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  • From Polypills to Comorbidities: New Studies Help to Advance Understanding of HF Risks and Treatments

    From Polypills to Comorbidities: New Studies Help to Advance Understanding of HF Risks and Treatments

    Three newly published studies in JACC Journals examine key aspects of heart failure (HF): a multi-level polypill strategy for patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF); the impact of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) on…

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  • AI-designed biomarker improves malaria diagnostics

    AI-designed biomarker improves malaria diagnostics

    The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax can persist in a dormant state, causing relapsed infections and ongoing transmission. To detect possible dormant infections, clinicians use a diagnostic test containing parasite proteins, such as…

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  • Industrial regions key to lower emissions, cheaper energy, stronger grid, new report shows 

    Slashing emissions by two-thirds while saving industries millions each day and cutting peak wholesale prices by up to 60 per cent – these are the opportunities revealed in a new Climateworks Centre report into Queensland’s industrial heartland, Gladstone. 

    The report from Monash University’s Climateworks reveals that Gladstone could unlock these opportunities by switching to cleaner heat sources while using flexible energy demand management. Together, these shifts could make industry cleaner, cheaper to run and more reliable, without compromising productivity.

    Dr Calvin Lee, report lead author and Climateworks Centre Senior Project Manager said the findings highlight the crucial role Australia’s biggest industrial emitters have to play. 

    ‘Managing  when we use energy  to produce heat in Australia’s high-emitting industrial heartlands is key to cutting emissions, power prices and strengthening the grid,’ said Dr Lee.

    REPORT KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE: 

    • Flexible energy demand management could save Gladstone’s industries $3 million per day in operating costs and slash demand at current peak periods by two gigawatts.
    • Gladstone’s industrial emissions could be cut by almost two-thirds, 66 per cent, with a switch to low-emissions heat. More ambitious renewable energy plans could see an even greater reduction of nearly 80 per cent.
    • Electrifying Gladstone’s industries flexibly, such as shifting power use to off-peak times or storing industrial heat, could provide 4.4 gigawatts of flexible power by 2040, equivalent to three of Queensland’s largest power stations. This would double Australia’s current ability to stabilise the energy grid
    • Electrifying Gladstone’s industries and adding heat storage could cut wholesale electricity prices by as much as 60 per cent

    ‘Right now Australia’s biggest lever in an energy emergency is increasing supply and turning on expensive coal and gas. Demand management – allowing industries to shift power use up and down like a giant battery – would add another much-needed emergency tool to the nation’s toolbelt. It’s the missing flexibility piece that can help secure the wider grid.’ 

    Alex Veale, Systems Lead – Industry at Climateworks Centre said that the solutions are ready and industries want to get moving, but government support is the crucial next step. 

    ‘Funding at both state and federal levels can help kickstart the shift by sharing some of the financial risks.’ 

    ‘We’ve seen this before. A decade ago government support jump-started large-scale solar. Today it attracts around $4 billion in private investment yearly and is one of Australia’s fastest-growing energy sources.’ 

    ‘The benefits and opportunities go well beyond Gladstone,’ added Mr Veale. 

    ‘Industrial regions across the country can save a tonne of money, future-proof themselves and the communities they support, while also delivering benefits to the broader grid and Australian consumers.’ 

    ‘This is massive when you consider that just five industrial regions – Gladstone, Illawarra, Hunter, Kwinana and the Pilbara – account for one-eighth of Australia’s emissions, support close to half a million jobs and contribute $166 billion to GDP,’ he said. 

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  • ‘Circular’ business models for replacing MRI scanners reduce costs, waste

    ‘Circular’ business models for replacing MRI scanners reduce costs, waste

    Using a “circular” business model to replace aging MRI scanners — that is, upgrading an existing device rather than buying a new one — offers many benefits to hospitals, patients, and the planet, according to a study published October 7 in the…

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  • Emmanuel Macron could name a new French PM in next 48 hours, says outgoing premier

    Emmanuel Macron could name a new French PM in next 48 hours, says outgoing premier

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

    French President Emmanuel Macron could appoint a new prime minister in the next 48 hours, the country’s outgoing…

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  • Slowing down for poetry with Maggie Smith

    Slowing down for poetry with Maggie Smith

    By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR’s or APMG entities’ programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes…

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  • Athletes may gain health and performance advantages from time-restricted eating

    Athletes may gain health and performance advantages from time-restricted eating

    According to a study by researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), time-restricted feeding can have a positive impact on athletes in terms of both their health and performance. The effects of time-restricted eating…

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  • Doja Cat, Elton John to perform or present at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

    Doja Cat, Elton John to perform or present at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

    The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its billing for its 2025 induction ceremony. Among the names included are contemporary stars such as Doja Cat and Olivia Rodrigo, while also lending a retrospective lens to icons such as Elton John and…

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  • Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer Responds to Early PARP Blockade – Inside Precision Medicine

    1. Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer Responds to Early PARP Blockade  Inside Precision Medicine
    2. ‘Striking’ new treatment for deadly prostate cancer could increase life expectancy  The Independent
    3. Published data show benefit of niraparib with AAP…

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  • How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ammonia production | MIT News

    How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ammonia production | MIT News

    Ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world, used mostly as fertilizer, but also for the production of some plastics, textiles, and other applications. Its production, through processes that require high heat and pressure, accounts for up to 20 percent of all the greenhouse gases from the entire chemical industry, so efforts have been underway worldwide to find ways to reduce those emissions.

    Now, researchers at MIT have come up with a clever way of combining two different methods of producing the compound that minimizes waste products, that, when combined with some other simple upgrades, could reduce the greenhouse emissions from production by as much as 63 percent, compared to the leading “low-emissions” approach being used today.

    The new approach is described in the journal Energy & Fuels, in a paper by MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) Director William H. Green, graduate student Sayandeep Biswas, MITEI Director of Research Randall Field, and two others.

    “Ammonia has the most carbon dioxide emissions of any kind of chemical,” says Green, who is the Hoyt C. Hottel Professor in Chemical Engineering. “It’s a very important chemical,” he says, because its use as a fertilizer is crucial to being able to feed the world’s population.

    Until late in the 19th century, the most widely used source of nitrogen fertilizer was mined deposits of bat or bird guano, mostly from Chile, but that source was beginning to run out, and there were predictions that the world would soon be running short of food to sustain the population. But then a new chemical process, called the Haber-Bosch process after its inventors, made it possible to make ammonia out of nitrogen from the air and hydrogen, which was mostly derived from methane. But both the burning of fossil fuels to provide the needed heat and the use of methane to make the hydrogen led to massive climate-warming emissions from the process.

    To address this, two newer variations of ammonia production have been developed: so-called “blue ammonia,” where the greenhouse gases are captured right at the factory and then sequestered deep underground, and “green ammonia,” produced by a different chemical pathway, using electricity instead of fossil fuels to hydrolyze water to make hydrogen.

    Blue ammonia is already beginning to be used, with a few plants operating now in Louisiana, Green says, and the ammonia mostly being shipped to Japan, “so that’s already kind of commercial.” Other parts of the world are starting to use green ammonia, especially in places that have lots of hydropower, solar, or wind to provide inexpensive electricity, including a giant plant now under construction in Saudi Arabia.

    But in most places, both blue and green ammonia are still more expensive than the traditional fossil-fuel-based version, so many teams around the world have been working on ways to cut these costs as much as possible so that the difference is small enough to be made up through tax subsidies or other incentives.

    The problem is growing, because as the population grows, and as wealth increases, there will be ever-increasing demands for nitrogen fertilizer. At the same time, ammonia is a promising substitute fuel to power hard-to-decarbonize transportation such as cargo ships and heavy trucks, which could lead to even greater needs for the chemical.

    “It definitely works” as a transportation fuel, by powering fuel cells that have been demonstrated for use by everything from drones to barges and tugboats and trucks, Green says. “People think that the most likely market of that type would be for shipping,” he says, “because the downside of ammonia is it’s toxic and it’s smelly, and that makes it slightly dangerous to handle and to ship around.” So its best uses may be where it’s used in high volume and in relatively remote locations, like the high seas. In fact, the International Maritime Organization will soon be voting on new rules that might give a strong boost to the ammonia alternative for shipping.

    The key to the new proposed system is to combine the two existing approaches in one facility, with a blue ammonia factory next to a green ammonia factory. The process of generating hydrogen for the green ammonia plant leaves a lot of leftover oxygen that just gets vented to the air. Blue ammonia, on the other hand, uses a process called autothermal reforming that requires a source of pure oxygen, so if there’s a green ammonia plant next door, it can use that excess oxygen.

    “Putting them next to each other turns out to have significant economic value,” Green says. This synergy could help hybrid “blue-green ammonia” facilities serve as an important bridge toward a future where eventually green ammonia, the cleanest version, could finally dominate. But that future is likely decades away, Green says, so having the combined plants could be an important step along the way.

    “It might be a really long time before [green ammonia] is actually attractive” economically, he says. “Right now, it’s nowhere close, except in very special situations.” But the combined plants “could be a really appealing concept, and maybe a good way to start the industry,” because so far only small, standalone demonstration plants of the green process are being built.

    “If green or blue ammonia is going to become the new way of making ammonia, you need to find ways to make it relatively affordable in a lot of countries, with whatever resources they’ve got,” he says. This new proposed combination, he says, “looks like a really good idea that can help push things along. Ultimately, there’s got to be a lot of green ammonia plants in a lot of places,” and starting out with the combined plants, which could be more affordable now, could help to make that happen. The team has filed for a patent on the process.

    Although the team did a detailed study of both the technology and the economics that show the system has great promise, Green points out that “no one has ever built one. We did the analysis, it looks good, but surely when people build the first one, they’ll find funny little things that need some attention,” such as details of how to start up or shut down the process. “I would say there’s plenty of additional work to do to make it a real industry.” But the results of this study, which shows the costs to be much more affordable than existing blue or green plants in isolation, “definitely encourages the possibility of people making the big investments that would be needed to really make this industry feasible.”

    This proposed integration of the two methods “improves efficiency, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and lowers overall cost,” says Kevin van Geem, a professor in the Center for Sustainable Chemistry at Ghent University, who was not associated with this research. “The analysis is rigorous, with validated process models, transparent assumptions, and comparisons to literature benchmarks. By combining techno-economic analysis with emissions accounting, the work provides a credible and balanced view of the trade-offs.”

    He adds that, “given the scale of global ammonia production, such a reduction could have a highly impactful effect on decarbonizing one of the most emissions-intensive chemical industries.”

    The research team also included MIT postdoc Angiras Menon and MITEI research lead Guiyan Zang. The work was supported by IHI Japan through the MIT Energy Initiative and the Martin Family Society of Fellows for Sustainability. 

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