This Week in Science: Poop Concrete, Hot Ice, And More!
Seven days of science, in one scroll.
This week’s scientific developments span medicine, materials science, and climate research. Researchers have demonstrated promising results for treating severe hair loss, with an arthritis medication restoring hair growth in clinical trials. The compound, upadacitinib, showed positive outcomes in patients with alopecia areata, a condition affecting approximately 2 percent of the global population.
In environmental innovation, engineers in India have developed a sustainable concrete alternative by incorporating biochar derived from treated human waste. The new material exhibits substantially improved structural properties compared to conventional concrete, potentially reducing the carbon emissions associated with traditional cement production while addressing waste management challenges.
Scientists have also created an unprecedented form of ice under extreme laboratory conditions, observing the substance at temperatures exceeding 2,300 degrees Celsius and pressures millions of times greater than atmospheric levels. Meanwhile, genetic researchers achieved significant cardiovascular health advances using CRISPR technology, with a single-dose treatment reducing harmful cholesterol levels by approximately half in human trials.
In a notable ecological discovery, researchers documented how ocean ecosystems naturally sealed a methane leak in the South China Sea that scientists had accidentally triggered years earlier. This rapid biological response highlights the ocean’s resilience and self-regulation mechanisms.
Originally reported by Sciencealert →
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