The researchers had previously identified a ‘weak spot’ in the brain, which is a specific network of higher-order regions that not only develop later during adolescence, but also show earlier degeneration in old age. They showed that this brain network is also particularly vulnerable to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. In this new study, published in Nature Communications, they investigated the genetic and modifiable influences on these fragile brain regions by looking at the brain scans of 40,000 UK Biobank participants aged over 45. The researchers examined 161 risk factors for dementia, and ranked their impact on this vulnerable ...

Leuven, Antwerp, and London, 27 March – Microglia are specialized immune cells in the brain. While they normally protect our brains, they can also contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. The exact mechanism behind this contribution is not yet fully understood due to the complexities involved in studying them in human brain samples. Now, a research team led by Prof. Bart De Strooper (UK-DRI@UCL and VIB-KU Leuven) and Prof. Renzo Mancuso (VIB-UAntwerp) made a xenotransplantation model – mice with stem-cell-derived human microglia in their brains to observe how human microglia respond to the disease environment. Their findings, published ...

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Conditions that usually accompany the kind of intense hot and cold weather that strains power grids may also provide greater opportunities to capture solar and wind energy. A Washington State University-led study found that widespread, extreme temperature events are often accompanied by greater solar radiation and higher wind speeds that could be captured by solar panels and wind turbines. The research, which looked at extensive heat and cold waves across the six interconnected energy grid regions of ...

During the Late Pleistocene, California — at least at its lower elevations — was teeming with vegetation. While much of North America was covered in Ice Age glaciers, here, mastodons lumbered across verdant meadows, stopping to feed on brush, warily eyeing the forest’s edge for saber-tooth cats on the prowl for their calves.  Humans also flourished along the coastline, which extended hundreds of feet below where it is today.  But by 11,000 years ago, mastodons were extinct. Today, scientists are still debating the reasons for their demise: did human hunting do them in? Climate change? ...

BARCELONA, SPAIN (27 MARCH 2024)—In the most comprehensive assessment of its kind to date, a new study released today reveals that marine protected areas (MPAs, national parks at sea) deliver a range of economic benefits to the fishing and tourism industries. The study examined more than 50 protected areas in more than 30 countries in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania representing diverse ecosystems to find that, in all cases, MPAs boosted either fishing or tourism, with some profits in the billions.   “In every corner of the globe, ocean protection boosts economies,” said ...

Research Highlights: People living in neighborhoods with more environmental adversities, including pollution, toxic sites, high traffic and few parks, had higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk factors. This association remained after adjusting for social vulnerabilities, such as high levels of unemployment, low income and low education. Researchers say comprehensive strategies that simultaneously address social and environmental disadvantages are needed. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wednesday, March 27, 2024 DALLAS, March 27, 2024 — People who live in areas with social and environmental ...

Feeling sleepy can make you feel ten years older. Researchers at Stockholm University have discovered that sleep affects how old you feel. The study is published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Do you ever find yourself longing for the energy and vitality of your younger years? Feeling young is not just a matter of perception – it is actually related to objective health outcomes. Previous studies have shown that feeling younger than one’s actual age is associated with longer, healthier lives. There is even support for subjective age to predict actual brain age, ...

A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford Univeristy Press, uncovers well-preserved microbiomes from two 4,000 year old teeth in a limestone cave in Ireland. These contained bacteria that cause gum disease, as well as the first high quality ancient genome from S. mutans, an oral bacterium that is one of the major causes of tooth decay. These discoveries allowed the researchers to assess the impact of past dietary changes on the oral microbiome across millennia, including major changes coinciding with the popularization of sugar and industrialization. The teeth, both derived from the same ...

Blood is a remarkable material: it must remain fluid inside blood vessels, yet clot as quickly as possible outside them, to stop bleeding. The chemical cascade that makes this possible is well understood for vertebrate blood. But hemolymph, the equivalent of blood in insects, has a very different composition, being notably lacking in red blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelets, and having amoeba-like cells called hemocytes instead of white blood cells for immune defense. Just like blood, hemolymph clots quickly outside the body. How it does so has long remained an enigma. Now, materials scientists have shown in Frontiers in Soft ...

Many people bothered by skin blemishes might turn to laser treatment. To improve efficacy and reduce complications from such laser treatment, an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group has developed an index of the threshold energy density, known as fluence, and the dependent wavelength for picosecond lasers. Picosecond lasers have in recent years been used to remove pigmented lesions. These lasers deliver energy beams in pulses that last for about a trillionth of a second. The lasers target melanosomes, which produce, store, ...

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg warn that today's hunting quotas of about 3,000 animals pose a risk to the long-term survival of the grey seal in the Baltic Sea. The conclusions of this new study are based on statistics from 20th century seal hunting and predictions of future climate change. After decades of hard hunting and environmental contamination by toxins such as PCBs, there were only 5,000 grey seals left in the entire Baltic Sea by the 1970s, falling from an initial size of more than 90,000 at the ...

Australian rock-wallabies are ‘little Napoleons’ when it comes to compensating for small size, packing much more punch into their bite than larger relatives. Researchers from Flinders University made the discovery while investigating how two dwarf species of rock-wallaby are able to feed themselves on the same kinds of foods as their much larger cousins. Study leader Dr Rex Mitchell also coined the idea of ‘Little Wallaby Syndrome’ after examining the skulls of dwarf rock-wallabies to discover they can more than compensate for their size. “We already knew that ...

Reaching sustainability is one of humanity’s most pressing challenges today—and also one of the hardest. To minimize our impact on the environment and start reverting the damage humanity has already caused, striving to achieve carbon neutrality in as many economic activities as possible is paramount. Unfortunately, the synthesis of many important chemicals still causes high carbon emissions. Such is the case of acetylene (C2H2), an essential hydrocarbon with a plethora of applications. This highly ...

In recent years, the world has been experiencing floods and droughts as extreme rainfall events have become more frequent due to climate change. For this reason, securing stable water resources throughout the year has become a national responsibility called 'water security', and 'Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR)', which stores water in the form of groundwater in the ground when water resources are available and withdraws it when needed, is attracting attention as an effective water resource management technique. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that a team of Dr. Seunghak ...

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have recovered remarkably preserved microbiomes from two teeth dating back 4,000 years, found in an Irish limestone cave. Genetic analyses of these microbiomes reveal major changes in the oral microenvironment from the Bronze Age to today. The teeth both belonged to the same male individual and also provided a snapshot of his oral health. The study, carried out in collaboration with archaeologists from the Atlantic Technological University and University ...

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Improved understanding of driver mutations of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has led to more biomarker-directed treatment for patients with advanced stages. The expanding number of drugs targeting these driver mutations offers more opportunity to improve patient’s survival benefit. To date, NSCLCs, especially those with non-squamous histology, are recommended for testing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements, ROS proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase 1 (ROS-1) rearrangements, B-raf proto-oncogene (BRAF) mutations, rearranged during transfection ...

Rabbits are popular family pets, with around 1.5 million* in the UK and it is important that owners can recognise when their animal is in pain, and know when to seek help to protect their rabbit’s welfare.  New research by the University of Bristol Veterinary School has found the majority of rabbit owners could list signs of pain and could mostly identify pain-free rabbits and those in severe pain, but many lacked knowledge of the subtler sign of pain. The study, published in BMC Veterinary Research today [27 March], provides the first insight into how rabbit owners identify pain and their general ability to apply this knowledge to detect pain ...

A research group led by Japan Women’s University finds that airborne microplastics adsorb to the epicuticular wax on the surface of forest canopy leaves, and that forests may act as terrestrial sinks for airborne microplastics Tokyo, Japan – Think of microplastics, and you might think of the ones accumulating in the world’s oceans. However, they are also filling the sky and the air we breathe. Now, it has been discovered that forests might be acting as a sink for these airborne microplastics, offering humanity yet another ...

The world-leading Dunedin Study is set to launch its age 52 assessments, delving into an understudied but important period of life and time of change. The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study is a longitudinal study that follows the lives of 1037 babies born in Queen Mary Maternity Hospital between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973. It is the most detailed study of human health and development in the world. Members have been assessed regularly throughout their lives, most recently at age 45. Study Director, Research Professor Moana Theodore is incredibly excited ...

An opportunistic emergency department stop smoking prompt, comprising brief advice by a trained professional, an e-cigarette starter kit, and referral to local stop smoking services can help smokers quit, with a significant proportion of them still not smoking 6 months later, finds research published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.   Some 6.4 million people in the UK still haven’t stubbed out for good, and of the large numbers of people attending emergency departments, a substantial proportion are more likely to be smokers and have poorer overall health, explain ...

Consistently exercising 2-3 times a week over the long term is linked to a lower current risk of insomnia as well as the ability to clock up the recommended 6-9 hours of shut eye every night, suggests an international 10-year study published in the open access journal BMJ Open.   Regular exercise is associated with better overall health, and several studies have suggested that physical activity promotes better quality sleep and may improve symptoms of chronic insomnia, note the researchers. But it’s not entirely clear how much gender, age, weight (BMI), overall fitness, general health and exercise ...

Peer reviewed – randomised controlled trial - humans  Giving out free e-cigarette starter packs in hospital emergency departments to people who smoke helps more people quit – according to research from the University of East Anglia.   The trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), offered advice, an e-cigarette starter pack and referral to stop smoking services to people attending A&E for any reason, to help them to stop smoking.  Six months later, almost one in four people given the starter packs said they had quit smoking. And those who received ...

Implementing a single shared digital prescribing record across the NHS in England could avoid nearly 1 million drug errors every year, stopping up to 16,000 fewer patients from being harmed, and saving up to 22 lives every year, suggests a modelling study, published online in BMJ Quality & Safety. The figures, which are based on the assumption that such a system could reduce medication errors by at least 10%, and by as much as 50%, could also save £millions for the NHS, say the researchers. Previously published research suggests that drug errors cost the NHS £98 ...

Using novel machine learning tools developed at Stanford Medicine, researchers have mapped three distinct cellular configurations that correspond to clinical outcomes for patients with a rare, difficult-to-treat cancer called soft tissue sarcoma. In particular, the technique identified a cellular neighborhood that correlated with a positive response to immunotherapy, which may help physicians make treatment decisions. “These cancers are challenging,” said Everett Moding, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of radiation oncology. “Up to half of patients diagnosed with a primary tumor will develop distant metastases, but we don’t have a good way to predict ...

A team of researchers from Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and Columbia Engineering has been awarded up to a $38.95 million contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to build a living knee replacement from biomaterials and human stem cells, including a patient’s own cells. ARPA-H is a federal funding agency that funds transformative biomedical and health research breakthroughs, rapidly translating research from the lab to applications in the marketplace.  The Award The award, part of the ARPA-H’s Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration ...