SAN DIEGO – An investigational exosome-based liquid biopsy accurately detected 97% of stage 1-2 pancreatic cancers when combined with the biomarker CA 19-9, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024, held April 5-10. “Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal malignancies, in large part because the majority of patients are diagnosed only after the cancer has already metastasized,” said Ajay Goel, PhD, senior author of the study and the chair of the Department of Molecular ...

1. Research groups from NIMS, Seagate Technology, and Tohoku University have made a breakthrough in the field of hard disk drives (HDD) by demonstrating the feasibility of multi-level recording using a three-dimensional magnetic recording medium to store digital information. The research groups have shown that this technology can be used to increase the storage capacity of HDDs, which could lead to more efficient and cost-effective data storage solutions in the future. 2. Data centers are increasingly storing vast amounts of data on hard disk drives (HDDs) that use perpendicular ...

While 3D printing has exploded in popularity, many of the plastic materials these printers use to create objects cannot be easily recycled. While new sustainable materials are emerging for use in 3D printing, they remain difficult to adopt because 3D printer settings need to be adjusted for each material, a process generally done by hand. To print a new material from scratch, one must typically set up to 100 parameters in software that controls how the printer will extrude the material as it fabricates an object. Commonly ...

The biological brain, especially the human brain, is a desirable computing system that consumes little energy and runs at high efficiency. To build a computing system just as good, many neuromorphic scientists focus on designing hardware components intended to mimic the elusive learning mechanism of the brain. Recently, a research team has approached the goal from a different angle, focusing on measuring information transfer instead. Their method went through biological and simulation experiments and then proved effective in an electronic neuromorphic system. It was published ...

Philadelphia, April 8, 2024 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that teens and young adults with mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder, were 30% less likely to obtain their driver’s license than peers without such disorders. Additionally, those youths with mood disorders experienced a slightly elevated risk of crashing. These findings suggest that these teens and young adults could benefit from guidance on obtaining licensure and accessing training to avoid crashes when they are newly licensed. The findings were published online today ...

NEW YORK, NY (April 8, 2024)--A new type of investigational therapeutic in development for pancreatic cancer has shown unprecedented tumor-fighting abilities in preclinical models of the disease, suggesting it has the potential to offer novel treatment options for nearly all pancreatic tumors, a comprehensive study has found.  The inhibitors in this new class of oral medications, being developed by Revolution Medicines Inc., target the oncogenic or active cancer-causing form of RAS proteins (such as KRAS, NRAS, and HRAS). These RAS “oncoproteins” drive up to a third of all human cancers. The research ...

The introduction of a policy protecting parental leave benefits in Sweden in 1980 had unintended consequences on child health. The policy led to an increase in premature birth rates. This is shown by a study from researchers at Stockholm University, published in JAMA Pediatrics. The Swedish so-called speed premium policy was introduced in 1980 in order to protect couples’ level of income-based parental leave benefits when they had children in quick succession. The new study from Stockholm University evaluates the health consequences of the policy. The researchers conclude that by ...

IMMUNE KEY TO CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTIONS DISCOVERED Australian researchers have discovered a previously unknown rogue immune cell that can cause poor antibody responses in chronic viral infections. The finding, published today (9 April) in the journal, Immunity, may lead to earlier intervention and possibly prevention of some types of viral infections such as HIV or hepatitis. One of the remaining mysteries of the human immune system is why a certain cell, called a B cell, which retains a memory for past infections – ensuring we fight off diseases we have experienced before – often only has a weak capacity to protect us from persistent infections. Researchers ...

Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances – commonly known as PFAS – are a group of over 14,000 human-made chemicals that have been popular since the 1950s for their diverse skills in resisting heat, water, grease and stains.   They’ve been commonly found in household products like non-stick frypans, clothing, cosmetics, insecticides, and food packaging, as well as specialty industry products, like firefighting foam.  But despite their broad skillset, the chemicals have a dark side: they’re known as ‘forever chemicals’ as once they’re in the environment – ...

About 4.5 billion years ago, a small planet smashed into the young Earth, flinging molten rock into space. Slowly, the debris coalesced, cooled and solidified, forming our moon. This scenario of how the Earth's moon came to be is the one largely agreed upon by most scientists. But the details of how exactly that happened are "more of a choose-your-own adventure novel," according to researchers in the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who published a paper in Nature Geoscience. The findings offer important insights into the evolution ...

Using artificial intelligence, satellite observations, and climate model projections, a team of researchers from Switzerland and Belgium calculate that for every tenth of a degree of increase in global air temperature, an average of nearly 9,000 meteorites disappear from the surface of the ice sheet. This loss has major implications, as meteorites are unique samples of extraterrestrial bodies that provide insights into the origin of life on Earth and the formation of the Moon. Disappearing at an alarming rate By 2050, about a quarter of the estimated of 300,000 - 800,000 meteorites in Antarctica will be lost ...

Through a large-scale analysis, researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience have uncovered the ways in which consensual touch can benefit a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. You might recognize the comforting feeling when someone offers you a hug at the end of a stressful day or strokes your shoulder when you’re feeling down. But the question remains: can touch really help you feel better, and does it matter who it’s from or how they touch you? To explore these questions, researchers from the Social Brain Lab at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and the University Hospital ...

(BOSTON) — The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Northpond Ventures announced today that the VC firm’s affiliate Northpond Labs has signed an agreement to support the development of the AminoX project toward commercialization. This is the fourth Wyss project selected by Northpond Labs for additional funding.   Established in 2020 with the involvement of Harvard’s Office of Technology Development, the five-year strategic research alliance created The Laboratory for Bioengineering Research and Innovation at the Wyss Institute through a $12 million commitment from Northpond Labs to support impactful research ...

A new automated workflow developed by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has the potential to allow researchers to analyze the products of their reaction experiments in real time, a key capability needed for future automated chemical processes. The developed workflow – which applies statistical analysis to process data from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy – could help speed the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs, and accelerate the development of new chemical reactions. The Berkeley Lab scientists who developed the groundbreaking technique ...

For millions of years, underground fungi have lived in symbiosis with plant roots. Plants provide photosynthesized carbon, while fungi deliver water and nutrients. In order to do so, these organisms share space at cellular scale: fungi stretch a network of tendrils called arbuscules into a plant’s root cells, and both organisms rearrange their cells around this structure to facilitate sharing.  Recently, researchers have been able to study both sides of this interaction up close, using RNA sequencing to understand gene expression: one of the first cross-kingdom spatially-resolved transcriptomics studies to date. This paper ...

Donations for a political candidate can be motivated by support for that candidate or by opposition to the candidate’s opponent. New research published in Social Science Quarterly found that female Democrats and non-white male Democrats in the United States have a fundraising advantage when running against a white male Republican. Female Republicans or non-white male Republicans do not have this advantage when running against white male Democrats. To assess the impact that race, gender, and party ...

Berlin, Germany – 8 April 2024:  The first randomised trial to investigate preventive ablation of a potential arrhythmogenic substrate associated with coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) in patients at high risk of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs)  reduces the risk of appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy and unplanned hospitalisation in patients with no previously recorded VAs. The late-breaking science is presented at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the European ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [April 8, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a nonprofit devoted to patient care, research, and education—is announcing the election of Matt Kalaycio, MD, FACP, as Chair of the Board of Directors, with Christopher H. Lieu, MD, elected as Vice-Chair, succeeding Dr. Kalaycio in the position he has held since 2022. “The exemplary leadership from our board of directors is invaluable as NCCN defines and advances high-quality, high-value, patient-centered cancer care around the world,” said NCCN Chief Executive Officer Crystal S. Denlinger, ...

A new study presented at the European Psychiatric Association Congress 2024 reveals a significant rise in mental health issues among children and adolescents displaced by the war in Ukraine. The research, conducted by the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry of MoH of Ukraine, highlights the devastating impact of prolonged exposure to violence and displacement on the mental well-being of young people. As per UNICEF’s recent report on “The State of the World’s Children 2021”, the current COVID-pandemic ...

Researchers at McGill University have come up with an innovative approach to improve the energy efficiency of carbon conversion, using waste material from pulp and paper production. The technique they’ve pioneered using the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan not only reduces the energy required to convert carbon into useful products, but also reduces overall waste in the environment. “We are one of the first groups to combine biomass recycling or utilization with CO2 capture,” said Ali ...

Berlin, Germany – 8 April 2024:  A new technology using ultralow temperature cryoablation (ULTC) has eliminated clinical ventricular tachycardia (VT) in 94% of patients. The late-breaking science is presented at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1  VT is a leading cause of sudden death in patients with heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction.2 Approximately 30% of patients with ischaemic and non-ischaemic cardiomyopathies develop ventricular arrhythmias including VT.3 Typical therapies to prevent VT include antiarrhythmic medication, such as amiodarone, and an implantable ...

Researchers with McMaster University have crafted the first-ever guidelines to help prepare families who plan to build their child’s tolerance to common food allergens. These international guidelines, published on April 8, 2024 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, standardize the preparation process for families considering oral immunotherapy, a process that involves giving very small amounts of an allergen, like peanuts, to patients and gradually increasing the amount to build up their tolerance. Until now, ...

Berlin, Germany – 8 April 2024:  An international consensus statement on how to treat atrial fibrillation with catheter or surgical ablation is published today in EP Europace,1 a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and presented at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the ESC.2  Lead author Dr. Stylianos Tzeis said: “Ablation is the most effective way to prevent recurrences of atrial fibrillation and delay progression to more advanced forms. Pioneering techniques have emerged since the previous consensus in 2017,3 requiring new advice on who should receive this procedure and how to perform it in the safest and most effective manner.”   Atrial ...

A 10-minute virtual reality (VR) session significantly lessened pain in hospitalized patients with cancer in a recent clinical trial published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Even a day later, participants experienced sustained benefits. Most people with cancer experience pain, and treatment usually involves medications including opioids. VR sessions that immerse the user in new environments have been shown to be a noninvasive and nonpharmacologic way to lessen pain in different patient populations, but data are lacking in individuals ...

A new study presented at the European Psychiatric Association Congress 2024 reveals a significant association between prenatal cannabis use disorder (CUD) and an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual disability (ID). Cannabis remains by far the most consumed illicit drug in Europe. Around 1.3% of adults in the European Union (3.7 million people) are estimated to be ...