Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a plastic used to make food containers and packing materials that poses a threat to the environment. Mealworms can degrade EPS, but at a slow rate. Here, researchers assessed the impact of food waste compost and oats on the speed of EPS consumption by mealworms, superworms, and waxworms. A positive correlation was found between food waste compost supplementation and EPS consumption, especially by mealworms, indicating a potential industrial application.

In this study, the biodiversity of marine animals was studied at different locations along a mangrove, which is a salt-tolerant shrub with elaborate root structures that is found on tropical coastlines.

Plastic pollution in the ocean is a major global concern. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) have promise for removing debris from the ocean, but more research is needed to achieve full effectiveness of the ROV technology. Wahlig and Gonzales tackle this issue by developing a deep learning model to distinguish trash from the environment in ROV images.

The authors test whether soaking maize seeds in a solution of melatonin improves seed germination and drought tolerance.

Here, recognizing the difficulty associated with tracking the progression of dementia, the authors used machine learning models to predict between the presence of cognitive normalcy, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's Disease, based on blood DNA methylation levels, sex, and age. With four machine learning models and two dataset dimensionality reduction methods they achieved an accuracy of 53.33%.

In this manuscript the authors looked at current vaccine strategies against different strains of influenza. Looking at several factors they found that influenza strain as well as vaccinated age group, among other factors, impact vaccine effectiveness.

Mammographic screening is a common diagnostic tool for breast cancer among average-risk women. The authors hypothesized that adherence rates for mammographic screening may be lower among minorities (non-Hispanic black (NHB) and Hispanic/Latino) than among non-Hispanic whites (NHW) regardless of the guideline applied. The findings support other studies’ results that different racial/ethnic and socio-demographic factors can affect screening adherence. Therefore, healthcare providers should promote breast cancer screening especially among NHW/Hispanic women and women lacking insurance coverage.

Although the 5-year survival rate for colorectal cancer is below 10%, it increases to greater than 90% if it is diagnosed early. We hypothesized from our research that analyzing non-synonymous single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in a patient's exome sequence would be an indicator for high genetic risk of developing colorectal cancer.

In this study, the authors investigate the effects of acetone on the color of copper chloride (CuCl₂) solution, which has important implications for detecting copper in the environment.

Modern day fossil fuels are prone to polluting our environment, which can provide major habitat loss to many animals in our ecosystems. Algae-based biofuels have become an increasingly popular alternative to fossil fuels because of their sustainability, effectiveness, and environmentally-friendly nature. To encourage algae growth and solidify its role as an emerging biofuel, we tested basic (in terms of pH) solutions on pond water to determine which solution is most efficient in inducing the growth of algae.