Take a puff of nicotine for the first time, and your DNA plays an important role, alongside social and environmental factors, in shaping what happens next.  In recent years, scientists have identified thousands of genetic variants believed to influence everything from when people first try smoking to how good that first cigarette feels to how often they light up and how hard it is to quit. Some variants influence how quickly we metabolize nicotine, while others underlie how sensitive we are to it.  But little is known about how they interact with each other and with other genetic differences. A new University of Colorado Boulder study sheds unprecedented ...

NORMAN, OKLA. – Binbin Weng, Ph.D., an engineering professor at the University of Oklahoma, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award presented to early-career faculty with the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. The $497,370 grant will fund his project “Enabling New States of Light in Mid-Wave Infrared Photonics for Gas Sensing Applications.” Weng says there is a growing demand for distributed gas sensing networks capable of continuously monitoring gas threats on a broad scale. However, current technologies face significant challenges in size, power consumption ...

Researchers have used advanced sequencing technology to determine how the mix of microbes present in patients with healthy eyes differs from the mix found in patients with dry eye. The new work could lead to improved treatments for various eye problems and for diseases affecting other parts of the body.   Microbial communities in and on our body — collectively referred to as the human microbiota — play an essential role in keeping us healthy. Although many studies have focused on microbial communities in our gut, understanding the microbiota present in other body sites is critical for advancing our knowledge of human health and developing targeted interventions ...

Bacteria that could help one of Africa’s staple crops resist a major pest have been identified by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Their findings, published March 26 in Cell Reports, could improve yields of sorghum, a mainstay of food and drink in West and East African countries. About 20 percent of Africa’s sorghum crop is lost due to witchweed (Striga hermonthica), a parasitic plant that steals nutrients and water by latching onto the plant’s roots. In the new study, UC Davis researchers show that soil microbes induce changes in sorghum roots that make the plant more resistant to infection by witchweed. They ...

Delaying surgical inguinal hernia repair in preterm infants until after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) appears to reduce the likelihood of serious adverse events, according to researchers at UTHealth Houston.  A study led by first and corresponding author Martin L. Blakely, MD, MS, MMHC, professor of surgery and pediatrics with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, analyzed the safety of early versus late surgical repair for preterm infants born with an inguinal hernia. The findings were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  “The biggest question we wanted ...

*Note - This is an early press release from the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2024) Venice 12-15 May. Please credit the Congress if using this material* Two plant compounds with potential as GLP-1 agonist weight loss pills have been identified in an AI (artificial intelligence)-based study, the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2024) (Venice 12-15 May), will hear. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists such as semaglutide and tirzepatide are highly effective at helping people lose weight.  By mimicking the action of a hormone ...

East Hanover, NJ – March 26, 2024 – The shifting landscape of post-COVID-19 employment highlights a reduction in the gender employment gap among individuals with disabilities, a trend not observed among those without disabilities, according to last Friday’s National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar. While men and women with disabilities have similar rates of employment, the data do not address whether women with disabilities in the workforce have lower-quality ...

Since its breakthrough development more than a decade ago, CRISPR has revolutionized DNA editing across a broad range of fields. Now scientists are applying the technology’s immense potential to human health and disease, targeting new therapies for an array of disorders spanning cancers, blood conditions and diabetes. In some designed treatments, patients are injected with CRISPR-treated cells or with packaged CRISPR components with a goal of repairing diseased cells with precision gene edits. Yet, while CRISPR has shown ...

URBANA, Ill. – Most organic household waste ends up in landfills where it generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Composting food and garden waste instead of sending it to landfills can significantly reduce methane emissions and help mitigate global warming. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores the effects of curbside compost collection programs in New South Wales, Australia. “Governments around the world are interested in composting organic waste and reducing their methane emissions, and they are looking for ways to make ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 26, 2024 Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## Job Flexibility and Security Promotes Better Mental Health A new nationwide study indicates that workplace policies that provide stability and flexibility to employees boosts overall well-being and encourages workers to seek health services when they need it. Employment is a recognized determinant of health, and different aspects of a job can be beneficial or deleterious to mental health. Job flexibility and job security, in particular, are key factors that contribute to employees’ ...

While Wyoming is home to some of North America’s most abundant populations of pronghorn that have largely been stable in recent years, a new analysis shows that many herds are experiencing long-term declines in fawn production. Those declines are primarily a result of oil and gas development and encroachment of trees, according to researchers from the University of Wyoming, the University of Florida, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Arkansas and the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory. Their findings have been published in the journal Global Ecology and ...

University of Wyoming researchers have gained further insight into how tardigrades survive extreme conditions and shown that proteins from the microscopic creatures expressed in human cells can slow down molecular processes. This makes the tardigrade proteins potential candidates in technologies centered on slowing the aging process and in long-term storage of human cells. The new study, published in the journal Protein Science, examines the mechanisms used by tardigrades to enter and exit from suspended animation when faced by environmental stress. Led by Senior Research Scientist Silvia Sanchez-Martinez in the lab of UW Department of Molecular Biology Assistant Professor Thomas Boothby, ...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – In a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine, researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine identify transformative effects of electronic health record (EHR) optimization on departmental productivity. With the universal implementation of EHR systems, the study sheds light on the importance of collaborative efforts between clinicians and information technology (IT) experts in maximizing the potential of these digital tools.  The study, led by a team of health care professionals in a family medicine department, embarked on a department-wide EHR optimization initiative in collaboration ...

Methods researchers developed to detect possible depression through language in social media posts don’t appear to work when applied to posts by Black people on social media, according to a new analysis by researchers from Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and its School of Engineering and Applied Science. The research, published in PNAS, points to an area to focus on for significant improvement and amplifies the importance of considering the intersection of race, health risks, and social media. Work in the past uncovered that using first-person pronouns in posts ...

Registrations are open for the São Paulo School of Advanced Science on 4th Generation Synchrotron Techniques (SyncLight 2024), to be held on October 14-25, 2024, at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo state, Brazil Reporters are invited reach the organizing committee through the email eventos@cnpem.br, for opportunities to visit the school and sessions. Organized through the São Paulo School of Advanced Science (SPSAS https://espca.fapesp.br/home/) program, with support from FAPESP (https://bv.fapesp.br/en/auxilios/113004/), ...

Finance Professor at the Rotman School of Management Receives Best Young Researcher in Finance and Insurance Award Toronto – Claire Célérier, an associate professor of finance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, is one of two recipients of the 2024 IEF/SCOR Foundation for Science 2024 Best Young Researcher Award from the Scientific Council of the Institut Europlace de Finance (IEF).  The other recipient is Paul Karehnke, an associate professor of finance at ESCP Business School. The award was presented in recognition of their previous work and future potential for new research at the Financial Risks International ...

Clinicians treating patients who live with or survive serious diseases such as cancer are familiar with the concept of fear of illness recurrence (FIR). FIR has been associated with greater avoidance of illness reminders, including medical appointments, ignoring symptom changes, social withdrawal and increases in anxiety and decreases in quality of life and mood. But as a Concordia research team led by Mark Ellenbogen, a professor in the Department of Psychology, points out in a new study published in the journal BMC Psychiatry, there is little research on FIR ...

The queens in colonies of social insects, such as ants, bees, and wasps, are considered the veritable embodiment of specialization in the animal kingdom. The common perception is that the queen's only task is to lay eggs – and that this attribute is an inherent trait, not influenced by external factors. In contrast, recent research undertaken at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has demonstrated that in certain ant colonies the social environment can play a crucial role in shaping the ...

On Monday, March 11, the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM) held an event to announce the Centers and Institutes in Development (CIDs) at the Auburn University Alumni Center. “I cannot tell you how absolutely excited to see this many COSAM faculty here today,” said Edward E. Thomas, Jr., dean of the college. “These new endeavors will help connect faculty in our college and with other colleges at Auburn to seamlessly collaborate on bigger and bolder research projects.” The alumni center was packed with faculty from all of COSAM’s five departments. “Today, we are here to ...

CLEVELAND—About 32.5 million people in the United States and 500 million globally suffer from the degenerative joint disease known as osteoarthritis (OA), according to the Centers for Disease Control. OA, in which tissues in the joint break down over time, is the most common type of arthritis—especially in older people. The usual treatments target pain-relief, often with prescription opioids or prosthetic surgery, such as knee and hip replacements. Now, backed by an award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health ...

A new investigation into an obscure class of galaxies known as Compact Symmetric Objects, or CSOs, has revealed that these objects are not entirely what they seem. CSOs are active galaxies that host supermassive black holes at their cores. Out of these monstrous black holes spring two jets traveling in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light. But in comparison to other galaxies that boast fierce jets, these jets do not extend out to great distances—they are much more compact. For many decades, astronomers suspected that CSOs were simply young and that their jets would eventually travel out to greater distances.    Now, reporting in three different papers in The ...

Arizona State University’s Mehdi Nikkhah, a biomedical engineer in the School of Biological Health Systems Engineering (SBHSE) and a member of the Personalized Diagnostics Faculty at ASU’s Biodesign Institute, is a pioneer in Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) technologies. For his outstanding contributions to engineering of biomimetic tissue-on-chip technologies and organoids for disease modeling and regenerative medicine, Nikkhah was inducted as a Fellow into the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering  (AIMBE) on March 25 during the organization’s 2024 annual event in Arlington, Va. AIMBE Fellows represent the top tier of biological ...

A new analysis involving over 13,000 people has found changes to blood vessels in the brain that can increase the risk of stroke and dementia are common in people with a range of heart conditions, regardless of whether they have experienced a stroke. The new research, published today in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, is the most comprehensive systematic review of ‘hidden’ brain changes in people with a range of heart conditions to date. Lead author Dr Zien Zhou from The George Institute for Global Health said that identifying these ...

Imagine a day when joints could heal themselves. At the first inkling of a creaky knee, patients could get a single shot in the joint that would not only stop their cartilage and bone from eroding, but kick start its regrowth. In more advanced cases, that shot might also deliver a biomaterial repair kit to patch holes in tissue. If multiple joints ached, an annual IV infusion could ferry regenerating therapies to all of them at once. This may seem like a dream to the 32.5 million people who suffer from osteoarthritis. ...

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. This JAMA Patient Page describes solar eclipses and how to view them safely. END ...