Smoking shrinks the brain, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The good news is that quitting smoking prevents further loss of brain tissue — but still, stopping smoking doesn’t restore the brain to its original size. Since people’s brains naturally lose volume with age, smoking effectively causes the brain to age prematurely, the researchers said. The findings, published in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, help explain why smokers are at high risk of age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. “Up until recently, scientists have overlooked ...

PHILADELPHIA— Having the ability to self-schedule mammograms was associated with a 15 percentage point increase following through with getting the screening, according to research  from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The paper was published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Self-scheduling helps make the path to mammogram completion a little smoother, where you don’t have to find the time to call a scheduling line, wait on hold, or go back and forth trying to find an appointment that works for your schedule,” said the study’s lead author, Kimberly Waddell, ...

PORTLAND, Oregon -- New research from Oregon Health & Science University could one day lead to therapies that prevent or treat diseases and infections tied to a protein that’s found in all human cells. A study published today in the journal Molecular Cell describes how the protein ubiquitin is modified during a bacterial infection. The study details the steps taken to create a form of the protein known as lysine 6 polyubiquitin, where a long chain of ubiquitin molecules are linked through ...

More than one-eighth of the randomized trials of cancer drugs seeking regulatory approval in China in recent years used inappropriate controls to test the effectiveness and safety of the drugs, according to a new study published December 12th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Professor Xiaodong Guan of Peking University, China, and colleagues. In randomized trials, patients are assigned to either a control arm, in which they receive the current optimal treatment, or an experimental arm, in which they receive the new drug being tested. However, studies have previously ...

MADISON – An interdisciplinary team led by University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists has developed a new technique that could help farmers extract useful nutrients such as ammonia and potassium from livestock manure to efficiently make fertilizer and other useful chemical products. While the strategy still needs to be scaled up beyond a proof-of-concept stage, the group's preliminary analyses show it could offer considerable benefits by cutting water and air pollution while simultaneously creating products that farmers could use or sell. Manure stinks in part because it contains ammonia, one of the more ...

DENVER/Dec. 12, 2023 – A new article published in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution by Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers describes a simplified method to detect a deadly fungus killing European salamanders. The ability to rapidly find the fungus is significant as the disease, although not detected in the U.S., could impact the millions of amphibians and salamanders annually imported.  The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bsal, threatens salamander diversity. Initially identified in northern Europe, evidence suggests it was introduced from Southeast Asia via the pet trade.  “The impacts of Bsal ...

EMBO launches a new award for laboratory sustainability: The EMBO Lab Sustainability Award will recognize new and significant contributions to the development of sustainable wet and dry labs with a focus on their environmental impact. The award will be presented to an individual representing the initiative or project. Applications can be submitted between 15 January and 15 March 2024.  The award winner will have the opportunity to present their initiative or project at scientific events and publish a commentary in EMBO Reports. In addition, the winning project will be supported with a grant of 10,000 euros. The award is one of ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Stem cell-based therapy improved quality of life for patients with advanced heart failure, Mayo Clinic researchers and international collaborators discovered in a late-stage multinational clinical trial. In one of the largest studies of cell intervention after a heart attack, patients reported their daily hardship lessened when stem cells optimized for heart repair supplemented standard of care. This clinical study further documented lower death and hospitalization rates among those treated with cell therapy. This research ...

ABSTRACT: LBA-2 SAN DIEGO ― The targeted therapy combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and achieved an overall remission rate in 82% of patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Results from the Phase III SYMPATICO trial were presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. At a median follow-up of 51.2 months, median PFS was 31.9 months with the combination compared to 22.1 months with ibrutinib plus placebo. PFS benefits were consistent across patient subgroups, including those with blastoid-variant ...

DURHAM, N.C. – Identifying an older patient who is at risk for post-operative cognitive dysfunction might be done in the blink of an eye – literally.   Researchers at Duke Health found that a simple EEG measurement detects a signal of cognitive vulnerability when patients are asked to close, then open their eyes. Conducted prior to surgery, the non-invasive readout of brain waves helps predict which patients are at risk of post-operative confusion and attention problems.   “Roughly half of seemingly normal older adults experience problems with thinking, memory or attention after surgery,” said Leah Acker, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in ...

In April 2015, looters sacked an ancient cave burial at a site called Urd Ulaan Uneet high within the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia. When police apprehended the criminals, they uncovered, among other artifacts, an elegantly carved saddle made from several pieces of birch wood. Now, in a new study, researchers from Mongolia collaborating with University of Colorado Boulder archaeologist William Taylor have described the find. The team’s radiocarbon dating pins the artifact to roughly the 4th Century ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Self-propelled nanoparticles could potentially advance drug delivery and lab-on-a-chip systems — but they are prone to go rogue with random, directionless movements. Now, an international team of researchers has developed an approach to rein in the synthetic particles. Led by Igor Aronson, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Mathematics at Penn State, the team redesigned the nanoparticles into a propeller shape to better control their movements and increase their functionality. ...

Karandeep Singh, MD, has been recruited as the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Endowed Chair in Digital Health Innovation at University of California School of Medicine and named as the inaugural chief health artificial intelligence (AI) officer at UC San Diego Health, a newly developed position for the region’s only academic medical center. This new role will be effective December 29, 2023. In this position, Singh will focus on implementing change that advances safety and health outcomes in acute and ambulatory settings. His contributions will be pivotal in bringing innovation to ...

NEW YORK, NY--Many Black Americans who are thought to have a high risk of developing kidney disease possess a protective genetic variant that nullifies the extra risk, a new study from Columbia researchers has found. The study found that high-risk people who carry this variant have a risk of developing kidney disease much closer to that of the general population.  The findings will have an immediate impact on clinical practice, says study leader Simone Sanna-Cherchi, MD, associate professor of medicine at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “Physicians ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Using a “liquid biopsy” to study genetic material from tumors shed into the bloodstream together with immune cells could help clinicians predict which patients with advanced lung cancers are responding to immunotherapies and which patients may develop immune-related side effects several months later, according to research directed by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute in Pittsburgh. By monitoring changes in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) among 30 patients treated with immunotherapies for metastatic non-small cell lung cancers, ...

WASHINGTON, DC, 2023, December 12, 2023 – The problem of foodborne metal contamination has taken on new urgency, thanks in part to a 2021 US Congressional Report detailing high levels of metals found in infant food pulled off grocery shelves. (More recently, high levels of lead were discovered in children’s fruit puree pouches.) Now, two new studies provide information on the correlation between exposure to heavy metals in food and the risk of cancers and other serious health risks. The findings will be presented ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are often depicted as sentient agents poised to overshadow the human mind. But AI lacks the crucial human ability of innovation, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have found. While children and adults alike can solve problems by finding novel uses for everyday objects, AI systems often lack the ability to view tools in a new way, according to findings published according to findings published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of ...

Physician-scientist Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD, is being honored at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting with the William Dameshek Prize, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of hematology. The award will be presented December 12. Dr. Abdel-Wahab, who chairs the Molecular Pharmacology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), was selected for his “trailblazing research” characterizing the genetic mutations that drive blood ...

A new study out of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Lyme Disease Research Center has revealed disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease between Black and White patients with the condition. Researchers say the data, which draws on participants’ medical histories, whether from Johns Hopkins Medicine or other institutions, highlights issues in the nation’s medical education on Lyme disease. In the full article, published December 12 in JAMA Network Open, researchers say that Black patients were more likely to have advanced stages of Lyme disease when clinically diagnosed and also experience a longer time before receiving antibiotic treatment for the condition. Lyme ...

DALLAS (SMU) J.-C. Chiao, the Mary and Richard Templeton Centennial Chair and professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the SMU Lyle School of Engineering, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).   Election as an NAI fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors. The NAI Fellows Program highlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.   Chiao, one of 162 inventors selected for the ...

The ability to transmit information coherently in the band of the electromagnetic spectrum from microwave to infrared is vitally important to the development of the advanced quantum networks used in computing and communications.  A study conducted by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil, in collaboration with colleagues at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and TU Delft in the Netherlands, focused on the use of nanometric optomechanical cavities for this purpose. These nanoscale resonators promote interaction between high-frequency ...

Sanford Burnham Prebys today announced that Lori Moore will join the Institute’s Board of Trustees.   “With many years in health care, both as a provider and a leader, Lori brings a welcomed depth and breadth of experience,” says David A. Brenner, president and CEO of Sanford Burnham Prebys. “Her perspectives will be much valued as the Institute advances its message of translating science into health.”   Moore is a registered nurse, a fifth-generation San Diegan and a member of the Cushman family, whose philanthropic endeavors span decades. She serves as vice president of The Cushman Foundation, which supports a wide range of community ...

A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition shows daily consumption of prunes may reduce inflammation markers connected to bone signaling pathways and reduce the effects of bone loss among postmenopausal women. “Bone loss is a significant issue impacting more than 50% of women over the age of 50, and there is no cure,” said Principal Investigator Mary Jane De Souza, PhD, Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University. “While medications and hormone therapies are available, they often require lifelong management and come with risks. It’s ...

SALT LAKE CITY - In the past ten years, the percentage of Americans who use medical marijuana has more than doubled as state-level legalization becomes increasingly common. But despite its prevalence as a medication, the full health effects of cannabis remain unknown, especially for specific populations—such as pregnant people—that might be especially at risk of health complications. Now, in a large study of more than 9,000 pregnant people from across the U.S., researchers at University of Utah Health have found that cannabis ...

While the lithium-ion batteries in disposable electronic cigarettes are discarded after a single use, they can continue to perform at high capacity for hundreds of cycles, according to a study published December 12 in the journal Joule. The analysis, conducted by scientists from University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford and supported by The Faraday Institution, highlights a growing environmental threat from these increasingly popular vape pens, which are not designed to be recharged. “The surprise for us were the results that pointed toward just how long these batteries could potentially cycle,” says ...