First lab-grown mini-thyroids use patients' own tissue

People often choose the standard option. Choosing to be an organ donor, printing on both sides of the page - such decisions are influenced by which is the standard setting, or default. In fact, economists and sociologists call this the default effect. Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Warwick in the UK have now managed to clearly demonstrate this effect. Private households, but also self-employed people and SMEs, are more likely to procure sustainably produced electricity if that is their provider's default offer. The scientists conclude this from an analysis of data from two Swiss electricity suppliers - one large and one medium-sized. ...

Researchers studying the Swiss energy market have found that making green energy the default option for consumers leads to an enduring shift to renewables and thus has the potential to cut CO2 emissions by millions of tonnes. The study, published today in Nature Human Behaviour, investigated the effect of changes in the Swiss energy market that presented energy from renewable sources as the standard option for consumers - the 'green default.' Both business and private customers largely accepted the default option, even though it was slightly more expensive, and the switch to green sources proved a lasting one. Professor Ulf Liebe (University of Warwick), Doctor Jennifer Gewinner and Professor em. Andreas Diekmann (both ETH Zurich) analysed data from two Swiss ...

New research, which brings healthcare data together with ground-breaking ecological techniques, could set a roadmap for refining pollen forecasts in the future. Current pollen forecasts, crucial for people with allergic asthma or hay fever to manage their symptoms, rely on measuring the total load of grass pollen in the atmosphere. However, these do not distinguish between pollen from different types of grass. Now, a potential link between pollen from certain grass species and respiratory health issues has been revealed. The results, published in Current Biology, (11.3.21DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.019 ) have been produced by the first project to use an ecological biomonitoring ...

A new study published today in Nature Medicine has identified key risk factors that increase the likelihood of individuals developing not only one but multiple non-communicable diseases, which include cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. The analysis of over 11,000 people found that rather than being due to chance, there are often underlying biological links in individuals with multimorbidity, which is defined as the co-occurrence of two or more long-term health conditions and is a growing public health challenge. Multimorbidity, which affects about two thirds of people aged 65 years or over in the UK, impairs an individual's quality of life over and above the cumulative burden from each individual disease. Understanding which diseases ...

A national screening programme targeted at those men who are genetically pre-disposed to prostate cancer, and involving a blood test and MRI scan before an invasive biopsy, could prevent one in six prostate cancer deaths and significantly reduce over-diagnosis, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men with around 130 new cases diagnosed in the UK every day and more than 10,000 men a year dying as a result of the disease. However, unlike breast and cervical cancer there is currently no national screening programme for this disease in the UK. Currently, men suspected of having prostate cancer have a blood test that detects raised levels of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA)*. Following the UCL-led ...

What The Study Did: Experiences of Latinx patients who were hospitalized with and survived COVID-19 are described in this study. Authors: Lilia Cervantes, M.D., of Denver Health in Colorado, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0684) Editor's Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full study and commentary are linked to this news release. Embed this link to provide ...

What The Study Did: This randomized clinical trial evaluated the effect on patient perceptions of communication, trust and empathy of surgeons who wore clear masks that showed their faces versus standard masks that obscured them during outpatient clinic visits. Authors: Muneera R. Kapadia, M.D., M.M.E., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2021.0836) Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full ...

What The Study Did: Researchers sought to quantify cancer surgical backlog and determine whether there were differences in sociodemographic and hospital characteristics among patients undergoing cancer surgery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors: Antoine Eskander, M.D., Sc.M., of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.1104) Editor's Note: The article includes ...

What The Study Did: In this study of face mask fit among people in China, although most people used face masks in public places, compromised protection due to suboptimal airtightness was common. The simple approach of sealing the upper edge of the face mask with an adhesive tape strip was associated with substantially improved its airtightness. Authors: Lin Duo, Ph.D., of Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital in Kunming, China, and Chengye Sun, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease ...

S-acylation is the process of chemically linking a lipid to protein via a thioester bond. It is an important process of the cell that regulates the localization and function of numerous proteins. It promotes lipid membrane association of the protein, for instance to the plasma membrane, Golgi apparatus, or inner nuclear membrane. Like most biochemical processes in the cell, protein S-acylation is reversible to regulate the functions of acylated proteins. S-acylation is reversed by the enzymes acyl protein thioesterases (APTs). To do their work, APTs have to interact with the lipid membranes that their target proteins are bound to. But even though APTs are central to the important acylation deacylation process little is known about how APTs carry ...