PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

ASBMB calls for student loan relief

The society submitted testimony to the Department of Education urging officials to provide student debt aid, allow postdocs to defer payments

2023-08-04
(Press-News.org) On June 20, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology submitted public hearing testimony to the Department of Education expressing concerns about the growing burden of student loan debt. The society called for expanding debt-relief programs across all educational levels and allowing postdoctoral researchers to defer loan payments until after completion of their training.

“We are in the midst of a student debt crisis, and it's hurting the research enterprise and more importantly, the next generation of scientists,” Sarina Neote, ASBMB public affairs director, said. “The average student debt balance has more than doubled in the past two decades, and this increase is coming at the expense of inclusivity. Student debt disproportionately affects underrepresented groups like Black, Latinx and American Indian students; the scientific workforce and enterprise will narrow and suffer if relief doesn’t come soon.”

Historically marginalized groups such as Black students take on more debt than white students and are more likely to default on their loans.

Recent Ph.D. graduates and postdocs already struggle to cover basic living costs. The student debt burden causes them to delay important milestones, such as purchasing property, which stifles the national economy, the ASBMB noted.

To alleviate these financial burdens and allow the scientific workforce to grow, the ASBMB called for the Education Department to expand public and private service programs similar to the successful National Institutes of Health loan-repayment program. This program aims to counteract “financial pressure by repaying up to $50,000 annually of a researcher’s qualified education debt in return for commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research.”

Neote said: “Education attainment and fulfillment should not come with such an unattainably high price tag.”

About the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB): The ASBMB is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with more than 12,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1906 to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology, the society publishes three peer-reviewed journals, advocates for funding of basic research and education, supports science education at all levels, and promotes the diversity of individuals entering the scientific workforce. For more information about the ASBMB, visit www.asbmb.org.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scientists develop novel method to synthesize azide compounds for wider industrial applications

Scientists develop novel method to synthesize azide compounds for wider industrial applications
2023-08-04
Azide compounds play a pivotal role for subsequent synthesis of organonitrogens such as amines and triazoles that are essential compounds in organic and materials chemistry. Triazoles that can be synthesized by the ‘click’ reaction have attracted attention in the development of pharmaceuticals and other industries. However, the azido groups are electrophilic and are susceptible to various nucleophiles such as carbanions. This poses a significant challenge for the synthesis of carbanions having azido groups. To this end, a team of researchers from Japan, led by Associate Professor Suguru ...

Telehealth Week @ TTUHSC Conference to highlight digital health care

Telehealth Week @ TTUHSC Conference to highlight digital health care
2023-08-04
Telehealth Week @ TTUHSC, a conference about digital innovation, will offer an immersive experience in digital health using technology for access to care. The free conference, which takes place Sept. 19-21 at the TTUHSC Academic Event Center located at 3601 Fourth St., is open to all clinicians, administrators, health care providers and stakeholders.  The conference aims to demonstrate how digital health enhances access to care and solves rural health disparities. Three goals of the conference include: Exposing stakeholders to the broader goals of digital health at TTUHSC Motivating stakeholders to go beyond telehealth and embrace the fullness of digital ...

A new technique offers improved diagnostic precision and a route to personalized therapy for a common arrhythmia that affects more than 10 million people in Europe

A new technique offers improved diagnostic precision and a route to personalized therapy for a common arrhythmia that affects more than 10 million people in Europe
2023-08-04
A multidisciplinary study led by scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) presents a new method for assessing the structural and electrophysiological changes, called atrial remodeling, produced in the heart of patients with atrial fibrillation, one of the most frequent forms of cardiac arrhythmia. The new diagnostic method is based on the simultaneous assessment of electrical and mechanical (contractile) activity in the heart atria during atrial fibrillation. The study is published in Nature Communications (DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-40196-y). Study leader David Filgueiras explained that, until now, “this was an unmet challenge,” because, on the one ...

Prenatal diagnosis matters: Linked to earlier surgery for congenital heart disease

2023-08-04
A study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has shown that prenatal diagnosis, or diagnosis before a baby is born, is associated with earlier surgery for babies with congenital heart defects, the most common birth defects affecting nearly 1% of all live births. The association was demonstrated for critical defects (when heart surgery is required before the infant leaves the hospital) and certain types of noncritical defects, which constitute about 75% of all congenital heart defects. The benefits of prenatal ...

Researchers find genetic cause of Raynaud’s phenomenon

2023-08-04
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London’s Precision Healthcare Research Institute (PHURI) and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified the genetic causes of Raynaud’s phenomenon. Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, could lead to the first effective treatments for people with Raynaud’s. Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is a heritable condition that affects blood circulation. It’s a vasopastic condition, which means ...

Consuming added sugars may increase risk of kidney stones

2023-08-04
Between 7% and 15% of people in North America, between 5% and 9% of people in Europe, and between 1% and 5% of people in Asia suffer from kidney stones. Common symptoms are severe pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, and bloody urine. But kidney stones don’t just reduce the quality of life: in the long run, they may lead to infections, swollen kidneys (hydronephrosis), renal insufficiency, and end-stage renal disease. Known risk factors for developing kidney stones include being an adult male, obesity, chronic diarrhea, dehydration, and having inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, or gout. Now, a ...

Tropical plant native to China reveals antiobesity potential

Tropical plant native to China reveals antiobesity potential
2023-08-04
Obesity, a major risk factor for various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension has become widespread worldwide, inherently demanding innovative solutions to combat it. A multi-institutional research group led by Associate Professor Akiko Kojima of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology at Osaka Metropolitan University, has made significant progress in the fight against obesity. The group had previously conducted a study on the effects of the extract of Mallotus furetianus (MFE), a tropical plant native to Hainan Island, China, on the prevention of fatty liver, but the antiobesity effects of MFE and its mechanisms had not been ...

Parasites of viruses drive superbug evolution

2023-08-04
In a study published today in Cell, one of the most prominent peer-reviewed scientific journals in the field of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Imperial College London have discovered a new way by which bacteria transmit their genes, enabling them to evolve much faster than previously understood. Led by Assistant Professor John Chen from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), ...

Geomagnetic field protects Earth from electron showers

Geomagnetic field protects Earth from electron showers
2023-08-04
Understanding the ionosphere high in the Earth's atmosphere is important due to its effects on communications systems, satellites and crucial chemical features including the ozone layer. New insights into the activity of high energy electrons have come from a simulation study led by geophysicist Yuto Katoh at Tohoku University, reported in the journal Earth, Planets and Space. "Our results clarify the unexpected role of the geomagnetic field surrounding the Earth in protecting the atmosphere from high energy electrons," says Katoh. The ionosphere is a wide region between roughly ...

Displaying the design of DNA

Displaying the design of DNA
2023-08-04
Function and form are deeply intertwined in biology. Knowing how organisms grow, adapt and reproduce requires understanding their physical structures. Hence the transformative power of the microscope across the past four centuries of science. Microscopy, or the field of microscope use, can now reveal the tiniest of structures through techniques such as microcrystal electron diffraction, or MicroED. Instead of passing light through a cell like an optical microscope, MicroED bombards crystalline samples with a stream of electrons to produce detailed information about their atomic configuration. “The method was developed ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Older teens who start vaping post-high school risk rapid progress to frequent use

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

[Press-News.org] ASBMB calls for student loan relief
The society submitted testimony to the Department of Education urging officials to provide student debt aid, allow postdocs to defer payments