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Catastrophic Trend Alert: Global Warming in the Arctic Fuels Megafires on the Permafrost

Lead Image: A 30-kilometer-wide wildfire front detected in the Siberian Arctic at a latitude of 69.31°N on August 6, 2020. Sentinel-2 Infrared color image. Credit: Adrià Descals The Siberian Arctic experienced an unusual number of fires in 2019 and 2020. This raised concerns in the scientific community, as the Arctic has large areas of permafrost, a permanently frozen layer of subsoil that accumulates large amounts of carbon. Fires damage the permafrost and contribute to the release of carbon emissions in the form of greenhouse gases. The question that remained unanswered was whether this increase in fires in 2019-2020 was an…

Serotonin Deficiency Directly Linked With Depression in Groundbreaking Study

Lead Image: A new research study provides the first direct evidence of disrupted serotonin release in the brains of people with depression. New research in Biological Psychiatry offers the first direct evidence of diminished 5-HT release cements “serotonin hypothesis.” Researchers have postulated since the 1960s that major depression stems from disruptions in the serotonin neurotransmitter system. However, the evidence for that idea, though plentiful, was indirect. In fact, a recent comprehensive analysis of existing studies concluded that there was not strong evidence to support the “serotonin hypothesis.” In its wake, some in the field have called for a reexamination of…

Molecular Clue May Explain Why Women Are More Prone to Alzheimer’s Disease

Lead Image: Researchers from Scripps Research and MIT have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the molecular basis of Alzheimer’s disease, which may also provide insight into the higher risk of the disease among women. Scripps Research and MIT scientists find that a modified immune protein harming brain connections is much more common in the brains of women with Alzheimer’s, compared to men. Scientists have found a clue to the molecular cause of Alzheimer’s—a clue that may also explain why women are at greater risk for the disease. In the study, the researchers from Scripps Research and Massachusetts Institute of…

UCLA Breakthrough Could Lead to More Durable, Less Expensive Solar Cells

An international team led by UCLA researchers has developed a way to use perovskite in solar cells while protecting it from the conditions that cause it to deteriorate. Credit: Yang Lab/UCLA Using enhanced halide perovskite in place of silicon could produce less expensive devices that stand up better to light, heat. Amid all of the efforts to convert the nation’s energy supply to renewable sources, solar power still accounts for a little less than 3% of electricity generated in the U.S. In part, that’s because of the relatively high cost to produce solar cells. One way to lower the cost…

A Toxic Inheritance: Chemotherapy Could Increase Disease Susceptibility in Future Generations

Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be used to cure cancer, reduce the size of tumors, or slow the progression of the disease. It may be used alone or in combination with other treatments, such as surgery or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy can cause side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and fatigue, but these are usually temporary and can be managed with medication. New research led by Washington State University has found that a common chemotherapy drug called ifosfamide may have toxic effects that can be passed down…