AUGUSTA, Ga. (May 30, 2023) – It sounds like bile acid in the eye would hurt, but scientists think stimulating one of its receptors can actually help protect the vision of premature newborns. It’s called the farnesoid-X-receptor, or FXR, a bile acid receptor whose expression is significantly diminished in two key cell types affected by retinopathy of prematurity. Medical College of Georgia scientists have early evidence that targeting that receptor could provide earlier, more impactful treatments for these babies, a process that could be expedited by the fact that the drugs they ...

1. Study finds similar quality and cost of care for patients treated by an allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.) physician Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-3723 Editorial: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-1165 URL goes live when the embargo lifts An observational study of more than 329,000 Medicare admissions found that older persons receiving hospital care from an allopathic (M.D.) or an osteopathic (D.O.) physician experience similar quality and cost of care. The findings are published in Annals ...

New UCLA-led research suggests that patient mortality rates, readmissions, length of stay, and health care spending were virtually identical for elderly hospitalized patients who were treated by physicians with Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degrees. While both traditional, or allopathic, medical schools and osteopathic medical schools provide the same rigorous health education, osteopathic training adds a more holistic, hands-on component involving manipulation of the musculoskeletal system – for ...

May 29, 2023--A large-scale study led by researchers at Columbia and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard is the first to establish that a diet low in flavanols—nutrients found in certain fruits and vegetables—drives age-related memory loss. The study found that flavanol intake among older adults tracks with scores on tests designed to detect memory loss due to normal aging and that replenishing these bioactive dietary components in mildly flavanol-deficient adults over age 60 improves performance on these tests. “The improvement among study participants with low-flavanol diets was substantial and ...

Eugenia Rho believes in the importance of first impressions, especially during vehicle stops. An assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, Rho is the lead author of a new research paper that illustrates how a law enforcement officer’s first 45 words during a vehicle stop with a Black driver can often indicate how the stop will end. “We found that there’s a key difference in how officers talk to Black drivers during the first moments of stops that end in an arrest, handcuffing, or search versus those that don’t end in such outcomes,” said Rho, who leads the Society, AI, and Language (SAIL) ...

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered a crucial regulator of the anti-cancer immune response that could change the game in the fight against cancer. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study shows that in animal models of breast and prostate cancer, eliminating the gene SRC-3, specifically in a type of immune cell called regulatory T cells (Tregs), triggered a lifelong anti-cancer response that eradicated the tumor without the typical side effects observed with other therapies. Furthermore, transferring Tregs without SRC-3 to animals carrying breast cancer ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- It’s no secret that legal documents are notoriously difficult to understand, causing headaches for anyone who has had to apply for a mortgage or review any other kind of contract. A new MIT study reveals that the lawyers who produce these documents don’t like them very much either.   The researchers found that while lawyers can interpret and recall information from legal documents better than nonlawyers, it’s still easier for them to understand the same documents when translated into “plain English.” Lawyers also rated plain ...

Our familiar, warm, yellow sun is a relative rarity in the Milky Way. By far the most common stars are considerably smaller and cooler, sporting just half the mass of our sun at most. Billions of planets orbit these common dwarf stars in our galaxy. To capture enough warmth to be habitable, these planets would need to huddle very close to their small stars, which leaves them susceptible to extreme tidal forces. In a new analysis based on the latest telescope data, University of Florida astronomers have discovered ...

It’s well known that producing foods such as beef can have an outsized footprint when it comes to carbon emissions. But a new study shows that some of these same staples can have an equally huge effect when it comes to biodiversity losses. One of the main problems, the study found, results when food production overlaps with areas that have been identified as having the highest conservation priority. Food production remains the main cause of biodiversity loss. “Food production remains the main cause of biodiversity loss,” said Keiichiro Kanemoto, an associate professor at the Research Institute for Humanity ...

Published in Nature Immunology and Nature Briefing, the research is the first of its kind to decisively map immune responses produced by a COVID-19 vaccination in any First Nations populations. In partnership with Menzies School of Health Research, researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) evaluated immune responses in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous individuals after receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Lead author of the study and PhD candidate at the Doherty ...

Researchers discovered only relatively recently that black hole jets emit x-rays, and how the jets accelerate particles to this high-energy state is still a mystery. Surprising new findings in Nature Astronomy appear to rule out one leading theory, opening the door to reimagining how particle acceleration works in the jets—and possibly also elsewhere in the universe. One leading model of how jets generate x-rays expects the jets’ x-ray emissions to remain stable over long time scales (millions of years). However, the new paper found that the x-ray emissions of a statistically significant number of jets varied over just a few years. “One ...

PITTSBURGH, May 29, 2023 – Why do some people develop Alzheimer’s disease while others don’t? And, even more puzzlingly, why do many individuals whose brains are chock-full of toxic amyloid aggregates—a telltale sign of Alzheimer’s brain pathology—never go on to develop Alzheimer’s-associated dementias? University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers appear to have found the answer. Star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes are key to swaying the pendulum in Alzheimer’s disease progression, shows new game-changing research published today in Nature Medicine. By testing the blood of more ...

Synucleinopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases caused by the abnormal accumulation α-synuclein, a protein normally found in the brain and neurons. Incorrect folding of α-synuclein leads to formation of ‘seeds’, which attract more α-synuclein proteins to form larger clumps. Although, α-synuclein seeds have been found in various tissues and blood of patients with synucleinopathies, its potential as a biomarker is ambiguous.   Recently, in a study published in Nature Medicine, Associate Professor Ayami Okuzumi along with Senior Associate Professor Taku Hatano, both ...

Research led by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and Universite Paris Cite, and supported by worldwide partners in Canada, the USA and Australia, has identified new genes that are associated with an increased risk of a type of heart attack primarily affecting young to middle-aged women. The results are published in Nature Genetics today, 29 May 2023. SCAD – or Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection – is when a bruise or bleed occurs in the wall of a coronary artery, cutting off the blood to part of the heart. This leads to a heart attack. Unlike other types of heart attack, SCAD ...

HOUSTON ― A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, published today in Nature Medicine, provides a deeper understanding of the vast diversity of T cell states as well as their relationships and roles within the complex tumor microenvironment, bringing a fresh perspective to understanding immunotherapy efficacy in cancer. This new pan-cancer single-cell T cell atlas integrates 27 single-cell RNA sequencing datasets, including nine unique datasets from MD Anderson, covering 16 cancer types. It is the most detailed picture to date of the heterogeneity ...

Hydrogen has been gaining attention as a clean and efficient energy source. However, is hydrogen really environmentally friendly? Most hydrogen commonly used now is “grey hydrogen” derived from fossil fuels. Since its production process accompanies generation of green house gas, it can be said that grey hydrogen is not environmentally friendly in the strict sense. The era of “green hydrogen” without carbon emissions has not yet begun. The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS, President Hyun-min Park) has demonstrated the key to the longevous and efficient photoanode with protective film, which is used to produce hydrogen ...

Dementia is defined as the loss of cognitive functioning—including thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and is very prevalent in Japan. Currently, the treatment satisfaction for dementia is among the lowest and no drug therapy is available to cure the disease. With a rapidly ageing global population, the development of dementia preventive and therapeutic drugs is critical. Cognitive impairment has been linked to the consumption of excess table salt, a ubiquitous food seasoning. High salt (HS) intake can also lead to hypertension. To prevent adverse health outcomes, the World Health Organization recommends limiting salt intake to less ...

Researchers have shed light on the activity patterns and behavioral adaptations of two sympatric sloth species, Bradypus variegatus and Choloepus hoffmanni. This groundbreaking study, conducted in the lowland rainforests of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, offers valuable insights into the ecological dynamics of sloths and their ability to thrive in diverse environmental conditions.  Faced with the challenge of studying the elusive nature of sloths, Dr. Rebecca Cliffe Founder and Executive Director of The Sloth Conservation Foundation ...

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a simple, low-cost clip that uses a smartphone's camera and flash to monitor blood pressure at the user’s fingertip. The clip works with a custom smartphone app and currently costs about 80 cents to make. The researchers estimate that the cost could be as low as 10 cents apiece when manufactured at scale. The technology was published May 29 in Scientific Reports. Researchers say it could help make regular blood pressure monitoring easy, affordable and accessible to people in resource-poor ...

Osaka, Japan – Researchers from the Department of Mechanical Science and Bioengineering at Osaka University have invented a new kind of walking robot that takes advantage of dynamic instability to navigate. By changing the flexibility of the couplings, the robot can be made to turn without the need for complex computational control systems. This work may assist the creation of rescue robots that are able to traverse uneven terrain. Most animals on Earth have evolved a robust locomotion system using legs that provides them with a high degree of mobility over a wide range of environments. Somewhat disappointingly, engineers who have attempted to replicate this ...

How do you diagnose and manage depression in adolescents? A new review published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.220966 aims to help primary care clinicians address this increasingly common, yet under-detected condition, in teenagers. "Although more than 40% of people with depression experience onset before adulthood, depression remains undetected in many adolescents in Canada, and most are untreated," writes Dr. Daphne Korczak, a psychiatrist with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, with coauthors. "Clinicians consistently ...

UK Government’s “outdated” public health messages are leaving new parents in the dark about what to expect after birth Some parents still smoking or drinking at the start of pregnancy, report by Children’s Alliance warns Frontline medical staff aren’t passing on key public health messages about pregnancy, authors reveal Expectant mothers and fathers are being failed by the UK Government’s “outdated” public health plans leaving them unprepared for parenthood, a new report has warned. The review by Children’s Alliance, with the University of Southampton, found that women and men are unaware of how poor personal health can impact ...

The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF), a nonprofit focused on transforming pediatric cancer care by accelerating research breakthroughs, today announced the 19 recipients of its 2023 research grants.  The researchers will receive $1,730,000 in funding to explore new and safer treatments for pediatric cancers. Of the recipients, six scientists are receiving PCRF funding for the first time. For the balance, PCRF funding will support the continuation of ongoing research projects.  Grant recipients will conduct their research at top institutions across the U.S, studying various ...

The absolute internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at low temperatures is often assumed to be 100%. However, a new study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Electrical and Computer Engineering researchers has found that the assumption of always perfect IQE is wrong: the IQE of an LED can be as low as 27.5%. This new research, “Low temperature absolute internal quantum efficiency of InGaN-based light-emitting diodes”, was recently published in Applied Physics Letters. As ECE associate professor Can Bayram puts it, LEDs are the ultimate lighting source. ...

A $4.5 million groundbreaking grant will fund research to explore a promising link between aerobic exercise and slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease in a study led by an Arizona State University researcher. An estimated 6.7 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association's 2023 report. A $4.5 million groundbreaking grant from the National Institute on Aging will fund research exploring a promising link between aerobic exercise and slowing the progression of Alzheimer's. ...