More than half of women globally experience bacterial vaginosis (BV) — an imbalance of naturally occurring microbes in the female genital tract — at least once in their life. The condition can cause painful symptoms and vaginal discharge, and although treatable with antibiotics, it frequently comes back within a short time. If left untreated, BV can lead to problems with pregnancy and an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. A team of researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; the Ragon Institute of Mass General ...

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a serious heart condition that often requires corrective surgery. It is characterized by the backflow or "regurgitation" of blood from the heart's left ventricle into the left atrium. Atrial Functional Mitral Regurgitation (AFMR), characterized by normal mitral valve (MV) function and left ventricular function but with atrial dilation and defects in the ring-like structure that supports the MV leaflets (mitral annulus), poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to its distinct pathophysiological mechanisms. Historically, studies on AFMR have been limited by small ...

The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna have now identified possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone for the first time. These stem cells are regulated by evolutionary highly conserved genes, which in humans are usually only active in the formation of egg and sperm cells, but give ancient animal phyla such as cnidarians a high degree of regenerative capacity to even escape ageing. The results are currently being published in Science Advances and could also provide insights into the human ...

Proteins left behind by COVID-19 long after initial infection can cause cortisol levels in the brain to plummet, inflame the nervous system and prime its immune cells to hyper-react when another stressor arises, according to new animal research by University of Colorado Boulder scientists. The study, published in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity, sheds new light on what might underly the neurological symptoms of Long COVID, an intractable syndrome which impacts as many as 35% of those infected with the ...

What time the malaria-bearing mosquito bites you might make a difference Circadian rhythms appear to influence vulnerability to malaria parasites A discovery by McGill-affiliated researchers could lead to more effective treatment of malaria and other parasitic diseases. When mice are infected in the middle of the night with the parasites causing cerebral malaria, the symptoms of the disease are less severe than for those inflected during the day, and the spread of the parasites within the hosts is more limited, research teams from McGill University, the Douglas Research Centre ...

SAN ANTONIO — August 19, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a unique technology to screen new DNA-targeting therapeutics designed to treat cancer and other diseases. Combining SwRI’s 3D drug screening software tool and machine learning techniques, SwRI scientists successfully predicted the DNA binding affinity and cancer cell toxicity for a variety of relevant drug compounds under development. SwRI expanded the capabilities of its Rhodium™ drug development tool to visualize and rapidly predict how ...

Swiping through online videos to relieve boredom may actually make people more bored and less satisfied or engaged with the content, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.    The study included seven experiments with a total of more than 1,200 participants from the United States or college students at the University of Toronto. In two baseline experiments, participants switched from one online video to the next when they were bored, and they predicted they would feel less bored by switching videos instead ...

Editor’s note: NCSA is cohosting an International Summit on a Computational System for Frontier Earth System Science and Climate Simulation & Projection September 29 through October 2, 2024 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Toward a Computational Framework for Earth System Models at Kilometer Resolution to Support Earth System Science and Climate Projection By Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Professor of Atmospheric Science and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science and Policy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Almost daily, and often without realizing it, we rely upon computers to guide our decisions. Whether finding the fastest ...

As of 2024, approximately 2.7 million Americans aged 12 and older were estimated to have misused prescription opioids in the past year. Moreover, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamines, among other substances, reflect a complex landscape that requires ongoing efforts aimed at prevention, treatment and policy changes to address the various issues associated with each substance. Florida Atlantic University was recently selected to participate in the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Combatting Substance Use Opioid Crises Core Competency Implementation Pilot Project. To improve coordination ...

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the epigenetics company TruDiagnostic have uncovered DNA markers associated with retroelements, remnants of ancient viral genetic material, in our genes that act as highly accurate epigenetic clocks predicting chronological age. The results support the idea that certain retroelements in the human genome may be involved in aging. Retroelements have been known to impact gene regulation, gene expression, genomic stability and the trajectory of various human diseases, but their potential as biomarkers for aging had been largely unexplored. The ...

DENVER, Aug. 19, 2024 — Heart failure is a leading cause of death worldwide and is especially fatal for people who don’t have access to medical facilities. So, a team of researchers aims to bring heart failure screening from the lab to the home. Their point-of-care electrochemical biosensor prototype, which resembles a see-through lateral flow test for COVID-19, can measure levels of two biomarkers for heart failure in as little as 15 minutes from just a drop of saliva. Trey Pittman, a graduate student at Colorado State University, will present his team’s research at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2024 is a hybrid ...

DENVER, Aug. 19, 2024 — Children born with defects that impair the heart’s lower chambers undergo a series of invasive surgeries early in life. The first surgery includes implantation of a plastic tube called a shunt to improve blood flow. However, as children grow, the shunt is often replaced to accommodate their changing bodies. Now, researchers have designed a shunt that expands when activated by light. If developed successfully, this device could reduce the number of open-chest surgeries these children receive. The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2024 ...

In recent years, public health measures, surveillance, and vaccination have helped bring about significant progress in reducing the impact of seasonal flu epidemics, caused by human influenza viruses A and B. However, a possible outbreak of avian influenza A (commonly known as ‘bird flu’) in mammals, including humans, poses a significant threat to public health.  The Cusack group at EMBL Grenoble studies the replication process of influenza viruses. A new study from this group sheds light on the different mutations that the avian influenza virus can undergo to be able to replicate in mammalian cells.  Some avian influenza ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Energy companies use persistent and personalized pressure to get landowners to give permission for hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and even when landowners decline, companies use legalized compulsion to conduct fracking anyway, according to a new study led by researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York and UNLV. “Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial issue, but a lot of the controversy has been focused on the big-picture consequences, for the climate and the economy,” said Benjamin Farrer, lead author and former PhD student at Binghamton University. “One of our hopes for this paper is that it will encourage policymakers ...

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 19, 2024 — Cities around the globe are experiencing increased flooding due to the compounding effects of stronger storms in a warming climate and urban growth. New research from the University of California, Irvine suggests that urban form, specifically the building density and street network of a neighborhood, is also affecting the intensity of flooding. For a paper published today in Nature Communications, researchers in UC Irvine’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering turned to statistical mechanics ...

Statement Highlights: The latest research indicates that 16% to 85% of people recovering from a stroke experience at least one psychosocial symptom, including depression, anxiety, stress, fatigue and/or decreased quality of life. Critical nursing interventions, such as regular mental health screenings, education, symptom management and follow-up care, are key to reducing the negative effects on a patient’s mental well-being after a stroke, yet only a small proportion of patients receive treatment. ...

With teaching methods for reading and writing under constant scrutiny, and high-stakes testing creating intense pressure to teach strictly to state standards, is there still value in whole-class reading? Two educators believe that whole-class reading should go hand-in-hand with individual instructional reading, and they say it is vital for cultivating a sense of classroom community while developing critical thinking in young minds. Educators Lynsey Burkins and Franki Sibberson, both teachers and educators from Ohio, have published a book called In Community ...

DENVER, Aug. 18, 2024 — If you’ve visited a trendy café in the past few years, you might have noticed “golden” turmeric milk on the menu. Though recently advertised as a caffeine-free, healthy coffee alternative, the drink is a fancified version of haldi doodh — a traditional Indian beverage often used as an at-home cold remedy. And now, researchers have developed an efficient method to make a plant-based, instant version that maintains the beneficial properties of the ingredients while also extending its shelf life. The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ...

DENVER, Aug. 18, 2024 — Artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded in popularity. It powers models that help us drive vehicles, proofread emails and even design new molecules for medications. But just like a human, it’s hard to read AI’s mind. Explainable AI (XAI), a subset of the technology, could help us do just that by justifying a model’s decisions. And now, researchers are using XAI to not only scrutinize predictive AI models more closely, but also to peer deeper into the field of chemistry. The researchers will present ...

DENVER, Aug. 18, 2024 — If you come across brightly colored, cloth-bound books from the Victorian era, you might want to handle them gently, or even steer clear altogether. Some of their attractive hues come from dyes that could pose a health risk to readers, collectors or librarians. The latest research on these poisonous books used three techniques — including one that hasn’t previously been applied to books — to assess dangerous dyes in a university collection and found some volumes may be unsafe to handle. The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2024 is a hybrid meeting being ...

Tokyo, Japan – Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have identified a new photoreceptor in cyanobacteria with a modification in part of its structure which makes it sensitive to green/teal light. The photoreceptor belongs in a family usually sensitive to red/green light in the environment. They identified the parts of its amino acid structure responsible for this behavior; editing them helped restore sensitivity to red and green light, a remarkable example of molecular “plasticity” in action.   Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are phenomenally important players ...

Researchers led by Cranfield University have developed new ways to detect sugar syrup adulteration in honey, paving the way for fast and accurate tests to discover fake products. There is growing consumer demand for honey, with £89.8 million worth of honey imported to the UK in 2023. But as a high-value product it is vulnerable to fraud, with syrups added to dilute the pure honey – a report from the European Commission in 2023 found 46% of 147 honey samples tested were likely to have been adulterated with cheap plant syrups. Because honey’s characteristics vary due to sources of nectar, season of harvest and ...

Sustainably reducing inappropriate IV use by more than a third  Reasearch led by Amsterdam UMC, across more than 5 years and 1100 patients has demonstrated a strategy for reducing inappropriate IV use by a third, an effect that was sustained across the five-year period. This should also lead to reduction in the associated infections that effect one in ten patients. These results are published today in The Lancet eClinicalMedicine.  "Infections caused by both IVs and catheters occur in more than 10% of patients and studies indicate that up to a quarter are not necessary. Simply, this means that patients are placed at ...

Two University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists have discovered a new type of “whistler,” an electromagnetic wave that carries a substantial amount of lightning energy to the Earth’s magnetosphere. The research is published today in Science Advances. Vikas Sonwalkar, a professor emeritus, and Amani Reddy, an assistant professor, discovered the new type of wave. The wave carries lightning energy, which enters the ionosphere at low latitudes, to the magnetosphere. The energy is reflected upward by the ionosphere’s ...

A fish on land still waves its fins, but the results are markedly different when that fish is in water. Attributed to renowned computer scientist Alan Kay, the analogy is used to illustrate the power of context in illuminating questions under investigation. In a first for the field of artificial intelligence (AI), a tool called PINNACLE embodies Kay’s insight when it comes to understanding the behavior of proteins in their proper context as determined by the tissues and cells in which these proteins act and ...