SciPod

Outdoor swimming pools are enjoyed by millions of us, but it is often challenging to maintain comfortable temperatures across different climates and weather conditions, which can drastically vary the rate of heat transfer away from the water. Through their research, a team led by Prof. Hui Tong Chua from The University of Western Australia has introduced a new empirical model that can accurately predict this transfer of heat, accounting for weather conditions and the surrounding environment. They hope that their model could improve the efficiency of outdoor pool heating systems, helping them to become more sustainable.

Astronomers know that the nearby Centaurus A galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its centre, but there are several unusual and mind-boggling features in the detailed picture that was recently made of this galaxy’s core, which have yet to be explained. To understand these anomalies, Dr David Anthony Cosandey, an astrophysicist at the Zurich Higher Education Centre, suggests that the galaxy actually contains a pair of supermassive black holes which will eventually merge into a single object. If his theory is confirmed, Centaurus A could not only host the tightest orbiting pair of these immense objects ever discovered; this pair of giant black holes would also be by far the nearest to us that we know of.

Phase 3 clinical trials are the most expensive part of drug development, and the most important hurdle to regulatory approval. More than 95% of phase 3 trials in Alzheimer’s disease fail. The main reason is a poor foundation, namely, inadequate or misleading phase 2 trials. Dr. Donald Berry, Founder of Berry Consultants and Founder and Professor of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, along with his son Dr. Scott Berry, President of Berry Consultants, are committed to turning the tide. Their revolutionary methodology involves adaptive clinical trial design within a Bayesian statistical approach.

An innovative study reveals how US tariffs on Chinese goods have disproportionately affected low-income American households, challenging the effectiveness of protectionist trade policies. Research from an international team of scholars, Professors Mingzhi Xu at Peking University, Hong Ma at Tsinghua University, Jingxin Ning at UIBE, and Luca Macedoni at Aarhus University, provides compelling evidence for the benefits of free trade and the often-overlooked costs of trade barriers.

Phase 3 clinical trials are the most expensive part of drug development, and the most important hurdle to regulatory approval. More than 95% of phase 3 trials in Alzheimer’s disease fail. The main reason is a poor foundation, namely, inadequate or misleading phase 2 trials. Dr. Donald Berry, Founder of Berry Consultants and Founder and Professor of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, along with his son Dr. Scott Berry, President of Berry Consultants, are committed to turning the tide. Their revolutionary methodology involves adaptive clinical trial design within a Bayesian statistical approach.

An innovative study reveals how US tariffs on Chinese goods have disproportionately affected low-income American households, challenging the effectiveness of protectionist trade policies. Research from an international team of scholars, Professors Mingzhi Xu at Peking University, Hong Ma at Tsinghua University, Jingxin Ning at UIBE, and Luca Macedoni at Aarhus University, provides compelling evidence for the benefits of free trade and the often-overlooked costs of trade barriers.

Darwin identified fire and language as the key elements of human progress. Professor Elliot Berry, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, argues that nutrition and food security are equally vital for cultural evolution. He is a Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Nutrition – Nutrition and Sustainable Diets, and an Editor of the three volume Encyclopaedia of Food Security and Sustainability. Berry explains that food security supports the development of sociotypes, which describe how individuals interact within society, and emphasizes their importance, especially amid global crises, for sustainable development and public health. He advocates that we recognize food security as a fundamental human right and incorporate sociotype concepts in medicine and public health.

Early adversity, such as family violence, parental depression and low income, puts children at risk for maltreatment and negatively impacts their development. A team of researchers led by Nicole Letourneau at the University of Calgary has evaluated a promising intervention called ATTACH™ (which is short for Attachment and Child Health) that aims to improve outcomes for vulnerable families by enhancing parental reflective functioning.

Inventory management is a key activity in many organizations. Its performance is often measured by the inventory turnover ratio metric, or ITR for short. This is a key performance indicator that managers are incentivised to improve. However, improper measurement of the ITR metric can cause problems in terms of reliability, comparison, and bias. Professor Benjamin Melamed of Rutgers University has proposed novel formulations of Little’s Law. The traditional Little’s Law is used an as approximation of real-life measurement, whereas Melamed’s versions are exact and robust.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union faced a crisis that demanded a swift and unified response. A new study by Professor Elena Baracani from the University of Bologna examines how Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, used her leadership role to shape the EU's reaction during the crucial first 10 weeks of the conflict.