There’s a 26 per cent annual chance that space rocket junk will re-enter the atmosphere and pass through a busy flight area, according to a recent UBC study. While the chance of debris hitting an aircraft is very low, the research highlights that the potential for uncontrolled space rocket junk to disrupt flights and create additional costs for airlines and passengers is not. Space junk disrupting air traffic is far from unheard of. In 2022, a re-entering 20-tonne piece of rocket prompted Spanish and French aviation authorities to close parts ...

Women who go through menopause later in life have healthier blood vessels for years to come than those who go through it earlier, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research. The study, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation Research, offers new insight into why females who stop menstruating at age 55 or later are significantly less likely to have heart attacks and strokes in their postmenopausal years.  Arriving just in time for Women's Heart Health Month, in February, the findings could help lead to new therapies, including dietary interventions, to reduce risk of heart ...

RNA-based medicines are one of the most promising ways to fight human disease, as demonstrated by the recent successes of RNA vaccines and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) therapies. But while health care providers can now successfully develop drugs that use dsRNA to accurately target and silence disease-causing genes, a major challenge remains: getting these potentially life-saving RNA molecules into cells efficiently. A new study published in the journal eLife on February 4, 2025, may lead to breakthroughs in RNA-based drug development. University of Maryland researchers used microscopic roundworms ...

Women health sector leaders are good for a nation’s wealth, health, innovation, and ethics, among other things, finds a review of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health. Yet despite their unique and positive impact, they are a major underused resource, particularly in low and middle income countries, say the researchers, who call for more and sustained investment to maximise women’s potential and reap the benefits of their contribution. Despite making up 70% of the healthcare workforce, as a whole, and 90% of the nursing ...

‘Good’ (HDL) cholesterol, usually considered to be beneficial for health, may be linked to a heightened risk of the serious eye condition, glaucoma—at least among the over 55s— suggest the results of a large observational study, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Paradoxically, ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol, usually regarded as harmful to health, may be associated with a lower risk of glaucoma, a condition that damages the optic nerve, potentially leading to irreversible sight ...

The GLP-1 drug, exenatide, has no positive impact on the movement, symptoms or brain imaging of people with Parkinson’s, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The world’s largest and longest trial of exenatide in people with Parkinson’s disease was funded by the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) with support for sub-studies from Cure Parkinson’s and Van Andel Institute. For their research, published in The Lancet, the team designed a randomised controlled phase 3 trial to definitively determine whether exenatide use was associated with any benefit in people with Parkinson’s and ...

Generally, things really do seem better in the morning, with clear differences in self-reported mental health and wellbeing across the day, suggest the findings of a large study published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health. People generally wake up feeling in the best frame of mind in the morning but in the worst around midnight, the findings indicate, with day of the week and season of the year also playing their part. Mental health and wellbeing are dynamic in nature, and subject to change over both short and extended periods, note the researchers. But relatively few studies have looked at how these might change over the course of the day, and those studies that ...

“Most people think of juicing as a healthy cleanse, but this study offers a reality check” CHICAGO --- Think your juice cleanse is making you healthier? A new Northwestern University study suggests it might be doing the opposite. The study, recently published in Nutrients, found that a vegetable and fruit juice-only diet — even for just three days — can trigger shifts in gut and oral bacteria linked to inflammation and cognitive decline. How was the study conducted? Northwestern scientists studied three groups of healthy adults. One group consumed only juice, another had juice with whole ...

URBANA, Ill. – Many U.S. forests are privately owned, particularly in the Eastern and North Central part of the country. This makes control of invasive plants and pests challenging because efforts must be coordinated across landowners. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how differences in ownership motivation affects willingness to control, and how economic incentives can be implemented most efficiently. “Some own the land for recreational purposes, some own it because they want to produce timber, and some are a combination of both. If one landowner controls invasive species ...

In many parts of India, a single noxious pollutant from coal-fired power stations drags down annual wheat and rice yields by 10% or more, according to a new study by Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability researchers. The two grains are critical for food security in India, the second most populous country in the world and home to a quarter of all undernourished people globally.  “We wanted to understand the impact of India’s coal electricity emissions on its agriculture because there might be ...

The University of Southern California has been approved for $10.8 million in research funding by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to compare approaches to treating older adults with a fracture of the hip. Led by principal investigator  Joseph Patterson, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in fracture care at Keck Medicine of USC, the “FASTER-Hip” trial aims to determine whether patients with a certain type of hip fracture fare better with a hip replacement or a simpler surgery known as internal fixation. The trial leadership team includes ...

CLEVELAND -- University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is one of the most recognizable hospitals among doctors in the U.S. and around the world, according to an annual survey. UH Cleveland Medical Center was ranked eighth in the U.S. and 16th globally in a survey of the strongest Academic Medical Center brands, according to Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy. “This ranking is a reflection of all we do at University Hospitals to provide compassionate care for patients, work to find the next generation of therapies and treatments, invest ...

Rice University physicist Emilia Morosan is part of an international research collaboration that has been awarded multimillion-dollar funding from The Kavli Foundation to develop and test next-generation superconductors through artificial intelligence and quantum geometry. This global initiative, spearheaded by Päivi Törmä of Aalto University in Finland, seeks to push the boundaries of quantum materials science and superconductivity. The project includes funding from the Klaus ...

Researchers from Imperial College Business School and University of Leeds published a Journal of Marketing study that examines the impact of BNPL installment payments on retail sales. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Buy Now Pay Later: Impact of Installment Payments on Customer Purchases” and is authored by Stijn Maesen and Dionysius Ang.  Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) is an increasingly popular payment method, allowing customers to spread payment into interest-free installments over a few weeks or months. Worldwide ...

Professor Leslie Wolf, a Distinguished University Professor and Ben F. Johnson Jr. Chair in Law at Georgia State University College of Law, is a part of a research team that has been provided $1.9 million to conduct research designed to increase participation in biomedical studies by involving participants in the research design process. The award has been approved pending completion of a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract. Wolf, along with colleagues at the ...

Biochar: bridging a gap in carbon removal strategies   As the world works to meet net-zero carbon goals, a new study offers a critical reminder: precision matters. The researchers suggest refining how we assess a natural carbon storage strategy to ensure the technology lives up to its potential as a climate change solution.   Biochar, a charcoal-like material derived from plant biomass, has long been hailed as a promising tool for carbon dioxide removal. However, a new study by Stanford researchers highlights a critical issue: current methods for assessing biochar's carbon storage potential may significantly undervalue its true ...

A new study shows how an anticancer drug triggers an “outside in” signal that gets it sucked into a cancer cell. The work, published Jan. 29 in Nature Communications, reveals a new signaling mechanism that could be exploited for delivering other drugs.  Many malignant cancers overexpress a protein called P-cadherin, which is embedded in the cell membrane. Because cancer cells have a lot of P-cadherin sticking out of their surface, the protein has been targeted for drug development.  Monoclonal antibodies against P-cadherin can carry a drug payload to the cancer cells. It has not been clear, though, exactly how the antibodies attach to P-cadherin ...

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 4, 2025 — The American Heart Association, a global force changing the future of health, is promoting water safety, a multi-market priority initiative for the Off the Field National Football League Wives Association. The American Heart Association provided Hands-Only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) education as part of the safe swim event held at Tulane University’s Reily Center on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The event welcomed nearly ...

TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 4, 2025) — A new community-based pickleball program called Project Rally is helping cancer survivors improve their physical and social well-being, according to a recent pilot study led by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center. The program, which is offered in partnership with the YMCA of the Suncoast, has shown strong results in terms of participation, enjoyment, and physical improvements. Staying active is a key part of cancer survivorship care and research. Physical activity can help reduce the negative effects of cancer and its treatments, while also empowering survivors to live fulfilling lives. It offers many ...

The first participants in an international clinical trial aimed at preventing Alzheimer’s disease in young adults at high risk of the disease have been enrolled. The trial, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, aims to determine whether stopping the early molecular changes that lead to symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease can prevent the disease from ever taking hold. The study is enrolling people as young as 18 who have few or no detectable Alzheimer’s-related molecular changes in their brains, up to 25 years before the expected onset ...

Ever notice that batteries in electronics don't last as long as they did when they were brand new?  An international research team led by The University of Texas at Austin took on this well-known battery challenge, called degradation, with a twist. They're focusing their work on real-world technology that many of us use daily: wireless earbuds. They deployed x-ray, infrared, and other imaging technologies to understand the complexities of all the technology packed in these tiny devices and learn why their battery lives erode over time. "This started with my personal headphones; I only wear the right one, and I found ...

The existing prediction models for severe complications of preeclampsia are most accurate only in the two days after hospital admission, with deteriorating performance over time, according to a new study published February 4th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Henk Groen of University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and colleagues. Preeclampsia is a potentially life-threatening condition that can occur during pregnancy; of women diagnosed with preeclampsia, 5-20% will develop severe complications. Two existing PIERS (Pre-eclampsia Integrated ...

A team of scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), working in collaboration with international partners, has designed a strategy for preventing the cardiotoxic effects of anthracyclines, a widely used class of anticancer drugs. Cardiotoxicity is a frequent adverse secondary effect of cancer therapy with these drugs. The study, published in JACC: CardioOncology, demonstrates that treatment with the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin can mitigate the cardiac injury associated with anthracycline therapy. Anthracyclines are first-line medications in the treatment of cancer, but in 5% of patients their use is associated ...

New York University’s Yann LeCun has been selected as a winner of the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering—one of seven recognized for contributions to the advancement of Modern Machine Learning, which has fueled advances in artificial intelligence.  “This year, we celebrate the remarkable achievements that these seven engineers have contributed to Modern Machine Learning, a field that has revolutionized artificial intelligence by uniting algorithms, hardware, and data,” said Lord Vallance, chair of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. “The impact of this innovation is felt across industries, economies, and the planet, ...

New study assesses impact of agricultural research investments on biodiversity and land use Data analysis spans 1960s Green Revolution to 2015 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — New, groundbreaking research shows how, at a local scale, agricultural research and development led to improved crop varieties that resulted in global benefits to the environment and food system sustainability. The Purdue University study appears in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “At the global level, we see a reduction in cropland use from these technology ...