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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Potential new treatment option for diabetic retinopathy

Potential New Treatment Option for Diabetic Retinopathy OU researcher developing potential new treatment for diabetic retinopathy that could address the problem much earlier. OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. – Patients with diabetes face a host of potential health problems as they work to manage the chronic disease. Still, one concern that seems to weigh heavily is the risk of losing their sight through a condition known as diabetic retinopathy. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences and Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center are studying a new, revolutionary treatment for diabetic retinopathy that could change the prognosis ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Paternal use of metformin during sperm production not associated with major birth defects

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 17 June 2024 Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet @Annalsofim Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

American diets have a long way to go to achieve health equity

Poor diet continues to take a toll on American adults. It’s a major risk factor for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, and more than one million Americans die every year from diet-related diseases, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Poor diet and food insecurity is also costly, attributing to an estimated $1.1 trillion in healthcare expenditures and lost productivity. These burdens also contribute to major health disparities by income, education, zip code, race, and ethnicity. In a study from the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University published today in ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

New ‘aging atlas’ provides a detailed map of how cells and tissues age

A new aging atlas gives scientists an in-depth view of how individual cells and tissues in worms age and how different lifespan-extending strategies might stop the clock. Aging impacts all the tissues in our body – from our muscles to our skin. Figuring out how individual tissues and cells age could help researchers better understand the aging process and aid in the development of anti-aging treatments. Due to their short lifespans, simple body plans, and genetic similarity to humans, many researchers study aging in roundworms. To look at aging at the level of tissues and cells, a team of researchers from HHMI's Janelia ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

New technology allows researchers to precisely, flexibly modulate brain

By Beth Miller Human brain diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, involve damage in more than one region of the brain, requiring technology that could precisely and flexibly address all affected regions simultaneously. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a noninvasive technology combining a holographic acoustic device with genetic engineering that allows them to precisely target affected neurons in the brain, creating the potential to precisely modulate selected cell ...

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Social Science17 Jun 2024

Origins of cumulative culture in human evolution

Each of us individually is the accumulated product of thousands of generations that have come before us in an unbroken line. Our culture and technology today are also the result of thousands of years of accumulated and remixed cultural knowledge. But when did our earliest ancestors begin to make connections and start to build on the knowledge of others, setting us apart from other primates? Cumulative culture — the accumulation of technological modifications and improvements over generations — allowed humans to adapt to a diversity of environments and challenges. But, it is unclear when cumulative culture first developed during hominin evolution. A study published ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Mitophagy and cancer: BNIP3/BNIP3L’s role in stemness, ATP production, proliferation, and cell migration

“[...] our current work has provided a novel strategy to enrich for a sub-population of cancer cells, with high basal levels of mitophagy.” BUFFALO, NY- June 17, 2024 – A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 11, entitled, “Mitophagy and cancer: role of BNIP3/BNIP3L as energetic drivers of stemness features, ATP production, proliferation, and cell migration.” Mitophagy is a selective form of autophagy which permits ...

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Science17 Jun 2024

Breakthrough approach enables bidirectional BCI functionality

Brain-computer interfaces or BCIs hold immense potential for individuals with a wide range of neurological conditions, but the road to implementation is long and nuanced for both the invasive and noninvasive versions of the technology. Bin He of Carnegie Mellon University is highly driven to improve noninvasive BCIs, and his lab uses an innovative electroencephalogram (EEG) wearable to push the boundaries of what’s possible. For the first time on record, the group successfully integrated a novel focused ultrasound stimulation to realize bidirectional BCI that both encodes and decodes brain waves using machine learning in a study with 25 human subjects. This work opens ...

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Environment17 Jun 2024

Polarization and risk perception could play important roles in climate-policy outcomes

Times of crises often call for strong and rapid action, but in polarized societies, strong top-down policies can backfire. In a paper published on June 17, 2024, in Environmental Research Letters, SFI Applied Complexity Fellow Saverio Perri, SFI Science Board Fellow Simon Levin (Princeton University), and colleagues present a conceptual model of how these dynamics could play out in efforts to decarbonize our energy supply. The model illustrates the complex interplay between strong policies, people’s perception of risk, and the amount of polarization in a society. They show that in situations where the perception of risk is low — where the ...

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Technology17 Jun 2024

AI shows how field crops develop

Researchers at the University of Bonn have developed software that can simulate the growth of field crops. To do this, they fed thousands of photos from field experiments into a learning algorithm. This enabled the algorithm to learn how to visualize the future development of cultivated plants based on a single initial image. Using the images created during this process, parameters such as leaf area or yield can be estimated accurately. The results have been published in the journal Plant Methods. Which plants should I combine ...

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Science17 Jun 2024

African research funders in global spotlight through Dimensions indexing project

African research is receiving a major visibility boost with the indexing of 10 national funders in Dimensions, the world’s largest linked research database. This project is a collaboration with Digital Science, the Africa PID Alliance (APA), the Association of African Universities (AAU), the Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa), and the Research Organization Registry (ROR). “This project connects the research outputs from leading African funding bodies to the global research ecosystem,” said Joy Owango, Executive Director of TCC Africa ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

New study suggests cancer drug could be used to target protein connection that spurs Parkinson’s disease

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE In studies with genetically engineered mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have identified a potentially new biological target involving Aplp1, a cell surface protein that drives the spread of Parkinson’s disease-causing alpha-synuclein. The findings, published May 31 in Nature Communications, reveal how Aplp1 connects with Lag3, another cell surface receptor, in a key part of a process that helps spread harmful alpha-synuclein proteins to brain cells. Those protein buildups are hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease. Notably, the researchers say, Lag3 is already the target of a combination ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

More than 1 in 10 patients at FQHCs experience major social risk factors

A first-of-its-kind study found high rates of food insecurity, housing insecurity, financial strain, and/or a lack of transportation among patients at federally qualified health centers, particularly patients who were low-income or from racial/ethnic minority populations. Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) offer primary care services to 1 in 11 Americans, the majority of whom are low-income and/or underinsured and may not otherwise receive this care. While prior research has shown that 70 percent of FQHCs screen for social ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Artificial intelligence accurately screens heart failure patients for clinical trial eligibility

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) can rapidly and accurately screen patients for clinical trial eligibility, according to a new study from Mass General Brigham researchers. Such technology could make it faster and cheaper to evaluate new treatments and, ultimately, help bring successful ones to patients. Investigators assessed the accuracy and cost of a Gen AI process they named RAG-Enabled Clinical Trial Infrastructure for Inclusion Exclusion Review (RECTIFIER), that identifies patients who meet criteria for enrollment in ...

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Engineering17 Jun 2024

Unlocking the mystery behind the performance decline in a promising cathode material

The first generation of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles has been a remarkable success story. Yet, the question arises: What changes to battery materials will spur further advances to extend driving range and lower costs? A better positive electrode, or cathode, for lithium-ion batteries has been the focus of intense past research. The cathode is one of the main components in batteries. Several candidates for cathode materials offer the prospect of batteries with much higher energy storage, leading to longer driving range. However, the capacity, or amount of current flowing out within a given time, tends to decline rapidly with charge-discharge cycling for reasons ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

A call for renaming clinical research partnerships

PHILADELPHIA (June 17, 2024) - In a recently published opinion piece in BMJ Open, “Rhetoric of Research: A Call for Renaming the Clinical Research Partnership,” authors from Penn Nursing and Georgetown University School of Nursing, present a compelling argument for rethinking the language used to describe participants in clinical research. The opinion calls for a shift from the traditional term “patient participant” to “participant partner,” emphasizing the crucial role of participants in ...

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Science17 Jun 2024

SwRI breaks ground on new hypersonic engine research facility

SAN ANTONIO — June 17, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) today celebrated the groundbreaking of the Center for Accelerating Materials and Processes (CAMP), a new facility that will support research and development for tomorrow’s high-speed aerospace engines. “This project will help ensure the U.S. is a leader in high-speed propulsion research and development,” said Dr. Barron Bichon, director of SwRI’s Materials Engineering Department. “SwRI is committed to advancing this vital technology on behalf of Texas and the nation.” Market forces including growth in global defense, air travel, ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

International Gemini Observatory and Subaru combine forces to discover first ever pair of merging quasars at cosmic dawn

Since the very first instant after the Big Bang the Universe has been expanding. This means that the early Universe was considerably smaller and early-formed galaxies were more likely to interact and merge. Galaxy mergers fuel the formation of quasars — extremely luminous galactic cores where gas and dust falling into a central supermassive black hole emit enormous amounts of light. So when looking back at the early Universe astronomers would expect to find numerous pairs of quasars in close proximity to each other as their host galaxies undergo mergers. However, they have been surprised ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Repurposed drug may help stabilize vision in rare disease

Roughly 50 families scattered across the world share ultra-rare variants in a particular gene. Silent for years, the inherited mutations make themselves known when patients reach the fourth decade of life. Changes in vision start a cascade of symptoms. Five to 20 years later, the illness is fatal. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have dedicated many years to understanding the rare condition known as retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukoencephalopathy and systemic manifestations, or RVCL-S, with the aim of developing a treatment ...

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Science17 Jun 2024

Face screening tool detects stroke in seconds

A new smartphone face-screening tool could help paramedics to identify stroke in seconds – much sooner and more accurately than is possible with current technologies. Strokes, which affect millions of people globally, occur when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, which prevent brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. A few minutes of delay can result in permanent damage to the brain cells. A team of biomedical engineers at RMIT University developed the AI capabilities behind the software technology and has published their results ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Making this Parkinson's drug is just turtles all the way down (video)

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2024 — L-DOPA is the best drug we have for Parkinson’s disease, but its molecular mirror image, D-DOPA, causes dangerous side effects. Making L-DOPA without also making D-DOPA is surprisingly hard and requires a specific kind of molecule to pull off. But that specific molecule must be made from a different and equally specific molecule. In this video, our host, George Zaidan, explains how one of the winners of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry pulled it off, and why "chiral synthesis," as it's called, is really just turtles all the way down. https://youtu.be/_cb09XB07LQ?si=BuMEI5fOuHmuQlkZ Reactions is a video series ...

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Science17 Jun 2024

Camelid nanobodies: Transforming food allergen analysis

Recent advancements show nanobodies from camelid antibodies excel in food allergen detection with superior stability, specificity, and cost-effectiveness. This innovative approach aims to improve accuracy and efficiency, crucial for preventing severe allergic reactions. The study highlights nanobodies' potential in reliable immunoassays, addressing rising food allergies and enhancing safety measures. Food allergies pose significant health risks, affecting millions worldwide, with the prevalence rising over the past decades. Traditional detection methods, such as monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, are often costly, labor-intensive, and prone to cross-reactions. The need for ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Federal study examines care following nonfatal overdose among Medicare beneficiaries; identifies effective interventions and gaps in care

Researchers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that among a cohort of 137,000 Medicare beneficiaries who experienced a nonfatal overdose in 2020, almost 24,000 (17.4%) experienced a subsequent nonfatal overdose, and about 1,300 (1%) died from overdose in the following year. Results were published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, identifying both effective interventions and significant gaps in care. “People who have experienced ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Maternal inheritance of Alzheimer’s disease tied to increased risk of developing disease

KEY TAKEAWAYS Mass General Brigham researchers analyzed 4,400 cognitively unimpaired adults with amyloid imaging, finding increased amyloid in those who reported that their mothers had symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Increased amyloid, a biomarker of AD, was also found in those with a history of the disease on both sides of their family and in those whose fathers had an early onset of symptoms. The study suggests that a person’s maternal versus paternal family history could ...

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Medicine17 Jun 2024

Epidemiologic features of recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection

About The Study: More than 1 in 5 adults did not recover within 3 months of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this cohort study. Recovery within 3 months was less likely in women and those with preexisting cardiovascular disease and more likely in those with COVID-19 vaccination or infection during the Omicron variant wave. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Elizabeth C. Oelsner, M.D., M.P.H., email eco7@cumc.columbia.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17440) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

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