Walking in their shoes: Using virtual reality to elicit empathy in healthcare providers

A newly developed tool will allow scientists to better gauge how centuries of fossil fuel emissions could be skewing the data they collect from marine environments. Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks led the effort, which created a way for marine scientists to factor into their results the vast amounts of anthropogenic carbon dioxide that are being absorbed by oceans. Those human-caused carbon sources can muddy research results -- a problem known as the Suess effect -- leading to flawed conclusions about the health and productivity of marine ecosystems. "The ...

Oncotarget published "Analytic validation and clinical utilization of the comprehensive genomic profiling test, GEM ExTra®" which reported that the authors developed and analytically validated a comprehensive genomic profiling assay, GEM ExTra, for patients with advanced solid tumors that uses Next Generation Sequencing to characterize whole exomes employing a paired tumor-normal subtraction methodology. The assay detects single nucleotide variants, indels, focal copy number alterations, TERT promoter region, as well as tumor mutation burden and microsatellite instability status. Additionally, the assay incorporates ...

Scientists have made a major breakthrough in the study of embryonic development and how it can be impacted by external factors such as climate change. Researchers at the University of Plymouth have developed a cutting edge technique which enables them to instantly examine the biological traits and behaviours of developing embryos as an energy signature, rather than focusing on individual characteristics. The method, outlined in a study published in BMC Bioinformatics, is built around timelapse video captured by the researchers of aquatic animals - specifically, the embryos of a freshwater pond snail Radix ...

Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), a research team led by Prof. HAN Jinlin from National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) has discovered 201 pulsars, including many very faint pulsars, 40 millisecond pulsars (MSPs), and 16 pulsars in binaries. These discoveries were published in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Pulsars are compact remnants of the death of bright, massive stars. They have the strongest magnetic field, highest density and fastest rotation of any celestial body in the Universe, and show significant ...

Nearly two thirds (61%) expressed concern about their worsening mood in Lockdown and associated restrictions1. 34% said they felt more anxious and 28% felt more depressed during Lockdown and associated restrictions1. Coffee helped lift nearly half (44%) of adult's negative moods in Lockdown and associated restrictions1. A new pan-European survey funded by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee exploring the impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns and associated restrictions (in those countries where there has been no Lockdown), has found that nearly two thirds of adults (61%) expressed concern about their worsening mood; two times higher than those concerned about physical inactivity (24%)1. Understanding the effects of COVID-19 restrictions ...

Scientists from Hokkaido University have shown that an antigen-based test for quantifying SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples is simple, rapid, and more conducive for mass-screening. More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the RT-PCR test remains the gold standard for detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This method requires trained personnel at every step, from collection of nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) samples to interpretation of the results; in addition, the entire process ranges from 24-48 hours on average. As the virus can be transmitted by an infected person before symptoms ...

Fixed-dose combination of nivolumab and relatlimab holds the cancer in check significantly longer than nivolumab alone This is the first regimen to demonstrate a statistical benefit over anti-PD-1 monotherapy in metastatic melanoma BOSTON - A combination of two drugs that target different proteins on immune system T cells kept advanced melanoma in check significantly longer than one of the drugs alone in a phase 3 clinical trial involving 714 patients. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators co-led the study. Findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, being held ...

HOUSTON -- The glutaminase (GLS1) inhibitor IACS-6274, discovered and developed by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Therapeutics Discovery division, appears to be well-tolerated with successful target inhibition and early signs of anti-tumor activity in a biomarker-driven Phase I trial. Interim results of the study will be presented at the 2021 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting on June 4. On the trial, 17 of 20 evaluable patients achieved a best response of stable disease, with a disease control rate of 60% at 12 weeks. Six patients with biomarker-defined advanced cancers ...

URBANA, Ill. - Women's ability to work as entrepreneurs can help alleviate poverty and malnutrition in developing countries. As local governments and development organizations aim to encourage business opportunities, it's important to identify projects suited for women's lives in rural households. The soy kit, which includes common household items such as a pot, spoon, thermometer, and cheese cloth, enables entrepreneurs to create value-added products from soy in small-scale household settings. The kit has potential to improve the economic conditions of Malawi women in a sustainable way, a University of Illinois study concludes. "The larger issue is about adding value to agricultural products in the developing world as a means ...

Boulder, Colo., USA: The Paleozoic era culminated 251.9 million years ago in the most severe mass extinction recorded in the geologic record. Known as the "great dying," this event saw the loss of up to 96% of all marine species and around 70% of terrestrial species, including plants and insects. The consensus view of scientists is that volcanic activity at the end of the Permian period, associated with the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province, emitted massive quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over a short time interval. This caused a spike in global temperatures and a cascade of other deleterious ...