ROCKVILLE, Md.—Gestational weight gain may be associated with autism-related behaviors among children who have a greater pre-disposition to these behaviors and who have mothers with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity, according to a new study in Obesity, The Obesity Society’s (TOS) flagship journal. Excessive gestational weight gain has been associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes in children, including autism spectrum disorder and related traits. However, it is unclear how pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) or familial susceptibility to autism spectrum disorder influences the gestational weight gain-autism traits association, ...

It is a common custom in some countries for individuals to take a siesta or midday nap. Sleeping during the middle of the day has the potential to affect sleep quality, cognitive function, and metabolic processes. However, the relationship between siestas and metabolic health is not well understood. A new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, assessed more than 3,000 adults from a Mediterranean population, examining the relationship of siestas and siesta duration with obesity and metabolic syndrome. The researchers found that those who took siestas of 30 minutes or longer (long siestas) were more ...

Japanese food is popular worldwide and has been registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. There is a scoring system named “the 12-component modified Japanese Diet Index (mJDI12),” which focuses on the intake of the Japanese diet pattern. It includes 12 foods and food groups: rice, miso soup, pickles, soy products, green and yellow vegetables, fruits, seafood, mushrooms, seaweed, green tea, coffee, and beef and pork. Scores range from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating a diet that conforms to the Japanese food pattern. A research group led by Dr. Hideki Fujii ...

LA JOLLA, CA—An anonymous San Diego resident has become a fascinating example of how the human immune system fights SARS-CoV-2. In a new investigation, scientists from La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have shown how antibodies, collected from this clinical study volunteer, bind to the SARS-CoV-2 "Spike" protein to neutralize the virus. Although studies have shown antibodies bound to Spike before, this new research reveals how the original Moderna SARS-CoV-2 vaccine could prompt the body to produce antibodies against the later Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2. The researchers ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 25, 2023 – BioOne proudly announces the 2023 recipients of the BioOne Ambassador Award. Now in its sixth year, this prestigious award recognizes early-career researchers in the biological, ecological, environmental sciences who demonstrate creative approaches to science communication thereby fostering greater science literacy and aiding in the understanding of the natural world. BioOne Ambassadors are nominated by BioOne publishing partners and each winning author will receive a $1,000 award, and have their work promoted through BioOne’s multiple channels. This year’s ...

“The mechanisms of induction of senescent cell death by CUDC-907 remain to be fully elucidated.” BUFFALO, NY- April 25, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 7, entitled, “Characterization of the HDAC/PI3K inhibitor CUDC-907 as a novel senolytic.” The accumulation of senescent cells has an important role in the phenotypical changes observed in aging and in many age-related pathologies. Thus, the strategies designed to prevent these effects, collectively ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Showing users that visual data fed into artificial intelligence (AI) systems was labeled correctly might make people trust AI more, according to researchers. The findings also may pave the way to help scientists better measure the connection between labeling credibility, AI performance, and trust, the team added. In a study, the researchers found that high-quality labeling of images led people to perceive that the training data was credible and they trusted the AI system more. ...

25 April 2023 The Geological Society of America Release no. 23-20 Contact: Justin Samuel +1-303-357-1026 jsamuel@geosociety.org For Immediate Release A Meeting in the Mitten: Water, Rock, Wonderland Boulder, Colo., USA: The 2023 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting will be held on 4–5 May in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. We are pleased to announce a wide-ranging set of theme sessions, field trips, and short courses aligned with our meeting theme: A Meeting in the Mitten: Water, Rock, Wonderland. ...

Mothers with the long term autoimmune disorder, systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE for short, run more than double the risk of giving birth to a premature or growth restricted baby, finds a 10-year nationwide audit of hospital admissions records in the US and published online in the open access journal RMD Open. And these mothers are nearly 4 times as likely to need a blood transfusion and 15 times as likely to develop kidney failure during delivery as mothers without the condition, the audit shows. Rates of death and serious illness among new mothers are increasing in the USA, likely due to rising rates of obesity, underlying conditions, and older age ...

Climate changes are conjuring a whirlwind ride that seems to present some creatures opportunities to thrive. Scientists scripting supercharged scenarios caution the difference between seasonal coping and long-term adaption is vast – and tricky to predict. Michigan State University biologists have studied damselflies – which resemble dragonflies and are abundant as both predator and prey in wetlands – to understand what happens throughout their lifecycle from nymph to winged insect, along with what they eat when summers grow warmer and longer. Their work in this week’s Proceedings of the Royal Society B has a twist – ...

Press release: Under Embargo until Wednesday 26th April 2023, 12:05am BST Higher rates of HIV diagnoses found amongst mental health service users New National Institute for Health and Care Research Maudsley BRC supported research has found HIV is 2.5 times more frequent in people who use mental health services than the general population in South London. The paper was published today in BMJ Open. HIV is 2.5 times more common in people who use mental health services than the general population in South London. The researchers, at King’s College London, found that 2.5% of people who have had contact with mental health services had a recorded diagnosis of ...

Even mild concussion can cause long-lasting effects to the brain, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge. Using data from a Europe-wide study, the team has shown that for almost a half of all people who receive a knock to the head, there are changes in how regions of the brain communicate with each other, potentially causing long term symptoms such as fatigue and cognitive impairment. Mild traumatic brain injury – concussion – results from a blow or jolt to the head. It can occur as a result of a fall, a sports injury or from a cycling accident or car crash, ...

**Strictly embargoed until 01:01 (BST) Wednesday 26 April 2023** Astronomers solve the 60-year mystery of quasars – the most powerful objects in the Universe First discovered 60 years ago, quasars can shine as brightly as a trillion stars packed into a volume the size of our Solar System, but until now it has remained a mystery what could trigger such powerful activity By observing 48 galaxies that host quasars and comparing them to over 100 non-quasar galaxies, scientists discovered that the phenomenon is ignited by galaxies colliding When two galaxies collide, gravitational forces ...

Social media is fuelling eating disorders among female athletes who feel they must achieve the ‘ideal’ body, according to experts. Dr Kathryn Vidlock and Catherine Liggett, who have both competed in collegiate athletics, and dietician Andrew Dole warn that nutrition ‘myths’ posted by fitness influencers, exercise-related ‘fitspiration’ images on Instagram, and photoshopping are having a direct impact on sportswomen. Their new book Spring Forward: Balanced Eating, Exercise, and Body Image in ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — People may appreciate online apps that provide advice on health and fitness, but they seem to draw the line when those apps use their social media networks for data, according to researchers. In a study, users showed a strong preference for fitness recommendations that were personalized for them based on their self-reported preferences. They also liked systems that allowed users to choose among different recommendation approaches, which made them feel more in control. “As big data gives people new opportunities to personalize their health and fitness routines, it also calls into question how ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — One in five adults in California, or an estimated 6.5 million people, are concerned that someone they know, usually a friend or family member, is at risk of harming themselves or others, according to new research published in Preventive Medicine. Alcohol and substance misuse, a history of violence, and firearm access were common reasons for concerns about potential violence. Of the people perceived to be at risk for harming others, an estimated 19% were said to have access to firearms. For those perceived to be at risk of harming themselves, that number was approximately 11%. Amanda J. Aubel, a research data analyst at the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research ...

At least half of all autistic children experience some form of aggression, such as hitting, kicking or name-calling, while their parents are tasked with helping them cope and integrate socially. Yet the prevalence and characterization of aggressive behaviors across autistic development are poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, researchers in the Family and Community Intervention Lab at the University of Arkansas compared autistic children to non-autistic children on different types of aggressive behaviors over three ...

Registration is now open for the 12th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC), July 31-August 3, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Seattle, Washington.    ISSRDC brings together leaders from the commercial sector, U.S. government agencies, and academic communities to foster innovation and discovery onboard the International Space Station (ISS). ISSRDC 2023 will showcase how the space station continues to provide a valuable platform for research ...

More than 50 tests span cognition, motor, sensation and emotion to assess a wide range of diseases ‘The problem in clinical care today is nobody has time for long tests for everything’ Earlier version of app now used by 3,000 researchers globally (e.g. COVID ‘brain fog’) CHICAGO --- An iPad app developed at Northwestern Medicine that helps measure specific aspects of cognitive, motor, sensory and emotional function in five minutes or less is now available for doctors to screen people ages 3 to 85+ for a wide range of neurological diseases and syndromes. Using the NIH Toolbox® V3 iPad App, ...

Public health outreach efforts often strive to overcome communication barriers by using interpretation and translation to present information to communities in their native language. However, bilingual people from cultural backgrounds in which mental health is a particularly taboo topic may be more likely to support treatment when they hear information in their second language, said Leigh H. Grant (University of Chicago) about her findings in Clinical Psychological Science.  Chinese speakers with English as second language “were consistently ...

Researchers from Prof. Steve Sibener's group have captured the first atomic-scale images of tin on niobium during the growth process of the next generation of particle accelerators, Nb3Sn. The study, published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, reveals the potential for greater control over the growth of superconducting Nb3Sn films, which could significantly reduce the cost and size of cryogenic infrastructure required for superconducting technology. Superconducting accelerator facilities, such as those used for X-ray free-electron laser radiation, rely on niobium superconducting ...

Boston, MA – The Thich Nhat Hanh Center for Mindfulness in Public Health will launch April 26 at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Center was created with a $25 million gift from an anonymous donor, one of the largest single donations to the School. The Center’s mission is to empower people around the globe to live with purpose, equanimity, and joy through the practice of mindfulness; pursue evidence-based approaches to improve health and well-being through mindfulness; and educate and train the public in mindfulness. Two primary areas of emphasis will be nutrition and the environment. “We are thrilled to host this groundbreaking ...

For 30% to 40% of lymphoma patients who receive CAR T therapy, the treatment is a godsend. Typically given to lymphoma patients for whom other treatments have proven ineffective, CAR T therapy involves removing immune cells from the body via a blood draw, reengineering them to become better cancer fighters, then reintroducing them to the bloodstream, where they seek out and destroy cancer cells.  For 60% to 70% of lymphoma patients who receive CAR T therapy, however, the treatment doesn’t work, and the cancer comes back — typically within ...

ARLINGTON, Va., April 25, 2023 — A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) provides guidance on the use of definitive local therapy—including radiation and surgery—to treat patients with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The guideline is published in Practical Radiation Oncology. The guideline emphasizes the need for a multidisciplinary team approach to guide treatment decisions for oligometastatic disease, a description for cancer that reaches a state in which the patient has a small number of metastases in addition to a primary tumor. ...

Ithaca, NY—What's good for the Black-backed Woodpecker is good for restoration of burned California forests. The birds' unique relationship with fire underpins the latest research into improved post-fire management. A study published in Ecological Applications describes a new tool that factors how fires burn into forest management decisions and turns science into action for wildlife conservation. "Wildfire is like a 10,000-piece puzzle, and climate change is rearranging the pieces," said lead author Andrew Stillman with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Gigantic, severe fires ...