The general anesthetic propofol may hold the keys to developing new treatment strategies for epilepsy and other neurological disorders, according to a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Sweden’s Linköping University. In their study, published July 31 in Nature, the researchers determined the high-resolution structural details of how propofol inhibits the activity of HCN1, an ion channel protein found on many types of neurons. Drug developers consider inhibiting HCN1 a promising strategy for treating neurologic disorders including epilepsy and chronic pain. The researchers also found, to their surprise, that when HCN1 contains ...

About The Study: The results of this survey study of U.S. adults suggest that trust in physicians and hospitals decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. As lower levels of trust were associated with lesser likelihood of pursuing vaccination, restoring trust may represent a public health imperative.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Roy H. Perlis, MD, MSc, email rperlis@mgh.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.24984) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this comparative effectiveness study of state firearm policies, the joint effect estimates of combinations of firearm laws were calculated, showing that restrictive firearm policies were associated with substantial reductions in firearm mortality. Although policymakers would benefit from knowing the effects of individual policies, the estimated changes in firearm mortality following implementation of individual policies were often small and uncertain.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding ...

About The Study: Sugar-sweetened beverage excise taxes were associated with lower body mass index percentile among youth in this cohort study. Policymakers should consider implementing sugar-sweetened beverage excise taxes to prevent or reduce youth overweight and obesity and, ultimately, chronic disease, particularly among children younger than 12 years.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Deborah Rohm Young, PhD, email deborah.r.young@kp.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.24822) Editor’s ...

E. Kate Webb, PhD, a research fellow at McLean Hospital who works in the Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory and Neurobiology of Affective and Traumatic Experiences Laboratory, led an investigation into whether individual resources and neighborhood resources, like greenspace, might impact neurobiology and the trajectory of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Her research was published July 31st in JAMA Psychiatry. What led you to examine the link between neighborhood characteristics and PTSD? About 46 million people experience ...

Nearly half of the nation’s National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers required universal masking in key clinical areas during the winter 2023-2024 COVID-19 surge, according to a study by Tulane University researchers. Overall, 41.8% of these 67 centers required some universal masking, according to the study, which published in JAMA Network Open. Further, 12 NCI-designated centers (18%) required universal masking in all areas. Masking policies were even more common in northeastern states and in centers with longer NCI designation, more funding and higher care rankings. Those with cancer face higher risks from COVID-19 ...

Proteins are constantly performing a kind of dance. They move and contort their bodies to fulfill specific functions inside our bodies. The NMDAR protein executes an especially hard dance routine in our brains. One wrong step can lead to a range of neurological disorders. NMDAR binds to the neurotransmitter, glutamate, and another compound, glycine. These bindings control NMDAR’s dance steps. When their routine is over, the NMDAR opens. This open ion channel generates electrical signals critical for cognitive functions like memory. The problem is that scientists couldn’t figure out the last step in NMDAR’s routine—until ...

At any given time, over 10 trillion microbes call our guts their home. From breaking down nutrients in our food to strengthening our immunity against pathogens, these microbes play an essential role in how we interact with the world. This includes – as shown in a new study by EMBL researchers and collaborators at the University of Split, Croatia – the way the body responds to carcinogens and develops cancer.  Carcinogens are chemicals that can cause ordinary cells to transform into cancer ...

BOSTON– A cross-representative survey of adults in the United States showed decreasing levels of trust in physicians and hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic—and the lower the trust, the less likely an individual was to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 or influenza. The findings come from a survey study of more than 400,000 U.S. adults published in JAMA Network Open by a team co-led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. “Trust in ...

The connections between the nervous system and muscles develop differently across the kingdom of life. It takes newborn humans roughly a year to develop the proper muscular systems that support the ability to walk, while cows can walk mere minutes after birth and run not long after. University of California San Diego researchers, using powerful new visualization technologies, now have a clear picture of why these two scenarios develop so differently. The results offer new insight into understanding muscle contraction in humans that may help in developing future treatments for muscular diseases. “In this study we set out to understand ...

In a recent study published in Engineering, a research team from the Shenzhen Engineering Research Laboratory for Sludge and Food Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery has introduced a pioneering method to tackle the critical global issue of phosphorus (P) scarcity. Their innovative approach leverages municipal wastewater to produce phosphorus vital for the manufacture of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, a key component in the rapidly growing electric vehicle market. As the demand for LiFePO4 batteries ...

SAN ANTONIO — July 31, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute will provide engineering and equipment support for advanced cryptologic technology for shipboard and airborne platforms as part of a $35.7 million contract with the U.S. Navy. The five-year contract will deliver services from June 2024 through June 2029, with the option for the U.S. Navy to add $14 million and extend the contract through 2031. SwRI develops electronic warfare (EW) technology to detect, intercept and disrupt a range of signals on the electromagnetic spectrum, supporting efforts to thwart ...

With numerous species facing extinction, an international team of researchers has proposed an innovative solution to protect the planet's biodiversity: a lunar biorepository. This concept, detailed in a recent article in the journal BioScience, is aimed at creating a passive, long-lasting storage facility for cryopreserved samples of Earth's most at-risk animal species. Led by Dr. Mary Hagedorn of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the team envisions taking advantage of the Moon's naturally cold temperatures, particularly in permanently shadowed regions near the poles, where temperatures remain consistently below –196 degrees ...

Heavy rain and flooding in Brazil in November could tell forecasters whether December, January and February in Britain will be cold and dry or mild and wet.    This is because forecasting European winter weather patterns months in advance is made simpler during years of strong El Niño or La Niña events in the tropical Pacific Ocean, a new study has found.   A strong El Nino or La Nina in the Pacific Ocean can bring big changes in temperatures, wind patterns and rainfall patterns to South America. When ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and collaborators are initiating a research project that will send T cells to the International Space Station (ISS) to study the effects of prolonged microgravity on cell differentiation, activation, memory and exhaustion. These results will be further analyzed on Earth to uncover signaling pathways and identify potential immune targets that can improve treatment strategies for patients with cancer and other diseases. To accomplish this work, MD Anderson researchers ...

Chameleon, led by Senior Scientist Kate Keahey from Argonne National Laboratory, has been a cornerstone of CS research and education for nearly a decade. The platform has served over 10,000 users, contributing to more than 700 research publications. Chameleon has now secured an additional $12 million in funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to roll out its next four-year phase. With this new funding, Chameleon will continue to innovate and support its growing community, enabling groundbreaking discoveries in CS systems research. ABOUT CHAMELEON: A PLATFORM FOR INNOVATION Chameleon is a large-scale, deeply reconfigurable experimental ...

When performing resistance training such as lifting weights, there’s a lot of interest in how close you push yourself to failure – the point where you can’t do another rep – and how it affects your results. While research has looked at this concept in different ways, to date, no meta-analysis has explored the pattern (i.e., linear or non-linear) of how the distance from failure (measured by repetitions in reserve) affects changes in muscle strength and size. As such, it’s ...

Neurotransmitter levels in the brain can indicate brain health and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. However, the protective blood-brain barrier (BBB) makes delivering fluorescent sensors that can detect these small molecules to the brain difficult. Now, researchers in ACS Central Science demonstrate a way of packaging these sensors for easy passage across the BBB in mice, allowing for improved brain imaging. With further development, the technology could help advance Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and treatment. It is common for neurotransmitter levels ...

Millions of Americans take anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners. These medications work to prevent blood clots that cause heart attack and stroke.  More than two-thirds of those people take a type of blood thinner called a direct oral anticoagulant. DOACs, such as rivaroxaban (brand name Xarelto) and apixaban (brand name Eliquis), are under- or over-prescribed in up to one in eight patents. These prescribing issues can have life threatening consequences, and they most often occur after a provider writes the initial prescription, according to a study led by Michigan Medicine.  “Direct oral anticoagulants may be viewed ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) tests more quickly and precisely, enabling neurologists to find early signs of dementia among data that typically go unexamined. The century-old EEG, during which a dozen or more electrodes are stuck to the scalp to monitor brain activity, is often used to detect epilepsy. Its results are interpreted by neurologists and other experts trained to spot patterns among the test's squiggly waves. In new research published in Brain Communications, scientists at the Mayo Clinic Neurology AI Program (NAIP) demonstrate ...

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) study (2017), about half of all infertility is due to men. Semen analysis is considered essential for diagnosis of male infertility, but is not readily available at medical institutions other than those specializing in infertility treatment, and there is a high threshold for receiving it.   In this study, a group led by Associate Professor Hideyuki Kobayashi of the Department of Urology, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan developed an AI model that can predict the risk ...

Researchers at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with collaborators from leading international institutions, have introduced an innovative cathode homogenization strategy for all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASLBs). This new approach, detailed in their recent publication in Nature Energy on July 31, significantly improves the cycle life and energy density of ASLBs, representing an important advancement in energy storage technology. Current ASLBs face challenges due to heterogeneous composite cathodes, which require ...

Glioblastomas are highly aggressive, usually incurable brain tumors. If all therapeutic options are exhausted, patients have an average life expectancy of less than two years. Now researchers from the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) at the West German Tumor Center Essen have made a surprising discovery: in the vicinity of glioblastomas, they found islands of highly potent immune cells in the neighboring bone marrow of the skull, which play a central role in defending against cancer. The new data may open up prospects ...

Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease-related changes in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies could be made possible by monitoring the amyloid-β (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) proteins. Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan also discovered the blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein is elevated at an early stage of Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). This discovery may provide a method to identify potential patients and to make early interventions. The findings were published in npj Parkinson’s Disease.    The two forms of Lewy body disease are PD and DLB. ...

TORONTO, ON – A recent study of more than 2,700 older Canadians reported older adults with diabetes faced a heightened risk of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this cohort, almost 50% of those who had a pre-pandemic history of depression experienced depression during the pandemic. Those who experienced loneliness were among the most impacted. “During the pandemic, loneliness almost tripled the risk of depression in older adults with diabetes,” says clinical pharmacist and first author ZhiDi Deng. “This not only highlights ...