A new study by Northwestern University researchers and coworkers explains a puzzling problem with maps of future earthquake shaking used to design earthquake-resistant buildings. Although seismologists have been making these maps for about 50 years, they know very little about how well they actually forecast shaking, because large damaging earthquakes are infrequent in any area. To learn more, the Northwestern research team compiled shaking data from past earthquakes. These include CHIMP (California Historical Intensity Mapping Project) ...

AI holds the potential to help doctors find early markers of disease and policymakers to avoid decisions that lead to war. But a growing body of evidence has revealed deep flaws in how machine learning is used in science, a problem that has swept through dozens of fields and implicated thousands of erroneous papers. Now an interdisciplinary team of 19 researchers, led by Princeton University computer scientists Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, has published guidelines for the responsible use of machine learning in science. “When we graduate from traditional statistical methods to machine learning methods, there are a vastly ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Truth Social was more effective at driving news attention toward Donald Trump during the 2022 midterm election cycle than Twitter (now known as X) was during the 2016 primary election season, a pattern driven mostly by partisan media on the left and the right, according to a new paper by a University at Buffalo communication researcher. But that success had limits. Journalists covered Trump’s social media use differently during those times and across those platforms, directly embedding his Truth Social posts into their stories far less frequently than was the case with his tweets in 2016. The findings published in the Journal of Information ...

RICHLAND, Wash.--A major approach to achieving net-zero carbon emissions relies on converting various parts of the economy, such as personal vehicles and heating, to run via electricity generated from renewable sources. But carbon cannot be removed from all parts of society. Plastics, ubiquitous in the modern world, cannot be decarbonized because they are made of carbon-based molecules. Led by chemist Wendy Shaw of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a multi-institutional effort has produced a new roadmap to reducing emissions in hard-to-electrify segments of the economy. The multifaceted approach includes developing non-carbon fuels, ...

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Protein Society, the premier international society dedicated to supporting protein research, announces the winners of the 2024 Protein Society Awards, which will be conferred at the 38th Anniversary Symposium, July 23 – 26, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada. Plenary talks from select award recipients will take place throughout the 3.5-day event. The winners’ scientific accomplishments, described by their nominators below, demonstrate their lasting impact on protein science. The ...

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have identified an innovation in stem cell therapy to regenerate neural cells in the brain after cardiac arrest in an animal model. The study led by Xiaofeng Jia, BM, MS, PhD, FCCM, Professor of Neurosurgery, found that the application of modified sugar molecules on human neural stem cells improved the likelihood of the therapy's success. The application of these sugar molecules both enhanced the stem cells' proliferation and their transition into neurons to help repair critical connections in the brain. The finding could eventually lead to improved recovery of patients ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have designed a new artificial intelligence model that emulates randomized clinical trials at determining the treatment options most effective at preventing stroke in people with heart disease. The model was front-loaded with de-identified data on millions of patients gleaned from health care claims information submitted by employers, health plans and hospitals – a foundation model strategy similar to that of generative AI tools like ChatGPT. By pre-training the model on a huge cache of general ...

PHILADELPHIA— Protein imbalances that increase brain cell excitability may explain why individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who also experience seizures demonstrate more rapid cognitive decline than those who do not experience seizures. These imbalances may be present in the brains of individuals before the onset of AD symptoms.The new findings, from a research team at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, are published this week in Brain. The team found ...

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Dedicated to excellence in patient safety, several Ochsner Health hospitals and partners throughout Louisiana and Mississippi have earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog. Leapfrog 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 as well as the systems hospitals ...

A new mobile game launching today allows anyone with a smartphone or tablet to take part in ocean exploration and discovery. Welcome to FathomVerse. Now available for download on the App Store and Google Play, FathomVerse allows players to interact with real underwater images to improve the artificial intelligence that helps researchers study ocean life. The game combines immersive imagery, compelling gameplay, and cutting-edge science to inspire a new wave of ocean explorers. Scientists are collecting massive amounts of images and video to study marine life and assess ocean ...

A group of researchers at the University of Waterloo and the University of British Columbia have discovered a potential “cosmic glitch” in the universe’s gravity, explaining its strange behaviour on a cosmic scale.  For the last 100 years, physicists have relied upon Albert Einstein’s theory of “general relativity” to explain how gravity works throughout the universe. General relativity, proven accurate by countless tests and observations, suggests that gravity impacts ...

About The Study: For postmenopausal women, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) randomized clinical trials do not support menopausal hormone therapy to prevent cardiovascular disease or other chronic diseases. Menopausal hormone therapy is appropriate to treat bothersome vasomotor symptoms among women in early menopause, without contraindications, who are interested in taking hormone therapy. The WHI evidence does not support routine supplementation with calcium plus vitamin D for menopausal women to prevent fractures or a low-fat diet with increased fruits, vegetables, and grains to prevent ...

About The Study: The proportions of American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and white females of reproductive age in states with effective abortion bans were higher than in states without such policies, while proportions for other racial and ethnic groups were lower. Although these restrictive laws were not based on race, they were concentrated in states with higher proportions of American Indian or Alaska Native and Black individuals, resulting in a differential effect of restrictive abortion laws in these groups. American Indian or Alaska Native and Black populations are disproportionately affected by disparities in pregnancy-related ...

The gut microbiota is the microbial community that occupies the gastrointestinal tract. It is responsible for producing enzymes, metabolites, and other molecules crucial for host metabolism and in response to the environment. Consequently, a balanced gut microbiota is important for mammalian health in many ways, such as helping to regulate the immune and endocrine systems. This in turn, impacts the physiology of tissues throughout the body. However, little was known about the impact of the gut microbiota on host reproduction, ...

The health benefits of exercise are well known but new research shows that the body’s response to exercise is more complex and far-reaching than previously thought. In a study on rats, a team of scientists from across the United States has found that physical activity causes many cellular and molecular changes in all 19 of the organs they studied in the animals. Exercise lowers the risk of many diseases, but scientists still don’t fully understand how exercise changes the body on a molecular level. Most studies have focused on a single organ, sex, or time point, and only include one or two data types.  To take a more comprehensive ...

Philadelphia, May 1, 2024 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified a causal genetic variant strongly associated with childhood obesity. The study provides new insight into the importance of the hypothalamus of the brain and its role in common childhood obesity and the target gene may serve as a druggable target for future therapeutic interventions. The findings were published today in the journal Cell Genomics. Both environmental and genetic factors play critical roles in the increasing incidence of childhood ...

BURLNGTON, Vt.—For the past eight years, researchers have been conducting a groundbreaking study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund: The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC). With nearly 2,600 volunteers, the study aims to examine the molecular effects of exercise on healthy adults and children, considering factors like age, race, and gender. The goal is to create comprehensive molecular maps of these changes and uncover why physical activity has significant health benefits. “This ...

About The Study: This cross-sectional study uses National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to examine differences in cardiovascular health metrics at the intersection of race, ethnicity, and sexual identity.  Authors: Nicole Rosendale, M.D., of the University of California San Francisco, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.9053) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial ...

About The Study: Higher intake of plant foods after prostate cancer diagnosis was associated with lower risk of cancer progression, this study suggests.  Authors: Stacey A. Kenfield, Sc.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.9053) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. #  #  # Embed this ...

NEW YORK, NY — The brain can direct the immune system to an unexpected degree, capable of detecting, ramping up and tamping down inflammation, shows a new study in mice from researchers at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute. "The brain is the center of our thoughts, emotions, memories and feelings," said Hao Jin, PhD, a co-first author of the study published online today in Nature. "Thanks to great advances in circuit tracking and single-cell technology, we now know the brain does far more than that. It is monitoring the function of every system in the body." Future ...

A University of Queensland researcher has found molecular doorways that could be used to help deliver drugs into the brain to treat neurological disorders. Dr Rosemary Cater from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience led a team which discovered that an essential nutrient called choline is transported into the brain by a protein called FLVCR2. “Choline is a vitamin-like nutrient that is essential for many important functions in the body, particularly for brain development,” Dr Cater said. “We need to consume 400-500 mg of choline ...

DALLAS, May 1, 2024 — Each year, approximately 800,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke.[1] Six local stroke heroes from across the country are being recognized by the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, for their resiliency and dedication in the fight against stroke. The American Stroke Association’s annual Stroke Hero Awards honors stroke survivors, health care professionals, advocates and caregivers. During May, American Stroke Month, the Association, ...

During sleep, the brain weakens the new connections between neurons that had been forged while awake – but only during the first half of a night’s sleep, according to a new study in fish by UCL scientists. The researchers say their findings, published in Nature, provide insight into the role of sleep, but still leave an open question around what function the latter half of a night’s sleep serves. The researchers say the study supports the Synaptic Homeostasis Hypothesis, a key theory on the purpose of sleep which proposes that sleeping acts as a reset for the brain. Lead author Professor Jason Rihel (UCL Cell & Developmental Biology) said: “When we are awake, ...

DALLAS (SMU) – An SMU-led research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth’s past – the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation of the South Atlantic Ocean.  With their easily visualized “jigsaw-puzzle fit,” it has long been known that the western coast of Africa and the eastern coast of South America once nestled together in the supercontinent Gondwana — which broke off from the larger landmass of Pangea.  The research team says the southern coast of Angola, where they dug up the samples, arguably provides the most complete ...

Better than expected life expectancy in two disadvantaged areas in England is probably due to population change according to local residents and professionals. In the UK, people from the most disadvantaged areas can expect to die nine years earlier compared with people from the least disadvantaged areas while people in the north of England have lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and worse health and wellbeing compared with national averages. The study, funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research, was a collaboration between Lancaster University, ...