Infants born with Down syndrome, the genetic condition caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, or trisomy 21, are highly predisposed to congenital heart defects. It is estimated that nearly half of newborns with Down syndrome have a congenital heart malformation, and Down syndrome is recognized as the most common cause of congenital heart abnormalities. Despite many research efforts over several decades, the mechanisms by which trisomy 21 prevents proper formation of the heart during embryonic development have remained unknown. A recent study by scientists ...

Twistronics isn’t a new dance move, exercise equipment, or new music fad. No, it’s much cooler than any of that. It is an exciting new development in quantum physics and material science where van der Waals materials are stacked on top of each other in layers, like sheets of paper in a ream that can easily twist and rotate while remaining flat, and quantum physicists have used these stacks to discover intriguing quantum phenomena. Adding the concept of quantum spin with twisted double bilayers of an antiferromagnet, it is possible to have tunable moiré magnetism. This suggests a new class of material platform for the next step in twistronics: ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS - People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who eat more foods high in certain omega-3 fatty acids like flaxseed oil, walnuts, canola oil and pumpkin seeds may have a slower physical decline from the disease and may have a slightly extended survival. The study, which looked at the survival of people with ALS over the course of 18 months, was published in the June 21, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers also found an omega-6 ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS – People with TBI may continue to improve or decline years after their injury, making it a more chronic illness, according to a study published in the June 21, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Our results dispute the notion that TBI is a one-time event with a stagnant outcome after a short period of recovery,” said study author Benjamin L. Brett, PhD, of the Medical College ...

Key points: In an 18-month study, people living with ALS who had higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood were found to have slower decline in physical functionality and lower risk of premature death compared to those with lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)—an omega-3 fatty acid found in many nuts, seeds, and oils—showed the strongest link to slower disease progression. Those with higher levels of ALA had a 50% lower risk of dying during the study period compared to those with lower levels of ALA. Embargoed for release: Wednesday, June 21, 2023, 4:00 PM ET Boston, MA—Consuming omega-3 fatty acids—particularly ...

Irvine, CA – June 21, 2023 – A University of California, Irvine-led team of researchers have discovered that extracts from plants used by the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations peoples in their traditional botanical medicine practices are able to rescue the function of ion channel proteins carrying mutations that cause human Episodic Ataxia. The study, “Native American ataxia medicines rescue ataxia-linked mutant potassium channel activity via binding to the voltage sensing domain” was published in June in Nature Communications. “Episodic Ataxia 1 (EA1) is a movement disorder caused by inherited mutations ...

If you’ve ever thought you may be running a temperature yet couldn’t find a thermometer, you aren’t alone. A fever is the most commonly cited symptom of COVID-19 and an early sign of many other viral infections. For quick diagnoses and to prevent viral spread, a temperature check can be crucial. Yet accurate at-home thermometers aren’t commonplace, despite the rise of telehealth consultations.  There are a few potential reasons for that. The devices can range from ...

Key Takeaways In breast cancer, nearby lymph nodes, which are part of the immune system, are usually the first site of cancer spread New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals how cancer cells suppress anti-cancer immune responses in the lymph nodes to survive and spread, or metastasize The findings could lead to new strategies to prevent this suppression and unleash the immune system to fight cancer BOSTON – In breast cancer, nearby lymph nodes, which are part of the immune system, are usually the first site of cancer spread, ...

“[...] the experience with GITR targeting in patients may inform the development of either novel or next-generation immunotherapy approaches.” BUFFALO, NY- June 21, 2023 – A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on June 19, 2023, entitled, “Targeting GITR in cancer immunotherapy – there is no perfect knowledge.” In this new perspective, researchers Diwakar Davar and Roberta Zappasodi from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), University of Pittsburgh, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Weill Cornell Graduate School ...

The cells in our body are continuously exposed to mechanical forces that are either externally applied or generated by the cells themselves. Being able to respond to such mechanical stimuli is an indispensable prerequisite for a large number of biological processes. However, how cells manage to process mechanical stimuli is poorly understood because techniques to study the very fine mechanical signals in cells are lacking. Researchers at the University of Münster (Germany) have now developed a method for altering the mechanics ...

Low-level laser therapy and associated photobiomodulation is the most effective of the known treatments for tinnitus, according to a study comparing the main therapies in current use, conducted by Brazilian scientists affiliated with the Optics and Photonics Research Center (CEPOF). The study is reported in an article published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine. CEPOF is a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) funded by FAPESP and hosted at the University of São Paulo’s São Carlos Institute of Physics (IFSC-USP) in Brazil. Some 750 million people suffer from tinnitus worldwide, according to a European study that analyzed five ...

June 21, 2023 – A second-generation "all-inside" meniscal repair system provides a high success rate at long-term follow-up, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer. "Our 10-year results of second-generation, all-inside repair were better than those of first-generation implants and equivalent to those seen with the other common techniques," according to the new research, led by Rick W. Wright, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville. Long-term ...

Toronto – Anita M. McGahan, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, is the 2023 recipient of the Sumantra Ghoshal Award for Rigour and Relevance in the Study of Management. The Ghoshal Award recognizes a scholar who has distinguished themself by demonstrating both rigorous and impactful scholarship, and by engaging with the world of practice. The award is presented annually in the memory of Ghoshal, who was a professor at London Business School and whose research focused on ...

June 21, 2023 – For patients undergoing surgery for elbow trauma, treatment with the hemostatic drug tranexamic acid (TXA) is associated with a decreased incidence of heterotopic ossification (HO) – a common complication of abnormal bone formation, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer. The findings "add new clinical evidence regarding the protective role of TXA with respect to the prevention of HO after elbow trauma," according to the report by Cunyi ...

Early warning signs of diseases caused by dysfunctional levels of stress hormones could be spotted more easily thanks to a new wearable device developed by endocrine researchers.    This is the first time it has been possible to measure changes to people’s stress hormones as they go about normal daily activities, across both day and night. The new collaborative research led by the University of Bristol, University of Birmingham and University of Bergen has the potential to revolutionise how diseases of the stress hormone system are diagnosed and treated.    The technology, ...

If you’ve ever wondered how the monarch butterfly got its spots, University of Georgia researchers may have just found the answer. The new study suggests that the butterflies with more white spots are more successful at reaching their long-distance wintering destination. Although it’s not yet clear how the spots aid the species’ migration, it’s possible that the spots change airflow patterns around their wings. “We undertook this project to learn how such a small animal can make such a successful ...

A new analysis suggests that wild, stray, and feral cats living in areas with higher human population density tend to release—or “shed”—a greater amount of the parasite that causes the disease toxoplasmosis. The study also draws links between environmental temperature variation and parasite shedding. Sophie Zhu of the University of California Davis, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on June 21. Toxoplasmosis is a mild-to-severe disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which can infect warm-blooded vertebrates, including humans and many wild or domestic animals; for instance, cats, sheep, mice, birds, ...

The capability to reflect on their own mental state and that of others continues to develop throughout adolescence, with mentalizing scores varying by gender and personality traits, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Alex Desatnik of University College London, UK, and colleagues. It has been established that the human brain undergoes a number of important changes during adolescence, especially in the “social brain” regions associated with social cognition. One of the key constructs capturing multiple facets of social cognition is ...

### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0286921 Article Title: How the monarch got its spots: Long-distance migration selects for larger white spots on monarch butterfly wings Author Countries: USA Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Approximately one in ten NHS healthcare workers experienced suicidal thoughts during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a new University of Bristol-led study published in PLOS ONE today [21 June]. Concerns were raised about the risk of suicide among healthcare workers during the pandemic after a number of high-profile cases were reported in the media. Researchers from the University of Bristol, King’s College London and UCL (University College London), sought to investigate the prevalence and incidence of suicidal thoughts and behaviour among NHS healthcare workers in England and their relationship with occupational ...

Ruxolitinib, a drug that is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating certain cancers and skin conditions, is effective at inhibiting CaMKII, a protein kinase linked to cardiac arrhythmias. In a new study published June 21, 2023, in Science Translational Medicine, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago invented a new reporting technique to monitor activity of CaMKII while screening the effects of nearly 5,000 FDA approved drugs on human cells that expressed the ...

New global research on child mortality rates in Ethiopia shows while there has been a significant decline in these rates in past three decades, too many children under the age of five are still dying. The analysis found the mortality rate in the under-five demographic decreased by almost 4.5 per cent every year between 1990 and 2019. However, despite the progress, it’s still one of the highest rates in the world with an estimated 190,000 under 5 deaths in 2019 at the rate of 52 deaths per 1000 livebirths. The country’s neonatal mortality rate is 26.6 deaths per 1000 livebirths. Lead author Dr Gizachew Tessema from the Curtin School of Population ...

When a photon interacts with a material, an interaction occurs that causes its atoms to change their quantum state (a description of the physical properties of nature at the atomic level). The resulting state is called, aptly, photoexcitation. These photoexcitations are conventionally assumed to kill one another when they come near each other, radically limiting their density and mobility. This in turn limits how efficient tools that rely on photoexcitation such as solar cells and light-emitting devices can be. But in a study published June 19 in the journal Nature Chemistry, scientists at Northwestern University and Purdue University challenge this assumption ...

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT), such as naltrexone, is a well-documented successful treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). However, there are multiple barriers for clinicians to use MAT, including clinician lack of confidence in using the treatment, their own misconceptions about the patient population, and, until recently, federally required training. Additionally, there is a stigma associated with MAT and the patients who would most benefit from it. Improving access to MAT training and integrating it into clinician programs and curriculums may remove identified barriers, decrease stigma, and enable newly trained clinicians to treat patients. To address these barriers, ...

In a new study titled, “Understanding Feeling ‘High’ and Its Role in Medical Cannabis Patient Outcomes,” published in the journal, Frontiers in Pharmacology, researchers at The University of New Mexico, in collaboration with Releaf App™ found that patients who reported feeling “High” experienced 7.7% greater symptom relief and an increase in reporting of positive side effects such as “Relaxed” and “Peaceful.” However, these benefits must be weighed against a more than 20% increase in negative side effect reporting. Senior author and Associate Professor of Psychology, ...