Science Daily

1. Turning carbon emissions into methane fuel

   Chemists have developed a novel way to capture and convert carbon dioxide into methane, suggesting that future gas emissions could be converted into an alternative fuel using electricity from renewable sources.

2. Climate change and air pollution could risk 30 million lives annually by 2100

   Mortality attributable to air pollution and extreme temperatures is a major concern, and it is expected to heighten in the future. An international research team found that, under the most probable projection, annual mortality rates linked to air pollution and extreme temperatures could reach 30 million by the end of the century. The research, based on advanced numerical simulations, suggests a concerning trend: pollution-related deaths are expected to increase five-fold, while temperature-related mortality could rise seven-fold, posing a more critical health risk than air pollution for at least 20% of the world's population.

3. Stopping severe malaria by harnessing natural human antibodies

   Scientists have identified human antibodies capable of targeting the proteins responsible for severe malaria, potentially paving the way for new vaccines or treatments. Using organ-on-a-chip technology, researchers successfully demonstrated that these antibodies prevent infected red blood cells from adhering to vessel walls, a key driver of severe malaria symptoms. The antibodies neutralize a conserved region of the malarial protein PfEMP1, overcoming its notorious variability and shedding light on acquired immunity mechanisms. This interdisciplinary study, published in Nature, highlights the power of international teamwork in addressing major health challenges like malaria.

4. Probiotic delivers anticancer drug to the gut

   Researchers shrink gastrointestinal tumors in mice using a yeast probiotic to deliver immunotherapy to the gut, offering a potentially novel strategy to target hard-to-reach gut cancers.

5. Thanksgiving special: Dinosaur drumsticks and the story of the turkey trot

   Wings may be the obvious choice when studying the connection between dinosaurs and birds, but a pair of paleontologists prefer drumsticks. That part of the leg, they say, is where fibular reduction among some dinosaurs tens of millions of years ago helped make it possible for peacocks to strut, penguins to waddle, and turkeys to trot.