The current status and future perspectives on the successful industrialization of biobased succinic acid are discussed in a comprehensive review article in the peer-reviewed journal Industrial Biotechnology. Click here to read the article now.  Succinic acid is one of the most important platform chemicals, with applications as a pharmaceutical ingredient, food additive, precursor of various chemicals, and raw material for biobased polymers. There is increasing demand for the sustainable production of succinic acid and its derivatives. Sang Yup Lee, from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and coauthors, review ...

In the first global assessment of TB among incarcerated people, a new study found consistently high TB case rates and low case detection in prisons, suggesting the need for health organizations to increase efforts to reduce the spread of TB among this high-risk population. In 2019, incarcerated people across the globe developed tuberculosis (TB) at nearly 10 times the rate of people in the general population, according to a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Published in The Lancet Public Health, the study found that 125,105 of the 11 million people incarcerated worldwide developed tuberculosis in 2019, ...

Research from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago promises to spare many premature infants from undergoing invasive eye exams to detect retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), the most common cause of preventable lifelong blindness in children in the U.S. ROP is caused by an abnormal development of small blood vessels on the retina. Isabelle De Plaen, MD, and colleagues found that imaging the capillaries in the nailbed of preemies within the first month of life using a non-invasive technique, called nailbed capillaroscopy, can identify infants at high risk for developing ROP. This screening could eliminate the need to evaluate all premature infants with eye exams ...

Air pollution is the largest environmental cause of death. Now, a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has estimated which sources contribute most to the mortality associated with two air pollutants - PM2.5 and NO2 - in 857 European cities. The results of this research, which have been published in The Lancet Public Health, show great variability between the different cities studied, suggesting that, given that each one has its own particularities and its own sources of air pollution, strategies to improve air quality should be adapted to each local context. Contributors ...

A newly developed risk calculator that is based on 11 key social, demographic, and clinical factors, can correctly predict suicide risk in those who have self-harmed within the following 6 to 12 months, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health. Pending further validation, OxSATS, short for Oxford Suicide Assessment Tool for Self-harm, may help inform treatment decisions and the most effective targeting of resources, suggest the researchers. Self-harm is associated with a heightened risk of suicide within the following 12 months that ...

B-roll video and interview with researcher BALTIMORE, June 29, 2023– A new study published today in The Lancet has revealed the most extensive analysis to date on what led to the eventual heart failure in the world's first successful transplant of a genetically-modified pig heart into a human patient. This groundbreaking procedure was conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) physician-scientists back in January 2022 and marked an important milestone for medical science. The patient, 57-year-old David Bennett, Sr., was treated at the University of Maryland ...

High levels of lean muscle might protect against Alzheimer’s disease, suggests a large study published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine. But further research is needed to tease out the underlying biological pathways, along with the clinical and public health implications, say the study authors. Obesity has been associated with a heightened risk of Alzheimer’s disease in numerous studies, possibly explained by the attendant increased inflammation, insulin resistance, and higher levels in fat tissue of the protein harmful to brain health, amyloid β. Lower levels of lean muscle have also been associated with a heightened risk of the disease, but it’s ...

Disabled workers are 1.5 times more likely than non-disabled to be in severely insecure work Disabled women are more than twice as likely to be in severely insecure work than disabled men Autistic workers (38%) and those with mental health conditions (28%) are most likely to be severely insecure work New research by the Work Foundation at Lancaster University reveals 1.3 million* disabled workers are trapped in severely insecure work in the UK – and 430,000 say they want to work more hours. Disabled workers are 1.5 times ...

While more and more people are shopping online, purchasing clothes on the internet poses a unique challenge: What if it doesn’t fit? The apparel industry’s latest solution is virtual try-on sessions that allow consumers to share photos or measurements of themselves to create a similar-sized avatar. While some consumers have significant concerns about the new technology, especially young people, new research from the University of Missouri found that qualities such as the perceived ease of using the technology significantly ...

Participant selection bias in women’s health studies may mask earlier onset menopause for Black and Hispanic women, according to new research led by University of Michigan. Researchers say that failure to account for weathering led to exclusion of many Black and Hispanic women from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) cohort and misses critical racial differences in menopausal age.  Established in 1994, SWAN examines midlife health and menopausal transition to improve ...

Four firms doing business with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory received ORNL Small Business Awards during an awards ceremony on June 29. The companies were recognized by the lab’s Small Business Programs Office for their specific capabilities, contributions and strategic problem-solving that often led to cost savings for ORNL. "Small businesses are essential to ORNL delivering on our mission each day,” interim ORNL Director Jeff Smith said. “It is important that ...

The genetic plans within our DNA come to functional fruition through proteins, which underlie our bodies’ structure and activity. Yet, the proteome – all the proteins within a cell or given area – remains relatively mysterious because protein landscapes are incredibly complex. Humans, for example, make tens of thousands of different proteins. To help decipher this complexity, a team of Stanford University researchers has led the development of a new method, called TransitID, for tracking the complete activity of proteins in living cells. This method is detailed in a paper published June ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## Historical Redlining May Be Linked to Current Kidney Failure New study shows that long-term disinvestment in health and wealth resources in historically redlined neighborhoods likely contributes to a disproportionate rate of kidney failure among Black adults today. Living ...

The Milky Way galaxy is an awe-inspiring feature of the night sky, dominating all wavelengths of light and viewable with the naked eye as a hazy band of stars stretching from horizon to horizon. Now, for the first time, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory has produced an image of the Milky Way using neutrinos — tiny, ghostlike astronomical messengers. In a June 30 article in the journal Science, the IceCube Collaboration — an international group of more than 350 scientists — presents this new ...

Scientists have made an important step toward developing computers advanced enough to simulate complex natural phenomena at the quantum level. While these types of simulations are too cumbersome or outright impossible for classical computers to handle, photonics-based quantum computing systems could provide a solution. A team of researchers from the University of Rochester’s Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences developed a new chip-scale optical quantum simulation system that ...

From a proposed lithium mine near the Oregon-Nevada border to a proposed pumped hydropower facility in Washington, the transition from fossil fuels to renewables is not all clean and green. The extraction, manufacturing, storage and recycling of metals and minerals needed for electric cars, wind and solar has impacts on land, water, wildlife and people — and thanks to a new grant, a Portland State professor will take a closer look at those impacts, both good and bad. Alida Cantor, associate professor of geography, ...

Kim Kaplan 301-588-5314 Kim.Kaplan@usda.gov Honey Bees More Faithful to Their Flower Patches Than Bumble Bees MADISON, WI, June 29, 2023—Honey bees are more faithful to their flower patches than bumble bees when it comes to returning to collect more pollen and nectar, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service scientists. Overall, 76 percent of honey bees in the study revisited the same plot of alfalfa flowers in contrast to just 47 percent of eastern bumble bees. But size does matter, especially to bumble bees. They were more faithful to larger flower patches, while the likelihood of honey bees returning to a flower patch ...

More Americans than ever are heeding the call of the outdoors – spending time recreating outside and enjoying national parks. Simultaneously, smoky skies are worsening as the size and severity of wildfires increase and adversely affect air quality across the country. Wildfire smoke threatens human health and welfare, especially if humans are exposed to smoke for long periods or while exercising – such as during a hiking trip to one of America’s beloved national parks. Matthew Clark, a doctoral student at Boise State University studying how social and environmental ...

The COVID-19 pandemic had substantial psychological impacts on the nation and around the world. New research shows patients with HIV were particularly susceptible to psychosocial challenges like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, loneliness and more. The study was co-authored by HIV/AIDS expert Michael Horberg, MD, and published in AIDS Research and Therapy. Researchers analyzed the results from a 2020 survey of nearly 900 Washington, D.C.-based participants diagnosed with HIV. The survey asked patients to rate the degree to which they experienced challenges with financial stability, mental health, social connections ...

Chart captions that explain complex trends and patterns are important for improving a reader’s ability to comprehend and retain the data being presented. And for people with visual disabilities, the information in a caption often provides their only means of understanding the chart. But writing effective, detailed captions is a labor-intensive process. While autocaptioning techniques can alleviate this burden, they often struggle to describe cognitive features that provide additional context. To help people author high-quality chart captions, MIT researchers have developed a dataset to improve automatic ...

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is hosting a free webinar, “What Genetics is Telling Us About Substance Use Disorders” on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at 2:00 pm EST. The presenter will be Sandra Sanchez-Roige, Ph.D. Dr. Sanchez-Roige is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, and the Department of Medicine, Division of Genetic Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is also the recipient of a 2018 BBRF Young Investigator Grant. The webinar will be hosted by Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President & CEO of the Brain & ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Secondhand tobacco smoke continues to be a major source of indoor air pollution that causes more than 41,000 nonsmoking adults to die every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The exposure is even more dire for children, who can be more affected by less smoke. It can increase frequency and severity of asthma attacks, respiratory infections, cancer, sudden infant death syndrome and behavioral problems. Now, for the first time, Penn State-led research has shown exposure to tobacco smoke increases the presence of heavy metals in children’s saliva. The ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons reveals that performing a minor surgical procedure on patients newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer helps to identify cancer spread early and determine the stage of cancer. The researchers add that the surgery ideally should be performed before the patient begins chemotherapy. "This is an important study because it supports that staging laparoscopy may help with determining a patient's prognosis and better inform treatment so that patients ...

Cyanotriazole compounds are fast-acting topoisomerase II poisons that can selectively and rapidly kill trypanosome parasites that cause Chagas disease and African sleeping sickness, according to a new study. Millions who live in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for trypanosomatid infections – pathogenic protozoan parasites that cause Chagas disease and human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), which are potentially fatal if not treated. Although treatments for HAT have improved in recent years, Chagas therapies remain limited and rely on lengthy regimens of toxic drugs. More effective, safer, and shorter-duration ...

From visible starlight to radio waves, the Milky Way galaxy has long been observed through the various frequencies of electromagnetic radiation it emits. Scientists have now revealed a uniquely different image of our galaxy by determining the galactic origin of thousands of neutrinos — invisible "ghost particles" which exist in great quantities but normally pass straight through Earth undetected. The neutrino-based image of the Milky Way is the first of its kind: a galactic portrait made with particles of matter rather than electromagnetic ...