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Georgia Southern’s Shainaz Landge receives Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award

For Shainaz Landge, Ph.D., pushing boundaries in the classroom and the laboratory isn’t just a professional pursuit, it’s a passion. As an associate professor of organic chemistry at Georgia Southern University, Landge has spent more than a decade inspiring students to soar beyond traditional learning by blending research, mentorship and hands-on experiences that extend far beyond textbooks. That commitment to innovation has earned Landge the Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, an honor from the University System of Georgia (USG) that recognizes faculty who contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning through research, leadership and instructional excellence. “Receiving the Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award is a true honor,” said Landge. “It reinforces my passion for teaching and research, inspiring me to strive for excellence every day. My goal is to cultivate an engaging, positive learning environment where students are actively involved and genuinely excited about the learning process.” Landge’s work is grounded in synthetic organic, medicinal and supramolecular chemistry. Her research focuses on developing novel synthetic methodologies with applications in medicinal chemistry and materials science, creating compounds with potential therapeutic properties and supramolecular systems with unique functionalities. “This award is a reflection of Dr. Landge’s deep passion for education and research, and her ability to inspire students to think critically and engage meaningfully with the world around them,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl Reiber, Ph.D. “At Georgia Southern, we are dedicated to fostering an environment of discovery and innovation, and her work continues to elevate that mission, both in and out of the classroom. We are fortunate to have her as part of our academic community.” This isn’t the first time Landge’s dedication to student engagement and scientific inquiry has garnered recognition. Previously, she earned a University Award of Excellence for Student Success in 2021 and the College of Science and Mathematics Award of Excellence in Research in 2023. “This award is a testament to Dr. Landge’s exceptional contributions to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,” said Michael Huggins, Ph.D., dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. “Her innovative approach has not only deepened our understanding of effective teaching but has also led to measurable improvements in student outcomes across the College of Science and Mathematics.” In addition to her research and teaching, Landge has served as a Service-Learning Faculty Fellow (2023-2024) and is a current Research Advocate, reinforcing her commitment to bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world problem-solving. For more information about the Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, visit : If you're interested in connecting with Shainaz Landge and learning more about her work then let us help - simply contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

Research Matters: Physics Magic with a Twist

University of Rochester scientists have discovered that twisting together two atom-thin flakes of molybdenum diselenide at high angles produces artificial atoms that can act as quantum information bits, or qubits. The discovery was made in the laboratory of Nickolas Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, who says he hopes the artificial atoms can be used like memory or nodes in a quantum network. “These could be the backbone for devices like the next generation of lasers or even tools to stimulate quantum physics,” Vamivakas says. The revelations built on experiments that found twisting a pair of one-atom-thick layers of graphene at the “magic” angle of 1.1 degrees created a superconductive material. Molybdenum diselenide, like graphene, is a 2D material. When monolayers of it are twisted at angles up to 40 degrees, they produce excitons, or artificial atoms, that retain information when activated by light. The discovery was recently published in Nano Letters. To learn more about Vamivakas’s research, read about it at the University of Rochester News Center and contact him at nick.vamivakas@rochester.edu.

Virtual reality training tool helps nurses learn patient-centered care

University of Delaware computer science students have developed a digital interface as a two-way system that can help nurse trainees build their communication skills and learn to provide patient-centered care across a variety of situations. This virtual reality training tool would enable users to rehearse their bedside manner with expectant mothers before ever encountering a pregnant patient in person. The digital platform was created by students in Assistant Professor Leila Barmaki’s Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, including senior Rana Tuncer, a computer science major, and sophomore Gael Lucero-Palacios. Lucero-Palacios said the training helps aspiring nurses practice more difficult and sensitive conversations they might have with patients. "Our tool is targeted to midwifery patients,” Lucero-Palacios said. “Learners can practice these conversations in a safe environment. It’s multilingual, too. We currently offer English or Turkish, and we’re working on a Spanish demo.” This type of judgement-free rehearsal environment has the potential to remove language barriers to care, with the ability to change the language capabilities of an avatar. For instance, the idea is that on one interface the “practitioner” could speak in one language, but it would be heard on the other interface in the patient’s native language. The patient avatar also can be customized to resemble different health stages and populations to provide learners a varied experience. Last December, Tuncer took the project on the road, piloting the virtual reality training program for faculty members in the Department of Midwifery at Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey. With technical support provided by Lucero-Palacios back in the United States, she was able to run a demo with the Ankara team, showcasing the UD-developed system’s interactive rehearsal environment’s capabilities. Last winter, University of Delaware senior Rana Tuncer (left), a computer science major, piloted the virtual reality training program for Neslihan Yilmaz Sezer (right), associate professor in the Department of Midwifery, Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey. Meanwhile, for Tuncer, Lucero-Palacios and the other students involved in the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, developing the VR training tool offered the opportunity to enhance their computer science, data science and artificial intelligence skills outside the classroom. “There were lots of interesting hurdles to overcome, like figuring out a lip-sync tool to match the words to the avatar’s mouth movements and figuring out server connections and how to get the languages to switch and translate properly,” Tuncer said. Lucero-Palacios was fascinated with developing text-to-speech capabilities and the ability to use technology to impact patient care. “If a nurse is well-equipped to answer difficult questions, then that helps the patient,” said Lucero-Palacios. The project is an ongoing research effort in the Barmaki lab that has involved many students. Significant developments occurred during the summer of 2024 when undergraduate researchers Tuncer and Lucero-Palacios contributed to the project through funding support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). However, work began before and continued well beyond that summer, involving many students over time. UD senior Gavin Caulfield provided foundational support to developing the program’s virtual environment and contributed to development of the text-to-speech/speech-to-text capabilities. CIS doctoral students Fahim Abrar and Behdokht Kiafar, along with Pinar Kullu, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, used multimodal data collection and analytics to quantify the participant experience. “Interestingly, we found that participants showed more positive emotions in response to patient vulnerabilities and concerns,” said Kiafar. The work builds on previous research Barmaki, an assistant professor of computer and information sciences and resident faculty member in the Data Science Institute, completed with colleagues at New Jersey Institute of Technology and University of Central Florida in an NSF-funded project focused on empathy training for healthcare professionals using a virtual elderly patient. In the project, Barmaki employed machine learning tools to analyze a nursing trainee’s body language, gaze, verbal and nonverbal interactions to capture micro-expressions (facial expressions), and the presence or absence of empathy. “There is a huge gap in communication when it comes to caregivers working in geriatric care and maternal fetal medicine,” said Barmaki. “Both disciplines have high turnover and challenges with lack of caregiver attention to delicate situations.” UD senior Rana Tuncer (center) met with faculty members Neslihan Yilmaz Sezer (left) and Menekse Nazli Aker (right) of Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey, to educate them about the virtual reality training tool she and her student colleagues have developed to enhance patient-centered care skills for health care professionals. When these human-human interactions go wrong, for whatever reason, it can extend beyond a single patient visit. For instance, a pregnant woman who has a negative health care experience might decide not to continue routine pregnancy care. Beyond the project’s potential to improve health care professional field readiness, Barmaki was keen to note the benefits of real-world workforce development for her students. “Perceptions still exist that computer scientists work in isolation with their computers and rarely interact, but this is not true,” Barmaki said, pointing to the multi-faceted team members involved in this project. “Teamwork is very important. We have a nice culture in our lab where people feel comfortable asking their peers or more established students for help.” Barmaki also pointed to the potential application of these types of training environments, enabled by virtual reality, artificial intelligence and natural language processing, beyond health care. With the framework in place, she said, the idea could be adapted for other types of training involving human-human interaction, say in education, cybersecurity, even in emerging technology such as artificial intelligence (AI). Keeping people at the center of any design or application of this work is critical, particularly as uses for AI continue to expand. “As data scientists, we see things as spreadsheets and numbers in our work, but it’s important to remember that the data is coming from humans,” Barmaki said. While this project leverages computer vision and AI as a teaching tool for nursing assistants, Barmaki explained this type of system can also be used to train AI and to enable more responsible technologies down the road. She gave the example of using AI to study empathic interactions between humans and to recognize empathy. “This is the most important area where I’m trying to close the loop, in terms of responsible AI or more empathy-enabled AI,” Barmaki said. “There is a whole area of research exploring ways to make AI more natural, but we can’t work in a vacuum; we must consider the human interactions to design a good AI system.” Asked whether she has concerns about the future of artificial intelligence, Barmaki was positive. “I believe AI holds great promise for the future, and, right now, its benefits outweigh the risks,” she said.

Daylight Saving Time: Baylor Sleep Expert Offers Suggestions to Help Adjust to the Change

Daylight saving time, with its one-hour spring forward at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 12, may seem like a small shift of just a single hour, but on a societal level, it has startling effects, says Baylor University sleep researcher Michael Scullin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory at Baylor. So what are the consequences of this one-hour time shift on our sleep quality and how can we quickly adjust when springing our clocks forward? "Many people not only lose that single hour of sleep," Scullin said, "but also have difficulty over several subsequent nights adjusting their circadian rhythms to the new bed-wake time schedules." For example, parents who have routine bedtimes for their children experience difficulty for the whole family because children will not want to (or be able to) go to bed one hour earlier than their body is used to. "When you couple this bedtime difficulty with the fact that most people have morning school and work schedules that require them to wake up at a set time," Scullin said, "it becomes clear that ‘springing forward’ has a larger consequence than skipping a single hour." The consequences of the spring daylight saving time shift are well documented. Researchers have observed changes in cognitive functioning, increased driving accidents, moodiness and willingness to punish others for mistakes. "Researchers have also documented that acute sleep loss and circadian dysregulation lead to an increase in cardiovascular events," Scullin said. "If someone's cardiovascular health is ‘borderline’ then the springtime shift can be the factor that precipitates a stroke or a myocardial infarction (heart attack)." Scullin offers some simple suggestions to anticipate and adapt to the spring forward shift: Adjust in advance. About a week before the "spring forward," go to bed 15 or 20 minutes earlier each day. Avoid long naps during the day. If you need a nap, take it earlier in the day and for no more than 20 minutes. Bring on the sunlight. Getting more natural sunlight in the morning hours is very beneficial in resetting our biological clock. In some cases, evening melatonin also can help people to adapt to the time change. Scullin has published numerous studies focusing on sleep and brain function, including the connection between sleep and creativity, musical “earworms” and their effect on sleep and how writing a to-do list before you turn in for the night can help you get better sleep. In fact, Scullin was named Baylor’s inaugural Newsmaker of the Year in 2018, after his “to-do list” research was widely covered by media outlets, including ABC’s Good Morning America, TODAY.com, USA TODAY, Discover, LiveScience, HealthDay, BBC Radio and many more, reaching an international circulation and viewership of nearly 1 billion people. Looking to interview or chat with Michael Scullin? Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Aston University collaboration to develop injectable paste which could treat bone cancer

A £110k grant from Orthopaedic Research UK is to help to conduct the work Study is a collaboration with The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Researchers to use gallium-doped bioglass to produce a substance with anticancer and bone regenerative properties. Professor Richard Martin Aston University is collaborating in research to develop an injectable paste which could treat bone cancer. The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital has secured a £110,000 grant from Orthopaedic Research UK to conduct the work. The project will see researchers at the hospital and the University use gallium-doped bioglass to produce a substance with anticancer and bone regenerative properties. If proved effective it could be used to treat patients with primary and metastatic cancer. Gallium is a metallic element that when combined with bioactive glass can kill cancerous cells that remain when a tumour is removed. It also accelerates the regeneration of the bone and prevents bacterial contamination. A recent study led by Aston University found that bioactive glasses doped with the metal have a 99 percent success rate of eliminating cancerous cells. Dr Lucas Souza, research lab manager at the hospital’s Dubrowsky Lab is leading the project. He said : “Advances in treatment of bone cancer have reached a plateau over the past 40 years, in part due to a lack of research studies into treatments and the complexity and challenges that come with treating bone tumours. Innovative and effective therapeutic approaches are needed, and this grant provides vital funds for us to continue our research into the use of gallium-doped bioglass in the treatment of bone cancer.” Professor Richard Martin who is based in Aston University’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences added: “The injectable paste will function as a drug delivery system for localised delivery of anticancer gallium ions and bisphosphonates whilst regenerating bone. Our hypothesis is that this will promote rapid bone formation and will prevent cancer recurrence by killing residual cancer cells and regulating local osteoclastic activity.” It is hoped the new approach will be particularly useful in reducing cancer recurrence and implant site infections. It is also thought that it will reduce implant failure rates in cases of bone tumours where large resections for complete tumour removal is either not possible, or not recommended. This could include incidents when growths are located too close to vital organs or when major surgery will inflict more harm than benefit. It could also be used in combination with minimally invasive treatments such as cryoablation or radiofrequency ablation to manage metastatic bone lesions. Dr Souza added: “The proposed biomaterial has the potential to drastically improve treatment outcomes of bone tumour patients by reducing cancer recurrence, implant-site infection rates, and implant failure rates leading to reduced time in hospital beds, less use of antibiotics, and fewer revision surgeries. Taken together, these benefits could improve survival rates, functionality and quality of life of bone cancer patients.” Other members of the team include the hospital’s Professor Adrian Gardner, director of research and development and Mr Jonathan Stevenson, orthopaedic oncology and arthroplasty consultant, Dr Eirini Theodosiou from Aston University and Professor Joao Lopes from the Brazilian Aeronautics Institute of Technology. ENDS About the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest specialist orthopaedic units in Europe, offering planned orthopaedic surgery to people locally, nationally, and internationally. The Trust is an accredited Veteran Aware organisation and a Disability Confident Leader. Ranked 8th in the 2024 UK Inclusive Top 50 Employers list, the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital is the highest-ranking NHS organisation for its commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital has a vibrant research portfolio of clinical trials, observational studies and laboratory studies exploring new treatment options, new approaches in rehabilitation and therapy, and new medical devices. This research is delivered by our researchers and clinicians spread across the Knowledge Hub, our home for education and research, and the Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, a state-of-the-art lab opened in 2019. About Aston University For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally. Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020. Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world. For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Nicola Jones, Press & Communications Manager on 07941194168 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk

ChristianaCare Will Establish New Health Care Campus in Aston, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

ChristianaCare has announced that Aston, PA will be the location for its next health care campus that will feature a neighborhood hospital and a health center. This is one of two facilities that ChristianaCare plans to open in Delaware County, as announced in February 2024. The hospital will be built in partnership with Emerus Holdings, Inc., the nation’s leading developer of neighborhood hospitals. The ChristianaCare Aston Campus, located at 700 Turner Industrial Way, is expected to open in the second half of 2026. The site was chosen based on a market assessment of historical and projected demographic data and health care service availability as well as a consumer survey, community input and feedback from elected officials and business leaders. The study identified gaps in health care accessibility, concluding that Aston would be an ideal location for a health campus. “We are thrilled to be bringing high quality health care services to our neighbors in Aston in Delaware County,” said Jennifer Schwartz, chief strategy officer at ChristianaCare. “Our goal is to make access to health care easy, convenient and close to home in a way that is sustainable and right-sized to meet the needs of the local community.” The neighborhood hospital will operate 24/7 with approximately 10 inpatient beds and an emergency department. The emergency department will treat common emergency care needs such as falls, injuries, heart attacks and strokes. The hospital will also provide diagnostic capabilities, including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), X-ray and laboratory services. In addition to on-site staff, the hospital will benefit from access to virtual consults — such as neurology and cardiology — to support safe and effective care. ChristianaCare will add a health center on the second floor of the hospital offering outpatient services. These services will be developed based on community needs and are expected to include primary and specialty care practices plus an array of other clinical services. The announcement comes as construction is already under way on ChristianaCare’s first Pennsylvania neighborhood hospital, in West Grove, nearby in southern Chester County, which is projected to open mid-2025. Together, these three new campuses represent a new layer of care coming to southeastern Pennsylvania. ChristianaCare has been providing health care services to the residents of southeastern Pennsylvania for many years. Today, ChristianaCare offers primary care in three Chester County practices that are located in Jennersville, West Grove and Kennett Square. In addition, Concord Health Center in Chadds Ford, Delaware County, provides a wide array of services, including primary care, women’s health, sports medicine, behavioral health and more. Combined, ChristianaCare is now the medical home for 25,000 residents in these communities.

The ISS is Leaking! What Happens Now? Florida Tech's Don Platt Can Explain

There's an issue on the International Space Station (ISS) that is becoming a growing concern for both the Russian and American space programs. The ISS is leaking, and the matter is rightfully getting attention from media around the world. The reporters looking for answers are connecting with Florida Tech's Don Platt to explain what exactly is happening and what it means for the future of this $100 billion facility. Dr. Platt's work has involved developing, testing and flying different types of avionics, communications and rocket propulsion systems. He teaches about space systems. The problem exemplifies how NASA is contending with aging but critical space infrastructure: The orbiting laboratory, with a living area larger than a six-bedroom house, is the agency's only way to learn about health impacts to astronauts, develop or test life support systems for future missions, and advance a plethora of space technologies. NASA wants to keep it running until 2030 — but doing so will require constant surveillance and, literally, patching. "It's an old station, and it has done some amazing things," Don Platt, an associate professor of space systems at Florida Tech, told Mashable. Mashable, Nov. 19 Local television and national networks like NPR were also seeking Platt's expert insights. NASA and Russian space officials are at odds over the significance of a long-standing air leak aboard the International Space Station. The leak, originating from a Russian module, has reportedly persisted for about five years. Don Platt, an associate professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, explained the potential risks. “There’s definitely concerns about this leak and the potential for it to get worse over time,” Platt said. While NASA views the issue as a serious safety concern, Moscow insists the situation is under control and the module is safe. “NASA is quite concerned about it, and the Russians are more or less saying, ‘We have it under control. Don’t worry about it,’” Platt said. The affected module is one of the oldest on the station, having been operational for more than 20 years. “One of the Russian modules on the space station, one of the oldest, is starting to lose some of the air that astronauts need to breathe,” he said.  November 18 - NBC News The coverage featuring Platt's insight is also being carried by Russian media and news sites. Are you following this developing story? Let us help with your coverage. Dr. Don Platt's work has involved developing, testing and flying different types of avionics, communications, rocket propulsion systems as well as astrobiology/biotechnology systems and human deep space exploration tools. Don is available to speak with media. Simply click on the icon below to arrange an interview today.

Researchers race to detect Alzheimer's sooner using $3.9M grant

Too often, people learn they have Alzheimer’s disease when it’s too late. The changes in the brain that lead to the disease manifesting with symptoms have already been occurring for decades. Researchers at the University of Delaware will attempt to detect the disease sooner through a new study that examines changes in the arteries and brain tissue in midlife adults in their 50s and 60s. The findings of this work, funded by a nearly $4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), could identify the earliest mechanisms linking vascular aging to the loss of brain tissue integrity, leading to new targets for interventions aimed at preventing age-related cognitive impairment. “People who develop high blood pressure or stiffening of the aorta and carotid arteries in midlife are at a much higher risk for developing cognitive impairment or dementia in late life,” said Christopher Martens, the principal investigator of the study. Martens, an associate professor of kinesiology and applied physiology in UD's College of Health Sciences and director of the Delaware Center for Cognitive Aging (DECCAR), is working closely with Curtis Johnson, an associate professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering and leader of the neuroimaging biomarker core within DECCAR, on research funded by a nearly $4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “A lot happens as we age, so we’re aiming to pinpoint the timing and exact mechanisms that cause these changes in midlife adults,” Martens said. This latest grant extends DECCAR’s ongoing Delaware Longitudinal Study for Alzheimer’s Prevention (DeLSAP), which seeks to study how risk and protective factors for dementia are related and change over time. Those eligible for DeLSAP could also meet the criteria for participating in the new study. In his Neurovascular Aging Laboratory, Martens studies mechanisms leading to the stiffening of arteries, while Johnson is specifically interested in measuring the stiffness of the brain. “As a person ages, the brain gets softer and breaks down, and we’re looking to see whether changes in arterial stiffness and patterns of blood flow in the brain cause this decline,” Johnson said. Changes in blood flow to the brain come from controllable factors. Smoking, cardiovascular health, diet and exercise all impact blood flow positively and negatively. “A lot of aging research is done at the end of life,” Johnson said. “We want to look at midlife and try to predict what happens later in life so we can prevent it.” While the brain gets softer with age, arteries get stiffer. “We hypothesize that midlife increases in stiffness in blood vessels cause damaging pulsatile pressure to enter the brain,” Martens said. “We believe this is one of the reasons we start to develop cognitive issues at an older age because the brain is exposed to increased pressure; that pressure is likely inflicting damage on surrounding brain tissue.” In Johnson’s Mechanical Neuroimaging Lab, researchers will use high-resolution magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) to determine where brain damage occurs and what specific brain structures may be affected. “From an MRI perspective, most researchers look at AD and other neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis with an emphasis on detection in a hospital setting,” Johnson said. “Using highly specialized techniques we’ve developed, we focus on the earlier side and how these changes progress into disease from the neuroscience side, emphasizing prevention.” Together, they’ll seek to learn whether arterial stiffness causes the kind of cognitive impairment seen in AD or whether the decline is associated with a loss in the integrity of brain tissue. “If we can prove arterial stiffness is playing a causal role in cognitive aging, that would provide further support for focusing on blood vessel health as an intervention for delaying AD or other forms of dementia versus solely focusing on the brain,” Martens said.

Aston University develops novel bone cancer therapy which has 99% success rate

Bioactive glasses, doped with gallium developed to create a potential treatment for bone cancer Lab tests have a 99 percent success rate of killing cancerous cells Method could also regenerate diseased bones. Bioactive glasses, a filling material which can bond to tissue and improve the strength of bones and teeth, has been combined with gallium to create a potential treatment for bone cancer. Tests in labs have found that bioactive glasses doped with the metal have a 99 percent success rate of eliminating cancerous cells and can even regenerate diseased bones. The research was conducted by a team of Aston University scientists led by Professor Richard Martin who is based in its College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. In laboratory tests 99% of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) cells were killed off without destroying non-cancerous normal human bone cells. The researchers also incubated the bioactive glasses in a simulated body fluid and after seven days they detected the early stages of bone formation. Gallium is highly toxic, and the researchers found that the ‘greedy’ cancer cells soak it up and self-kill, which prevented the healthy cells from being affected. Their research paper Multifunctional Gallium doped bioactive glasses: a targeted delivery for antineoplastic agents and tissue repair against osteosarcoma has been published in the journal Biomedical Materials. Osteosarcoma is the mostly commonly occurring primary bone cancer and despite the use of chemotherapy and surgery to remove tumours survival rates have not improved much since the 1970s. Survival rates are dramatically reduced for patients who have a recurrence and primary bone cancer patients are more susceptible to bone fractures. Despite extensive research on different types of bioactive glass or ceramics for bone tissue engineering, there is limited research on targeted and controlled release of anti-cancer agents to treat bone cancers. Professor Martin said: “There is an urgent need for improved treatment options and our experiments show significant potential for use in bone cancer applications as part of a multimodal treatment. “We believe that our findings could lead to a treatment that is more effective and localised, reducing side effects, and can even regenerate diseased bones. “When we observed the glasses, we could see the formation of a layer of amorphous calcium phosphate/ hydroxy apatite layer on the surface of the bioactive glass particulates, which indicates bone growth.” The glasses were created in the Aston University labs by rapidly cooling very high temperature molten liquids (1450o C) to form glass. The glasses were then ground and sieved into tiny particles which can then be used for treatment. In previous research the team achieved a 50 percent success rate but although impressive this was not enough to be a potential treatment. The team are now hoping to attract more research funding to conduct trials using gallium. Dr Lucas Souza, research laboratory manager for the Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham worked on the research with Professor Martin. He added: “The safety and effectiveness of these biomaterials will need to be tested further, but the initial results are really promising. “Treatments for a bone cancer diagnosis remain very limited and there’s still much we don’t understand. Research like this is vital to support in the development of new drugs and new methodologies for treatment options.” Notes to Editors Multifunctional Gallium doped bioactive glasses: a targeted delivery for antineoplastic agents and tissue repair against osteosarcoma Shirin B. Hanaei1, Raghavan C. Murugesan1, Lucas Souza1, Juan I.C. Miranda1, Lee Jeys2,3, Ivan B. Wall3, and Richard A. Martin1 1. College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK 2. Oncology Department, The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, B31 2AP, UK 3. College of Health and Life Sciences. Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK DOI 10.1088/1748-605X/ad76f1 About Aston University For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally. Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020. Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world. For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk

Industry and researchers call for action to tackle climate impact of organic, carbon-based chemicals

Call led by members of Supergen Bioenergy Hub, based at Aston University They highlight that carbon-based chemicals cannot be decarbonised but can be defossilised They want a transition to renewable carbon sources such as biomass, recycled carbon, and carbon dioxide. Director of Supergen Bioenergy Hub, Professor Patricia Thornley Industry experts and university researchers have joined together to ask the government to address the climate impact of organic, carbon-based chemicals. While demand for fossil fuels as energy is expected to fall in the coming decades, the petrochemicals sector is set to grow significantly according to experts and is set out in a 2018 report by the International Energy Agency. Members of the Supergen Bioenergy Hub which is based at Aston University and the Biomass Biorefinery Network believe the issue has yet to receive proper attention and is calling for a strategy that addresses this key component of our greenhouse gas emissions. They want a move to a more circular economy, managing supply and demand levels and transitioning away from fossil feedstocks which are raw materials required for some industrial processes. In their paper Carbon for chemicals How can biomass contribute to the defossilisation of the chemicals sector? they highlight that carbon-based chemicals cannot be decarbonised but can be defossilised through a transition to renewable carbon sources such as biomass, recycled carbon and carbon dioxide. Many products in modern society contain carbon such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, textiles, food additives, cosmetics, and cleaning products. These chemicals are derived from fossil feedstocks, so they are classed as petrochemicals. As a result, they contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Carbon is embedded in organic chemical products and released when they break down at end-of-life, for example through incineration. To address the emissions from carbon in chemicals and accelerate the development of bio-based chemicals, the group want a cross-party consensus to support a sustainable chemical system. Director of Supergen Bioenergy Hub, Professor Patricia Thornley, said: “We need to consider the UK’s future feedstock and chemicals production and use, and how it relates to net zero, agriculture, environment, economy, trade, and just transition policy objectives. There are opportunities here for the UK to lead the way on sustainable chemical production, but we need to carefully plan a roadmap for the transition, that delivers opportunities around jobs and the economy as well as sustainable greenhouse gas reductions. “There is a definite role for biomass here. But it is essential that any future use of biomass in the chemicals sector is underpinned by rigorous, trusted, and enforceable sustainability governance to build confidence, deliver sustainability benefits, and minimise negative impacts. That requires improvements in sustainability governance and regulation. “We think there are real economic and trade opportunities by the UK accelerating sustainable chemicals. At the moment bio-based chemicals, and chemicals derived from other renewable carbon sources, are not being expanded in the UK because there are no explicit incentives that prioritise them over fossil-based production.” The group argues that the UK has significant academic and industrial research expertise to underpin the development of sustainable bio-based products and could be a global leader in bio-based products and sustainability governance. They believe that to date little of this has manifested as UK-based scale-up and manufacturing, whilst there are numerous examples of UK-led research being scaled up elsewhere. The paper was delivered at a webinar on 7 August. Notes to Editors Carbon for chemicals How can biomass contribute to the defossilisation of the chemicals sector? https://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/output/carbon-for-chemicals-how-can-biomass-contribute-to-the-defossilisation-of-the-chemicals-sector-policy-briefing/ Author: Joanna Sparks (formerly Aston University) With contributions from: Cristiane Scaldaferri (formerly Aston University), Andrew Welfle (University of Manchester), Patricia Thornley (Aston University), Ashley Victoria (University of Leeds), Caspar Donnison (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Jason Hallett (Imperial College London), Nilay Shah (Imperial College London), Mirjam Rӧder (Aston University), Paul Mines (Biome Bioplastics), David Bott (Society of Chemical Industry), Adrian Higson (NNFCC), Neil Bruce (University of York) 2018 International Energy Agency report https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-petrochemicals https://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/ The Supergen Bioenergy Hub works with academia, industry, government, and societal stakeholders to develop sustainable bioenergy systems that support the UK’s transition to an affordable, resilient, low-carbon energy future. The Hub is funded jointly by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) under grant EP/Y016300/1 and is part of the wider Supergen Programme. www.bbnet-nibb.co.uk The Biomass Biorefinery Network (BBNet), a phase II Network in Industrial Biotechnology & Bioenergy funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC-NIBB) under grant BB/S009779/1. The aim of the Biomass Biorefinery Network is to act as a focal point to build and sustain a dynamic community of industrial and academic practitioners who work together to develop new and improved processes for the conversion of non-food biomass into sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials. About Aston University For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally. Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming the Guardian University of the Year in 2020. Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world. 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