DURHAM, N.C. -- Medications used by astronauts on the International Space Station might not be good enough for a three-year journey to Mars.      A new study led by Duke Health shows that over half of the medicines stocked in space -- staples such as pain relievers, antibiotics, allergy medicines, and sleep aids -- would expire before astronauts could return to Earth.     Astronauts could end up relying on ineffective or even harmful drugs, according to the study appearing July 23 in npj Microgravity, a Nature journal.      “It doesn’t necessarily mean ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Lead levels in moss are as much as 600 times higher in older Portland, Oregon, neighborhoods where lead-sheathed telecommunications cables were once used compared to lead levels in nearby rural areas, a new study of urban moss has found. The findings raise concerns about lead exposure in pre-1960 neighborhoods where the cables were common and in some cases are still in place even though they are no longer in use, said Alyssa Shiel, an environmental geochemist at Oregon State University, and the study’s ...

A new preclinical model offers a unique platform for studying the Parkinson’s disease process and suggests a relatively easy method for detecting the disease in people, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. In the study, published July 23 in Nature Communications, the researchers showed that knocking out a key component involved in protein transportation in the light-sensing rod cells of mice leads to the retinal accumulation of the aggregates of a protein called alpha-synuclein found in patients with Parkinson’s disease. “This is a really unique model involving a pathology that seems more like human Parkinson’s than what we see in ...

A new method that can rapidly determine whether a virus is infectious or non-infectious could revolutionise the response to future pandemics.  Called FAIRY (Fluorescence Assay for vIRal IntegritY), the assay can screen viruses against virucidal antivirals in minutes, allowing for the effectiveness of antiviral measures, such as disinfectants that break the chain of infection, to be quickly determined.    Dr Samuel Jones from Birmingham’s School of Chemistry led the research team that developed the FAIRY assay.  ...

The results of the PrEPVacc HIV vaccine trial conducted in Eastern and Southern Africa, which ran between 2020 and 2024, show conclusively that neither of the two experimental vaccine regimens tested reduced HIV infections among the study population. Vaccinations in the PrEPVacc trial were stopped in November 2023 (and publicly announced in December 2023) when it became clear to independent experts monitoring the study data that there was little or no chance of the vaccines demonstrating efficacy in preventing HIV acquisition. The PrEPVacc ...

In addition to exhaust emissions, abrasion emissions from tyres and brakes have become increasingly important when assessing the environmental impact of traffic. However, the focus here was on road vehicles; rail was hardly considered. In a study commissioned by the German Centre for Rail Transport Research (DZSF), researchers from the Institute of Thermodynamics and Sustainable Propulsion Systems at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have now been able to prove that so-called non-exhaust emissions from rail transport also have a relevant influence on air quality and soil pollution. Half of the daily particulate matter limit due to trains ...

Trees in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest are migrating in search of more favourable temperatures with species in mountain forests moving uphill to escape rising heat caused by climate change, a new study reveals. Most species in higher parts of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest are moving upwards as temperatures rise, but scientists say that those trees which thrive in colder temperatures are at risk of dying out as the world continues to warm. Researchers studying the forest, which stretches along the Brazil’s Atlantic seaboard, have also discovered that some trees in ...

Commercial arm robots are increasingly deployed in order to aid stroke patients in their recovery. Around 80% of patients have problems with their arm function. Robots are also seen as a solution for financial, and staffing, shortcomings in the healthcare sector. However, research led by Amsterdam UMC now shows that they offer no clinically meaningful effects for patients. The research is published today in Neurology.   "In particular countries such as China, Japan and South Korea, but also in North America and Europe, are UL-Robots seen more ...

Osaka, Japan — Needing a hip replacement is unfortunate, but even more unfortunate is to need to do it again. Surgeons at Osaka Metropolitan University have provided new insights into the performance of two types of stems used in total hip replacement surgery. Their findings are expected to contribute to the enhancement of long-term outcomes, improving patients’ quality of life and reducing the need for revision surgeries. Their paper was published in The Bone & Joint Journal on June 1. The hip joint, which connects the femur, or thighbone, to the pelvis, plays a crucial ...

Late-life depression, typically defined as depression with onset in individuals over 60 years of age, can affect up to a third or more of people older than 60 and can be debilitating. But, like other neurological conditions, an individual’s risk may be influenced by lifestyle choices. Researchers from Mass General Brigham previously developed and validated the Brain Care Score (BCS) for helping patients and clinicians identify lifestyle changes that may reduce their risk of dementia and stroke. Now, with collaborators at Yale University, they have shown that a higher BCS is also associated with a ...

World leaders must take advantage of a pivotal window of opportunity for forging a much-needed joined-up approach to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, say scientists from ZSL and York University. Without this, work on tackling either crisis could inadvertently harm progress on the other. Published today (Tuesday 23 July) in the Journal of Applied Ecology, a paper from international conservation charity ZSL and researchers at York University, Toronto, titled ‘The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement need a joint work programme for climate, nature, and people’ conceptualises how a joint work ...

In a landmark move to advance the frontiers of artificial intelligence, the Quantitative Biology (QB) journal has published a comprehensive commentary titled "Current Opinions on Large Cellular Models," highlighting the cutting-edge developments in the field of large cellular models (LCMs). The journal has brought together a consortium of leading scholars from China, the United States, and Canada to delve into the future of AI-driven biological research. The commentary features influential authors behind some of the most impactful LCMs, such as scBERT, Geneformer, scGPT, scFoundation, and GeneCompass. These AI ...

Compact city is an urban planning strategy aimed at promoting environmental, economic, and social sustainability through spatial configurations featured with relatively high density and mixed land use. The continuous growth in car ownership forces cities to construct more static transportation facilities such as parking lots, squeezing the activity spaces of residents and consequently giving rise to a series of efficiency and equity issues. Thus, the conflict between people and vehicles in compact cities is increasingly prominent and urgently ...

The prevalence of kidney disease has been increasing in Japan, with it now affecting one in eight adults, but developing effective treatment remains a challenge. The kidneys are among the most energy-intensive organs in the body. For the kidneys to function, they constantly produce and consume large amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is a chemical that the body uses to store and transport energy. However, ATP dynamics—the changes over time in ATP production and utilization—within the kidney have been poorly understood because of the lack of suitable imaging technologies.   Using a newly developed ATP imaging system, the researchers ...

Guides typically assist tourists with directions, but the experience could be greatly enhanced if they offered personalized services tailored to individual interests. Recently, researchers have transformed guide RNAs, which direct enzymes, into a smart RNA capable of controlling networks in response to various signals. This innovative research is gaining significant attention in the academic community.   A research team consisting of Professor Jongmin Kim and PhD candidates Hansol Kang and Dongwon Park from the Department of Life Sciences at POSTECH has developed a multi-signal ...

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with toxicity and irritability, could cause atmospheric environmental problems such as haze and photochemical smog, seriously threatening the ecological environment and human health. The primary source of VOCs is human production, such as the petrochemical industry, pharmaceutical industry, footwear industry, electronic manufacturing, and cooking fumes. Catalytic oxidation technology can highly effectively remove organic pollutants without secondary pollution, and it is receiving increasing attention in VOC pollution control. In real-world operating conditions, the ...

HONG KONG (21 July 2024) --- The progress of solar energy technology took a step forward recently with the development of a groundbreaking living passivator at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) that can substantially enhance the stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells. This newly developed passivator is a type of corrosion inhibitor that appreciably changes the potential of a metal. The CityUHK technology leverages dynamic covalent bonds that activate on exposure to moisture and heat, enabling it to evolve new passivators in response to environmental factors. This innovative approach allows for real-time repair and maintenance of perovskite solar cells. ...

New research presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for Study of Diabetes (Madrid, Spain, 9-13 September) shows that the risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D) decreases markedly in girls after age 10 years, while the risk in boys stays the same. Furthermore, risk of T1D is significantly higher boys with a single autoantibody than their female counterparts, suggesting the sex could be linked with autoantibody development, indicating the importance of incorporating sex in the assessment ...

Background and Goal: Sulfonylureas are a class of oral medications used to manage blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. These drugs increase insulin production regardless of blood sugar levels. For this reason, the drugs can cause blood sugar to drop too low, leading to hypoglycemia. The goal of this study was to compare how prevalent impaired awareness of hypoglycemia was when patients with type 2 diabetes were treated with either insulin or sulfonylureas for both long and short-term periods. Study Approach: Researchers collected data from a group of 898 participants with type 2 diabetes enrolled in pharmacies, clinics, ...

Background and Goal: Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These conditions include income, education, and access to health care. Knowledge of these factors is essential for primary care clinicians to deliver fair and complete care, plan programs and distribute resources effectively. However, this information is rarely captured consistently in clinical settings. This study identified how an Artificial Intelligence (AI) social determinants of health tool can be designed using a collaborative design strategy with input from primary care team members. Study Approach:  ...

Background and Goal: The COVID-19 pandemic likely worsened disparities in access to primary care. The goal of this study was to quantify the nationwide decline in primary care visits and the increase in telehealth utilization and explore whether certain groups of patients were disproportionately impacted. Study Approach: Researchers used primary care electronic health record data from the American Family Cohort— to examine  the percentage change in total visit volume, change in in-person visit volume, and telehealth ...

Background and Goal: The Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative was a four-year nationwide program aimed at improving outpatient health care quality. The initiative, funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also prepared practices for payment systems based on care quality rather than service quantity and included a Change Package to guide practice transformations. This research brief examines whether these transformations were associated with reductions in emergency department visits among both primary and specialty care practices. Study Approach: Researchers analyzed data from 3,773 practices in the Transforming Clinical Practice ...

Person-centered care focuses on treating patients as individuals with unique needs and involving them actively in their care decisions. The Person-Centered Primary Care Measure (PCPCM) is a recently developed, patient-reported survey able to assess person-centeredness. The PCPCM has demonstrated strong validity and reliability. The goal of this study was to translate the original PCPCM survey into Dutch, adapt the survey for people with low literacy, and evaluate its structure, consistency, and accuracy. Study Approach: The survey was translated into Dutch and then back to English to ensure accuracy. The Dutch version was then tested to make sure it worked well for Dutch-speaking ...

Background and Goal: Identity discordance between patients and clinicians is associated with worse self-rated patient experience and less receipt of necessary care. Most prior studies have focused on racial discordance. However, whether these phenomena also apply to sexual and gender minority adults is currently unknown. This study evaluated how prevalent avoidance due to patient-clinician identity discordance is and its potential association with health care discrimination among sexual and gender minority ...

Background and Goal: Longitudinal continuity of care is the repeated contact between an individual and the same general practitioner (GP). This type of continuity of care is widely regarded as a cornerstone of primary care. Higher levels of longitudinal continuity of care are associated with better health outcomes, greater patient satisfaction, and more cost-effective use of health care resources. This study aimed to describe more recent variations between practices in the slopes of longitudinal continuity of care levels across the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also set out to determine if practice-related ...