warming, compared with 0.8°C in Hawaii.   Robot successfully builds space structure in first autonomous construction demo An autonomous robot assembled an initial truss section in orbit, demonstrating the feasibility of robotic construction in space. Operational problems and time limits prevented completion of the planned 1.4-meter reflector antenna. The approach requires design simplification and refinement before larger structures can be assembled.   Scientists give hard-to-recycle wind turbine blades a second life Flash Joule heating converted discarded wind turbine blades into silicon carbide and graphene in seconds at about 2,000°C. The recovered materials improved resin mechanical and thermal properties. Estimates indicate 83–92% lower greenhouse gas emissions than pyrolysis or chemical dissolution and a potential profit of about $80 per ton.   Foot-stiffening socks could make walking less tiring In 12 healthy young adults, foot-stiffening socks reduced the net metabolic cost of treadmill walking by an average of 2% compared with control socks. Restricting foot splay increased arch stiffness and slowed calf muscle contractions without disrupting push-off, supporting a role for foot stiffness in walking economy.   Pinning down the structure of quark-gluon plasma, the universe's first fluid Calculations predict that relativistic heavy quarks in plasma experience more frequent large momentum changes than Gaussian Brownian models predict, with large slowing kicks favored over accelerating kicks. This asymmetry appears across different plasma models, linking momentum fluctuations to the plasma’s microscopic structure.   Research reveals accelerating sea-level rise around Ireland Irish tide-gauge records from 1925–2024 show accelerating sea-level rise since 2000, with current rates the highest in a century and several times typical 20th-century rates. Long-term rates vary locally, while the recent upward trajectory is consistent with global sea-level trends.   Fingernail-sized chip untangles mixed light into clean beams A photonic chip automatically separated partially coherent light from two or three infrared lasers into distinct coherence modes. The output beams were mutually uncorrelated, demonstrating spatial coherence analysis while preserving the separated light for further processing.   Vibrating mirrors of light create analog of a black hole event horizon Ultracold lithium atoms confined between laser-sheet mirrors formed concentrated wave packets under resonant mirror oscillation. Their trajectories reproduced dynamics analogous to black- and white-hole horizons. Doubling the driving frequency produced two packets, while shifting the oscillation timing reversed their motion.   Ancient coins suggest influential Iron Age king was female Coin imagery and the name Verica have been interpreted as evidence that this Iron Age British ruler was female rather than male. Verica’s exile and appeal to Emperor Claudius helped provide the pretext for Rome’s invasion of Britain in AD 43.