New sanitation system halves healthcare associated infections and cuts costs by 75 percent — ScienceDaily

The spread of antimicrobial resistance in hospitals can be limited by sanitation methods that remodulate the hospital microbiota, leading to lower antimicrobial consumption and costs, according to a paper in Infection and Drug Resistance co-authored by two Bocconi University scholars (for the part related to costs) with University of Ferrara and colleagues from University of…

National legislation as well as bans under the international CITES agreement not slowing the trade in seahorse products — ScienceDaily

Many countries are engaged in a vast illegal and unrecorded international trade in seahorses, one that circumvents global regulations, according to new UBC study that has implications for many other animal species. The United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) restricts exports of seahorses to those that…

Effects of the plastic civilization — ScienceDaily

Polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene are the most abundant microplastics in the Mediterranean coastal waters, according to a new study published by the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin -by the experts Miquel Canals, William P. de Haan, and Anna Sànchez-Vidal, from the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the University…

Soft, flexible sensors provide clinical-grade measurements, allow physical bonding between baby and parent — ScienceDaily

An interdisciplinary Northwestern University team has developed a pair of soft, flexible wireless sensors that replace the tangle of wire-based sensors that currently monitor babies in hospitals’ neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and pose a barrier to parent-baby cuddling and physical bonding. The team recently completed a series of first human studies on premature babies…

Guidelines have the potential to transform the fields of optoelectronics, bio-imaging and energy harvesting — ScienceDaily

Northwestern University researchers have developed a blueprint for understanding and predicting the properties and behavior of complex nanoparticles and optimizing their use for a broad range of scientific applications. These include catalysis, optoelectronics, transistors, bio-imaging, and energy storage and conversion. Recent research findings have successfully enabled the synthesis, or creation, of a wide variety of…