Science

Morning exposure to deep red light improves declining eyesightJust three minutes of exposure to deep red light once a week, when delivered in the morning, can significantly improve declining eyesight, finds a pioneering new study by UCL researchers. Published in Scientific Reports, the study builds on the team's previous work*, which showed daily three-minute exposure to longwave deep red light 'switched on' energy producing mitochondria cells in the human retina, helping boost naturally declining vision. For this latest study, scientists wanted to establish what effect a single three-minute exposure would have, while also using much lower energy levels than their previous studies. Furthermore, building on separate UCL research in flies** that found mitochondria display 'shifting workloads...

Living walls can reduce heat lost from buildings by over 30%Retrofitting an existing masonry cavity walled building with a green or living wall can reduce the amount of heat lost through its structure by more than 30%, according to new research. The study, conducted at the University of Plymouth, centred around the Sustainability Hub -- a pre-1970s building on the university campus -- and compared how effectively two sections of its walls retained heat. Despite being on the same west-facing elevation, one of those sections had been retrofitted with an exterior living wall façade, comprised of a flexible felt fabric sheet system with pockets allowing for soil and planting. After five weeks of measurements, researchers found the amount of heat lost through the wall retrofitted with the livin...

Only alcohol -- not caffeine, diet or lack of sleep -- might trigger heart rhythm conditionNew research from UC San Francisco that tested possible triggers of a common heart condition, including caffeine, sleep deprivation and sleeping on the left side, found that only alcohol use was consistently associated with more episodes of the heart arrhythmia. The authors conclude that people might be able to reduce their risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) by avoiding certain triggers. The study is published in JAMA Cardiology and was presented November 14, 2021, at the annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Researchers were surprised to find that although most of the things that participants thought would be related to their AF were not, those in the intervention group still e...

Soft yet strong gel keeps its shape after being run over by a car A gel with similar properties to shatterproof glass could have applications in soft robots and prosthetics Physics ...