Monday, August 18, 2025

What do you do if your dog ingests cocaine? How one researcher is trying to protect pets from future accidents

Q&A with Dr Jake Johnson, cardiology resident at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and author of a recent Frontiers in Veterinary Science article

Frontiers

What inspired you to become a researcher?

I was introduced to the One Health Initiative during my undergraduate studies, which opened my eyes to the power of collaborative science. This initiative promotes collaboration between veterinary medicine, human medicine, environmental disciplines, and other scientific fields to advance our collective well-being. What fascinated me was how interconnected our health challenges really are – diseases don't respect boundaries between species or environments. I realized that the discoveries we make in veterinary medicine often have broader implications, and research provides the platform to share these insights across disciplines. Ultimately, I believe all our knowledge has greater value when it's passed onto others, and research gives me the opportunity to be part of that knowledge-sharing ecosystem that can create ripple effects far beyond any single case I might treat.

Can you tell us about the research you’re currently working on?

Throughout my cardiology residency and beyond, I'm focusing my research efforts on bridging the gap between advanced cardiac knowledge and practical clinical application, with a particular emphasis on education. I hope to increase accessibility to both veterinary students and practicing clinicians who may have limited access to specialized cardiac training. My previous research includes a case report involving a cat with an unusual form of heart failure and the use of imaging modalities to help guide different approaches in clinical practice.

How do vets study cocaine toxicosis in animals?

Most of our research on this topic has been done in an experimental, laboratory setting. Given the limited data that is available in canines, veterinary research has had to extrapolate data from human medicine. Unfortunately, these experimental scenarios oftentimes do not mimic real-life, clinical scenarios. As such, a limited number of reports exist. Another challenge regarding this topic is that pet owners may not know what their dog consumed off the floor at any time or may be afraid to admit what they know may have happened. This creates a clear gap between our controlled research and messy clinical reality.

Which symptoms did the chihuahua – the patient in the current study –present with, and how did you arrive at the diagnosis?

The dog initially arrived at the referring clinic with collapsing episodes and an abnormally low heart rate. Given previous suspected illicit substance ingestion, a point of care urine drug screen was performed which was positive for cocaine, this was later verified during another send-out test.

What steps can owners take to prevent their pets from accidentally ingesting such substances?

Dogs are natural scavengers and will investigate anything on the ground, so be vigilant during walks. Pet owners can prevent ingestion by keeping their dog on a leash, watching for any attempts to pick up or consume unknown items from the ground, and using a basket muzzle if necessary. Train your dog with ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’ commands, which can be lifesaving if they encounter dangerous substances. If you suspect any exposure or feel as though your dog is not acting normally, it’s important to seek immediate veterinary attention - early intervention can be lifesaving.

In your opinion, why is your research important?

Case reports are crucial in veterinary medicine by providing real-world examples. They capture clinical scenarios that larger studies might miss, preserve unusual presentations for future reference, and help build our collective understanding of rare presentations, ultimately improving emergency preparedness and treatment protocols.

Are there any common misconceptions about this area of research? How would you address them?

A major misconception in toxicology research, particularly with illicit substances, is that veterinarians will judge owners or report them to authorities if they admit their pet may have ingested drugs. This fear prevents crucial information sharing that could save lives. Being honest about potential exposure can be lifesaving– the more information you can provide about what, when, and how much your pet may have consumed, the better we can tailor treatment and monitor for specific complications. What matters most is getting your pet immediate help, not assigning blame.

What are some of the areas of research you’d like to see tackled in the years ahead?

Veterinary medicine is growing at an incredible rate. We now have access to procedures like open heart surgery, kidney transplants, dialysis, and bronchial stents that were once thought of as far-fetched. However, the real challenge lies in making these life-saving advancements accessible and commonplace. We desperately need research focused on reducing barriers to entry and improving access to advanced care. This means developing studies on simplified imaging techniques that can be performed with standard equipment, creating cost-effective screening methods, and designing educational interventions that can translate specialized knowledge into practical tools for everyday veterinary practice. I'd also like to see research that addresses the economic realities of veterinary care - studies on alternative treatment protocols that achieve similar outcomes at lower costs, training programs in basic specialty procedures for general practitioners, and telemedicine applications for specialist consultations. The goal should be democratizing advanced veterinary care so that a dog in a rural clinic has access to similar life-saving treatments as one in a metropolitan specialty hospital. Only then will these incredible medical advances truly fulfill their potential to improve animal welfare on a broader scale.

How has open science benefited the reach and impact of your research?

Information is only useful to people if they have access to it. By eliminating barriers to entry, knowledge can reach a wider audience. My goal is to ensure peers have the knowledge base to practice facets of cardiology, even with limited resources.

Journal

Frontiers in Veterinary Science

DOI

10.3389/fvets.2025.1622850

Method of Research

Case study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Cocaine Induced First-Degree and High-Grade Second-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog: a Case Report

Article Publication Date

18-Aug-2025

Texas study reveals heat waves can cause more polluted air

American Chemical Society

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2025 — Heat waves are becoming more common, severe and long-lasting. These prolonged periods of hot weather are especially dangerous in already hot places like Texas. In 2023, more than 300 people in Texas died from heat, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the most since the state began tracking such deaths in 1989. Researchers found it may not only be temperatures that make heat waves unsafe but also the heat-related increase in airborne pollutants.

Bianca Pamela Aridjis-Olivos, a graduate student in aerosol and atmospheric chemistry at Texas A&M University will present her team’s results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2025 is being held Aug. 17-21; it features about 9,000 presentations on a range of science topics.

In 2023, as intense heat raged across Texas, Aridjis-Olivos started working with faculty mentor Renyi Zhang and colleagues in the Center for Atmospheric Chemistry and the Environment (CACE) at Texas A&M. Because heat waves are predicted to worsen across the U.S. in the next few years, the CACE team was motivated to determine how extreme heat impacts atmospheric chemistry and air quality.

The researchers designed and conducted a pilot study of atmospheric chemistry during Texas’ August 2024 heat wave. They collected air samples throughout the day and night from Aug. 5 to Sept. 3 on the university campus in College Station, TX, where temperatures ranged from 90 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit (32 to 41 degrees Celsius). Additionally, the air sampling occurred when there were no wildfires nearby, isolating the effects of the heat wave itself without the influence of wildfire smoke on air quality.

The researchers analyzed air samples for pollutants of public health concern, including nitrogen oxides, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nanoparticles. For this work, they used a suite of sensitive instruments to detect trace gases and measure aerosol properties, including a proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-4000).

“You can think of it like a super sensitive nose,” explained Aridjis-Olivos, adding that the PTR-ToF-4000 sniffs for VOCs then “gently marks them so they could be identified and weighed in real time.”

Results showed concerning levels of ozone, oxygenated VOCs and acid-rich nanoparticles that increased in concentration with outdoor temperatures. The researchers also observed increased levels of airborne pollutants created by sunlight-fueled chemical reactions in the air. Notably, they discovered that, during heat waves, trees release more natural VOC emissions, including isoprene, a precursor to ozone, that could be harmful in heavily wooded places, such as College Station.

“It really was surprising, how these emissions from trees increase during heat waves and interact with air pollution,” says Aridjis-Olivos, referring to the region’s ample oak trees. “On their own, the trees’ emissions aren’t dangerous. It’s when they react with other emissions under strong solar radiation that we get elevated ozone and secondary organic aerosols that are dangerous for the public health.”

The researchers are currently analyzing additional data from their August 2024 fieldwork. In the meantime, they share recommendations for keeping safe during heat waves:

Stay indoors during peak sunlight hours (typically noon to 4 p.m.), when temperatures and ozone levels are highest.
Avoid exercising or commuting near major roadways or urban hot spots during extreme heat.
Keep an eye on the local air quality index and adjust outdoor plans accordingly, when possible.
Keep windows closed to limit exposure to outdoor air pollutants.

While these tips can help in the short-term, the researchers say real progress depends on understanding how climate change affects atmospheric chemistry and air quality so scientists can better predict pollutant formation and protect public health.

The research was funded by Texas A&M University’s vice president of research, ASCEND seed grant initiative, and the Center for Atmospheric Chemistry and the Environment.

Visit the ACS Fall 2025 program to learn more about this presentation, “Measuring gas-phase air pollutants during heatwave conditions” and other science presentations.

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

Title
Measuring gas-phase air pollutants during heatwave conditions

Abstract
Climate change and air pollution are two interconnecting environmental crises that confront humankind in the 21st century and are closely tied to the variations in atmospheric compositions. Since pre-industrial times, rising greenhouse gases and aerosol levels have disrupted the Earth’s radiative balance, altered geochemical cycles, and impacted air quality and health. However, gas-to-particle conversion and changes in gas-phase composition remain poorly understood, as these interconnected atmospheric physicochemical processes continue to challenge efforts to predict future climate. The record-breaking 2023 heat waves in the southern U.S. highlight the urgent need to understand how extreme heat affects atmospheric chemistry, particularly NOx, O3, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). Recognizing this critical gap, a pilot field campaign program was developed and conducted in August 2024 in College Station, Texas, bringing together multiple research groups from the Center for Atmospheric Chemistry and the Environment (CACE) at Texas A&M. An Ionicon proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-4000), equipped with selective reagent ion sources (SRI), enables detailed gas-phase analysis of VOCs and their aerosol formation potential under heatwave conditions. Additionally, concurrent measurements of O3 and NOx provide insight into photochemical processes under extreme heat conditions, both of which are discussed in this presentation. This study aims to improve air quality management strategies and inform public health responses by deepening our understanding of the interactions between heatwaves, VOC emissions, and pollutant formation, ultimately contributing to enhanced preparedness and mitigation efforts.

A potential ‘green’ alternative to formaldehyde and PFAS in fabric finishing

American Chemical Society

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2025 — More than half of the 7.5 million bales of cotton produced annually in the U.S. will be used in clothing manufacturing. The finishing techniques used to make cotton fabric smooth, water-repellant and resistant to wrinkling can be detrimental to the environment and the wearer. Now, researchers propose a method for using cottonseed oil as a “greener” and safer alternative to formaldehyde and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals, when finishing cotton fabrics.

Taylor Kanipe, a graduate student at North Carolina State University (NC State), will present her results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2025 is being held Aug. 17-21; it features more than 9,000 presentations on a range of science topics.

The process for harvesting cotton and creating fabric for textiles includes collecting the wispy cellulose fibers of the cotton boll, removing the cotton seeds interspersed in the fibers, spinning the cotton into yarn, weaving the yarn into fabric and then finishing the fabric with a variety of chemicals that alter its physical properties — for example, making it softer or wrinkle resistant.

Formaldehyde-based resins have traditionally been used as a fabric finishing agent. The sticky resin easily binds to cotton’s cellulose fibers, forming chemical bridges to make the long cellulose fibers resistant to wrinkling or stretching. While formaldehyde is cheap, easy to use and highly reactive, at high concentrations it is considered a Class 1 carcinogen. Formaldehyde can also cause skin and respiratory irritations. Fluorine-containing water repellant coatings create a hydrophobic surface to make cotton fabric water resistant. However, these coatings contain PFAS, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, and are being phased out due to their persistent nature and potential link to health conditions.

To eliminate the need for formaldehyde-based resins and PFAS in cotton fabric finishing, a group led by Richard Venditti, a professor of forest biomaterials, paper science and engineering at NC State, set out to create a green alternative by chemically altering seed oil from the cotton plant itself. Drawing on previous research at NC State, Kanipe, Venditti and colleagues took advantage of specific chemical properties in cottonseed oil to insert epoxy groups along the long carbon chains that make up the oil molecules. The epoxide group allows epoxidized cottonseed oil (ECSO) molecules to create strong chemical bonds with the cellulose fibers in cotton fabric and with each other, forming a polymer and making the fabric hydrophobic. The epoxy groups also create oil molecule bridges between the cellulose fibers, making the fabric resistant to wrinkling.

In addition to fabric finishing, ECSO could provide a use for the cottonseed oil harvested along with the cotton fibers, making it as inexpensive, easy to use and effective as formaldehyde resins.

“Epoxidized vegetable oils have a range of applications,” Kanipe explains. “While native cottonseed oil lacks the reactivity of formaldehyde-based resins, this simple epoxidation process produces a safer, more user-friendly alternative for applications like durable press finishes.”

The researchers weighed and chemically analyzed the ECSO-treated fabric using a type of infrared spectroscopy to ensure the ECSO molecules had successfully bonded to the fabric’s surface. To evaluate the finished fabric’s water repellent qualities, the researchers used a high-speed camera to measure the contact angle at which water droplets would interact with the cotton surface. The larger the angle between the water droplet and the surface of the fabric, the greater the water resistance. Untreated fabric showed no contact angle (in other words, the water was fully absorbed into the fabric), while ECSO-treated fabric showed a contact angle of 125 degrees, indicating a significant increase in water-repelling ability.

Future studies will measure additional performance factors in ECSO-treated cotton fabric, including tear strength, durability and wrinkle resistance. The team’s ultimate goal is to create a process of treating cotton with an ECSO water emulsion, a green process that does not require hazardous finishing substances.

“If we can achieve our goal of changing the properties of the cotton fabric — making it anti-wrinkle, anti-staining and water-resistant — using a water-based process, we’ll have a green process for putting a bio-based material onto cotton as a replacement for formaldehyde- and PFAS-based finishes,” says Venditti.

This research was funded by Cotton Incorporated and an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Visit the ACS Fall 2025 program to learn more about this presentation, “Sustainable cotton fabric finishing: epoxidized cottonseed oil as a bio-based alternative to formaldehyde-based treatments” and other science presentations.

Title
Sustainable cotton fabric finishing: epoxidized cottonseed oil as a bio-based alternative to formaldehyde-based treatments

Abstract
The textile industry is moving away from formaldehyde-based durable press finishes due to regulatory and environmental concerns, creating a need for sustainable alternatives. Cotton fabric, widely used in apparel and home textiles, benefits from treatments that enhance durability, wrinkle resistance, and hydrophobicity. However, conventional finishing agents often rely on synthetic chemicals, which pose potential health and environmental risks. This study explores the use of epoxidized cottonseed oil (ECSO) as a bio-based alternative for modifying cotton fabric and cellulose-based materials. Cotton fabric and filter paper were grafted with ECSO using a solvent-based system, varying catalyst concentrations, reaction times, and ECSO loadings. ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed successful modification through the presence of carbonyl peaks (1740 cm-1), while water contact angle (WCA) measurements increased from 0° to 125°, demonstrating significant hydrophobicity enhancement. Additionally, stable ECSO oil-in-water emulsions were developed using green emulsifiers and applied to cotton fabric via a pad-dry-cure process to assess their performance as fabric softeners and wrinkle-resistant finishes. These results highlight the potential of ECSO as a sustainable textile treatment, offering improved fabric performance without the use of formaldehyde-based chemistry. Continued refinement of curing conditions, including time, temperature, and catalyst loading, seeks to improve treatment effectiveness. Future research will assess additional performance factors, such as tear strength, smoothness, wrinkle resistance, and durability, to validate the feasibility of ECSO-based finishes for industrial use.

Nuclear waste could be a source of fuel in future reactors

American Chemical Society

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2025 — From electric cars to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, the technologies people use every day require a growing need for electricity. In theory, nuclear fusion — a process that fuses atoms together, releasing heat to turn generators — could provide vast energy supplies with minimal emissions. But nuclear fusion is an expensive prospect because one of its main fuels is a rare version of hydrogen called tritium. Now, researchers are developing new systems to use nuclear waste to make tritium.

Terence Tarnowsky, a physicist at Los Almos National Laboratory (LANL), will present his results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2025 is being held Aug. 17-21; it features about 9,000 presentations on a range of science topics.

Today’s nuclear power plants generate energy through a process called nuclear fission. During nuclear fission, a plutonium or uranium atom splits to release energy and particles called neutrons, which go on to split more atoms. This fission chain reaction provides a steady stream of energy but also results in long-lived nuclear waste. Proposed nuclear fusion power plants would generate energy by combining atomic nuclei. With fusion, forms of hydrogen, called deuterium and tritium, would join to create heavier atoms. This process, which powers stars in the universe, releases a large amount of energy and, unlike fission, produces very little radioactive waste.

While deuterium is readily available, the U.S. currently lacks a secure and predictable supply of tritium. “Right now, the value of commercial tritium is about $15 million per pound [$33 million per kilogram], and the U.S. doesn’t have any domestic capability to create it,” says Tarnowsky. “So, we have this tritium supply shortage.”

Tritium occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere. And the current major commercial source is fission reactors in Canada. “The total tritium inventory on the planet is about 55 plus or minus 31 pounds [25 plus or minus 14 kilograms],” says Tarnowsky. “Making some assumptions, 55 pounds [25 kilograms] is enough tritium to power more than 500,000 homes for six months. This is more than the residential units in Washington, D.C.”

Unlike its stores of tritium, the U.S. has thousands of tons of nuclear waste produced by commercial nuclear power plants. It contains highly radioactive materials which require expensive storage to keep it safely contained. Long-term storage raises concerns about radiation leaks into the environment with the potential to harm plants and wildlife, or cause cancer in humans.

So, Tarnowsky saw an opportunity to assess the feasibility of using still-radioactive nuclear waste to generate valuable tritium. He has conducted multiple computer simulations of potential tritium reactors to evaluate the designs’ production and energy efficiency.

The simulated reactor designs use a particle accelerator to jump-start atom-splitting reactions in the nuclear waste. As atoms divide in the simulation, they release neutrons and ultimately produce tritium after a series of other nuclear transitions. The accelerator feature would allow operators to turn these reactions on or off and is considered safer than the chain reactions that take place in a typical nuclear power plant. Although the basic principles of the design are not new, advances in technology could make it more efficient than when it was first considered in the 1990s and early 2000s, says Tarnowsky.

So far, he estimates that this theoretical system running on 1 gigawatt of energy, or the total annual energy needs of 800,000 U.S. homes, could produce about 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of tritium per year. This amount is on par with the total yearly output from all reactors in Canada. A key advantage to Tarnowsky’s system would be the efficiency of tritium production. He projects that the design would produce more than 10 times as much tritium as a fusion reactor at the same thermal power.

Next, Tarnowsky will generate a dollar cost for tritium production once he has more sophisticated calculations of the reactor’s efficiency. He’ll refine his simulations to more precisely evaluate the efficiency and safety of the reactor’s design, most of which have been previously engineered but not yet combined in this way. For example, he plans to develop new code for a model that surrounds the nuclear waste with molten lithium salt, an established design for reactors with uranium fuel that has only been used for scientific experiments. The salt’s cooling properties offer a potential safety measure, and the setup would make it difficult to extract the waste for weapons development. The ultimate goal is for the modeling to help decision-makers understand which simulation has the most potential for future implementation.

All of this might seem complex, but to Tarnowsky it’s all part of a plan to use existing technology to lower costs. “Energy transitions are a costly business, and anytime you can make it easier, we should try,” he says.

The research was funded by Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Visit the ACS Fall 2025 program to learn more about this presentation, “On-ramping the fusion economy with kilogram quantities of commercial tritium” and other science presentations.

Title
On-ramping the fusion economy with kilogram quantities of commercial tritium 

Abstract
For many reasons, the US has no commercial, domestic tritium production capabilities. The value (2024 $) of commercial tritium is ~$33,000,000/kg [1]. A 1 GWth D-T fusion energy plant full power year (FPY) will need more than 55 kgs of tritium/year. These power plants are hoping to breed tritium during operation and the required Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) to feed back to the fusion reactor must be > 1.0 (ideally, 1.1 – 1.2). Small uncertainties (~1%) in system TBRs can still lead to changes of over +/- 500 g = per FPY at 1 GWth [2]. Starting a fusion plant with no tritium (using D-D reactions to breed tritium) is not economically viable [3,4].

Currently, commercial tritium supplies are produced in heavy-water reactors like the 600 MW, Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) at rates of 0.1 kg / yr.

We propose to investigate the design, development, performance requirements and cost of an accelerator-driven system (ADS) using molten salt (MS) technology as the working material for transmuting used reactor fuel and producing a supply of commercial tritium.

Recycling and transmuting used nuclear fuel (UNF) in an ADS satisfies multiple needs: 1) Long-lived transuranic material is destroyed, thereby improving the acceptance of a UNF repository, 2) Energy is produced by fission (offsetting the power used by the accelerator), and 3) The system is operated in a sub-critical configuration, which improves safety while minimizing criticality constraints.

This ADS+MS concept is well-suited for a commercial tritium production mission and the US Department of Energy has the requisite experience with handling, processing, storing, and transporting the products.

An ADS+MS facility can achieve TBRs > 20 with current technology, provide kg quantities of tritium annually, decrease the overall cost of construction and operations at a fusion power plant, and lower proliferation risks.

LA-UR-24-33273

An alternative to LASIK — without the lasers

American Chemical Society

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2025 — Millions of Americans have altered vision, ranging from blurriness to blindness. But not everyone wants to wear prescription glasses or contact lenses. Accordingly, hundreds of thousands of people undergo corrective eye surgery each year, including LASIK — a laser-assisted surgery that reshapes the cornea and corrects vision. The procedure can result in negative side effects, prompting researchers to take the laser out of LASIK by remodeling the cornea, rather than cutting it, in initial animal tissue tests.

Michael Hill, a professor of chemistry at Occidental College, will present his team’s results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2025 is being held Aug. 17-21; it features about 9,000 presentations on a range of science topics.

Human corneas are dome-shaped, clear structures that sit at the front of the eye, bending light from surroundings and focusing it onto the retina, where it’s sent to the brain and interpreted as an image. But if the cornea is misshapen, it doesn’t focus light properly, resulting in a blurry image. With LASIK, specialized lasers reshape the cornea by removing precise sections of the tissue. This common procedure is considered safe, but it has some limitations and risks, and cutting the cornea compromises the structural integrity of the eye. Hill explains that “LASIK is just a fancy way of doing traditional surgery. It’s still carving tissue — it’s just carving with a laser.”

But what if the cornea could be reshaped without the need for any incisions?

This is what Hill and collaborator Brian Wong are exploring through a process known as electromechanical reshaping (EMR). “The whole effect was discovered by accident,” explains Wong, a professor and surgeon at the University of California, Irvine. “I was looking at living tissues as moldable materials and discovered this whole process of chemical modification.”

In the body, the shapes of many collagen-containing tissues, including corneas, are held in place by attractions of oppositely charged components. These tissues contain a lot of water, so applying an electric potential to them lowers the tissue’s pH, making it more acidic. By altering the pH, the rigid attractions within the tissue are loosened and make the shape malleable. When the original pH is restored, the tissue is locked into the new shape.

Previously, the researchers used EMR to reshape cartilage-rich rabbit ears, as well as alter scars and skin in pigs. But one collagen-rich tissue that they were eager to explore was the cornea.

In this work, the team constructed specialized, platinum “contact lenses” that provided a template for the corrected shape of the cornea, then placed each over a rabbit eyeball in a saline solution meant to mimic natural tears. The platinum lens acted as an electrode to generate a precise pH change when the researchers applied a small electric potential to the lens. After about a minute, the cornea’s curvature conformed to the shape of the lens — about the same amount of time LASIK takes, but with fewer steps, less expensive equipment and no incisions.

They repeated this setup on 12 separate rabbit eyeballs, 10 of which were treated as if they had myopia, or nearsightedness. In all the “myopic” eyeballs, the treatment dialed in the targeted focusing power of the eye, which would correspond to improved vision. The cells in the eyeball survived the treatment, because the researchers carefully controlled the pH gradient. Additionally, in other experiments, the team demonstrated that their technique might be able to reverse some chemical-caused cloudiness to the cornea — a condition that is currently only treatable through a complete corneal transplant.

Though this initial work is promising, the researchers emphasize that it is in its very early stages. Next up is what Wong describes as, “the long march through animal studies that are detailed and precise,” including tests on a living rabbit rather than just its eyeball. They also plan to determine the types of vision correction possible with EMR, such as near- and far-sightedness and astigmatism. Though the next steps are planned, uncertainties in the team’s scientific funding have put them on hold. “There’s a long road between what we’ve done and the clinic. But, if we get there, this technique is widely applicable, vastly cheaper and potentially even reversible,” concludes Hill.

This research was funded by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the John Stauffer Charitable Trust.

A Headline Science YouTube Short about this topic will be posted on Monday, Aug. 18. Reporters can access the video during the embargo period, and once the embargo is lifted the same URL will allow the public to access the content. Visit the ACS Fall 2025 program to learn more about these presentations, “Electrochemical corneal refraction;” “Electromechanical corneal reshaping for refractive vision correction;” “Optical coherence elastography-guided evaluation of corneal biomechanical properties following pulsed potentiometric electromechanical reshaping;” and other science presentations.

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Title
Electrochemical corneal refraction

Abstract
The cornea is a transparent, highly organized anatomical structure that is responsible for ~2/3 of the refractive power of the eye. The corneal stroma consists of orthogonally stacked collagen- fibril lamellae whose molecular composition and precise macromolecular geometry eliminate backscattered light and maintain the shape of the cornea. Anatomical variation, birth defects, trauma, and various pathologies can alter the shape, structural stability, and transparency of the cornea, thus affecting vision. Surgical interventions to treat myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism include laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). Despite their popularity, these procedures are expensive and permanently lower the biomechanical strength of the cornea. Here we report our efforts to apply electromechanical reshaping (EMR) as a molecular- based, non-ablative/non-incisional alternative to laser vision refraction, using ex vivo rabbit globes. EMR relies on short electrochemical pulses to electrolyze interstitial water, with subsequent diffusion of protons into the extracellular matrix of collagenous tissues; protonation of immobilized anions within this matrix disrupts the ionic-bonding network that provides structural integrity. This leaves the tissue transiently responsive to mechanical remodeling; subsequent re-equilibration to physiological pH restores the ionic matrix, resulting in persistent shape change of the tissue. Optical coherence tomography (OCT), second-harmonic generation (SHG), and confocal microscopy suggest that EMR enables control over corneal contouring while maintaining the underlying macromolecular collagen structure and stromal cellular viability.

"Every Brilliant Thing”, the interactive one-person play with a suicidality theme now making its West End debut, reduced suicide-associated stigma among university students who attended, even up to 30 days later

PLOS

Article URL: https://plos.io/411ECQu

Article Title: A performing arts intervention to decrease suicide stigma on campus: A three time point assessment of “Every Brilliant Thing”

Author Countries: United States

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Journal

PLOS Mental Health

DOI

10.1371/journal.pmen.0000404

Article Publication Date

14-Aug-2025

Russia is facing 2 major — and seemingly contradictory — labor problems at the same time

Huileng Tan
Fri, August 15, 2025

Russia's jobless rate is at a historic low, but "hidden unemployment" has risen as firms cut hours.

The number of workers put on "downtime" — when they remain on payroll but are not working — has been on the rise.

Putin has acknowledged the rise and says the government must act to address it.

Russia's jobless rate is at a record low due to a labor crunch — but that's only part of the story.

A wave of "hidden unemployment" is building as companies slash hours and quietly cut staff. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the trend on Tuesday.

"Hidden unemployment is growing, meaning that some workers are in the so-called downtime, employed part-time, or are at risk of being laid off," Putin said at a meeting on economic issues. The term "downtime" refers to periods when employees remain on payroll but are not working, often due to a slowdown in production.

Official figures show the trend accelerating: 98,000 people were classified as falling into the three categories at the start of 2025. That number climbed to 153,000 by late June, and hit 199,000 as of August 8 — roughly double the number at the start of the year.

Last month, Avtovaz, the maker of Russia's best-selling car brand, said it may move to a four-day workweek after sales slumped this year. The automaker employs over 30,000 people.

Other companies in transportation and heavy industry have made similar cuts, according to Russian media reports.

In July, officials in the Sverdlovsk region acknowledged "changes in the economy" that are prompting some enterprises to reduce head count or move workers to part-time schedules.

Retail is also under strain. A July report from Russia's central bank said the number of people employed in the wholesale and retail sector has fallen over the year, largely due to the mass closures of car dealerships. The same report found that the share of companies planning to cut staff jumped from 6.9% in January to 11.5% in June.

While demand for workers is weakening in some sectors, Russia is also facing a long-term demographic crisis that threatens to shrink its labor force even further. In 2024, births fell to their lowest level since 1999.

The war in Ukraine is further straining the labor force, as battlefield losses and a brain drain sap the country's supply of young, skilled workers.
Beyond jobs, other warning signs emerge

The Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, a think tank aligned with the Russian government, has warned of "not the most favorable structural shift" in investment, with investments moving away from Russia's civilian private sector.

That's fueling growth in some state-backed industries while problems mount elsewhere.

Even as the jobless rate stays low at 2.2%, the number of registered unemployed has risen from 274,000 in January to 300,000 in early August.

Putin said the government needs to "sense ongoing trends and respond" to prevent "excessive cooling of the economy."

Putin's comments came ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump in Alaska to discuss the Ukraine war, with Russia's sanctions-hit economy grappling with mounting pressure. This will be the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders in years.

Russia's GDP grew just 1.1% in the second quarter, slowing from 1.4% in the first quarter and sharply down from 4% a year earlier. Oil and gas revenues — a crucial source of the Kremlin's war funding — have fallen amid weak crude prices.

Meanwhile, frequent internet outages tied to security measures against Ukrainian drone strikes are disrupting the digital economy, making it harder for people to make electronic payments and use apps.

Business Insider

PATHETIQUE ROFLMAO

Trump ‘cold-called Norwegian government to ask about Nobel Peace Prize’

Cameron Henderson
Fri, August 15, 2025

Donald Trump reportedly called Jens Stoltenberg (left), the former Nato secretary general, last month to discuss tariffs - Ron Sachs/© 2019 Bloomberg Finance LP

Donald Trump cold-called Norway’s finance minister to ask him about a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to reports.

The US president called Jens Stoltenberg, the former Nato secretary general, last month to discuss tariffs, and also brought up the subject of the Nobel Prize, Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv reported.

The president has long-coveted the award and has in recent months received endorsements from several world leaders.

“Out of the blue, while finance minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called,” sources told the news outlet.

“He wanted the Nobel Prize – and to discuss tariffs.”

It was claimed that it was not the first time Mr Trump had called to enquire about the prize.
Trump looking to broker peace in Ukraine

Mr Trump will be looking to broker another peace deal in the near future, as he sits down with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, in Alaska for talks that could lead to the end of the Ukraine war.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner is decided by the Norwegian Nobel committee, a five-member body appointed by the Norwegian parliament

Each year, the committee sifts through hundreds of nominations before announcing the winner in October.

Four previous presidents have won the award, in Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and, perhaps most gallingly for Mr Trump, Barack Obama.

The president has repeatedly criticised his predecessor for being decorated only eight months into his first term, and claimed during the 2024 election campaign that he would have won the award “in 10 seconds” if he had been Mr Obama.

In June, he wrote on Truth Social: “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!”
‘President of peace’

In honouring Mr Obama, the Norwegian Nobel committee cited his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”, which seemed to be more about Mr Obama’s promise as an international leader than his actual accomplishments.

Mr Trump is the self-styled “president of peace”.

“As president, he has brokered peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Cambodia and Thailand, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, Serbia and Kosovo, and with the Abraham Accords,” the White House said.

On Friday, he will look to add Russia and Ukraine to that list.

Praising the president for his efforts, a number of world leaders have nominated him for the award including Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, and the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Stoltenberg did not deny claims the president had brought up the prize, but said the conversation focused on discussion of tariffs and economic cooperation ahead of Mr Trump’s call with Jonas Stoere, the Norwegian prime minister.

“I will not go into further detail about the content of the conversation,” he said.

Several of Mr Trump’s cabinet officials including Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, and Jamieson Greer, his trade representative, were also on the call, according to Mr Stoltenberg.

The award, named after 19th-century Swedish Industrialist Alfred Nobel, was originally intended to be bestowed upon the person who has done “the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.

Federal judge guts major portion of Florida’s book ban, in a blow to DeSantis

Ja'han Jones
Fri, August 15, 2025

A federal judge has closed the chapter on key parts of Florida’s censorious ban on school library books that conservatives deem “pornographic” and harmful to children.

Amid a broader assault on diversity in the state, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in 2023, known as House Bill 1069, that set up a process for parents to challenge books for removal from school libraries that they feel are unsuitable for young readers. The repressive law requires that schools remove books within five days of a parents’ complaint and make them unavailable while they’re reviewed. The process, broadly targeting books with “pornographic” content or that “describe sexual conduct,” has ensnared many titles by nonwhite and LGBTQ authors over purported obscenity.

Last year, multiple publishing companies, Florida parents and authors filed a lawsuit seeking to thwart the bill, naming as defendants various members of the state education board and school boards in Orange and Volusia counties. And the suit appears to have succeeded, in large part.

“By enacting HB 1069, the Florida legislature sought to prohibit material from entering or remaining in school libraries that is not obscene for minors,” District Court Judge Carlos Mendoza said in his ruling on Wednesday, which found the section that targets descriptions of sexual conduct to be unconstitutional.

He listed several examples:

The following books, among others, have been removed: The Color Purple, Half of a Yellow Sun, Cloud Atlas, The Splendid and the Vile, I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them, On the Road, Nineteen Minutes, Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, The Kite Runner, Slaughterhouse-Five, Shout, Last Night at the Telegraph Club, The Handmaid’s Tale, Native Son, Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa, Water for Elephants, Beloved, Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, and Homegoing. None of these books are obscene.

The judge said the law’s focus on books that “describe sexual content” is “overbroad” and “unconstitutional,” and he said the law “mandates the removal of books that contain even a single reference to the prohibited subject matter, regardless of the holistic value of the book individually or as part of a larger collection.”

Mendoza also rejected conservatives’ argument that libraries — and the books in them — are forums for “government speech.” He wrote that “many removals at issue here are the objecting parents’ speech, not the government’s,” and that “slapping the label of government speech on book removals only serves to stifle the disfavored viewpoints.” Citing Supreme Court precedent, the judge said, “To be sure, parents have the right to ‘direct the upbringing and education of children,’ but the government cannot repackage their speech and pass it off as its own.”

Mendoza declined to strike down the law completely, writing that the law’s reference to “pornographic” content can be read as synonymous with content considered “harmful to minors” under Florida law, which means some books could still be banned but only if they meet a rigorous standard for obscenity known as the “Miller Test.”

The Authors’ Guild, which was a plaintiff in the suit and claims to represent more than 16,000 members, called the ruling “a sweeping victory for readers and authors.”

State officials said they plan to appeal the ruling.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

PARASITE

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Is Boasting It’s Found a Way to Pay No Tax Ever

Josh Fiallo
Fri, August 15, 2025

Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

SpaceX officials have privately boasted to investors that a tax benefit signed into law by President Donald Trump means it may never have to pay federal income taxes, The New York Times reports.

Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, allowing corporations to roll over their heavy losses, known as a carryback, indefinitely to skirt paying some federal taxes on their newer profits.

The law allows for SpaceX to legally skirt paying taxes on much of its profits. The lack of an expiration date means it can roll over substantial losses from yesteryear, the Times reports. That’s a massive benefit for SpaceX and its partial owner, Elon Musk, who is the world’s richest man.

SpaceX has benefited from an influx of government contracts in the past few years. / Joe Skipper / Reuters

SpaceX was bleeding cash for its first two decades in existence—much like other start-up tech firms of the 21st century, including Uber and Tesla.

The company had reportedly racked up $5 billion in losses by late 2021. However, with the help of its successful satellite-based internet offering, Starlink, and a litany of government contracts, the Times reports SpaceX has profited billions since 2022.

SpaceX’s profits are expected to eclipse $15.5 billion this year, Musk said in June. However, how much of that revenue will be directed back to the federal government, if any, is not clear. SpaceX is a private company, so its yearly net losses, profits, and tax documents are not required to be made public.

The Times reports that “SpaceX has most likely paid little to no federal income taxes since its founding in 2002.” The company did not respond to questions emailed by the Daily Beast about its tax situation and plans for the future. Neither did a rep for Musk, who Forbes estimates was worth $412 billion as of Friday afternoon.

A tax expert interviewed by the Times said that SpaceX was abusing a federal law that is meant to keep struggling companies in business.

Danielle Brian, the executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a group tasked with investigating corruption and government waste, told the paper that the tax benefit “was clearly not intended for a company doing so well.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Monday, August 18, 2025

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