A drug used to treat children with epilepsy prevents brain tumor formation and growth in two mouse models of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. NF1 is a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body, including the optic nerves, which connect the eyes to the brain. The findings lay the groundwork for a clinical trial to assess whether the drug, lamotrigine, can prevent or delay brain tumors in children with NF1. The study is online in the journal Neuro-Oncology. “Based on these data, the Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium is considering launching a first-of-its-kind ...

The idea that the Universe is expanding dates from almost a century ago. It was first put forward by Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaître (1894-1966) in 1927 and confirmed observationally by American astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) two years later. Hubble observed that the redshift in the electromagnetic spectrum of the light received from celestial objects was directly proportional to their distance from Earth, which meant that bodies farther away from Earth were moving away faster and the universe must be expanding. A surprising new ingredient was added to the model in 1998 when observations of ...

Leuven (Belgium), 16 April 2024 – Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains one of the most challenging and prevalent neurodegenerative disorders, affecting millions of individuals worldwide. In a new study published in Developmental Cell, researchers from the lab of Wim Annaert (VIB-KU Leuven) have identified a novel mechanism potentially connected to the early stages of AD. They demonstrated that a fragment of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), called APP-CTF, disrupts communication between cellular compartments crucial for calcium storage and waste disposal, which ...

Nations battling for Olympic success in a global sporting ‘arms race’ has led to elite coaches migrating to Western countries as they bid to escape antiquated and restrictive coaching regimes in their home countries, reveals a new study funded by the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Studies Centre. National teams pursuing Olympic gold medals are increasingly recruiting foreign elite coaches from the leading countries, as they try to close the gap between themselves and the top medal-winners in particular ...

Leveraging gamers and video game technology can dramatically boost scientific research according to a new study published today in Nature Biotechnology. 4.5 million gamers around the world have advanced medical science by helping to reconstruct microbial evolutionary histories using a minigame included inside the critically and commercially successful video game, Borderlands 3. Their playing has led to a significantly refined estimate of the relationships of microbes in the human gut. The results of this collaboration will both substantially advance our knowledge of the microbiome ...

Manufacturing nations in the Global North are stockpiling energy and emission problems by outsourcing energy-intensive industrial processes to countries in the Global South, a new study reveals. Global North countries use their advantages in capital and technology to grab a large amount of energy through outsourcing - creating a ‘false decoupling’ of energy consumption from economic growth. But backward production technologies in the Global South tend to result in more energy consumption per unit of output – leading to greater carbon emissions ...

ROCHESTER, Minnesota — Mayo Clinic researchers recently invented a new class of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms called hypothesis-driven AI that are a significant departure from traditional AI models which learn solely from data. In a review published in Cancers, the researchers note that this emerging class of AI offers an innovative way to use massive datasets to help discover the complex causes of diseases such as cancer and improve treatment strategies. "This fosters a new era in designing targeted and informed AI algorithms to solve scientific questions, ...

Scientists used a neural network, a type of brain-inspired machine learning algorithm, to sift through large volumes of particle collision data. Particle physicists are tasked with mining this massive and growing store of collision data for evidence of undiscovered particles. In particular, they’re searching for particles not included in the Standard Model of particle physics, our current understanding of the universe’s makeup that scientists suspect is incomplete. As part of the ATLAS collaboration, scientists ...

Digital Science solutions metaphacts and Dimensions are excited to announce the highly anticipated launch of the Dimensions Knowledge Graph, a large ready-made knowledge graph powering AI solutions in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries.  The Dimensions Knowledge Graph, powered by metaphactory, is an all-in-one knowledge graph solution, ready-made for easy integration with customers’ data infrastructure and existing internal knowledge graphs. At its core is an explicitly defined and flexible semantic model that can be easily extended to include internal data (which can range from domain expert knowledge or data from internal documents) ...

Philadelphia, April 15, 2024 – Since the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, school meals in the United States have significantly improved. Several factors have been reported to impact student participation in school meals, including parental perceptions of school breakfast and lunch. A recent research article in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier, assessed the association between parent perspectives on the school meal program and student participation. Researcher ...

Although their primary purpose is to look for exoplanets, observatories like the Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have supplied a vast amount of data on stellar flares, detected with high-precision photometry by broadband filters in the visible light spectrum. The stars are so far away that they appear only as points of light to these telescopes, and the phenomena interpreted as stellar flares are abrupt increases in the brightness of these points. There is also a lack of data in other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and most studies of these events focus on irradiated ...

It’s happening every day. From our water, our food and even the air we breathe, tiny plastic particles are finding their way into many parts of our body. But what happens once those particles are inside? What do they do to our digestive system? In a recent paper published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, University of New Mexico researchers found that those tiny particles – microplastics – are having a significant impact on our digestive pathways, making their way from the gut and into the tissues of the kidney, liver and brain. Eliseo Castillo, PhD, an associate professor in the Division of Gastroenterology ...

A team of researchers has unveiled a novel approach to accurately characterizing tree height composition in forests using the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology. This study marks a significant advancement in our understanding of forest ecosystems, shedding light on the intricacies of tree height variability and its implications for ecological studies and climate change mitigation efforts. Tree height composition, a vital ecological attribute, plays a significant role in influencing forest ecosystems, impacting biodiversity, carbon ...

Canada will not reach the original World Health Organization's (WHO) target of eliminating the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2030 and lags in comparison to other developed countries, a new study led by researchers at the University of Waterloo has found.  HCV is an infection that poses a major public health threat that affects an estimated 250,000 Canadians – despite having a highly effective medication.   When gone unscreened, HCV is a highly debilitating infection that causes liver failure and could lead to death. Due ...

There’s a reason airlines won’t let you put your laptop in your checked luggage; the lithium-ion battery poses a serious fire hazard. But why? Lithium is incredibly reactive. For instance, pure lithium violently interacts with seemingly innocuous water, releasing heat and forming highly flammable hydrogen. This reactivity, however, is exactly why lithium makes a great material for batteries, and why it is a critical mineral for the green energy transition. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles. Plus, they can store energy produced by renewable resources like solar and wind.   In recent years, lithium demand has skyrocketed. Primary ...

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2024 — Acidification is threatening the ocean’s ability to pull carbon dioxide out of our atmosphere, so scientists and startups are looking to ocean-sized antacids to raise its pH. While they might not be the ultimate solution to our climate crisis problem, the antacids could have a hand in helping our oceans rebound. https://youtu.be/PqFwRMgvMVY?si=1VSbf7zaWbZQ3d25 Reactions is a video series produced by the American Chemical Society and PBS Digital Studios. Subscribe to Reactions at http://bit.ly/ACSReactions and follow us on X, formerly Twitter @ACSReactions. The American Chemical ...

[Vienna, April 15 2024] — A “rapid and far-reaching change” is necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "However, the transformation of the economy towards climate neutrality always involves a certain amount of economic stress -- some industries and jobs disappear while others are created," explains Johannes Stangl from the Complexity Science Hub (CSH). When it comes to climate policy measures, how can economic damage be minimized? A ...

WASHINGTON – Use of antibiotics provided no measurable impact on the severity or duration of coughs even if a bacterial infection was present, finds a large, prospective study of people who sought treatment in U.S. primary or urgent care settings for lower-respiratory tract infections. The study by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and colleagues appeared April 15, 2024, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “Upper respiratory tract infections usually include the common cold, sore throat, sinus infections and ear infections and have well established ways to determine if antibiotics should be given,” says the study’s ...

About The Study: In this study over five respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasons, nearly one-quarter of hospitalized adults age 50 or older with RSV infection experienced an acute cardiac event (most frequently acute heart failure), including 1 in 12 adults (8.5%) with no documented underlying cardiovascular disease. The risk of severe outcomes was nearly twice as high in patients with acute cardiac events compared with patients who did not experience an acute cardiac event. These findings clarify the baseline epidemiology of potential cardiac complications of RSV infection prior to RSV vaccine availability.  Authors: Rebecca C. Woodruff, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Centers for ...

About The Study: In a national cohort study of more than 2 million women in Sweden, women who experienced any of five major adverse pregnancy outcomes (preterm delivery, small for gestational age, preeclampsia, other hypertensive disorders, and gestational diabetes) had increased mortality risks that remained elevated more than 40 years later. Women with adverse pregnancy outcomes need early preventive evaluation and long-term follow-up for detection and treatment of chronic disorders associated with premature mortality.  Authors: Casey Crump, M.D., ...

About The Study: While contraceptive usage increased initially in the month after Dobbs versus Jackson Women’s Health Organization, all contraception types except vasectomy returned to overall downward trends through the end of 2022 in this study that used a national data set of medical and prescription claims. The decreases the researchers found in contraceptive services and the workforce providing these methods may indicate growing challenges for contraception access.  Authors: Julia Strasser, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., ...

About The Study: Using the most recently available 2011 to 2021 data, researchers found limited associations between recreational cannabis legalization and recreational cannabis retail sales with adolescent substance use, extending previous findings. Recreational cannabis legalization was associated with modest decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use. Recreational cannabis retail sales were associated with lower e-cigarette use, and with lower likelihood but also increased frequency of cannabis use among users, leading to no overall change in cannabis use.  Authors: Rebekah ...

Manisha Jhamb, M.D., launched the Kidney-CHAMP study five years ago because she saw a looming tsunami of chronic kidney disease cases. She was pulled to find a way to assist the primary care physicians upon whom this burden would fall. Today, the results of her study are published in JAMA Internal Medicine. And, even though the study didn’t prove that Kidney-CHAMP staves off disease progression, Jhamb is encouraged that the intervention helped PCPs identify and triage patients with kidney disease, improving patient access to specialists and educational materials. “Despite ...

The precise measurement of electrical resistance is essential in industrial production or electronics – for example, in the manufacture of high-tech sensors, microchips and flight controls. “Very precise measurements are essential here, as even the smallest deviations can significantly affect these complex systems“, explains Professor Charles Gould, a physicist at the Institute for Topological Insulators at the University of Würzburg (JMU). “With our new measurement method, we can significantly improve the accuracy of resistance measurements, without any external magnetic field, using the Quantum Anomalous ...

For many individuals, sports have long served as a source of enjoyment and relaxation. Watching sports, particularly at large gatherings, goes beyond entertainment. It fosters a sense of community and belonging among audiences. This sense of connection not only makes individuals feel good but also benefits society by improving health, enhancing productivity, and reducing crime. Although it is popularly recognized for its positive effects, existing studies on the relationship between watching sports and well-being offer only limited evidence. Recognizing this gap, a team of researchers led by ...