The discovery of a new, ancient, predatory reptile dubbed Parvosuchus aurelioi — part of a group of crocodile-like reptiles called pseudosuchians — in Brazil is described in a paper in Scientific Reports. The specimen, which dates to approximately 237 million years ago, during the Middle-Late Triassic, is the first small predatory reptile of its kind to be found in this country. Prior to the dominance of the dinosaurs, pseudosuchians were a common form of ancient quadruped reptile during the Triassic Period (252 – 201 million years ago), with some species amongst ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that increased maternal mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with subsequent changes in regional brain growth in newborn offspring.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nickie Andescavage, M.D., email nniforat@childrensnational.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17924) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including ...

About The Study: In this case-control study of Chinese older adults, adhering to a healthy lifestyle appears to be important even at late ages, suggesting that constructing strategic plans to improve lifestyle behaviors among all older adults may play a key role in promoting healthy aging and longevity.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Xiang Gao, M.D., Ph.D. (xiang_gao@fudan.edu.cn) and Xiaoming Shi, M.D., Ph.D. (shixm@chinacdc.cn). To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17931) Editor’s Note: Please see ...

A team of international researchers has revealed a new, simple clinical test to detect Calcium Release Deficiency Syndrome (CRDS), a life-threatening genetic arrhythmia that causes dangerously fast heartbeats and can lead to severe complications such as sudden cardiac arrest and death. The new diagnostic method monitors for changes in electrocardiography (ECG) after a brief period of a fast heartbeat and a pause, which can occur naturally or be induced by artificially pacing the heart. This research was co-led by Jason Roberts, a scientist at the Population ...

New Haven, Conn. — Patients with pancreatic cancer who received chemotherapy both before and after surgery experienced longer survival rates than would be expected from surgery followed by chemotherapy, according to a new study from researchers at Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Yale School of Medicine. The study, published June 20 in JAMA Oncology, included patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which accounts for 90% of pancreatic cancers. An aggressive cancer with a high mortality rate, PDAC is predicted ...

A new study presents video evidence that at least one species of terrestrial leech can jump, behavior that scientists have debated for more than a century. Researchers from the American Museum of Natural History, Fordham University, and City University of New York (CUNY)’s Medgar Evers College published the footage and corresponding analysis today in the journal Biotropica. “We believe this is the first convincing evidence that leeches can jump and do so with visible energy expenditure,” said lead author Mai Fahmy, a visiting scientist at the Museum and a postdoctoral researcher ...

1. A team of researchers from NIMS, Hokkaido University and Meiji Pharmaceutical University has developed a gel electret capable of stably retaining a large electrostatic charge. The team then combined this gel with highly flexible electrodes to create a sensor capable of perceiving low-frequency vibrations (e.g., vibrations generated by human motion) and converting them into output voltage signals. This device may potentially be used as a wearable healthcare sensor. 2. Interest in the development of soft, lightweight, power-generating materials has been growing in recent years for use in soft electronics designed for various purposes, such as ...

When E. coli detects damage to its genetic material, it sends out an SOS signal that alters activity inside the cells. “The bacteria go into full emergency mode,” says PhD candidate Olaug Elisabeth Torheim Bergum at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Imagine that you have a very sore throat. You're sick, your throat hurts, and a visit to the doctor confirms that the pain is due to a bacterial infection. You get a prescription for antibiotics, which quickly sorts out your sore throat. You are pleased that the treatment ...

DETROIT (June 20, 2024)— Mental health experts from across the globe will gather to share insights, best practices, and innovations for preventing suicide during the 5th Zero Suicide International Summit June 24-25 in Liverpool, England. Named for the innovative, evidence-based suicide intervention model developed at Henry Ford Health, the Zero Suicide International Summit is presented by the Detroit-based healthcare system in partnership with Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) and The Kevin and Margaret Hines Foundation. The Zero Suicide model was developed at Henry Ford Health in 2001.  Within a year of implementing the ...

It reads. It talks. It collates mountains of data and recommends business decisions. Today’s artificial intelligence might seem more human than ever. However, AI still has several critical shortcomings.  “As impressive as ChatGPT and all these current AI technologies are, in terms of interacting with the physical world, they’re still very limited. Even in things they do, like solve math problems and write essays, they take billions and billions of training examples before they can do them well, " explains Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) NeuroAI Scholar Kyle Daruwalla.  Daruwalla ...

Changing climate will make home feel like somewhere else Interactive app shows how climate change will make places around the world  feel like they are closer to the equator FROSTBURG, MD (June 20, 2024)—The impacts of climate change are being felt all over the world, but how will it impact how your hometown feels? An interactive web application from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science allows users to search 40,581 places and 5,323 metro areas around the globe to match the expected future climate in each city with the current climate of another location, ...

What do you get when you cross Norse mythology with a 78-million-year-old ancestor to the Triceratops? Answer: Lokiceratops rangiformis, a plant-eating dinosaur with a very fancy set of horns.   The new dinosaur was identified and named by Colorado State University affiliate faculty member Joseph Sertich and University of Utah Professor Mark Loewen. The dinosaur’s name, announced today in the scientific journal PeerJ, translates roughly to “Loki’s horned face that looks like a caribou.”  Loewen and Sertich, co-lead authors of the PeerJ study, dubbed the new species Lokiceratops (lo-Kee-sare-a-tops) ...

In democracies where civilian control is followed, the power to make crucial decisions, like those of national security, is mainly exercised by elected officials, allowing the citizens who elect them to influence such decisions indirectly. This role can give people a sense of participation in matters of national importance, potentially associated with their political trust. The military, in such cases, advises and helps these elected leaders in serving the nation, rather than assuming leadership itself. A balance between civilians and military organizations is, therefore, crucial for any democracy to thrive, and it is pointed out that civilian control is a requisite of democracy. Existing ...

Indolo[2,3-a]quinolizidine is a common structural motif in various natural products. Its molecular structure contains the indole ring, a functional group in tryptophan. Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, is required for the production and maintenance of our body’s proteins, muscles, enzymes, and neurotransmitters. Many natural products are derived from it. Over 3,000 monoterpene indole alkaloids (MTIAs), which are natural products consisting of indole rings, have been found in plants, and some of them have been used as medicines. For example, vinblastine has been used as an anticancer drug, and reserpine is used to treat high blood pressure.  The ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 20, 2024 – Women who have their ovaries removed before menopause, particularly before the age of 40, have reduced white matter integrity in multiple regions of the brain later in life. White matter refers to the nerve fibers that connect neurons in different areas of the brain. The findings appear online today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. “We know that having both ovaries removed before natural menopause causes abrupt endocrine dysfunction, which increases ...

The composition of the intestinal flora can predict the chances of developing serious infections such as pneumonia. Researchers from Amsterdam UMC and the University of Turku, Finland, followed more than 10,000 people for 6 years. More than 600 people who had less healthy intestinal flora developed a serious infection, with this leading in some cases to death. The results of the study are published today in The Lancet Microbe.  The 602 people who were hospitalised due to an infection showed at the start of the study that they had fewer butyrate-producing ...

PULLMAN, Wash. -- A wearable health monitor developed by Washington State University researchers can reliably measure levels of important biochemicals in sweat during physical exercise. The 3D-printed monitor could someday provide a simple and non-invasive way to track health conditions and diagnose common diseases, such as diabetes, gout, kidney disease or heart disease. Reporting in the journal, ACS Sensors, the researchers were able to accurately monitor the levels of volunteers’ glucose, lactate ...

Scientists have prototyped a new method for “rationally engineering” enzymes to deliver improved performance. They have devised an algorithm, which takes into account an enzyme’s evolutionary history, to flag where mutations could be introduced with a high likelihood of delivering functional improvements. Their work – published today in leading journal Nature Communications – could have significant, wide-ranging impacts across a suite of industries, from food production to human ...

A new paper in Biology Methods & Protocols, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that it may soon be possible for doctors to use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and diagnose cancer in patients, allowing for earlier treatment. Cancer remains one of the most challenging human diseases, with over 19 million cases and 10 million deaths annually. The evolutionary nature of cancer makes it difficult to treat late-stage tumours. Genetic information is encoded in DNA by patterns of the four bases—denoted by A, T, G and C—that make ...

In October 2018, Canada enacted the Cannabis Act in Canada (CAC), which legalised the non-medical use of cannabis.  A new study has found that the rate of cannabis-related disorders diagnosed among pregnant women in the Canadian province of Québec increased by more than 20% after the enactment of the CAC, while rates for all other drug- and alcohol-related disorders remained stable.  The study is published today in the scientific journal Addiction. This study measured changes to the monthly rates of diagnosed cannabis-related disorders (CRDs) in the pregnant population in Québec.  Since 2010 the monthly average number of CRDs has increased consistently, ...

Bottom Line: Cancer survivors who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or anything other than straight and cisgender (LGBTQ+) experience more chronic health conditions, disabilities, and other physical and cognitive limitations than non-LGBTQ+ cancer survivors; however, the prevalence of most conditions was highest among transgender or gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of ...

A demonstration of how new technologies can be used in 21st century crop breeding comes from just published research that combines Laser Scanning and 3D printing to create a detailed 3D model of a sugar beet plant. Taking the next step beyond having genetic information to guide intelligent breeding, the 3D plant models here capture the essential characteristics of the above-ground parts of the sugar beet plant and can be used for AI-assisted crop improvement pipelines. The sugar beet plant models are reproducible and fit for field use. All the research information, data, methodology, as well as the 3D printing files are freely ...

The UK government’s failure to fortify all flour and rice with the vitamin folic acid “will result in more deaths and birth defects every year that could have been prevented,” argues Professor Sir Nicholas Wald in The BMJ today. He warns that the current government’s proposal to fortify only one type of flour (non-wholemeal wheat flour) at an inadequate level will prevent only about 20% of neural tube defects, much less than the approximate 80% that could be prevented with fully effective fortification.  “What the government has done is a useful ...

Adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly, a world-first study has found. About 800 million people worldwide have low back pain, and it is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. Repeated episodes of low back pain are also very common, with seven in 10 people who recover from an episode going on to have a recurrence within a year. Current best practice for back pain management and prevention suggests the combination of ...

KEY TAKEAWAYS An international team, including researchers from Mass General Brigham, has been searching for protective genetic variants in a family that includes more than 1,000 individuals who are genetically predisposed to develop early onset Alzheimer’s disease in their 40s. Previously, the researchers identified the “Christchurch variant” as potentially protective against Alzheimer’s based on one family member who had two copies of this variant and was expected to develop dementia in her ...