Regular exercise is good for your heart, no matter how old you are!

Regular exercise is highly beneficial for all patients with cardiovascular disease regardless of age, report investigators. Their results showed that the patients who benefited most from cardiac rehabilitation were those who started out with the greatest physical impairment.

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Novel, high-performance diodes and transistors

Today's computer processors are increasingly pushed to their limits due to their physical properties. Novel materials could be the solution. Physicists have investigated if and how these materials might be developed. They have created, tested and filed a patent for a concept that utilizes the latest findings from the field of spintronics.

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The story of thalidomide continues

An international study has unveiled a detailed view of how thalidomide, one of the most notorious drugs ever developed, causes abnormalities in limb and ear development. The findings may contribute to the re-emergence of safe, or non-teratogenic, thalidomide-derived drugs as a treatment for cancer and inflammatory diseases.

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New mechanism in the liver helps prevent invasive fungal infections

An expert in intravital microscopy is making breakthroughs in invasive fungal infections. He has discovered a pathway by which liver macrophages capture fungi before dissemination to target organs like the brain. This not only provides an explanation as to why individuals with liver disease have enhanced risk of fungal infection, but also points to therapeutic options to prevent these infections, which kill 1.5 million people annually.

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Scientists discover new antibiotic in tropical forest

Scientists have discovered an antibiotic produced by a soil bacterium from a Mexican tropical forest that may help lead to a 'plant probiotic,' more robust plants and other antibiotics. Probiotics, which provide friendlier bacteria and health benefits for humans, can also be beneficial to plants, keeping them healthy and more robust. The new antibiotic, known as phazolicin, prevents harmful bacteria from getting into the root systems of bean plants.

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Heat waves could increase substantially in size by mid-century

Scientists found that by mid-century, in a middle greenhouse emissions scenario, the average size of heat waves could increase by 50%. Under high greenhouse gas concentrations, the average size could increase by 80% and the more extreme heat waves could more than double in size.

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Rare 'Lazarus superconductivity' observed in promising, rediscovered material

A team of researchers has observed a rare phenomenon called re-entrant superconductivity in the material uranium ditelluride. Nicknamed 'Lazarus superconductivity,' the phenomenon occurs when a superconducting state arises, breaks down, then re-emerges in a material due to a change in a specific parameter — in this case, the application of a very strong magnetic field. The discovery furthers the case for uranium ditelluride as a promising material for use in quantum computers.

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Common denominator that triggers asthma in favorable environments

Some so-called pro-allergic environments strongly promote the development of asthma and are responsible for the dramatic increase in the prevalence of asthma, especially in industrialized countries. Researchers at the GIGA of the University of Liège have identified how all these pro-allergic environments act in the same way on the pulmonary immune system to induce the development of allergic asthma.

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