Noise is an unseen pollutant with very real health impacts. Like many other forms of pollution, because of systemic injustice, it affects some people more than others. It also affects wildlife.   In a study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, Colorado State University acoustic ecologists found that redlined, or marginalized, communities have more and louder urban noise, which has been linked to negative consequences for people and wildlife.   Ecological degradation exacerbates injustices against those living in formerly redlined ...

HOUSTON – (Nov. 20, 2023) – Picture a swarm of drones capturing photos and video as they survey an area: What would enable them to process the data collected in the most rapid and effective manner possible? Rice University’s Santiago Segarra and Ashutosh Sabharwal have won a grant from the Army Research Office, a directorate of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory, to develop a machine learning framework that improves military communication networks’ decision-making processes. The research could also help inform applications such as self-driving vehicles ...

According to Thailand's Ministry of Public Health, approximately 18-24 million or 30-40 percent of the Thai population carries the thalassemia gene, with moderately severe thalassemia patients requiring regular treatment, including blood transfusion and chelation therapy to remove excess iron from the blood. To facilitate greater understanding of this hereditary hemoglobinopathy, BGI Genomics released its State of Thalassemia Awareness Report. This report assesses the level of knowledge and attitudes related to the associated ...

A global study of major crops has found that farmworkers are being increasingly exposed to combinations of extreme heat and humidity during planting and harvest seasons that can make it hard for them to function. Such conditions have nearly doubled across the world since 1979, the authors report, a trend that could eventually hinder cultivation. The most affected crop is rice, the world’s number one staple, followed closely by maize. As temperatures rise, the trend has accelerated in recent years, with some regions seeing 15-day per-decade increases in extreme humid heat during ...

Young Voices Unheard: Children’s Views from Scotland and Greece on Education is a new book published by Bentham Science that attempts to explore the question of how young children view the concepts of Children’s rights. Giving children an opportunity to voice their ideas on their education is necessary, if we do not want to deprive children of their right to be consulted and their opinions to be listened to and be seriously considered when decisions are made affecting children’s lives (article 12 of the Convention). The book attempts to give a voice to children aged 5 to ...

In a world driven by digital transformation, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has emerged as a powerhouse, providing on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments. Bentham Science is delighted to unveil "Amazon Web Services: The Definitive Guide for Beginners and Advanced Users," a comprehensive text that simplifies the complexities of AWS, making it accessible to graduate students, professionals, and academic researchers in computer science, engineering, and information technology. Key Features:  Hands-On Approach for Beginners:  The book adopts a practical, hands-on approach, ensuring that beginners can dive into AWS ...

In a paper published Nov. 10 in Intelligent Computing, Philip Nicholas Johnson-Laird of Princeton University and Marco Ragni of Chemnitz University of Technology propose a novel alternative to the Turing test, a milestone test developed by computing pioneer Alan Turing. The paper suggests that it is time to shift the focus from whether a machine can mimic human responses to a more fundamental question: "Does a program reason in the way that humans reason?" The Turing test, which has long been a cornerstone of AI evaluation, involves a human evaluator attempting to distinguish between human and machine ...

Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries in the United States for adults ages 65 and older. With 1 in 4 older adults falling annually, 27,000 deaths, 8 million emergency department (ED) visits, and 800,000 hospitalizations have occurred. Follow-up after an ED-related fall visit is essential to initiate preventive strategies in these patients who are at very high risk for recurrent falls. Currently, it is unclear how frequently follow up occurs and whether preventive strategies are implemented. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators explored this issue by investigating ...

PHILADELPHIA – Over a third of American adults are worried that they or someone in their family will get the seasonal flu, Covid-19, or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in the next three months, according to a new health survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. Those three viral illnesses made up the “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses that overwhelmed some health care facilities last winter. Although RSV typically peaks later in the year, this month hospitals in parts of Texas are already seeing emergency ...

Over the past decade, fine dust conditions in Korea have worsened, as perceived by the general public, with an increase in the number of days per year featuring high-concentration fine dust. Additionally, the previous maximum fine-dust concentration level has been surpassed. In response, the Korean government has expanded its financial investment in efforts aimed at addressing fine-dust issues. Fine dust consists of particles that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. When these particles enter the human body through the skin and respiratory system, they can cause various diseases. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Environment Institute, three in ten people ...

When winter comes to Japan, fishermen in the northern regions set out to capture one of the most anticipated seasonal delicacies: the horsehair crab. Known locally as “kegani” and bearing the scientific name Erimacrus isenbeckii, this species of crustacean is highly sought after throughout the country. To protect the horsehair crab population from overfishing, the Japanese and prefectural governments have implemented various restrictions on their capture. For example, in Hokkaido, where kegani is abundant, capturing females for consumption is strictly prohibited. To ...

Gambling addiction can increase the risk of long-term sick leave for several years, according to a new study published in Psychological Medicine. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet behind the study point to the need to detect people with gambling addiction in time to avoid financial and health problems.   Gambling addiction is a psychiatric condition characterized by prolonged and problematic gambling that leads to negative financial, health and social consequences. 1.3 percent of the Swedish population, corresponding to 105,000 Swedes, have gambling problems or an increased risk of gambling problems, but the number ...

Proteins that form clumps occur in many difficult-to-treat diseases, such as ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson's. The mechanisms behind how the proteins interact with each other are difficult to study, but now researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have discovered a new method for capturing many proteins in nano-sized traps. Inside the traps, the proteins can be studied in a way that has not been possible before. "We believe that our method has great potential to increase the understanding of early and dangerous processes in a number of different diseases and eventually lead to ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – A novel surgical implant developed by Washington State University researchers was able to kill 87% of the bacteria that cause staph infections in laboratory tests, while remaining strong and compatible with surrounding tissue like current implants. The work, reported in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, could someday lead to better infection control in many common surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, that are performed daily around the world.  Bacterial colonization of the implants is one of the leading causes of their failure and bad outcomes after surgery. “Infection ...

CHICAGO – Higher amounts of visceral abdominal fat in midlife are linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, according to research being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Visceral fat is fat surrounding the internal organs deep in the belly. Researchers found that this hidden abdominal fat is related to changes in the brain up to 15 years before the earliest memory loss symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease occur. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are ...

CHICAGO – Using an image-guided minimally invasive procedure, researchers may be able to restore the sense of smell in patients who have suffered with long-COVID, according to research being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Parosmia, a condition where the sense of smell no longer works correctly, is a known symptom of COVID-19. Recent research has found that up to 60% of COVID-19 patients have been affected. While most patients do recover their sense of smell over time, some patients with long COVID continue to have these symptoms for months, or even years, after ...

A red wine may pair nicely with the upcoming Thanksgiving meal. But for some people, drinking red wine even in small amounts causes a headache. Typically, a “red wine headache” can occur within 30 minutes to three hours after drinking as little as a small glass of wine. What in wine causes headaches? In a new study, scientists at the University of California, Davis, examined why this happens – even to people who don’t get headaches when drinking small amounts of other alcoholic beverages. Researchers think that a flavanol found naturally in red wines can interfere with the proper metabolism of alcohol and can lead to a headache. The study was published in ...

New research led by Griffith University on Australia’s Gold Coast and Andrés Bello University in Chile, has shown that surfing contributes about US$1 trillion a year to the global economy, by improving the mental health of surfers.    For the Gold Coast alone, the research team estimated the benefits to be valued at ~US$1.0–3.3 billion per year. Mental health benefits from surfing comprise 57–74% of the total economic benefits of surfing. The mental health benefits are 4.4–13.5 times direct expenditure by surfers, and 4–12 times economic effects via property and inbound tourism.   The research ...

Proof of concept of new material for long lasting relief from dry mouth conditions   A novel aqueous lubricant technology designed to help people who suffer from a dry mouth is between four and five times more effective than existing commercially available products, according to laboratory tests.  Developed by scientists at the University of Leeds, the saliva substitute is described as comparable to natural saliva in the way it hydrates the mouth and acts as a lubricant when food is chewed.   Under a powerful microscope, the molecules in the substance - known as a microgel - appear as a lattice-like ...

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE EMBARGOED UNTIL 10:00 LONDON TIME (GMT) ON 20 NOVEMBER, 2023 [Photographs and a copy of the paper are available here]   These long, white saltwater clams are the world’s fastest-growing bivalve and can reach 30cm long in just six months. They do this by burrowing into waste wood and converting it into highly-nutritious protein. The researchers found that the levels of Vitamin B12 in the Naked Clams were higher than in most other bivalves – and almost twice the amount found in blue mussels. And with the addition of an algae-based feed to the system, the Naked Clams can be fortified with omega-3 polyunsaturated ...

Associative learning was always thought to be regulated by the cortex of the cerebellum, often referred to as the “little brain". However, new research from a collaboration between the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, and Champalimaud Center for the Unknown reveals that actually the nuclei of the cerebellum make a surprising contribution to this learning process. If a teacup is steaming, you’ll wait a bit longer before drinking from it. And if your fingers get caught in the door, you'll be more careful next time. These are forms of associative ...

New research reveals that with each subsequent generation of Mexican Americans, the risk of developing liver cancer has climbed. Although Mexican Americans have experienced a growing trend in modifiable risk factors—such as increased alcohol consumption, higher smoking rates, and elevated body mass index—these factors alone do not entirely account for the increased risk of liver cancer as generations progress. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. US-born Latinos have a higher incidence of liver cancer than foreign-born Latinos, and a possible ...

In the United States, liver cancer rates have more than tripled since 1980. Some groups, including Latinos, face an even higher risk than the general population—but researchers do not fully understand why. A study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, funded by the National Cancer Institute, has shed new light on those disparities. Researchers found that among Mexican Americans, liver cancer risk rises the longer a person’s family has lived in the U.S. That increased risk primarily affected men. The ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. –   Potty training, getting kids to sleep and toddler tantrums are just some of the challenges parents of young children face. And four in five parents in a new national poll say they go to the same place to discuss such parenting issues: social media. Nearly half of parents rate social media as very useful for getting new ideas to try, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. “Many parents turn to online communities ...

Cyberattacks targeting health information systems can cause considerable damage and stress, but there are ways to reduce the risk of these events, write authors in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230436. "With respect to cybersecurity, a bit of prevention is worth a terabyte of cure," writes Vinyas Harish, MD/PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine, with coauthors, in an article outlining the impact of cyberattacks on Canadian health information ...