June 26, 2024 (Toronto, Canada) – A new study conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Bordeaux University Hospital, France, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that individuals with alcohol dependence who undergo rehabilitation or maintain abstinence experience significantly lower risks of developing alcohol-associated cancers. The article, entitled Alcohol rehabilitation and cancer risk: a nationwide hospital cohort study in France was published today in Lancet Public Health. It is the largest of its kind to provide evidence linking reduced ...

University of Leeds news Children who are not considered “school ready” by their teachers are more than twice as likely to become persistently absent at some point in their education, according to a new study led by the University of Leeds. Researchers analysed data for 62,598 children aged 5-13 from across the Bradford district and compared it with school absence records between the academic years 2012/2013 and 2019/2020 to identify associations between early childhood problems and absenteeism. The team from the School of Psychology and the Born in Bradford Centre for Applied Education Research found ...

A new narrative review1 led by researchers at UCL and Birmingham Children’s Hospital has found there is a lack of evidence to demonstrate the effective use of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in people not living with diabetes (PNLD).   In the study, published in Diabetic Medicine, researchers conclude there is currently little published evidence on how accurate CGMs are in measuring blood glucose levels in PNLD, nor sufficient evidence of what the health benefits or utility ...

Despite high hopes, a drug that wipes out the namesake cell type associated with the disease eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) doesn’t make patients feel better and doesn’t reverse tissue damage in their throats. Meanwhile, data show that a different drug that had previously been approved for use in adults and teens with EoE is also safe and effective for children under 12 who weigh at least 15 kg (about 33 pounds). The results of these clinical trials—plus an accompanying editorial—appear in the June 17, 2024, edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. “Together, these trials provide exciting advances in our understanding of, and treatment options for, ...

Vienna, Austria: An international team of researchers has identified specific bacteria in the gut that are associated with both mice and humans developing an addiction to food that can lead to obesity. They have also identified bacteria that play a beneficial role in preventing food addiction.   The research is presented today (Thursday) at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2024 and is published simultaneously in the journal Gut [1,2].   Professor Elena Martín-García, from the Laboratory of Neuropharmacology-NeuroPhar in the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences at the Universitat ...

Almost 4,500 healthy and symptom-free over-60s were examined, with 28pc found to have heart valve disease  Age was found to be strongly associated with an increased incidence of significant heart valve disease  Study lays the foundation for more research into the potential role of screening in the elderly population  Peer-reviewed – Prospective Cohort Study - People  The sheer scale of undiagnosed heart valve disease in our ageing population has been revealed for the first ...

BLOOD CANCER Sylvester Expert Endorses FDA’s Recent Cancer Drug Approval Mikkael Sekeres, M.D., chief of the Division of Hematology at Sylvester, who specializes in treating leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), expressed his support for the Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of the drug imetelstat. The drug, a telomerase inhibitor, treats cancer-related anemia in patients with lower-risk MDS. “With approval of imetelstat to treat myelodysplastic syndromes, we finally have another approach ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adults who continuously played organized sports through their youth have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who never played or those who dropped out, a new study finds.   And those who dropped out of sports had poorer mental health than those who never played at all.   But many more people drop out of youth sports than play continuously until they are 18, said Chris Knoester, senior author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.   “If you play and stick with sports, it’s ...

We often think of species as separate and distinct, but sometimes they can interbreed and create hybrids. When this happens consistently in a specific area, it forms what’s known as a hybrid zone. These zones can be highly dynamic or remarkably stable, and studying them can reveal key insights into how species boundaries evolve—or sometimes blur. In a new study published in Evolution, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign describe a hybrid zone between two manakin species in Panama that ...

In its first special issue on Biosafety and Biosecurity Considerations of Synthetic Genomics, the first part of a two-part special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Applied Biosafety focuses on the growing availability of customizable nucleic acid sequences and genomes from commercial sources. The issue also describes the advancements in desktop synthesis devices that enable the creation of on-demand nucleic acids. Click here to read the special issue now. The rapid technological advancements described in part one of this two-part special issue are raising concerns among biosecurity experts and policymakers. The manuscripts in this issue explore the challenges, opportunities, and ...

By using a carbonated — rather than a still — water-based solution during the concrete manufacturing process, a Northwestern University-led team of engineers has discovered a new way to store carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ubiquitous construction material. Not only could the new process help sequester CO2 from the ever-warming atmosphere, it also results in concrete with uncompromised strength and durability. In laboratory experiments, the process achieved a CO2 sequestration efficiency of up to 45%, meaning that nearly ...

Disability studies has gained prominence in recent years, transforming fields ranging from design to literary studies with insurgent approaches to access and representation. The newest volume of Osiris, “Disability and the History of Science,” extends this movement to ask how disability has been a central, if unacknowledged, force in the scientific disciplines and the history of science. The volume examines the many roles that disability and disabled people have played throughout the history of science, calling attention to the shaping of scientific knowledge production by disability. Editors Jaipreet Virdi, Mara Mills, and Sarah F. Rose, in their introduction ...

AlphaFold is an outstanding example of artificial intelligence’s computational capabilities in accurately predicting intricate protein structures. A new Review article explores AlphaFold’s recent advancements and its potential impact on predictive medicine. The article is published in the peer-reviewed journal AI in Precision Oncology. Click to read the articles now. Vivek Subbiah, MD, from the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, and coauthors, describe a shift toward predictive medicine, in which AI, integrated with genomic data, ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The human body has sophisticated defenses against the deposition of calcium minerals that stiffen heart tissues, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at UCLA Health and the University of Texas at Austin found in a new study that provides the first detailed, step-by-step documentation of how calcification progresses. “Heart disease is the leading killer annually — about 18 million deaths per year — and that number is growing. A large proportion is the result of calcification,” said study leader Bruce Fouke, a U. of I. professor of earth ...

Quantum computers have the potential to be revolutionary tools for their ability to perform calculations that would take classical computers many years to resolve. But to make an effective quantum computer, you need a reliable quantum bit, or qubit, that can exist in a simultaneous 0 or 1 state for a sufficiently long period, known as its coherence time. One promising approach is trapping a single electron on a solid neon surface, called an electron-on-solid-neon qubit. A study led by FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Professor Wei Guo that was ...

(Boston) — AL (immunoglobulin light chain) amyloidosis is a rare disease that often results in progressive organ dysfunction, organ failure and eventual death. Clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow secrete free light chains into circulation. These light chains are part of immunoglobulins, also called antibodies. But in this disease, light chains misfold and aggregate into amyloid fibrils that deposit in organs and tissues. In a review article of AL amyloidosis “Systemic Light Chain Amyloidosis,” Vaishali Sanchorawala, MD, director of the Amyloidosis Center at the Chobanian & ...

Excessive heat across the United States is making this summer a season of sweat. Perspiration and its evaporation are crucial to keeping us cool when things get hot. But our understanding of how sweat evaporates is limited to the profuse phases of the process, when our bodies are coated in a sticky film or even pools of perspiration. Relatively is little is known about the dynamics behind initial phases of sweating, when tiny droplets are emitted by individual sweat glands and then quickly evaporate. “There are mechanical engineering researchers around the world, myself included, who are devoted to understanding the different parameters of droplet behavior on ...

Newly published research from Colorado State University answers fundamental questions about cellular connectivity in the brain that could be useful in the development of treatments for neurological diseases like autism, epilepsy or schizophrenia. The work, highlighted in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on how neurons in the brain transmit information between each other through highly specialized subcellular structures called synapses. These delicate structures are key to controlling many processes across the nervous system via electrochemical ...

WASHINGTON  –  The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Compact Coronagraph (CCOR) was launched June 25, on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U) from NASA – Kennedy Space Center to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections (CMEs).   The NOAA sponsored NRL to design, integrate, and test CCOR, a small space telescope that will create an artificial eclipse of the sun and ...

DURHAM, N.C. – While the liver is one of the body’s most resilient organs, it is still vulnerable to the ravages of stress and aging, leading to disease, severe scarring and failure. A Duke Health research team now might have found a way to turn back time and restore the liver.   In experiments using mice and liver tissue from humans, the researchers identified how the aging process prompts certain liver cells to die off. They were then able to reverse the process in the animals with an investigational drug.   The finding, which ...

A study conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions reveals the molecular events leading to osteogenesis imperfecta type V, a form of brittle bone disease caused by a mutation in the gene IFITM5. The mutation blocks the normal development of bone stem cells into mature cells, which would form healthy bones. Instead, the mutation leads to the formation of bones that are extremely brittle. Children with this disorder have recurrent fractures, bone deformities, chronic pain and other complications. ...

New research led by UCLA Health confirms that both Tai Chi and cognitive behavioral therapy can reduce insomnia in breast cancer survivors but also may provide additional health benefits by reducing inflammation and bolstering anti-viral defenses.  Chronic insomnia is one of the most prominent symptoms experienced among cancer survivors and poses significant health concerns, including the risk of inflammatory disease that could increase the risk of cancer recurrence.   About 30% of breast cancer survivors are reported to have insomnia, which is twice the rate of the general population. While previous research has shown cognitive behavioral therapy and mind-body ...

Measuring energy consumption derived from digital activity from a scientific point of view is the challenge faced by Hiili, S.L., a company recently formed and driven by two researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Ángel and Rubén Cuevas Rumín, from the Telematics Engineering Department. Specifically, they develop technological solutions that combine Internet measurement techniques and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make an accurate estimate of the energy consumption of a company's ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2024 MINNEAPOLIS – Moderate levels of physical activity and fitness may be linked to a reduced risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) later in life, according to a new study published in the June 26, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study only found an association between physical activity and risk of ALS in male participants, not female participants. ALS is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. People with ALS lose the ability to initiate ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2024 MINNEAPOLIS – A drug used to prevent migraine may also be effective in people with migraine who experience rebound headaches, according to a new study published in the June 26, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. People with chronic migraine who overused pain medication had fewer monthly migraine and headache days and fewer days using pain medication when taking the migraine prevention drug atogepant. “There is a high prevalence of pain medication ...