The heart is a pump that wears out over time—that, at least, was the prevailing view. New research has shown that the heart’s aging results from changes in intercellular communications, which tell heart cells, sometimes even healthy ones, to stiffen and break down. By decoding these complex …
To invade healthy tissues and continue growing, aggressive cancers mimic and circumvent the body’s native piping system of veins and arteries. Through this process, known as vasculogenic mimicry (VM), tumor cells form fluid-conducting channels that transport blood, oxygen, and nutrients directly …
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among people with obesity, a condition affecting one in eight people worldwide. Studies show that fat around the heart can fuel inflammation, damage heart muscle cells, disrupt heart rhythm and increase the risk of heart failure, but the precise …
Engineers have long focused their efforts on confining signal-carrying photons to chips. Every photon that escapes, they reasoned, is information lost. But one group of researchers has stood that paradigm on its head. By deliberately “leaking” photons into the air, they created, not the …
To think, feel, talk and move, neurons send messages through electrical signals in the brain and spinal cord. This intricate communication network is built of billions of neurons connected by synapses and managed and modified by glial cells. When neurons die, this communication network is …
Microscopic airborne particles known as PM 2.5 contribute to 100,000 premature deaths in the United States each year. A new University of Notre Dame study finds that 40 percent of these deaths can be attributed to pollution that crosses state lines, highlighting the impact of the problem and …
More than 55 million people worldwide now live with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Without treatments or cures, that number could rise to a staggering 152 million people by 2050. Yiyu Shi, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Notre Dame, is co-leading a team …
Ice fog—a curtain of tiny ice crystals suspended above the earth’s surface—reduces visibility and makes air travel treacherous. How ice fog forms and why it persists is not entirely understood, and this has led to inaccurate forecasts, particularly visibility predictions that are critical …
In 2022, according to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, humanity produced 62 million tons of e-waste—discarded phones, printers, and other devices. By 2030, that number is projected to rise another 32%, reaching 82 million. To address this significant environmental problem, Tingyu Cheng, …
Purifying dirty water is an age-old problem that has become more urgent as the global population grows, and water contains more and different kinds of pollutants. Over time, filters have evolved—from simple sieves that strain out sand and dirt to advanced membranes that selectively remove …