About The Study: According to two data sources, in 2018, the economic burden of health inequities for racial and ethnic minority populations (American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latino, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations) was $421 billion or $451 billion and the economic burden of health inequities for adults without a 4-year college degree was $940 billion or $978 billion. The economic burden of health inequities is unacceptably high and warrants investments in policies and interventions to promote health equity for racial and ethnic minorities and adults with less than a 4-year college degree.  Authors: Darrell ...

About The Study: Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 1999 through 2020, the Black population in the U.S. experienced more than 1.63 million excess deaths and more than 80 million excess years of life lost when compared with the white population. After a period of progress in reducing disparities, improvements stalled, and differences between the Black population and the white population worsened in 2020.  Authors: Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., S.M., of the Yale School of Medicine ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Inspired by sutures developed thousands of years ago, MIT engineers have designed “smart” sutures that can not only hold tissue in place, but also detect inflammation and release drugs. The new sutures are derived from animal tissue, similar to the “catgut” sutures first used by the ancient Romans. In a modern twist, the MIT team coated the sutures with hydrogels that can be embedded with sensors, drugs, or even cells that release therapeutic molecules. “What we have is a suture that ...

About The Study: The results of this diagnostic study involving 16 radiologists and 2,054 ultrasonographic images suggest that an optimized artificial intelligence (AI) strategy in thyroid nodule management may reduce diagnostic time-based costs without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy for senior radiologists, while the traditional all-AI strategy may still be more beneficial for junior radiologists.  Authors: Wei Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, is the corresponding author.   To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link ...

About The Study: The findings of this study of 5.1 million individuals suggested that supplementing COVID-19 claims records with Immunization Information Systems vaccination records substantially increased the number of individuals who were identified as vaccinated, yet potential under-recording remained. Improvements in reporting vaccination data to Immunization Information Systems infrastructures could allow frequent updates of vaccination status for all individuals and all vaccines.  Authors: Karen Schneider, Ph.D., of OptumServe Consulting in Falls ...

About The Study: In this analysis of nationally representative survey data, the incidence of chronic pain was high compared with other chronic diseases and conditions for which the incidence in the U.S. adult population is known, including diabetes, depression, and hypertension. This comparison emphasizes the high disease burden of chronic pain in the U.S. adult population and the need for both prevention and early management of pain before it can become chronic, especially for groups at higher risk.  Authors: Richard L. Nahin, M.P.H., Ph.D., of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is the corresponding author.   To access ...

Children whose families participated in a program that helped them move from distressed neighborhoods to areas with lower rates of poverty and better public resources like schools and parks experienced significant improvements in severe asthma episodes, according to a new study led by a researcher at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 123 children, ages 5 to 17, with persistent asthma whose families took part in a six-year housing mobility program in Baltimore. Before ...

A new study adds to an emerging, radically new picture of how bacterial cells continually repair faulty sections of their DNA.  Published online May 16 in the journal Cell, the report describes the molecular mechanism behind a DNA repair pathway that counters the mistaken inclusion of a certain type of molecular building block, ribonucleotides, into genetic codes. Such mistakes are frequent in code-copying process in bacteria and other organisms. Given that ribonucleotide misincorporation can result in detrimental DNA code changes (mutations) and DNA breaks, all organisms have ...

CHICAGO — May 16, 2023 — The landscape of science is changing: People from increasingly varied backgrounds, identities, cultures, and genders are pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Support for this more diverse population of scientists needs to extend beyond “one size fits all” to better meet the needs of today’s scientists. Expanding support and strengthening the sense of community for individuals and groups who have not been historically welcomed in a discipline can foster a deeper sense of belonging and meaningfully broaden representation within that field. Researchers ...

The National Institutes of Health is now enrolling participants in a landmark initiative to advance nutrition research. Nutrition for Precision Health, powered by the All of Us Research Program, or NPH, is working with 14 sites across the United States – including Pennington Biomedical Research Center and LSU Health Sciences New Orleans in Louisiana – to engage 10,000 participants from diverse backgrounds and learn more about how our bodies respond differently to food. “Nutrition for Precision Health brings us a step closer to precision medicine. The study will generate a massive ...

How do our brains become capable of creating specific memories? In one of the first preclinical studies to examine memory development in youth, a research team at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) may have identified a molecular cause for memory changes in early childhood.  Event-based memories, also known as episodic memories, are what people traditionally think of when they hear the word memory: a recollection tied to a specific context. For young children, however, memory is more general or “gist”-like, and these general recollections are typically not tied to a specific context.   In a study published in ...

A new paper published by leading Australian AI ethicist Stefan Harrer PhD proposes for the first time a comprehensive ethical framework for the responsible use, design, and governance of Generative AI applications in healthcare and medicine.  The peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine journal details how Large Language Models (LLMs) have the potential to fundamentally transform information management, education, and communication workflows in healthcare and medicine but equally remain one of the most dangerous and misunderstood types of AI.  “LLMs used to be boring and safe. They have become exciting ...

Halyna Shcherbata, Ph.D., will lead a new research group at MDI Biological Laboratory, in the Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging. Shcherbata's work has focused on regulatory and other roles of non-coding microRNA in gene expression and maintenance, and disorders such as muscular dystrophy and developmental delay. She is already developing new facilities for Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies on campus, returning an esteemed stand-in for human physiology to the Laboratory’s roster of animal models. In her new lab on Maine's Mt. Desert ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Asymptomatic adults with a high accumulation of fat in their muscles, known as myosteatosis, are at an increased risk of major adverse events and death, according to a study published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). One of the methods used by physicians to estimate body fat in patients is the body mass index (BMI). Since BMI is calculated using only a patient’s height and weight, it’s not an accurate reflection of body composition ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – The latest version of ChatGPT passed a radiology board-style exam, highlighting the potential of large language models but also revealing limitations that hinder reliability, according to two new research studies published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that uses a deep learning model to recognize patterns and relationships between words in its vast training data to generate human-like responses based on a prompt. But since there is no source of truth in its training data, the tool can generate responses that are factually ...

HOUSTON – The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was awarded more than $5.7 million in grants from Break Through Cancer to support collaborative research teams working to discover novel molecular targets to eradicate minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and to treat clonal hematopoiesis, a precursor to AML. MD Anderson received $2.7 million to fund research for the Targeting Clonal Hematopoiesis to Prevent AML TeamLab and $3 million for the Eradicating Minimal Residual Disease in AML TeamLab. The projects expand upon work initiated within MD Anderson’s Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Acute Myeloid ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. (May 16, 2023) – Magnetic stimulation of a group of nerves key to how our gut and brain communicate may help correct the conversation that goes awry in painful, debilitating diabetic gastroparesis, researchers say. Patients come to Amol Sharma, MD, because their stomachs constantly hurt, they are always nauseous and they can’t or won’t eat or drink. Sometimes they can’t get out of the hospital because of nausea and vomiting. “Gastroparesis is suspected in about 2% of the population, which is the about the population of Missouri, but only confirmed in .2% ...

The Austronesian language family is one of the largest in the world, comprising over 1,200 languages spoken from Madagascar to Hawaii. Dang Liu, Albert Min-Shan Ko and Mark Stoneking collected genome-wide data from 55 individuals from seven Taiwanese Austronesian groups and two Han-Taiwanese groups to study the genetic structure of Taiwan, the point of origin for all Austronesian-speaking peoples. There are over 20 different Indigenous groups in Taiwan, divided into “highland” and “lowland” peoples. Many lowland peoples have intermarried with Han people, and their languages are endangered or extinct. ...

Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) drive larger emissions reductions over time, due to increased operating efficiency and a greener electricity mix, according to a study. More than 10% of Chinese car sales are now electric, but the full life cycle of EVs still creates carbon emissions. Shaojun Zhang and colleagues conducted “cradle-to-grave” life cycle assessments for EVs in 2015 and 2020, including fuel-cycle and material-cycle phases, and compiled life-cycle projections for 2030. The authors considered factors including sources of electricity, vehicle fuel economy, major automotive metals, and battery ...

INDIANAPOLIS – One out of four adults, age 65 or older, falls every year in the U.S. Falls cause approximately 36,000 deaths annually in this age group, making it the leading cause of death from injury for older adults in the U.S. A new study, led by Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist Briana Sprague, PhD, examines whether cognitive training – specifically, speed of processing, memory and reasoning training -- can lower the risk of falling. Significantly, the researchers found no effects of the training on likelihood of falling for those at low risk of falling. Dr. Sprague also is a faculty member at Indiana ...

An international research team led by Faviel A. López-Romero of the University of Vienna investigated how the jaw shape of sharks has changed over the course of evolution. Their conclusion: in the most widespread shark species, the jaws show relatively little variation in shape over millions of years; most variable jaws were found for deep-sea sharks. The results of this study were published in the journal Communications Biology. One of the most prominent traits in sharks is the shape of their lower jaws, which bear also impressive teeth. With their jaws, sharks are able to feed on a wide variety of prey, which also places them among the Ocean's top predators. ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [May 16, 2023] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) today announced the appointment of Katy Winckworth-Prejsnar, MPH, NCCN’s Senior Manager of Global Policy and Strategic Alliances, as Co-Chair of the Global Health Council (GHC)’s Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Roundtable. In this role, Winckworth-Prejsnar will help drive coordination between organizations worldwide that are working to improve policy and outcomes for cancer and other global health concerns. She will serve alongside Co-Chair Eliana Monteforte, Director of Special Projects, GHC. “NCDs—including ...

Maybe you too have bought into the idea that men with numerous sexual partners are actually admired, while women with the same are condemned – the so-called sexual double standard. But that turns out to be a myth, according to a new survey. “We haven’t found that women are subjected to the traditional double standards,” says Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Psychology. On the contrary, men are judged a little ...

Every year, between 1,200 and 1,500 patients suffer a cardiac arrest in Norwegian hospitals. Rapid and sound treatment is absolutely essential in helping these patients survive. Even if a patient suffers a cardiac arrest within the hospital's four walls, the prognosis is poor. Only one in four survives.  However, a new study suggests that easily available informaiton from the patient's own ECG could change the outcome. Treatment the same for everyone When a heart stops, doctors have to hurry, and the life-saving effort can last a long time. But doctors rarely have a good idea of what the ...

BGI Genomics recently joined a mission business to South America in April 2023. Given that this continent ranks fourth in area and fifth in population worldwide, the economic and healthcare enhancement potential of this continent is compelling.  Every South American country faces different healthcare challenges and priorities. Still, the promise of precision medicine is clear: It offers an opportunity to shift the delivery of care from a legacy one-size-fits-all approach to applying the right treatment for the right patient at the right time. To help deliver on precision medicine's potential, BGI Genomics considers genetic ...