PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [November 7, 2023] — New research in the November 2023 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network suggests that patients who have insufficient levels of vitamin D before starting paclitaxel treatment are more likely to experience peripheral neuropathy. According to an analysis of 1,191 patients with early-stage breast cancer—using data collected in the SWOG S0221 study—20.7% of patients with vitamin D deficiency experienced at least a grade 3 level of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), compared to 14.2% of those with sufficient vitamin D levels. The researchers ...

The rapid adoption of zero-emission electric vehicles will move the nation close to an 80% or more drop in transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from the 2019 level according to researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The researchers came to that conclusion after running thousands of computer simulations on the steps needed to decarbonize passenger and freight travel, which make up the largest contributor to greenhouse gases. While they advised that “no single technology, policy, or behavioral change” is enough by itself to reach the target, eliminating tailpipe emissions would be a major factor. “There ...

After the Southwest Research Institute-led Lucy mission flew past the asteroid Dinkinesh, the team discovered that it is even more “marvelous” as its newly discovered satellite is now shown to be a double-lobed moonlet. As NASA’s Lucy spacecraft continued to return data acquired during its first asteroid encounter on Nov. 1, 2023, the team discovered that Dinkinesh’s surprise satellite is itself a contact binary, made of two smaller objects touching each other. In the first image of Dinkinesh and its satellite taken at closest approach, the two lobes of the contact binary lined up, one behind the other, ...

New maps of more than 1,000 deep-seated landslides in the Puget Lowlands of Washington State provide evidence of the last major earthquake along the Seattle Fault about 1,100 years ago—and may also hold traces of older earthquakes along the fault. Clusters of landslides offer a potential record of earthquakes, if researchers can determine when the landslides occurred. The new study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America combines information about the location of these Puget Lowlands landslides along with new dates obtained from measuring the surface roughness of the landslides. The ...

Researchers led by Mroj Alassaf at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the United States have discovered a link between obesity and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. Using the common fruit fly, the research shows that a high-sugar diet — a hallmark of obesity — causes insulin resistance in the brain, which in turn reduces the ability to remove neuronal debris, thus increasing the risk of neurodegeneration. Publishing November 7th in the open access journal PLOS Biology, the research will impact therapies designed to reduce the risk of developing ...

A common, cat-borne parasite already associated with risk-taking behavior and mental illness in humans may also contribute to exhaustion, loss of muscle mass, and other signs of “frailty” in older adults, suggests a study published Nov. 6 in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Science. The research, by an international team of scientists including University of Colorado Boulder, University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of A Coruña in Spain, is the latest to explore how the tiny, single-celled ...

Scientists have unlocked the genetic basis underlying the remarkable variation in body size observed in song sparrows, one of North America’s most familiar and beloved songbirds. This discovery also provides insights into this species’ capacity to adapt to the challenges of climate change. The study, published today in Nature Communications, used genomic sequencing to successfully pinpoint eight genetic variants, or DNA mutations, largely responsible for the nearly threefold difference in body size observed across the song sparrow range from Mexico to Alaska. For instance, song sparrows that live year-round ...

A nationwide study of 21,878 older nursing home residents with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) found a higher rate of bleeding and little difference in the effectiveness of standard versus reduced-dose treatment using direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC). “Given the potential harms and unclear benefits of standard DOAC dosing, our results support the use of reduced-dose DOACs for many older adults with multiple chronic medical conditions,” said Dr. Sarah Berry, MD, MPH, of Hebrew SeniorLife’s Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research.  DOACs can prevent serious thrombotic events like stroke in residents with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation ...

It’s not “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” but Associate Professor of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Mark Yi-Cheon Yim has an adorable pup on his desk at UMass Lowell’s Pulichino Tong Business Center.   As Yim pats the top of the dog’s head, its ears lift, its tail wags and it yelps in delight. When Yim scratches under its chin, the dog appears to smile as its head sways in appreciation.   For a moment, you almost forget that the dog – a Sony aibo, which has been around for 24 years (168 dog years) and retails for $2,900 – is an artificial ...

Political violence is eroding the overall health of democracy in the United States, according to more than 100 global scholars surveyed for a new report. The report, released today by Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute and Protect Democracy, identifies how and to what extent experts believe violence is interfering with American democracy. Those surveyed were most concerned about elections, with more than half suggesting that U.S. electoral processes have a high potential of breaking down in the future.­­­­­­­­­ “Political violence is occurring, and it comes in waves,” said co-author Lilliana Mason, an associate ...

Food allergies can quickly turn a casual meal into a life-threatening situation. Anaphylaxis – a severe allergic reaction that may include a skin rash, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and shock – from a food allergy sends 200,000 people to the emergency room annually in the United States. Because pinpointing a food allergy could mean life or death, an accurate diagnosis is critical. Oral food challenges – when a patient ingests increasing doses up to a full serving of the suspected food allergen under ...

A study involving the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has found that the use of applications for depression can have a significant effect on treating the symptoms of this increasingly prevalent mental illness, especially when used in hybrid treatments, i.e. those that combine technology with the involvement of a professional. That is one of the main conclusions from the research done by the team led by Carme Carrion, principal investigator at the eHealth Lab, based on their compilation and analysis of the most painstaking scientific research in this field in recent years. The members of this research group, which is affiliated ...

Boston (Nov. 7, 2023) — Teens from low-income families experiencing food insecurity are developing the most common form of liver disease twice as often as those who have easier access to food, likely because they rely on low-cost, ultra-processed foods, according to a study scheduled for presentation at The Liver Meeting, held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Participation in the food assistance program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, seems to protect young people against liver disease. “The ...

Boston (Nov. 7, 2023) — The most common form of chronic liver disease is expected to steadily rise over the next 25 years, adding significant burden to the medical system as a new model predicts nearly twice as many liver cancers and almost triple the need for liver transplantation by 2050, according to a study scheduled for presentation at The Liver Meeting, held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Rising rates of obesity and diabetes are blamed for the anticipated increase ...

Bethesda, MD (Nov. 7, 2023) — The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released a rapid clinical practice update addressing the management of patients taking glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) prior to endoscopy. Published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, AGA finds no data to support all patients stopping GLP-1 RAs prior to elective endoscopy procedures. This guidance is in response to American Society of Anesthesiologists’ call for patients to stop taking GLP-1 RAs prior to elective procedures ...

Most organizations and companies have two main goals — fulfill a purpose and generate profit. In some cases, profit is prioritized over purpose. However, for researchers at Texas A&M University and their partners with the Southwest-Midwest Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (SWPDC), the purpose transcends profit. The SWPDC was established in 2018 with $6.75 million in funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address the pediatric device development and innovation deficit. Following five ...

NASA’s short-form, narrative podcast, NASA’s Curious Universe, returns for its sixth season Nov. 7. This season will bring listeners on new “wild and wonderful” adventures from the farthest reaches of the cosmos to right here on planet Earth.  In season six, listeners will meet researchers who are using sounds from the Sun to learn crucial details about our star, explore the “dark side” of the universe with scientists who study dark matter and dark energy, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the first NASA mission to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth.  Listen to the ...

Bronchiectasis, a condition defined by widened lung airways, cough and sputum production, and frequent infections, often presents along with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This overlap is associated with airflow obstruction and higher mortality in adults. As healthcare systems now provide access to lung image data more commonly than before, bronchiectasis can be detected incidentally on radiological scans of patients with mild or no symptoms. A team led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, studied the association ...

Princeton University has launched a new Ph.D. program in Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE), providing graduate training in an emerging discipline at the intersection of quantum physics and information theory. This new field of quantum information science has broad implications and may enable fundamentally new technology, including new types of computers that can solve currently intractable problems, communication channels guaranteed secure by the laws of physics, and sensors that offer unprecedented sensitivity and spatial resolution. Applications from prospective students are due December 15 for an incoming ...

The innovation by chemists, resulting in the creation of a long polyethylene chain out of the small chemical monomer ethylene, has been a ground-breaking discovery, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963. This remarkable discovery paved the way for highly useful industrial processes and set the stage for widespread use of plastics, which transformed our world in once unimaginable manners. Today, exactly six decades later, the extensive use of plastics and their products is posing a threat to human health and the environment ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Microfossils from Western Australia may capture a jump in the complexity of life that coincided with the rise of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, according to an international team of scientists. The findings, published in the journal Geobiology, provide a rare window into the Great Oxidation Event, a time roughly 2.4 billion years ago when the oxygen concentration increased on Earth, fundamentally changing the planet’s surface. The event is thought to have triggered a mass extinction and opened the door for the development ...

MYC family genes are essential for the human organism. According to current knowledge, they regulate the expression of most cellular genes. Misregulation of MYC proteins significantly contributes to the development of many types of cancer. Unsurprisingly, MYC proteins are in the focus of cancer research worldwide. From a scientific point of view, they could be the ideal anti-cancer targets. Indeed, the importance of MYC for the development of cancer cells has been known for a long time. However, the structure of MYC proteins and their molecular function ...

The Horizon Europe funded TIER2 project (enhancing Trust, Integrity and Efficiency in Research through next-level Reproducibility) has announced the two consortia which will receive a €5000 monetary award to hold a kick-off meeting for a national Reproducibility Network in their respective countries. The Georgian and Ukrainian awardees were selected among multiple applicants of the TIER2 Open Call which opened in July 2023 (read more here). After a round of reviews, carried out by Thomas Klebel (TIER2), Luka Ursic ...

A new article in the peer-reviewed OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology examines the ethical, equity, and societal/relational implications of digital health technologies for precision medicine in end-of-life care. Click here to read the article now.  John Noel Viana, PhD, from The Australian National University, and coauthors specifically assess the implications of two precision health modalities: (1) integrated systems biology/multi-omics analysis for disease prognostication; and (2) digital health technologies for health status monitoring and communication. The investigators provide ...

Hundreds of clinics may be using false and misleading statements in online advertising campaigns by offering off-label and unapproved ketamine to treat a variety of mental health and pain conditions, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Johns Hopkins University. The study was published in JAMA Network Open. “These are expensive treatments for which patients generally must pay out of pocket and the evidence base is often not robust for many of the advertised uses,” said Michael DiStefano, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy ...