The development of the cerebral cortex largely depends on the stem cells responsible for generating neurons, known as Radial Glial Cells. Until now, it was considered that these stem cells generated neurons following a simple process, that is, a single cell lineage. However, a study led by the Neurogenesis and cortical expansion laboratory, headed by researcher Víctor Borrell at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche, has discovered not only that there are many more types of Radial Glial Cells than previously thought, but ...

More synchrony between parents and children may not always be better, new research has revealed.  For the first time a new University of Essex study looked at behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony in 140 families with a special focus on attachment. It looked at how they feel and think about emotional bonds whilst measuring brain activity as mums and dads solved puzzles with their kids.  The study – published in Developmental Science - discovered that mums with insecure attachment traits showed more brain-to-brain synchrony with their children.  Dr Pascal Vrticka, ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A new Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU) expert consensus statement to improve endometriosis evaluation was published today in the journal Radiology. Endometriosis is a common condition with substantial diagnostic delay, leading patients to experience pain, infertility, lost wages and interrupted relationships. The consensus provides recommendations for augmenting routine pelvic ultrasounds through additional maneuvers and imaging to improve diagnosis of deep endometriosis. Endometriosis, the presence of endometrium-like tissue outside the uterus, is a prevalent and potentially debilitating ...

Researchers have discovered a blood protein that could help detect which children will experience ongoing concussion symptoms more than two weeks after an injury. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, found the protein was a potential biomarker for delayed recovery from concussion in children. For the study, blood samples were collected from children, aged five-18 years, who presented to the emergency department at The Royal Children’s Hospital less than 48 hours after a concussion. Levels ...

Kent State University’s experimental archaeologists, along with those from several other universities, joined forces with the popular hunting, outdoors, and conservation media platform, MeatEater, Inc., for a unique animal processing experiment, shedding new light on ancient stone knives and showcasing the importance of testing and looking for equifinality.  ‘Equifinality’ is when two or more distinct processes can lead to the same outcome or result. The Kent State archaeologists included Professor Metin I. Eren, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor Michelle ...

WASHINGTON—New research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism finds a high prevalence of type D personality among people with hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. Between 10-15% of people with treated hypothyroidism experience persistent symptoms despite achieving normal thyroid hormone levels, and the underlying causes are unclear. Type D personality, which is characterized by pessimism, worry, stress, negative emotions and social withdrawal, is sometimes associated with poor health status and symptom burden, but this association has not previously ...

Researchers in China and Italy have made a significant breakthrough in understanding Dubin-Johnson syndrome (DJS), a rare inherited liver disorder. The team identified specific genetic mutations responsible for DJS in a pair of dizygotic twins, offering valuable insights into the cause of the disease and potentially improving diagnosis for patients with unclear symptoms. DJS disrupts the liver's ability to eliminate waste products, leading to a buildup of bilirubin, a yellow pigment in the blood. This ...

Background and objectives Sinonasal mucosal melanoma (SNMM) is a rare aggressive malignancy that presents with dismal outcomes and a high metastatic propensity. The prognostic factors as well as therapeutic regimens remain largely unknown due to the rarity of SNMM. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of SNMM patients associated with a better prognosis.   Methods We performed an observational cross-sectional study to investigate the prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy in 12 SNNM patients who were diagnosed at our institution and treated with anti-PD-L1 ...

Rapid climate change is prompting adaptation to threats such as tropical cyclones, wildfires, and droughts—but relatively trivial adaptation actions may lull people into inaccurate perceptions of their personal risk. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine; Stanford University; and the University of California, Los Angeles surveyed 2,774 Texas and Florida residents about tropical cyclones—also known in North America as hurricanes—five times between 2017 and 2022. The survey ...

Virtue is a normative concept comprising a set of moral and social codes acceptable to society. Historically, in the West, especially in ancient Greek and Christian belief systems, virtue was viewed as "excellence" aspirational to all human beings. In contrast, the East, especially in a Confucian belief system, viewed it similarly but being aspirational to only select individuals, such as rulers. However, the rise of modern values and sociopolitical overhauls almost pushed the concept of ...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) encompasses neurodevelopmental conditions where patients display repetitive behavior and impaired sociality. Genetic factors have been shown to influence the development of ASD. Additionally, recent studies have shown that the genes involved in chromatin modification and gene transcription are involved in the pathogenesis of ASD. Among the many genes implicated in this process, the gene KMT2C (lysine methyltransferase 2c), which codes for a catalytic unit of H3K4 (histone H3 lysine 4) methyltransferase complex, has been identified to be associated with the development ...

Relapses in a common form of leukemia may be preventable following new research which has identified how the cancer develops resistance to first line treatments.   New research published in iScience by researchers from the University of Birmingham, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Newcastle University, the Princess Maxima Centre of Pediatric oncology and the University of Virginia identified changes in a mutated form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) samples from patients who relapsed after receiving FLT3 inhibitor treatment.   The team found that the resistant cancer had up-regulated multiple other signalling pathways to overcome the drug’s action, and ...

Swimming in schools makes fish surprisingly stealthy underwater, with a group able to sound like a single fish. The new findings by Johns Hopkins University engineers working with a high-tech simulation of schooling mackerel, offers new insight into why fish swim in schools and promise for the design and operation of much quieter submarines and autonomous undersea vehicles. “It’s widely known that swimming in groups provides fish with added protection from predators, but we questioned whether it also contributes to reducing their noise,” said senior author Rajat Mittal. “Our results suggest that the substantial decrease in ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – Just two emails, at the right time with the right message, can make a big difference for students who are the first in their families to go to college.      A recent Washington State University study highlighted the power of an instructors’ growth mindset -- the belief that abilities are not innate but can be improved. Researchers found that when first-generation students in an introductory science course received growth mindset emails after their initial exams, they did better in the whole course than a control group. On average the students raised their final grade by about a third of a letter grade, such as moving ...

A research group in Japan has discovered that writing down one's reaction to a negative incident on a piece of paper and then shredding it or throwing it away reduces feelings of anger.    “We expected that our method would suppress anger to some extent,” lead researcher Nobuyuki Kawai said. “However, we were amazed that anger was eliminated almost entirely.”    This research is important because controlling anger at home and in the workplace can reduce negative consequences in our jobs and personal lives. Unfortunately, ...

Common “hard” coastal defenses, like concrete sea walls, might struggle to keep up with increasing climate risks. A new study shows that combining them with nature-based solutions could, in some contexts, create defenses which are better able to adapt. Researchers reviewed 304 academic articles on the performance of coastal defenses around the world, including: natural environments; soft measures (which support or enrich nature); hard measures (such as concrete sea walls); and hybrids of ...

Remote work could cut hundreds of millions of tons of carbon emissions from car travel – but at the cost of billions lost in public transit revenues, according to a new study. Using the latest data on remote work and transportation behavior since the pandemic upended work arrangements, researchers at the University of Florida, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Peking University revealed how cities could meet their sustainability goals by promoting remote work. The researchers found that a 10% increase in remote workers could lead ...

Images  //  Video  New chemistries for batteries, semiconductors and more could be easier to manufacture, thanks to a new approach to making chemically complex materials that researchers at the University of Michigan and Samsung's Advanced Materials Lab have demonstrated.    Their new recipes use unconventional ingredients to make battery materials with fewer impurities, requiring fewer costly refinement steps and increasing their economic viability.   "Over the past two decades, many battery materials with enhanced capacity, charging speed and stability ...

Researchers have found that Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), where an electric current is passed through the brain, can reduce the severity of mental illnesses. ECT is a safe and effective treatment for some mental illnesses including severe/psychotic depression, postnatal psychosis and mania.[1],[2] Patients are placed under general anaesthetic and the brain is stimulated with short electric pulses.[3] This causes a brief seizure which lasts for less than two minutes.[3] The use of ECT across Scotland was assessed over an 11-year period from 2009 to 2019 using data from the Scottish Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Audit Network (SEAN). The Scotland-wide ...

A new study suggests that children who felt lonely for more than 6 months before the age of 12 are more likely to experience an episode of psychosis than children who did not, with women more affected than men. Psychosis refers to a collection of symptoms that affect a person’s mind, where there has been some loss of contact with reality.[1] During an episode of psychosis, a person may have difficulty recognising what is real and what is not.[1] Symptoms of psychosis include hallucinations, delusions and confused thoughts.[2] In some instances, psychosis may be a symptom of other mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia, ...

A collaborated research team led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Tsinghua University has theoretically proposed a new mechanism of electrical 180° switching of Néel vector and experimentally realized it in antiferromagnetic materials with spin-splitting band structure featuring the C-paired spin-valley locking, also named as altermagnet. The team also demonstrated the material's capability to manipulate Néel vector, paving the way for the manufacturing ...

Interviews with military veterans who expressed support for extremist groups or related beliefs on a prior survey show that many experienced a significant negative event during their military service, according to a new RAND report.   Researchers found that these veterans also often faced difficulties transitioning to civilian life and sometimes shared their beliefs with a wider social network.   RAND researchers conducted 21 interviews with veterans who had indicated support for one or more extremist groups or related beliefs to understand possible drivers and patterns of extremism among veterans. That support ...

Peregrine falcon populations across North America are heavily contaminated with harmful flame retardants–including those that have been phased out for years–according to a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology. Flame retardants are chemicals added to furniture, electronics, and other everyday products to meet flammability standards, though they often do not work as intended. They also migrate out of products they are added to and end up in wildlife and people and many are linked to serious health and environmental harms.  “Our ...

The increasing demand in the embedded field has led to the emergence of several impressive Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs). However, when processors migrate from one ISA to another, software compatibility issues are unavoidable. Despite the availability of software binary translation systems for ensuring software compatibility, these systems have limitations (e.g. performance and power) in low-cost embedded systems. To solve the problems, a research team led by Professor Libo HUANG published their new research on 18 Mar 2024 in ...

A research team consisting of Professor Kyoung-Duck Park and Hyeongwoo Lee, an integrated PhD student, from the Department of Physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has pioneered an innovative technique in ultra-high-resolution spectroscopy. Their breakthrough marks the world's first instance of electrically controlling polaritons—hybridized light-matter particles—at room temperature.   Polaritons are "half-light half-matter" hybrid particles, having both the characteristics of photons—particles of light—and those of solid matter. Their unique characteristics exhibit properties distinct from both traditional ...