A team of international scientists has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. Known as methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) (CH3+), the molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. Methyl cation was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula. Carbon compounds form the foundations of all known life, ...

Philadelphia, June 26, 2023 – Along with all global sectors, the dairy industry is working to reduce its environmental impact as we look toward a shared 2050 net zero future. Research is currently focused on greenhouse gas mitigation strategies that do not compromise animal health and production, but many discussions maintain that a radical transformation—involving reducing animal-based foods and increasing plant-based foods—is needed in our agriculture production systems in order ...

A new study from the Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, showed that dogs may not equally benefit from observing the ‘helpful action’ of a human demonstrator in the classic detour around a V-shaped fence task. Those who are experienced with the world of ethological conferences, know all too well that if you present your work about dog behavior, the first (or second) question from the audience will be: “And did you check whether the breed of the dog had an effect on your results?” Actually, this is not surprising as most people are familiar with the mindboggling variability of hundreds of ...

FINDINGS Scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified potential new biomarkers that could indicate how someone diagnosed with metastatic melanoma will respond to immunotherapy treatment. The researchers found when T cells are activated, they release a protein called CXCL13, which helps attract more B cells and T cells to the tumor site. The B cells then show the T cells specific parts of the tumor, which leads to increased activation of the T cells and their ability to fight the cancer. This cooperation between T cells and B cells was associated with improved survival in patients diagnosed with metastatic melanoma ...

CHICAGO, June 26, 2023 – A new American Dental Association (ADA) clinical practice guideline suggests conservative methods to treat tooth decay in primary and permanent teeth could lead to better outcomes when used with common restorative materials like fillings or caps. An expert panel of dentists developed the first-ever guideline on this topic after extensive review of approximately 300 published studies. The guideline, published in the July issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association, contains 16 recommendations regarding treatment ...

Research shows that school suspensions do not deter but instead amplify future punishment, what has been termed labeling theory: the idea that the symbolic label that comes with a suspension shapes how others perceive students. But few studies have examined racial and ethnic differences in this process, even though critical race theory (CRT) suggests that the consequences of suspension likely differ across racial and ethnic groups due to stereotypes. In a new study, researchers examined how the relation between suspension and subsequent arrest differs for White, Black, and Hispanic students. They found that suspension ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In an attempt to rescue a rare darter in the lower Susquehanna River, a Penn State research team, working with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, has determined that the fish is a distinct subspecies found nowhere else. And that makes the effort to restore its population even more important, the researchers say. A yellow- to olive-colored member of the darter family with dark bars often arrayed in zebra fashion, the Chesapeake logperch is typically just a few inches long, with a small mouth and a short, conical snout. It is believed to only ever have inhabited the lower drainages of the Susquehanna and Potomac rivers, and it has not been seen ...

Glenview, Illinois – A new scientific publication, CHEST® Critical Care, published its inaugural issue June 22, 2023. As part of the journal CHEST® portfolio, this online-only publication is dedicated entirely to the field of critical care medicine. “I’m ecstatic for this launch. We are grateful to our authors for the trust they put in us and are excited to share their work with our critical care colleagues around the world,” says Hayley Gershengorn, ...

A new study co-authored by Patrick Hill, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences, offers an important message for our times: A sense of purpose in life — whether it’s a high-minded quest to make a difference or a simple hobby with personal meaning — can offer potent protection against loneliness.  “Loneliness is known to be one of the biggest psychological predictors for health problems, cognitive decline, and early mortality,” Hill said. “Studies show that it can ...

Demand for modern biofuels is expected to grow substantially in order to mitigate climate emissions. However, they are far from being a climate neutral alternative to gasoline and diesel. A new study in Nature Climate Change shows that under current land-use regulations, CO2 emission factors for biofuels might even exceed those for fossil diesel combustion due to large-scale land clearing related to growing biomass. Before bioenergy can effectively contribute to achieving carbon neutrality, international agreements need to ensure the effective protection of forests and other natural lands by introducing carbon ...

The biological roots of autism continue to perplex researchers, despite a growing body of studies looking at an increasing array of genetic, cellular and microbial data. Recently, scientists have homed in on a new and promising area of focus: the microbiome. This collection of microbes that inhabit the human gut has been shown to play a role in autism, but the mechanics of this link have remained awash in ambiguity. Taking a fresh computational approach to the problem, a study published today in Nature Neuroscience sheds new light on the relationship between the microbiome and autism. This research — which originated ...

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens 1-19 years old in the United States. According to new research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, most unintentional firearm fatalities in which a child shoots another child involve boys, occur in the child’s home or at the home of a friend, and involve firearms that were stored loaded and unlocked.    In a new study, researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide ...

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has named 49 exemplary professionals as its newest fellows. Fellow status is peer recognition for outstanding contributions to the field of gerontology and represents the highest category of GSA membership. This distinction comes at varying points in a person’s career and is given for diverse activities that include research, teaching, administration, public service, practice, and notable participation in the Society. Fellows are chosen from across GSA’s membership groups. The new fellows will be formally ...

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., June 26, 2023 — A groundbreaking theoretical proof shows that a technique called overparametrization enhances performance in quantum machine learning for applications that stymie classical computers. “We believe our results will be useful in using machine learning to learn the properties of quantum data, such as classifying different phases of matter in quantum materials research, which is very difficult on classical computers,” said Diego Garcia-Martin, a postdoctoral researcher ...

Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University have been awarded a $9.8 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, to help combat cancer disparities fueled by persistent poverty. The competitive award, will engage faculty members from Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University School of Nursing and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in a collaborative effort to develop a specialized research center and spearhead two large projects in ...

Chicago, Illinois (Embargoed until 9:30 am CDT, Monday, June 26, 2023)—Jean-Luc C. Urbain, MD, PhD, FASNC, professor of radiology/nuclear medicine and medicine, vice chair of theranostics, and director of nuclear medicine at Roswell Park Cancer Center at the University of Buffalo in New York, has been elected vice president-elect for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). SNMMI introduced a new slate of officers during its 2023 Annual Meeting, held June 24-27.   “With the advent of new precision oncology nuclear therapies and the explosion of the field of theranostics, there has never been a more exciting ...

Chicago, Illinois (Embargoed until 9:30 am, CDT, Monday, June 26, 2023)—Umar Mahmood, MD, PhD, chief of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, director of the Center for Precision Imaging, and associate chair for imaging sciences in the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, has been named as the first recipient of the new Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award. Mahmood was presented the award by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) at its 2023 Annual Meeting. The Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award was ...

Chicago, Illinois (Embargoed until 9:30 am, CDT, Monday, June 26, 2023)—Peter J. H. Scott, PhD, associate professor of radiology and pharmacology, division director of nuclear medicine, and director of the PET Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been named as the 2023 recipient of the Sam Gambhir Trailblazer Award. Scott was presented the award by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) at its 2023 Annual Meeting.  Scott's nuclear medicine and molecular imaging research spans ...

Cambridge scientists have set out principles for how computational science – which powers discoveries from unveiling the mysteries of the universe to developing treatments to fight cancer to improving our understanding of the human genome, but can have a substantial carbon footprint – can be made more environmentally sustainable. Writing in Nature Computational Science, researchers from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge argue that the scientific community needs to act now if it is to ...

New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) reduces uncertainty in future climate change linked to the stratosphere, with important implications for life on Earth.  Man-made climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing us today, but uncertainty in the exact magnitude of global change hampers effective policy responses.  A significant source of uncertainty relates to future changes to water vapour in the stratosphere, an extremely dry region of the atmosphere 15–50 km above the Earth’s surface.  Future increases in water vapour here risk amplifying climate change and slowing down the recovery ...

The opioid crisis continues to pose a grave public health concern, with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl posing a major risk for development of addiction and death due to overdose. In a ground-breaking development, a recent study by the research group led by Prof. Ami Citri at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences has unveiled crucial insights into the brain's potential ability to regulate the urge to consume fentanyl. This discovery offers a glimmer of hope in the ongoing battle against ...

About The Study: Racial disparities in food insecurity were found among low-income households that do not participate in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) but not among those that do, suggesting that access to SNAP should be improved. These results also highlight the need to examine the structural and systemic racism in food systems and in access to food assistance that may contribute to disparities.  Authors: Laura J. Samuel, Ph.D., R.N., of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.20196) Editor’s ...

Pioneering analysis of deep-sea corals has overturned the idea that ocean currents contributed to increasing global levels of carbon dioxide in the air over the past 11,000 years. The study, led by the University of Bristol in the UK and Nanjing University in China, examined historic deep-sea corals to shed intriguing new light on the history of ocean chemistry.         Understanding what has led to the pre-industrial rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels during the Holocene period, which dates back some 11,700 years to the present day, is a source of scientific debate. One theory suggests the increase in physical ...

By Benjamin Boettner (Boston) — The successful campaign of adoptive T cell therapies, a type of immunotherapy in which immune T cells are collected from a patient, enhanced outside of the body, and reinfused back into the same patient, especially against blood cancers is well under way. But improving the ability to create patient-specific T cell populations with specific traits and functions could broaden clinicians’ repertoire of T cell therapies.  One way to approach this goal is to better understand how T cells’ traits and functions, including their cytotoxic effects on ...

HOUSTON ― Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer have engineered a new model of aggressive renal cell carcinoma (RCC), highlighting molecular targets and genomic events that trigger chromosomal instability and drive metastatic progression. The study, published today in Nature Cancer, demonstrates that the loss of a cluster of interferon receptor (IFNR) genes plays a pivotal role in allowing cancer cells to become tolerant of chromosomal instability. This genomic feature may be used to help clinicians predict a tumor’s potential to become metastatic and treatment resistant. Researchers led by Luigi Perelli, ...