A new analysis of the bones and muscles in ancient fish gives new clues about how the shoulder evolved in animals – including us. The shoulder girdle – the configuration of bones and muscles that in humans support the movement of the arms – is a classic example of an evolutionary ‘novelty’. This is where a new anatomical feature appears without any obvious precursors; where there is no smoking gun of which feature clearly led to another. The new research, which draws together a range of evolutionary investigation techniques including fossils, ...

In a recent publication in the journal Nature, researchers from the Institute of Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea have made significant strides in biomaterial technology and rehabilitation medicine. They've developed a novel approach to healing muscle injury by employing “injectable tissue prosthesis” in the form of conductive hydrogels and combining it with a robot-assisted rehabilitation system. Let’s imagine you are swimming in the ocean. A giant shark approaches and bites a huge ...

Atrial fibrillation, heart failure and stroke – hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can lead to many serious health conditions and is a major cause of sudden cardiac death in people younger than 35. „The heart muscle is a central engine of the human body. Of course, it is easier to fix a broken engine, if you know how it is built and how it functions”, says Stefan Raunser. “At the beginning of our muscle research we have successfully visualized the structure of the essential muscle building blocks and how they interact using electron cryo-microscopy. However, these were static images of proteins taken out of the living cell. They only tell us little ...

Peptides are biomolecules formed when two or more amino acids that perform key functions in the human organism, such as hormones, neurotransmitters, painkillers and antibiotics, bind together. For this reason, they are much studied and used by the pharmaceutical industry, for example. A study conducted by scientists in the Department of Biophysics at the Federal University of São Paulo's Medical School (EPM-UNIFESP) in Brazil identified significant changes in the physicochemical properties of peptides during a spontaneous process of chemical change called pyroglutamination.  Pyroglutamination is a modification resulting from spontaneous conversion ...

Amsterdam, November 1, 2023 – The Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (KSMCB), one of the largest and most prominent academic societies in the field of life sciences in Korea, and Elsevier, a leader in information and analytics for customers across the global research and health ecosystems, are pleased to announce a new partnership to publish Molecules and Cells, the flagship journal of KSMCB. This English-language publication will be hosted on Elsevier’s industry-leading online platform of peer-reviewed literature, ScienceDirect, beginning January 1, 2024. Continuing ...

In nature, swarms can accomplish amazing things. Schools of fish can more efficiently find food and migrate. Flocks of birds can confuse predators. Bees, ants, and termites can work together to feed, defend and build their colonies.  Robotics researchers have long been trying to harness this ability to explore environments, capture objects and build structures using robot swarms. “But the problem of how do we efficiently control all those robots is still unsolved,” says David Saldaña, an assistant professor ...

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Lotz as the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). Dr. Lotz will begin her five-year appointment as STScI Director starting February 12, 2024. Previously, Dr. Lotz was the Director of the International Gemini Observatory which is operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, and managed by AURA. “Dr. Lotz is a science driven, accomplished leader,” said Dr. Matt Mountain, President of AURA, which manages STScI on behalf of NASA. “Jen’s passion for the Institute’s mission, to enable the ...

Sperm can modulate their energetics by regulating their flagellar waveform—how the sperm oscillate their tails—in order to adapt to varying fluid environments, potentially optimizing their motility and navigation within the reproductive tract. This research is reported in a study publishing November 1 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. “Our approach allowed us to investigate how variations in viscosity and shear rates affect sperm behavior at the single-cell level, which was not possible using traditional methods,” says senior study author Reza Nosrati of Monash University. Biochemical and biophysical cues within the reproductive ...

Women with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing a procedure called pulsed field ablation (PFA) have just as good outcomes as men with AF undergoing the same procedure, according to a large-scale international study led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. This study is the first to compare sex outcomes for AF patients undergoing PFA, which is a new technology and the latest ablation modality that can be used to restore a regular heartbeat. The results also show PFA is safe and just as effective for men as for women. Findings were published October 5 in JAMA Cardiology. “These results are important, as ...

About The Study: Although the prevalence of severely elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has declined, 1 in 17 U.S. adults still have LDL-C levels of 160 to 189 mg/dL and 1 in 48 adults have LDL-C levels of 190 mg/dL or greater. Among those with an LDL-C of 190 mg/dL or greater, 1 in 4 are unaware and untreated, with a higher proportion for an LDL-C of 160 to 189 mg/dL. These gaps disproportionately affect non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and socioeconomically disadvantaged persons, contributing to disparities in outcomes.   Authors: Salim S. Virani, M.D., Ph.D., of Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, ...

About The Study: In this meta-analysis of 83 neuroimaging studies of adversity exposure and brain function, prior adversity exposure was associated with altered adult brain reactivity to diverse challenges. These results might better identify how adversity diminishes the ability to cope with later stressors and produces enduring susceptibility to mental health problems.  Authors: Niki Hosseini-Kamkar, Ph.D., of the Royal Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is the corresponding author.   To access the embargoed ...

PHILADELPHIA – Americans have less confidence in vaccines to address a variety of illnesses than they did just a year or two ago, and more people accept misinformation about vaccines and Covid-19, according to the latest health survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. The survey conducted October 5-12, 2023, with a panel of over 1,500 U.S. adults, finds that the number of Americans who think vaccines approved for use in the United States are safe dropped to 71% from 77% in April 2021. The percentage of adults who don’t think vaccines approved in the U.S. are safe grew to 16% from ...

Extreme weather and climate events, such as droughts, heatwaves, and rainstorms, pose serious threats to human health, agricultural production, and energy supplies. These events often occur at the same time, and such "compound extreme events" can cause far more damage than any one single event. Climate scientists from the research group of Prof. Aihui Wang from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, argue in a new study that land–atmosphere coupling (the coupling ...

MIAMI, FL – November 1, 2023 -- Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, announced the publication of a multi-institutional retrospective cohort study about the impact of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) and single-fraction stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) on radiation necrosis (RN) in patients with brain metastasis from non-small cell lung cancer. The study, titled “Immune Checkpoint Inhibition and Single Fraction Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Brain Metastases from Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: An International Multicenter Study of 395 Patients” ...

Landing stably is the precondition for exploring the small celestial body in situ. The surface of small body is weak gravity and irregular, and the surface environment is unknown and uncertain. The landing mechanism tends to rebound and turn over, and the landing stability time is long. However, there is difference  on the Moon and the Mars surface while most of the landing performance researches are focused on the lunar landing so far. Therefore, it is of great important to study the landing ...

ATLANTA, November 1, 2023 — Today, the American Cancer Society (ACS) released an update of its lung cancer screening guideline to help reduce the number of people dying from the disease due to smoking history. The new guideline recommends yearly screening for lung cancer for people aged 50 to 80 years old who smoke or formerly smoked and have a 20-year or greater pack-year history. The recommended annual screening test for lung cancer is a low-dose computed tomography scan (also called a low-dose CT scan, or LDCT). The guideline, last updated ...

Kuala Lumpur, 1 November 2023 An Independent Expert Group (IEG) convened by the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU IIGH) has released a strong statement criticizing the wide and uncritical use of global university rankings. The IEG highlights the vital importance of universities in delivering not just education, training, and research, but also in shaping public policy, promoting informed public discourse, and helping advance democracy and human rights. However, although marketed as a tool for improving university performance and providing information to prospective students, the statement describes how global university ...

WASHINGTON—Women in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, may be 10 times more likely to have obesity or heart health issues than their male counterparts, according to a large meta-analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Obesity is a chronic disease characterized by an individual having an excess of body fat or abnormal fat accumulation. People who have obesity are at an increased risk for other serious ...

The American Pediatric Society (APS) is pleased to announce Alan Jobe, MD, PhD, as the 2024 APS John Howland Award recipient, the highest honor bestowed by the APS. The prestigious award signifies the society’s recognition of Dr. Jobe for his significant contributions to advancing child health and the profession of pediatrics. The award will be presented to Dr. Jobe during the APS Presidential Plenary at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2024 Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, May 2 – May 6.                                               The ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Regenstrief Institute research scientist Matthew J. Bair, M.D., M.S., and the Indiana Institute of Medical Research (IIMR) at Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center have been awarded the Creative Forces®: National Endowment for the Arts Military Healing Arts Network Award for Clinical Study of Music Therapy and Chronic Pain in U.S. Veterans. The research project titled “Stepped-Care Intervention of Music and Imagery to Assess Relief (SCIMITAR) Trial” will test whether a two-step music therapy intervention ...

Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi have isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains with high levels of resistance to phages from kimchi fermented at low temperatures for a long period of time. They have also identified the defense mechanism of the LAB strains against phages, viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria. Kimchi, a traditional Korean food, is a lactic acid-fermented vegetable product. Unlike fermented dairy products, which are produced under a sterilized-closed fermentation system, kimchi is produced through spontaneous fermentation initiated by various microorganisms present in the raw materials under a non-sterilized-open fermentation system. Thus, ...

For some, the eyes are a window into the soul. But for Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, they're a window into human health. The researcher was granted $300,000 by The Michael J. Fox Foundation this fall to analyze clinical data curated at the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center using artificial intelligence (AI) in an effort to identify biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and causes uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, throughout the body.  “This approach could be impactful ...

Fidel Santamaria, a professor in the UTSA College of Sciences’ neuroscience, developmental and regenerative biology department, received a $2 million grant through the National Science Foundation’s Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program to develop new artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the most energy-efficient manner yet. For machine-learning tools to analyze new data, they must first sort data into various categories. For example, if a tool is sorting photos by color, then it needs to recognize which photos are red, yellow or blue to accurately classify them. While this is an easy chore for a human, the task presents a ...

Researchers from Boston University published a Journal of Marketing study showing that tapping into consumers’ sense of ownership prompts them to place a higher value on products from a circular economy. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Affording Disposal Control: The Effect of Circular Take-Back Programs on Psychological Ownership and Valuation” and is authored by Anna Tari and Remi Trudel.  Governments worldwide view a circular economy as part of the solution to the climate crisis. In the U.S., several states such as California, Connecticut, Maine, Oregon, and ...

Mountains of used plastic bottles get thrown away every day, but microbes could potentially tackle this problem. Now, researchers in ACS Central Science report that they’ve developed a plastic-eating E. coli that can efficiently turn polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste into adipic acid, which is used to make nylon materials, drugs and fragrances. Previously, a team of researchers including Stephen Wallace engineered a strain of E. coli to transform the main component in old PET bottles, terephthalic acid, into something tastier and ...