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Science2 Aug 2024

How America’s elites may hold the key to lowering murder rates

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New crime laws, police funding and similar efforts may have some effect on homicide rates in the United States – but the biggest impact will come from the actions of our political and economic elites. That’s the conclusion of historian Randolph Roth, author of the 2009 book American Homicide, in a new report he wrote for the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. Roth, who is a professor of history at The Ohio State University, provides evidence that homicide rates are linked to how citizens feel about the legitimacy of government and their sense of connectedness ...

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Technology2 Aug 2024

NSF awards new funding to bolster UVA research computing project

The National Science Foundation is awarding a new grant to support the Virginia Assuring Controls Compliance of Research Data project, known as ACCORD, a program that has helped students and faculty at universities across Virginia gain access to critical research computing resources. The ACCORD program has provided a platform for researchers to securely share and store data as well as take on projects that require the protection of sensitive data. Participants have included minority-serving institutions, those that do not grant Ph.D. degrees, and others that lack this computing infrastructure. Neal Magee, an associate professor with the University of Virginia’s ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

FDA approves engineered cell therapy for treating rare sarcoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval for the immunotherapy afamitresgene autoleuecel (Tecelra®, also known as afami-cel) for the treatment of adults with a rare soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma. Afami-cel is the first engineered T cell therapy to receive FDA approval for a solid tumor cancer. The clinical trial that resulted in the drug’s approval was led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) sarcoma specialist and immunotherapy expert Sandra D’Angelo, MD. “This treatment offers an important new option for people with this rare cancer,” Dr. D’Angelo ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Emory researchers help discover source of deadly fungal infections in bone marrow transplant patients, new study finds

Emory researcher David Weiss has spent years studying a baffling phenomenon called heteroresistance, in which a tiny fraction of bacteria remain resistant to antibiotics, while the remainder succumb. Recently, he brought his scientific acumen to the equally deadly threat of fungal bloodstream infections in patients receiving bone marrow transplants. Bloodstream infections can be lethal in these patients, including infections from Candida parapsilosis, a species of fungi that can live in the digestive tract and occasionally make it into the bloodstream. Weiss partnered ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Brain activity associated with specific words is mirrored between speaker and listener during a conversation

When two people interact, their brain activity becomes synchronized, but it was unclear until now to what extent this “brain-to-brain coupling” is due to linguistic information or other factors, such as body language or tone of voice. Researchers report August 2 in the journal Neuron that brain-to-brain coupling during conversation can be modeled by considering the words used during that conversation, and the context in which they are used. “We can see linguistic content emerge word-by-word ...

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Science2 Aug 2024

Prescription fills for semaglutide products

About The Study: The number of prescriptions filled for semaglutide has increased substantially, reaching 2.6 million prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies by December 2023. While Ozempic persistently accounted for most semaglutide fills, increases were considerably greater for Wegovy since its approval for weight loss in June 2021. These increases, which primarily occurred following increased awareness of weight-loss benefits in late 2022, are likely contributing to the FDA-reported shortage of Ozempic and Wegovy first issued in March 2022. Despite the disproportionate burden of obesity in Medicaid and Medicare Part D populations, and recent increases in public spending ...

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Science2 Aug 2024

Safety and risk assessment of no-prescription online semaglutide purchases

About The Study: This qualitative study found that semaglutide products are actively being sold without prescription by illegal online pharmacies, with vendors shipping unregistered and falsified products. Two websites evaluated were sent FDA warning letters for unlawful sale of unapproved and misbranded semaglutide. U.S. poison centers have reported a 1500% increase in calls related to semaglutide, highlighting the need for enhanced pharmacovigilance including for online sourcing harms. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Tim K. Mackey, MAS, PhD, email tkmackey@ucsd.edu. To ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Glycated hemoglobin A1c time in range and dementia in older adults with diabetes

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that for older adults with diabetes, maintaining hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) stability in individualized target ranges over time is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Lower HbA1c time in range may identify patients at increased risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Paul R. Conlin, MD, email paul.conlin@va.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Mast cells trap and use living neutrophils during allergic reactions

Inflammation is the body's response to harmful stimuli, characterized by heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of tissue function. When balanced, inflammation protects the body by clearing harmful agents and initiating tissue repair. However, excessive inflammation can cause tissue destruction and disease. Key players in this process are various immune cells, which work together during inflammation. The type of immune cells involved often varies depending on the harmful stimulus, influencing the outcome of the inflammatory response. Immune cell trapping during allergic responses Mast cells, residing in tissues and critical for initiating ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Exploding popularity of Ozempic and Wegovy among privately insured patients may worsen disparities

A new USC study suggests that publicly insured individuals who are most likely to benefit from new drugs for diabetes and obesity are less likely to get them than those with private insurance. Prescription fills for the drug best known as Ozempic or Wegovy — semaglutide — increased by more than 400% between January 2021 and December 2023, according to research out today in JAMA Health Forum. Approved first for type 2 diabetes, then for weight loss, studies show that semaglutide also improves blood pressure and reduces cardiovascular disease — problems that plague millions of Americans. Yet the lion’s share of prescriptions ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Sizing up microplastics: Nanofiltration uncovers environmental bioactivity

A new study reveals the bioactivity of microplastics in Lake Ontario using cutting-edge nanomembrane filtering technology. Researchers found all samples contained microplastics ranging between 8 and 20 µm. The study highlights varying bioactivity levels, such as aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity and IL-6 levels, indicating potential health risks. These findings underscore the urgent need for further research to comprehend the impact of microplastics on human health and the environment. This pioneering approach offers fresh insights into tackling the challenges posed by microplastic pollution. Microplastics ...

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Science2 Aug 2024

What gave the first molecules their stability?

The origins of life remain a major mystery. How were complex molecules able to form and remain intact for prolonged periods without disintegrating? A team at ORIGINS, a Munich-based Cluster of Excellence, has demonstrated a mechanism that could have enabled the first RNA molecules to stabilize in the primordial soup. When two RNA strands combine, their stability and lifespan increase significantly. In all likelihood, life on Earth began in water, perhaps in a tide pool that was cut off from seawater at low tide but flooded by waves at high tide. Over billions of years, complex molecules like DNA, RNA and proteins ...

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Technology2 Aug 2024

Cold antimatter for quantum state-resolved precision measurements

Why does the universe contain matter and (virtually) no antimatter? The BASE international research collaboration at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, headed by Professor Dr Stefan Ulmer from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), has achieved an experimental breakthrough in this context. It can contribute to measuring the mass and magnetic moment of antiprotons more precisely than ever before – and thus identify possible matter-antimatter asymmetries. BASE has developed a trap, which can cool individual antiprotons much more rapidly ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Smart aggregates: The future of infrastructure health monitoring

The proliferation of concrete infrastructure worldwide has been met with growing concerns over its durability and safety. Concrete structures are increasingly subjected to dynamic forces from natural disasters like earthquakes and environmental degradation, such as corrosion. These factors, coupled with the saturation of infrastructure projects, amplify the risks associated with structural failure. Consequently, there is a pressing need for effective structural health monitoring (SHM) systems that can preemptively identify and address these vulnerabilities. The ...

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Physics2 Aug 2024

Synthesis of SiOC@C ceramic nanospheres with tunable electromagnetic wave absorption performance

In recent years, microwave technology has dramatically progressed, marked by the arrival of the 5G era, owing to the advantages of electromagnetic waves in long-distance, wireless, and high-speed transmissions. However, electromagnetic wave pollution problems such as electromagnetic wave interference and electromagnetic wave radiation are becoming increasingly serious. Electromagnetic wave pollution not only affects the normal operation of electronic equipment, greatly threatens the information security of the scientific community, but also endangers human health and is a possible cause of cancer ...

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Science2 Aug 2024

NWSL add lifesavers to the chain of survival in New York City

NEW YORK CITY, August 2, 2024 — According to American Heart Association data, nine out of every ten people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital die, in part because they do not receive immediate CPR more than half of the time. CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. That is why the American Heart Association and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) brought cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training to NWSL staff at the New York headquarters office located on Madison ...

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Technology2 Aug 2024

Solving the doping problem: Enhancing performance in Organic Semiconductors

Cavendish physicists have discovered two new ways to improve organic semiconductors. They found a way to remove more electrons from the material than previously possible and used unexpected properties in an environment known as the non-equilibrium state, boosting its performance for use in electronic devices. “We really wanted to hit the nail and figure out what is happening when you heavily dope polymer semiconductors,’ said Dr Dionisius Tjhe, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Cavendish Laboratory. Doping is the process of removing or adding electrons into a semiconductor, increasing its ability to ...

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Science2 Aug 2024

More pets relinquished to shelters due to housing insecurity

Housing policies may be becoming more pet inclusive, but housing insecurity is getting worse, finds a new study that examined the housing issues that led to owners turning their pets over to an animal shelter. “Over the duration of the study, instances of animals entering shelters due to loss of housing rose, while those due to pet restrictions and landlord conflicts declined,” said the study’s lead author Jennifer Applebaum, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Global Health in the University ...

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Social Science2 Aug 2024

KTU researchers’ eye-tracking study provides valuable insights into learning mathematics

Eye-tracking allows studying aspects that cannot be seen, for example, the thinking processes of a student solving a mathematical problem. Researchers at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) are the first in Lithuania to integrate eye-tracking into education and are using the technology to radically improve the teaching of mathematics. Eye-tracking creates the possibility for researchers to observe a subject’s attention shifts based on where they fix their gaze or how they move it. This helps researchers understand various emotional, thinking and cognitive processes that happen in response to the environment. “By applying this technology in mathematical education, ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

New approaches and insights on the environment and climate change at the 37th International Geological Congress 2024

□ Overview ○ Event: The 37th International Geological Congress 2024 (IGC 2024) ○ Date/Venue:: 25 Aug (Sun) - 31 Aug (Sat) 2024, 7 days / BEXCO, Busan, Republic of Korea ※ Hosted in a 4-year cycle across continents ○ Scale: Over 7,000 participants from 121 countries (more than 3,000 scientipic programs, 250 exhibition booths) ○ Theme: The Great Travelers: Voyages to the Unifying Earth ○ Host: International Union of Geologcial Sciences (IUGS) ○ Organizer: IGC 2024 Organizing Committee (The Geological Society Of Korea, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Busan Metropolitan ...

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Science2 Aug 2024

Genetic signatures of domestication identified in pigs, chickens

Wild boars and red junglefowl gave rise to common pigs and chickens. These animals’ genes evolved to express themselves differently, leading to signatures of domestication — such as weaker bones and better viral resistance — in pigs and chickens, according to a research team based in Japan. The findings, published on July 6 in Animals, could provide insight into the genetic changes of the domestication process and highlight target genes for healthier and more productive livestock breeding, the researchers ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Megamonas bacterium found to influence obesity risk

A recent study published in Cell Host & Microbe identifies a potential obesity-linked bacterium, Megamonas, from a large-scale cohort of obese individuals in China. This research suggests potential strategies for future obesity management by illustrating how the bacterium degrades intestinal myo-inositol, enhances lipid absorption, and contributes to obesity. The study is jointly conducted by Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, BGI Research, and BGI Genomics Institute of Intelligent Medical Research (IIMR). "Through a large-scale study of intestinal ...

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Science2 Aug 2024

Scientists find a human “fingerprint” in the upper troposphere’s increasing ozone

Ozone can be an agent of good or harm, depending on where you find it in the atmosphere. Way up in the stratosphere, the colorless gas shields the Earth from the sun’s harsh ultraviolet rays. But closer to the ground, ozone is a harmful air pollutant that can trigger chronic health problems including chest pain, difficulty breathing, and impaired lung function. And somewhere in between, in the upper troposphere — the layer of the atmosphere just below the stratosphere, where most aircraft cruise — ozone contributes to warming the planet as a potent greenhouse gas. There are signs that ozone is continuing to rise in the upper troposphere despite efforts to reduce its ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

Researchers develop promising therapy treatment that can kill glioblastoma cells in newly discovered brain pathway

A new pathway that is used by cancer cells to infiltrate the brain has been discovered by a team of Canadian and American research groups led by the Singh Lab at McMaster University. The research also reveals a new therapy that shows promise in blocking and killing these tumors. The research, published in Nature Medicine on Aug. 2, 2024, offers new hope and potential treatments for glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. With existing treatments like surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, the tumors often return, and patient survival is limited to only a few months. With this new treatment, ...

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Medicine2 Aug 2024

York researchers make breakthrough in bid to develop vaccines and drugs for neglected tropical disease

Scientists have developed a new, safe and effective way to infect volunteers with the parasite that causes leishmaniasis and measure the body’s immune response, bringing a vaccine for the neglected tropical disease a step closer. The breakthrough, by a team from the University of York and Hull York Medical School, is described in the journal Nature Medicine and lays the foundations for vaccine development and for testing new preventative measures. Controlled human infection studies, where volunteers are exposed to small amounts of ...

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