Weekly targets, annual resolutions, five-year plans—all of them so troublingly elusive. With best intentions, most of us fail to stick with the goals we set. Next time, consider pursuing them with a friend. New field research by Assistant Professor Rachel Gershon, published in Management Science, suggests that pursuing our goals with friends may make them more attainable. Gershon, along with Cynthia Cryder of Washington University and Katy Milkman of the University of Pennsylvania, ...

For ages now, plants have been the primary source of nutrition for animals and mankind. Additionally, plants are used for the extraction of various medicinal and therapeutic compounds. However, their indiscriminate use, along with the rising demand for food, underscores the need for novel plant breeding practices. Advances in plant biotechnology can address the problems associated with food scarcity in the future by enabling the production of genetically modified (GM) plants with higher productivity and resilience to the changing climate.  Naturally, plants can regenerate an entire new plant from a single ‘totipotent’ cell (a cell that ...

ATLANTA, May 1, 2024 — The American Cancer Society (ACS) today released a first-of-its-kind Cancer Facts & Figures for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Other Pacific Islander People, 2024-2026. This report shows that despite limited disaggregated data, there is wide variation in the cancer burden among ethnic groups that make up this fast-growing population. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States nationally but ranks first in Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese individuals, with lung cancer the leading cause of death in men of every Asian American, Native ...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Despite ChatGPT’s reported ability to pass medical exams, new research indicates it would be unwise to rely on it for some health assessments, such as whether a patient with chest pain needs to be hospitalized.   In a study involving thousands of simulated cases of patients with chest pain, ChatGPT provided inconsistent conclusions, returning different heart risk assessment levels for the exact same patient data. The generative AI system also failed to match the traditional ...

PULLMAN, Wash. -- A new computer model uses a better artificial intelligence process to measure snow and water availability more accurately across vast distances in the West, information that could someday be used to better predict water availability for farmers and others. Publishing in the Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, the interdisciplinary group of Washington State University researchers predict water availability from areas in the West where snow amounts aren’t being physically measured. Comparing ...

A simple blood test could allow doctors to determine whether a person may be at higher risk for stroke or cognitive decline during their lifetime, according to a new UCLA Health study.  The study, published in the journal Stroke, found that measuring concentrations of a network of inflammatory molecules in the blood could allow doctors to calculate a risk score for susceptibility for cerebral small vessel disease – a common cause of stroke and a contributor to cognitive decline found especially among the elderly.   Currently, the only way to determine a person’s risk for cerebral vascular diseases has been ...

WASHINGTON, DC – May 1, 2024 – Three-quarters of Americans feel mental health conditions are identified and treated much worse than physical health issues within the U.S. healthcare system, even as more than 80% perceive a dramatic rise in prevalence of mental health issues in the last five years, according to a new survey from West Health and Gallup released at the start of Mental Health Awareness Month and Older Americans Month. Nearly identical percentages believe mental health is handled either “much” (38%) or “somewhat” worse (37%) than physical health ailments, while 15% say they are dealt with “about the same.” ...

Research Highlights: When adults became angry after remembering past experiences, the function of cells lining the blood vessels was negatively impaired, which may restrict blood flow. Previous research has found that this may increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. In this study, episodes of anxiety and sadness did not trigger the same change in functioning of the blood vessel lining. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wed., May 1, 2024 DALLAS, May 1, 2024 — A brief episode of anger triggered by remembering past experiences may negatively impact the blood vessels’ ability to relax, which is essential ...

What?    5th International Conference on Governmental Science Advice, INGSA2024, marking the 10th Anniversary of the creation of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA) & first meeting held in the global south. Where?   Kigali Convention Center, Rwanda: https://www.ingsa2024.com/ When?    1 – 2 May, 2024. Context: One of the largest independent gatherings of thought- and practice-leaders in governmental science advice, research funding, multi-lateral institutions, academia, science communication and diplomacy is ...

A new species of the Japanese lily known as sukashiyuri has been identified for the first time since 1914 by a research team led by Dr. Seita Watanabe, a specially appointed assistant professor at the Botanical Gardens and the Graduate School of Science at Osaka Metropolitan University. Dr. Watanabe questioned the classification used up to now for sukashiyuri group, which usually has orange flowers. These lilies have high ornamental value, having been exported from Japan for more than two centuries. There have been only four taxonomic groups, but Dr. Watanabe and his team sought evidence to prove that there were ...

Due to a later melatonin onset and increased alertness in the evening, teenagers often find it hard to fall asleep at a time that would allow them to clock up the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. It is also during teenage years when increasing school demands, activities, more independence from parents, and relationships with peers begin to compete with sleep. The role of social context, however, is often overlooked when studying adolescents’ sleep. Now, researchers in Sweden and Australia wanted to find out how popularity ...

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) all have a unique and diverse set of antibodies that are involved in the development of the disease. Researchers at Utrecht University unveiled the complexity of these antibodies using powerful lab tools capable of analysing our immune system at molecular levels. Their discovery suggests that current assumptions about the origin of RA are too simple. Still, their findings may point towards improved diagnostics. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the joints, causing pain, stiffness, and swelling. It arises when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues, leading ...

LOS ANGELES — Keck Hospital of USC  earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization.    “This grade puts Keck Hospital among the safest in the nation, and is a testament to the hospital’s commitment to the highest standards of quality and safety protocols,” said Marty Sargeant, MBA, CEO of Keck Medical Center of USC.   The Leapfrog Group assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections and the ...

Orlando, Fla - A new national survey by the Orlando Health Cancer Institute finds nearly a third (32%) of Americans agree that a tan makes people look better and healthier, a dangerous beauty standard that experts say can lead to risky behavior when it comes to sun exposure. “There is no such thing as a healthy tan, as it’s really just a visual manifestation of damage to the skin,” said Rajesh Nair, MD, an oncology surgeon at the Orlando Health Cancer Institute. “But we’re fighting against a perceived positive image and health benefits of something that actually has a totally opposite reality, which ...

The body clock has a significant impact on the performance of NBA players, according to study published in the peer-reviewed journal Chronobiology International. The authors say their findings, from more than 25,000 matches, show elite basketball coaches and teams should consider the physical and mental effects of time zone travel when planning games and preparing for games. A first of its kind, the research is based on the achievements at home and away of NBA (National Basketball Association) league players across 21 consecutive seasons. Considered the most competitive in the world, NBA athletes frequently travel ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 1, 2024)—Musculoskeletal pain is a prevalent menopause symptom, which helps explain why women typically experience more pain than men, especially around the age of 50 years. Beyond pain, muscle function and mass are also affected by menopause. A new study suggests premature surgical menopause can lead to an increased risk of muscle disorders. Results of the survey are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society. The highly publicized Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation spotlighted a number of symptoms that are common during the menopause ...

Women are 40% more likely to experience depression in the perimenopause than those who aren’t experiencing any menopausal symptoms, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, provided a meta-analysis of seven studies involving 9,141 women from across the world (including Australia, USA, China, Netherlands and Switzerland), to understand whether different stages of the menopause were associated with different risk of depression. The perimenopause usually occurs around three to five years before the onset of menopause. During this stage women’s oestrogen and progesterone levels begin to fluctuate, ...

How do planets form? How do galaxies evolve? And ultimately, how did the universe itself begin? A unique astronomical observatory that researchers hope will unravel some of the biggest mysteries out there marks its opening on April 30, 2024.   At an altitude of 5,640 meters, the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO), built on the summit of a desert mountain in northern Chile, is the highest astronomical observatory in the world, which should give it unrivaled capabilities, but presents some novel challenges. Astronomers will ...

Illumina, a global genomics and human health company, has partnered with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research’s TenK10K project to help transform the treatment of complex diseases, starting with autoimmune diseases, with a joint investment of $27 million AUD. The Garvan Institute plans to map 50 million human cells from 10,000 people to identify unique genomic fingerprints of autoimmune diseases, heart diseases and cancer, building on the early success of a clinical trial for Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease affects more than 80,000 Australians. As with many autoimmune diseases, ...

Head and abdominal trauma is a leading cause of death for children. About 1%–2% of children who come to emergency departments with head or abdominal injuries require immediate intervention. These injuries are diagnosed the world over by computed tomography (CT) scans. But CT-related radiation can cause cancers later in life, and accumulated evidence suggests that CT is overused. “There is an urgent need for validated guidelines for the safe use of CT to diagnose injured children while preventing unnecessary radiation exposure,” says Pradip Chaudhari, MD, Director of Research and Scholarship, Division of Emergency and Transport Medicine, ...

The border crossing separating San Diego, California, from Tijuana, Mexico, is a dynamic place. When it was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, drug tourism from San Diego to Tijuana continued. This provided a flow of people in both directions, bringing with them not only the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) but also the virus that causes AIDS (HIV). A collaborative study led by researchers from University of California San Diego and Irvine, recently published in the Lancet, found that rather than preventing the spread of disease, closing the border actually increased the rate of HIV transmission. Injection drug use increases the risk of HIV infection through ...

A new study has found that pancreatic cancer cells are different based on their location in the pancreas, providing new information about tumors that could lead to better targeted treatments. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer, and the diagnosis has dramatically increased over the last decade. It is currently the seventh leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women globally and projected to be the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths world-wide by 2030. This increase is due to several factors such as an increase in obesity and diabetes. Houston Methodist’s ...

The disruption to the supply of a prescription medicine that helps people stop smoking may have led to thousands fewer people quitting each year in England, which will lead to avoidable deaths in future, suggests a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. Varenicline (also known as Champix) is one of the most effective treatments to help smokers quit. It works by reducing cravings for nicotine and easing withdrawal symptoms. But its distribution was paused in July 2021 in the UK and Europe as a precaution after higher than expected levels of a potentially ...

Interdisciplinary researchers in Illinois, the U.S. and around the world can advance their projects with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology's new Zeiss Xradia 630 Versa micro-CT scanner, the first of its kind with life science applications in the U.S. Computed tomography, or CT, is an imaging technique that involves capturing a series of cross-sectional X-ray scans of an object or sample — be it a material like concrete or a biological sample like an insect or human body. Stacked on top of one another, the images non-invasively reconstruct the subject in 3D from the inside out. Microscopic computed tomography, or micro-CT, helps researchers reconstruct ...

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic and debilitating pain disorder, typically considered lifelong with limited treatment options. Now, groundbreaking research finds that early detection and effective treatment can lead to significant recovery within 18 months, offering hope to millions of people worldwide.   Led by NeuRA’s Centre for Pain IMPACT and conducted in partnership with the University of South Australia, the findings could deliver life-changing outcomes for people with CRPS, with up to 80% of patients recovering ...