ResearchPod

With the rising desire for a cosy and comfortable life full of 'hygge' has come a rising demand for the warm glow of a household fire to gather around. But, at what price does this idyll come at for our health?

Dr Mikko Savolahti, senior research scientist at the Finnish Environment Institute, and colleagues published detailed research investigating the emissions from residential wood combustion in Finland. The models  demonstrate that the climate impacts of wood burning need to be fully included in policy making.

Read the original papers: 

• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.045
• http://www.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162920

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurologic autoimmune disease that is a lifelong condition with high medical costs.  As a result, many patients do not adhere to treatment plan, which further reduces their quality of life. There are also non-medical costs to consider, such as loss of productivity at work and early retirement.

Research led by Professor Carl Asche, at the University of Illinois, explores the financial burdens and advocates for improved strategies to reduce the cost burden of the disease.

Read more in Research Outreach
Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2010.16.9.703

Brains, blood and beating heart are top of the list when it comes to thinking about your body, and your health. Understanding blood flow to and around the brain is part of research into brain ageing, and part of the work of Dr Lucy Beishon and Dr Jatinder Minhas at the Cerebral Haemodynamics in Ageing and Stroke Medicine , or CHIASM, lab in Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Today, we’re chatting about some of their research into developing methods to help offset the progression of diseases such as stroke and dementia, helping patients to keep their edge as long as possible.

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-210428

Alcohol is widely considered to be the most popular, most harmful drug, often leading to psychological or physical harm to the user and those around them. and with a strong association between alcohol consumption and crime.

With a high rate of alcohol intoxication in witnesses, suspects, and even victims of crime, it is critical to understand how police officers perceive and interact with intoxicated individuals.

Dr Angelica Hagsand of the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) conducts research to understand how alcohol influences the reliability of eyewitness testimonies.

Read more in Research Outreach

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2021.1929978

Blockchain technology and smart contracts, the backbone of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge and more, is a method of recording and storing electronic information, such as financial transactions, in a way that they are either impossible or difficult to alter. In short, a digital permanent record.

But if a smart contract has mistakes or bugs in its code that can be exploited, it can result in huge financial losses .

Dr. Lingxiao Jiang, an associate professor of Computer Science at Singapore Management University, researches the challenges, and opportunities, for the growing use of smart contracts in financial services.

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1109/TSE.2020.2971482

What is behind phenomena such as the sudden extinction of species in population dynamics? What generates the spiral patterns that appear in density profiles or travelling waves?

Professor Meyer-Ortmanns studies complex systems with methods from nonlinear dynamics and statistical physics. One current research topic is heteroclinic dynamics, another one is the impact of stochastic fluctuations.

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.043097 

Acesulfame potassium is one of several low- and no-calorie sweeteners used as a healthy alternative to sugar. But what if there is a price to pay for a calorie-free sweetness? 

Dr Patrick Guiney investigates the environmental fate and effects of sweeteners and applies ecological risk assessment methods to establish their environmental safety profiles. 

Read more in Research Outreach

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4248 

What if there was a way to deliver on the painkilling potential of opioids while reducing the likelihood of addiction?

Dr Stefan Clemens and Dr Kori Brewers' work at East Carolina University could mark a turning point in pain management and drug addiction.

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2020.172935

Whether it’s a just few sentences or a full paragraph outlining the way your organisation pursues goals like delivering on time or anticipating customer needs, a mission statement is a guide to how a company operates and the values it holds dear.

Research led by Dana Kanze from London Business School now shows that your mission statements can also motivate your employees to embrace or disregard ethical standards—the decisions they choose depend upon the language you use.

Read the original publication: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.04.002 

Read the HBR article:  https://hbr.org/2020/02/research-organizations-that-move-fast-really-do-break-things

Read more from Dr Kanze in Research Outreach

Glycogen plays important roles in carbon and energy storage in bacteria, with highly branched structures linked with bacterial environmental durability, including the ability to survive in deep sea vents.

Dr Liang Wang at the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai & Ms Qing-Hua Liu at Macau University of Science and Technology aim to better understand the structure and evolution of glycogen branching enzyme in bacteria, uncovering a new, third type of structure.

Read more about their research in Research Outreach.

Read their original article at:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.03354