It’s an elegant solution: Remove the habitat of a parasite-carrying aquatic snail and reduce the level of infection in the local community; all while generating more feed and compost for local farmers. A collaboration of scientists from the United States and Senegal focused on doing just that by removing overgrown aquatic vegetation from areas upstream of the Diama Dam in northeastern Senegal. In doing so, they generated positive impacts to the local communities’ health and economies.  “It is rare and gratifying when we can find a potential win-win solution to both human health ...

**Embargo: 23.30 [UK time] / 6.30pm [ET] Monday, July 31, 2023** Peer-reviewed                                                                         The Lancet: New study reveals global anemia cases remain ...

Oat is among the top ten cereal crop species in terms of global production. It can adapt to different climates, and farmers can grow it successfully even in harsh environments where other crops such as rice and corn fail. However, not all oat plants are the same. Based on their grains, two major oak varieties can easily be distinguished: hulled, grains that are covered in a non-edible husk, and naked, grains that have a soft outer casing that easily separates from the edible grain during threshing. To gain information on the origins of these different varieties, researchers in China have sequenced the ...

With a Fulton County indictment of former President Donald Trump possible at any time, law enforcement in Atlanta is bracing for potential violence, with orange barricades restricting access to the entrance of the county courthouse.   With the anticipation of each new indictment has come threats of violence, decrease in trust in American justice and calls for retribution against the government. Just how concerned should Americans be that we may face another January 6th-type incident? New data from the Polarization ...

Sperm play a critical role in the creation of new life, delivering essentially half of the genetic material required. The success of this process relies on the generation of a developmentally competent sperm cell, which is often determined by shape. Indeed, during in vitro fertilization, the “best-looking” sperm is selected to fertilize an egg. However, how this optimal shape translates to proper sperm function is difficult to assess because of many confounding factors. Researchers at the University of Michigan are now delving into the molecular-level details of sperm formation, with a particular focus on how abnormalities in ...

Technological advancements like autonomous driving and computer vision are driving a surge in demand for computational power. Optical computing, with its high throughput, energy efficiency, and low latency, has garnered considerable attention from academia and industry. However, current optical computing chips face limitations in power consumption and size, which hinders the scalability of optical computing networks. Thanks to the rise of nonvolatile integrated photonics, optical computing devices can achieve in-memory computing while operating with zero static power consumption. Phase-change materials (PCMs) have emerged as promising candidates for achieving photonic memory and nonvolatile ...

New research reveals a type of monoclonal antibody already tested in certain forms of cancer may be a promising treatment in stopping the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease. The study, led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, involving a mouse model and confirmed in the tissue of human brains affected by ALS and donated after death, revealed for the first time that modulating immune cells can slow the progression of the disease. Previous research suggested a role for immune cells in ALS, but researchers this time used a high-throughput ...

A peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Global Health analyzed data from more than 6,600 families with a child with a neurodevelopmental condition (NDC)—autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, developmental language disorder, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and intellectual disability—from 70 countries, including the United States. The study was led by Andrea Samson, associate professor of psychology at UniDistance Suisse and University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and Jo Van Herwegen, professor in developmental psychology and education at University College London’s ...

“These observations support that accumulation of senescent cells may contribute to fibrotic lung disease [...]” BUFFALO, NY- July 31, 2023 – A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 14, entitled, “Human senescent fibroblasts trigger progressive lung fibrosis in mice.” Cell senescence has recently emerged as a potentially relevant pathogenic mechanism in fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (f-ILDs), particularly in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In a new study, researchers Fernanda Hernandez-Gonzalez, ...

Plant-based diets confer various health benefits, including lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. However, the relationship between plant protein intake and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. This study led by Ga Young Heo aimed to investigate the association between plant protein intake and the development of CKD. Using the UK biobank study data, the researchers found that participants with a higher plant protein intake had a lower risk of developing CKD. This finding suggests that a higher dietary intake of plant-based protein may be beneficial for kidney health and provide insight into ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Cases of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers of the head and neck, known as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), are rapidly increasing throughout the United States. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about the factors that contribute to these tumors and what makes some tumors more aggressive and treatment-resistant than others. To determine why some patients respond better to radiation therapy than others, researchers in UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck ...

WASHINGTON—The Endocrine Society and Matchbox Virtual Media are pleased to announce today that the organizations formed a joint venture that will bring exciting new opportunities for medical, healthcare, and scientific associations to better customize the experiences of their customers relative to producing meetings, organizing communities, and disseminating educational products. The new joint venture will benefit from the Endocrine Society’s initial financial investments and its robust networking within the medical and scientific fields. Matchbox Virtual Media brings its proven platform, technologies, ...

JUPITER, Fla. — A new scientist joining The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology invents creative and efficient ways to build complex, potentially useful molecules, studying their activity so that compounds found in nature may eventually become useful products, such as medications. Synthetic chemist and associate professor Masayuki Wasa, Ph.D., joins the institute from Boston College, where he was an assistant professor of chemistry. Synthetic chemists specialize in assembling larger molecules from smaller parts, like a child assembling a Lego spaceship from a basket of oddly shaped pieces. But the work is far from child’s ...

At the NRG Oncology Summer Meeting on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at approximately 5:44pm EDT, Larry J. Copeland, MD passed the presidential gavel to Thomas J. Herzog, MD at The GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG-F) Board of Directors meeting. Dr. Herzog brings a comprehensive background in clinical trials, the integral business aspects and acumen to this important position. A practicing gynecologic oncologist and member of the Board of Directors of GOG-F, he has served as the Treasurer of GOG-F from 2014-2023 and prior ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 31 July 2023   Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet     @Annalsofim    Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf ...

Declawing house cats to keep them from scratching people and furniture is controversial – and even banned in some countries and areas in the U.S. – but the practice is not limited to house cats. In a new study, researchers looked at the effects of declawing on larger cat species and found that declawing disproportionately impacts their muscular capabilities as compared to their smaller brethren. While it is illegal in the U.S. to surgically modify an exotic animal, declawing is still done on large cats like lions and tigers, often in an effort to allow cubs to more safely ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Birmingham’s Pepper Place has a striking new addition to its teeming farmers’ market and noted food offerings — a multimillion-dollar cancer research laboratory. The lab is IN8bio’s new research and development facility in the Martin Biscuit Building at Pepper Place. This R&D space has about 6,000 square feet of wet lab space and around 4,000 square feet for offices, conferences and break areas. IN8bio is a biotechnology company focused on developing novel cellular therapies for cancer, with deep roots in cutting-edge cancer research developed at ...

Neurons produce rhythmic patterns of electrical activity in the brain. One of the unsettled questions in the field of neuroscience is what primarily drives these rhythmic signals, called oscillations. University of Arizona researchers have found that simply remembering events can trigger them, even more so than when people are experiencing the actual event. The researchers, whose findings are published in the journal Neuron, specifically focused on what are known as theta oscillations, which emerge in the brain's hippocampus region during activities like exploration, navigation and sleep. The hippocampus plays ...

Every protein in your body is made up of the same 20 building blocks called amino acids. But just because nature is stuck with a limited toolkit doesn’t mean humans can’t expand it. A study published in Science on July 27 by a team including Pitt chemists describes a powerful new way to create “unnatural” amino acids, which could find use in protein-based therapies and open up novel branches of organic chemistry. “This is a completely new transformation: new to nature and new to chemistry,” ...

Social media is a critical marketing tool to help raise awareness when firms launch new products. The platforms can help inform consumers about product characteristics and benefits relative to competitors’ products. New research from the University of Notre Dame analyzes data from the motion picture industry, which often relies on social media promotion, in an effort to understand how marketers could better promote other new products. “The Ripple Effect of Firm-Generated Content on New Movie Releases,” forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research ...

Study Shows New Stroke Surgery Eligibility Criteria May Dramatically Increase Lifesaving Stroke Surgery Rates, with Nationwide Implications   SAN DIEGO—A recent study presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 20th Annual Meeting noted that U.S. rates of endovascular thrombectomy, a lifesaving stroke treatment, are projected to increase dramatically based on new criteria.   In the study, endovascular thrombectomy was shown to improve clinical outcomes in patients with large ischemic strokes. This change has the ...

RICHLAND, Wash. – A novel method to extract lignin could help spin wheat straw into gold. Lignin produced using the new method was color-neutral, odorless and homogenous, an advance that could make this carbon-neutral material a more viable candidate for development of high-value products. Reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Washington State University researchers extracted up to 93% lignin with up to 98% purity from wheat straw, producing a significant amount of material in a uniform way that could make ...

Future therapies to help people live healthy lives for longer could be developed from drugs that release tiny amounts of the gas hydrogen sulfide (H2S), new research has indicated. A study from the University of Exeter, funded by the US Army and charity The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, found that targeting tiny amounts of H2S to specific areas of cells in adult worms using a H2S-releasing molecule called AP39, greatly improved health and activity as they aged. The research, published in PNAS, concludes that targeting ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Two of humanity's most ubiquitous historical materials, cement and carbon black (which resembles very fine charcoal), may form the basis for a novel, low-cost energy storage system, according to a new study. The technology could facilitate the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and tidal power by allowing energy networks to remain stable despite fluctuations in renewable energy supply.  The two materials, the researchers found, can be combined with water to make a supercapacitor — an alternative to batteries — ...

New York University researchers have discovered new cell types in the visual system of flies, made possible by their creation of a tool that finds and labels neurons during development.   The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), combines single-cell sequencing data with a novel algorithm to identify pairs of genes that point to previously unknown cells in the brains of fruit flies.   Fruit flies (also known as Drosophila) have long been used as a model organism to study fundamental ...