San Diego, CA (October 24, 2024) — Investigators recently uncovered key insights into newly defined rejection entities in kidney transplantation that may offer improved patient risk categorization post-transplant. The research will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2024 October 23– 27. Kidney transplant rejection continues to threaten the long-term success of kidney transplants, with microvascular inflammation (inflammation within capillaries) playing a pivotal role in graft failure. Due to its complex nature, this inflammation poses a major challenge in clinical practice. In response, the international Banff classification—the ...

**Embargo: 23.30 [UK time] / 06.30pm [US ET] Thursday 24th October 2024** Peer reviewed / Literature review, systematic review and meta-analysis, opinion / People Embargoed access to the Commission report and contact details for authors are available in Notes to Editors at the end of the release. The Lancet Public Health: New Commission calls for regulatory reform to tackle the health impacts of the rapid global expansion of commercial gambling Gambling harms are far more substantial than previously understood, exacerbated by rapid global expansion ...

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have shown that they can accurately re-create clinical trials of new treatments using ‘digital twins’ of real cancer patients. The technology, called FarrSight®-Twin, which is based on algorithms used by astrophysicists to discover black holes, will be presented today (Friday) at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, Spain.   The researchers say that this approach could be used by cancer ...

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible for a specially-designed ‘mini-protein’ to deliver a radiation dose directly to tumour cells expressing a protein on their cell surfaces called Nectin-4, which is often found in a number of different cancers.   In a study presented on Friday at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, Spain, Mike Sathekge, Professor and Head of the Nuclear Medicine Department at the University of Pretoria ...

Barcelona, Spain: Patients with advanced bladder cancer that had spread to other parts of the body (metastasised) have responded well in a phase I clinical trial of an investigational drug, TYRA-300. The drug targets changes in the FGFR3 gene that drive tumour growth in about 10%-20% of these patients.   Associate Professor, Ben Tran, a medical oncologist at Peter McCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, presented the first results as of 15 August 2024 from 41 patients enrolled in the SURF301 study in a late-breaking oral presentation at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics ...

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have discovered key mutations in certain cancer cells that make them resistant to WRN inhibitors, a new class of anti-cancer drugs. The yet-to-be-published findings are presented on Friday at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, Spain.   Werner helicase (WRN) inhibitors are already being evaluated in phase I clinical trials in patients with tumours that have microsatellite instability (MSI) – a condition in which the genes responsible for monitoring and repairing mistakes in DNA replication stop functioning, and errors are introduced. This is also ...

PEMBROKE, N.H. — Approximately 71 to 95 million people in the Lower 48 states – more than 20% of the country’s population – may rely on groundwater that contains detectable concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, for their drinking water supplies. These findings are according to a U.S Geological Survey study published Oct. 24. The predictive model results can help members of the public, water suppliers and regulators understand the potential for PFAS contamination, guide future studies and inform strategic planning for water resources. USGS scientists are the first to ...

New Zealand’s native stoneflies have changed colour in response to human-driven environmental changes, new research shows. Just published in the journal Science, the University of Otago study provides arguably the world’s most clear-cut case of animal evolution in response to change made by humans. Co-author Professor Jon Waters, of the Department of Zoology, says the stonefly has become a different colour due to recent deforestation. “In natural forested regions, a native species has evolved ‘warning’ colours that mimic those of a poisonous forest species, to trick predators into ...

As renewable energy sources such as wind and solar become more widespread, managing the power grid has become increasingly complex. Researchers at the University of Virginia have developed an innovative solution: an artificial intelligence model that can address the uncertainties of renewable energy generation and electric vehicle demand, making power grids more reliable and efficient. Multi-Fidelity Graph Neural Networks: A New AI Solution The new model is based on multi-fidelity graph neural networks (GNNs), ...

One in five children has an identified mental health problem as early as age 3. Early detection is key to earlier intervention, and it also could prevent more severe conditions down the line, such as ADHD, depression and anxiety. Pediatric primary care is an ideal setting to conduct screening for mental health risk, given that pediatricians tend to have close, ongoing relationships with young patients and their families, and broad reach to historically marginalized communities. Since mental health screening of toddlers in primary care is uncommon, it is important to train pediatricians to do so without implicit bias and in a way that prevents unintended ...

EL PASO, Texas (Oct. 24, 2024) – Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso have created a portable device that can detect colorectal and prostate cancer more cheaply and quickly than prevailing methods. The team believes the device may be especially helpful in developing countries, which experience higher cancer mortality rates due in part to barriers to medical diagnosis. “Our new biochip device is low-cost — just a few dollars — and sensitive, which will make accurate disease diagnosis accessible to anyone, ...

Dr. Kevin J. Kelly, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University and a member of the George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the American Physical Society’s Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics in recognition of his contributions and promising career potential in fundamental particle physics and cosmology. Kelly, who joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2022, works at the interface of two of the biggest outstanding mysteries in particle physics: ...

Climate change is driving more extreme heat and more air pollution from wildfires, each of which put human health at risk. Now, new research funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and led by University of Maryland School of Public Health Professor Dr. Amir Sapkota, will study how these hazards independently and jointly impact already vulnerable groups, such as people living with end stage kidney disease (ESKD). The researchers aim to identify preventative solutions. “During extreme heat, the damaged kidneys of people with ESKD do not regulate fluid levels very ...

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center say they have identified a gene pathway involving the mineral zinc in mice that may someday point the way to using zinc-based supplements to directly help people with a rare disorder called short bowel syndrome (SBS). The findings, published Oct. 7 in Nature Communications, help advance efforts toward more effective, potential treatment regimens for both children and adults with the debilitating condition.   SBS, which affects 10,000–20,000 adults and children in the United States, is marked by damage to and shortening of ...

Sergei Kalinin, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been named the winner of the David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics by the American Physical Society. The award recognizes one outstanding contributor in the field of materials physics who is notable for high-quality research, review articles, and lecturing.   “I am deeply honored to receive the Adler Award, as it recognizes the critical transition in materials discovery that my colleagues at the University of Tennessee and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and I have championed,” ...

Few people are fans of stink bugs, mosquitoes, or boll weevils, but insects play a key role in the circle of life that makes up the planet’s environment. In fact, world-renowned biologist E. O. Wilson famously declared that if insects vanished, our environment would collapse.  Scientists have noted that insect behaviour has been changing, and their populations are declining – on average 2-3% per year. This has prompted them to investigate the potential causes of this change, such as habitat loss due to overdevelopment, climate change, and chemical use.  EMBL researchers and collaborators recently investigated how pesticides, herbicides, ...

A team led by researchers at MIT has discovered that a distant interstellar cloud contains an abundance of pyrene, a type of large, carbon-containing molecule known as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH).  The discovery of pyrene in this far-off cloud, which is similar to the collection of dust and gas that eventually became our own solar system, suggests that pyrene may have been the source of much of the carbon in our solar system. That hypothesis is also supported by a recent finding that samples returned from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu contain large quantities of pyrene.  “One of the big questions in ...

Even at concentrations too low to kill, exposure to widely used agrochemicals – pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, among others – has pervasive negative impacts on insect behavior and physiology, researchers report. The findings highlight the need for more comprehensive pesticide assessments, focusing not just on lethality but also on unintended long-term ecological harm to safeguard biodiversity. Over the past decade, many reports have highlighted alarming declines in insect ...

“The modern era of megafires is often defined based on wildfire size,” say Jennifer Balch and colleagues in a new study, “but it should be defined based on how fast fires grow and their consequent societal impacts.” Balch and colleagues report that wildfire growth rates in the U.S. have surged over 250% over the last 2 decades. Although these fast-moving infernos, or “fast fires” – those spreading more than 1,620 hectares in a day – account for only 2.7% of wildfire events from 2001 to 2020, researchers report that they are responsible for 89% of the total structures damaged ...

According to a new machine learning-assisted predictive model, as many as 95 million Americans may rely on groundwater containing PFAS for their drinking water supplies before any treatment, researchers report. This raises concerns about unmonitored contamination in domestic and public water supplies. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called “forever chemicals,“ are highly persistent environmental contaminants linked to adverse environmental and health effects. Used in many consumer products, these organic pollutants have become ubiquitous in the environment and ...

Tardigrades, eight-legged microorganisms colloquially known as “water bears,” are the most radiation-tolerant animals on Earth. Now, by studying a newly identified species of tardigrade, researchers have gleaned valuable insights into the animal’s ability to withstand radiation. These findings hold implications for safeguarding human health in extreme environments, such as spaceflight. Roughly 1,500 species of tardigrades have been described. These creatures can endure gamma radiation ...

A new study conducted in roundworms finds that a common plastic ingredient causes breaks in DNA strands, resulting in egg cells with the wrong number of chromosomes. Monica Colaiácovo of Harvard Medical School led the study, which was published October 24 in the journal PLOS Genetics. Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) is a chemical that makes plastic more flexible and durable, and is found in many consumer products, including food packaging, personal care products and children’s toys. Previous studies have shown that BBP interferes with ...

Prostate cancer is a quiet killer. In most men, it’s treatable. However, in some cases, it resists all known therapies and turns extremely deadly. A new discovery at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) points to a potentially groundbreaking solution. CSHL Professor Lloyd Trotman’s lab has found that the pro-oxidant supplement menadione slows prostate cancer progression in mice. The supplement is a precursor to vitamin K, commonly found in leafy greens. The story begins more than two decades ago. In 2001, the National Cancer Institute’s SELECT trial sought to determine if an antioxidant ...

Fast-growing fires were responsible for nearly 90 percent of fire-related damages despite being relatively rare in the United States between 2001-2020, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder. “Fast fires,” which thrust embers into the air ahead of rapidly advancing flames, can ignite homes before emergency responders are able to intervene. The work, published today in Science, shows these fires are getting faster in the Western U.S., increasing the risk for millions of people.  The research highlights a critical gap in hazard preparedness across the U.S. — National-level ...

Bacteria evolve rapidly in the human gut by sharing genetic elements with each other. Bacteriodales is a prolific order of gut bacteria that trade hundreds of genetic elements. Little is known, however, about the effects of these DNA transfers, either to the fitness of the bacteria or the host. New research from the University of Chicago shows that a large, ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of Bacteroides fragilis, a common bacterium of the human gut. Acquisition of this element shuts down a potent weapon ...