RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Associated with poorer mental health outcomes and reduced quality of life, obesity is on the rise in the United States. Currently, more than 30% of American adults are classified as obese. A risk factor for several diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19, obesity is an important and growing public health concern. Using a mouse model of high fat diet-induced obesity, a team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has found that, compared to males, female mice are protected against obesity and inflammation because they secrete more of an immune protein called RELMalpha. “Our ...

Precise control of light is a crucial requirement in optical imaging, sensing, and communication. Traditional lenses employed for the purpose have limitations, necessitating more precise and compact solutions. To address this need, researchers have developed metalenses, ultrathin lenses constructed from nanomaterials that are smaller in size than the wavelength of light. These sub-wavelength elements provide the means to manipulate light waves with exceptional precision, facilitating a precise control of the amplitude, phase, polarization, and direction of light waves. Moreover, compared to bulky lenses, metalenses are ...

SAN ANTONIO (July 25, 2023) — Alcohol consumption is a major cause of chronic liver disease. The disease, which has devastating consequences, progresses through stages of hepatitis (inflammation), fibrosis (scarring) and cirrhosis (severe scarring). Advanced disease increases the risk of developing liver cancer, and some individuals may require a liver transplant to live. Despite a tremendous need for new treatments, the specific biological factors that determine when and how rapidly liver cells deteriorate remain largely unknown. In a study published May 3 in the journal Hepatology, a research team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San ...

Many girls in low- and middle-income countries struggle to buy products to manage their periods, which can cause them to skip school. So, ensuring they have access to menstrual products is critical.  A new Kenya-based study from University of Illinois Chicago researchers shows that the benefits of one kind of menstrual product — a menstrual cup — extend well beyond educational access. Teenage girls who were given menstrual cups were less likely to acquire certain kinds of vaginal infections and were more likely to have a healthy vaginal microbiome, the study found. The findings are published ...

An injectable biomaterial activated by pulses of low-energy blue light has tremendous potential for on-the-spot repair to the domed outer layer of the eye, a team of University of Ottawa researchers and their collaborators have revealed. Guided by biomimetic design—innovation inspired by nature—the multidisciplinary researchers’ compelling results show that a novel light-activated material can be used to effectively reshape and thicken damaged corneal tissue, promoting healing and recovery. This technology is a potential game-changer in corneal repair; tens of millions of people ...

Researchers have developed a new way to accurately count and objectively analyze close encounters between drones and airplanes — without depending solely on pilot sightings. In a peer-reviewed study published by the Society of Automotive Engineers in the “SAE International Journal of Aerospace,” researchers looked at more than 1.8 million piloted aircraft operations and nearly 460,000 flights by small-uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS) around Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, a major hub. Between August 2018 and July 2021, researchers with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Unmanned Robotic Systems Analysis (URSA) identified 24 near-midair collisions (NMACs) in which ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $4.6 million in funding for 18 projects at national laboratories and U.S. universities. The awards are provided through the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy, or INFUSE, program, which was established in 2019. The program is sponsored by the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program office within DOE’s Office of Science and is focused on accelerating fusion energy development through public-private research partnerships. “The latest round of INFUSE selections demonstrates the growing interest from private industry in partnering with national laboratories and U.S. universities,” said Jean ...

The Children’s Cancer Foundation, Inc. (CCF), a 501(c)3 non-profit committed to funding locally-based researchers, programs and facilities until every child is assured a healthy cancer-free future, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 CCF Research Awards. The eleven pediatric oncology researchers, each conducting work in the Baltimore-Washington region, will be presented with their grants at the 39th Annual Gala to be held November 4, 2023 at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt, MD. The 2023 CCF Research Awards, combined with funding for local programs for children fighting cancer, total $1M. The 2023 ...

East Hanover, July 25, 2023 — In a recent study conducted by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) concerning COVID-19 vaccination patterns among “essential” workers, some notable trends have emerged. During the peak of the pandemic, workers with disabilities were less likely to be vaccinated if working in the U.S. Postal Service, food and beverage stores, and correctional facilities. That’s according to experts speaking during last Friday’s nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar. This ...

“We show that MSK1 retains its importance in converting positive experience into tangible synaptic and cognitive benefits well into old age [...]” BUFFALO, NY- July 25, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 13, entitled, “MSK1 is required for the beneficial synaptic and cognitive effects of enriched experience across the lifespan.” Positive experiences, such as social interaction, cognitive training and physical exercise, have been shown to ameliorate some of the harms to cognition associated with aging. Animal models ...

LA JOLLA, CA—Immune system researchers have designed a computational tool to boost pandemic preparedness. Scientists can use this new algorithm to compare data from vastly different experiments and better predict how individuals may respond to disease. “We’re trying to understand how individuals fight off different viruses, but the beauty of our method is you can apply it generally in other biological settings, such as comparisons of different drugs or different cancer cell lines,” says Tal Einav, Ph.D., ...

Bacterial biofilms are clusters of microorganisms that form on wetted surfaces virtually everywhere. They harbor pathogens that compromise water quality, and they can disrupt the operation of many different engineered systems through the corrosion, fouling and clogging of tanks, pipes and valves. In some settings, they could even be deadly. Space suits that enable crew operations outside of the International Space Station use recirculating water to regulate body temperatures in the orbital extremes of full sun (250 F) and full shade (-250 F). But biofilms blooming in those water lines have nearly compromised astronaut safety during ...

AURORA, Colo. (July 25, 2023) – Scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have discovered what they believe to be the central mechanism behind cognitive decline associated with normal aging. “The mechanism involves the mis-regulation of a brain protein known as CaMKII which is crucial for memory and learning,” said the study’s co-senior author Ulli Bayer, PhD, professor of pharmacology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “This study directly suggests specific pharmacological treatment strategies.” The study was published today in the journal `Science Signaling.’ Researchers using ...

Study shows that the shape of objects could be perceived via vision and touch; the inferolateral occipitotemporal cortex selectively encodes object shape even in people who become blind from a very early age, suggesting that the brain is organized as operators that execute a given function regardless of input senses. ##### In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001930 Article Title: Similar object shape representation encoded in the inferolateral occipitotemporal ...

Conversations on social media about female genital mutilation (FGM) have not changed dramatically over the five years to 2020, according to an analysis of English Twitter data, though there was a shift from raising awareness to calling for an end to the practice. Earlier on, users discussing the topic were mainly from the USA and UK, but later the majority came from Nigeria and Kenya. The research, published in PLOS Global Public Health, may be useful in informing communication and designing culturally effective campaigns ...

Researchers from the American Board of Family Medicine and the University of Minnesota Medical School investigated whether participation in medical school repayment programs impacted the care family physicians provided to patients post graduation. By analyzing data from over 10,000 American Board of Family Medicine National Graduate Survey respondents, the authors examined differences in program participation, participant demographics, scope of practice, and the likelihood of serving medically underserved or rural populations. The study revealed a significant increase in participation in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program between 2016 and 2020, while participation ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (JULY 25, 2023) – Cancer centers are uniquely positioned to protect communities and their most vulnerable residents – cancer patients – from climate-driven disasters by bolstering emergency preparedness, noted researchers with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the American Cancer Society (ACS) and collaborating organizations.  Writing in a commentary in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the researchers noted that all 71* of the country’s NCI-designated ...

Canadian Patients Report High Levels of Satisfaction From an Integrated Model of Virtual and In-Person Care In an effort to increase access to care in underserved communities, researchers from the University of Ottawa evaluated the implementation of an integrated virtual care (IVC) model. Their study evaluated the overall experience and satisfaction of patients receiving care through a combination of virtual and in-person visits. A secondary aim was to compare the experiences of patients who had been previously seen in person by a family physician before transitioning to the IVC clinics with those who met their family physician virtually for the first ...

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University and Case Western Reserve University conducted weekly and monthly surveys of primary care clinicians to examine the use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The e-surveys were conducted between March 2020 and March 2022 and used convenience sampling. A total of 36 surveys were completed, with an average of 937 respondents per survey, representing clinicians from all 50 states and from multiple specialties. Initially, respondents reported difficulties in implementing telemedicine, citing challenges with infrastructure and reimbursement mechanisms. However, as time progressed, attitudes toward telemedicine became ...

In an effort to increase access to care in underserved communities, researchers from the University of Ottawa evaluated the implementation of an integrated virtual care (IVC) model. Their study evaluated the overall experience and satisfaction of patients receiving care through a combination of virtual and in-person visits. A secondary aim was to compare the experiences of patients who had been previously seen in person by a family physician before transitioning to the IVC clinics with those who met their family physician virtually for the ...

Growth plates (GP), situated at the ends of long bones in children, supply chondrocytes necessary for bone growth. Damage to the growth plate due to fractures often results in arrested bone growth, making it a significant cause of skeletal disorders in children. However, a small percentage of these injuries astonishingly manage to heal themselves, a phenomenon that had remained a mystery until now. In a new study published in International Journal of Oral Science, Yao Sun from Tongji University and other researchers identified that primary cilia, cellular ...

Bare minimum reimbursement rates could be a factor in why some clinics may be struggling to offer HPV vaccination in the U.S. MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher Kalyani Sonawane, Ph.D., and a team of researchers from South Carolina and Texas decided to quantify private insurance reimbursement rates for the HPV vaccine after several qualitative studies noted that health care providers were dissatisfied with HPV vaccine reimbursement by private insurance companies. The results of their investigation were published July 24 in the Annals of Family Medicine. They found that ...

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, authors Gabriel Gellner and Kevin McCann from the University of Guelph and SFI External Professor Alan Hastings (UC Davis) invert a classical approach to modeling food webs. Instead of trying to replicate stable, complex ecosystems using simplistic representations of species interactions, the authors’ novel inverse method assumes the ecosystems exist and works backward to characterize food webs that support that assumption. Their work represents a significant step toward addressing a fundamental ecological question of how biodiversity ...

Most navigation apps can show you the fastest possible route to your destination and some can even suggest an eco-friendly route calculated to produce the least amount of carbon emissions. But what if they could also map the safest route with the lowest possible risk of a crash? A new algorithm developed by UBC researchers could make this a reality. Led by Dr. Tarek Sayed, professor in the UBC department of civil engineering, and PhD student Tarek Ghoul, the group developed a new approach ...

CHICAGO—July 25, 2023—For his groundbreaking research in fortifying artificial intelligence systems with insights gained from the human immune system, Ren Wang of Illinois Institute of Technology has received the prestigious Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). Wang’s research may be used in the future to strengthen AI systems, making them more robust and resilient. As AI has increasingly permeated our daily lives through technologies, such as ChatGPT’s natural language ...