The worry of gaining weight is a common excuse for smokers not to quit. A new study published today in the scientific journal Addiction has found that both starting smoking and lifetime smoking may increase abdominal fat, especially visceral fat:  the unhealthy fat deep inside the abdomen that is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and dementia. Smokers tend to have lower body weights than non-smokers, but they also have more abdominal fat, and more abdominal visceral fat. Visceral fat is hard to see; you can have ...

A cross-disciplinary University of Waterloo team has developed a new contact lens material that could act as a bandage for corneal wounds while releasing drugs in a controlled manner to help the eye heal faster. Typically, corneal abrasion patients spend seven to 10 days wearing a clear, oxygen-permeable bandage contact lens, often instilled with eyedrops containing antibiotics. However, the one-time antibiotic application makes it difficult to ensure enough drugs stay on the eye for sustained treatment.  “It’s a targeted-release drug delivery ...

High temperatures during critical periods of the reproductive cycle of sheep result in 2.1 million fewer lambs produced in Australia each year, costing sheep farmers an estimated $97 million annually. The work, funded by Meat and Livestock Australia and conducted by a transdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Adelaide and South Australian Research Development Institute (SARDI), found that days above 32°C during the week of mating caused the significant loss of potential lambs. Published in Nature Food, the study found annual losses of potential lambs would increase to 2.5 million if median global warming increased ...

This study was led by Professor Mingliang Xu (College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China). Through phylogenic analysis, the authors identified a gene encoding a calcium-dependent protein kinase, ZmCPK39, as a candidate gene for plant height regulation in maize. The function of ZmCPK39 in controlling plant height has been verified using gene editing technology. Compared to the wild-type ND101, knockout of ZmCPK39 significantly reduced plant height by 40%.   The authors further ...

Cellulose, abundantly available from plant biomass, can be converted into molecules used to make a new class of recyclable polymers, to sustainably replace some plastics. Researchers at Hokkaido University have taken a significant step forward in the drive to make recyclable yet stable plastics from plant materials. This is a key requirement to reduce the burden of plastic pollution in the environment. They developed a convenient and versatile method to make a variety of polymers from chemicals derived from plant cellulose; crucially, these polymers can be fully recycled. The method was published in the journal ACS Macro Letters. Cellulose is one of the most abundant ...

Gastric cancer ranks among the most widespread diseases in Asian populations, with South Koreans experiencing the third-highest incidence globally in 2020, as reported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Recently, a collaborative research effort between Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and Yonsei University achieved advancement in the realm of precision personalized medicine for gastric cancer. By using 3D bioprinting to accurately replicate the biological environment surrounding gastric cancer cells, the researchers have achieved a significant ...

LA JOLLA, CA—Neuroscientists at Scripps Research have found that inhibiting neurons involved in the body’s stress response may reduce alcohol consumption in people who have both post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD)—even if they still experience trauma-related anxiety. The findings were published March 21 in Molecular Psychiatry. These discoveries are helping untangle the complex role that stress and trauma play in neurological disorders like PTSD and AUD, while also informing the development of new treatment options for people who experience both these conditions simultaneously. “Traumatic ...

Embargoed access to the paper and contact details for authors are available in Notes to Editors at the end of the release. By 2050, over three-quarters (155 of 204) of countries will not have high enough fertility rates to sustain population size over time; this will increase to 97% of countries (198 of 204) by 2100. Pronounced shifts in patterns of livebirths are also predicted, with the share of the world’s live births nearly doubling in low-income regions from 18% in 2021 to 35% in 2100; and sub-Saharan Africa accounting for one in every two children born on the planet by 2100. In low-income settings with higher fertility rates, better access to contraceptives and female education ...

The NHS needs an immediate cash injection of around £8.5bn a year over the next four years to make up a £32bn shortfall in funding and help tackle the current crisis, especially in areas such as waiting times, access to primary care, workforce and capital investment, say experts in the second report of The BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS. John Appleby and colleagues argue that, while the government’s recent spring budget funding pledges are a start, they “certainly will not make up the significant shortfall that the NHS ...

Effective processes for reporting and responding to safeguard vulnerabilities are also lacking, warn experts Many publicly accessible artificial intelligence (AI) assistants lack adequate safeguards to consistently prevent the mass generation of health disinformation across a broad range of topics, warn experts in The BMJ today. They call for enhanced regulation, transparency, and routine auditing to help prevent advanced AI assistants from contributing to the generation of health disinformation. Large language models (LLMs) are a form of generative AI that have the potential to greatly improve many aspects of society, including ...

A new study by researchers at the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science (LCDS) and Princeton University reveals that US working-age adults are dying at higher rates than their peers in high-income countries; the UK is also falling behind. The study is published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology. Using annual mortality data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database, the study compared trends in midlife mortality for adults aged 25-64 years between 1990 and 2019 across 15 major causes of death in 18 high-income countries, ...

Making alcohol-free beer more widely available on draught in pubs and bars may help people switch from alcoholic to alcohol-free beer, a new study published in Addiction today [21 March], has found. Pubs and bars taking part in the University of Bristol-led trial saw an increase in sales of healthier non-alcoholic draught beer. In partnership with Bristol City Council (BCC), researchers from the University’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group (TARG) recruited 14 pubs and bars across the city that were willing to change the drinks that they offered on draught for a limited period. Previous research by the same group, using an online experiment as a proxy for real-world behaviour, ...

Around 32 per cent of the world's population live in countries that do not adhere to the World Health Organisation’s recommendations on safe limits of arsenic in drinking water Rice is already known to contain more inorganic arsenic than other cereals Cooking rice with water containing more than 10 µg L-1 (parts per billion) inorganic arsenic amplifies the risk of arsenic exposure Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic in water can cause serious health problems such as cancers, diabetes and pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases Rice is one of the major cereal crops ...

In a significant stride for respiratory medicine, Lundquist Institute (TLI) investigator Nicholas Jendzjowsky, PhD, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Institute of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID). This grant, totaling $298,800, not only underscores TLI's commitment to pioneering research and excellence in respiratory medicine and exercise physiology but also recognizes Dr. Jendzjowsky's expertise and the importance of his research. The ...

Doctors’ pay in England has declined by 25% since 2008 Independent analysis shows doctors’ salary erosion far outstrips other UK workers Doctors describe how they struggle to afford everyday essentials Trainee eye surgeon quit after worry over gas bill As doctors in England enter their 13th month of industrial action, an independent analysis of their pay confirms that the real terms value of their salaries has declined by a quarter in the 15 years since their pay was frozen. The analysis – conducted for The BMJ by the Office of Health Economics (OHE), an independent health economics research organisation – found that across ...

A researcher at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health received a $750,000 National Institutes of Health grant to study the asthma risks associated with the use of cleaning and disinfecting products among nurses. Cleaning processes in health care facilities involve an inherent “risk-risk tradeoff.” Increased use of cleaning and disinfection products leads to increased work-related asthma risks and simultaneously a decrease in occupational-infection risks. Preliminary survey data indicate that nurses are generally willing to increase infection risks to maintain lower asthma risks if they think they will recover. “Translating ...

Milan, Italy: A team of international researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can predict which breast cancer patients may be at risk of side effects after surgery and radiotherapy.   Dr Tim Rattay told the 14th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC14) in Milan today (Thursday) that the tool will be tested in a clinical trial that will start recruiting in the last quarter of this year in three countries: France, The Netherlands and the UK.   “It is an explainable AI tool, which means that it shows the reasoning behind its decision-making. This makes it ...

A new treatment approach that combines a targeted therapy drug with hormone therapy significantly increased the amount of time a person with stage 2 or 3 HR-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer lives without the cancer returning, according to a new study co-led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators. The team found adding ribociclib, a drug that belongs to a class of CDK4/6 inhibitors, to standard hormone therapy not only improved invasive-free survival in women with this type of early-stage breast cancer, but also improves distant disease-free survival and recurrence-free survival. The results were published today in the New England ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new study from Mayo Clinic finds that socially isolated people are more likely to show signs of being biologically older than their age and more likely to die from a variety of causes. The research, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Advances, suggests that social connection plays an important role in overall physical health and longevity, and it should be addressed as a necessary part of the social determinants of health. To investigate the role of social contact in biological aging, the ...

Broadband plays a critical role in most aspects of modern-day life, yet over 42 million Americans still lack access to high-speed Internet. This digital divide is driven by “digital redlining”—discriminatory disinvestment in broadband infrastructure that disproportionately affects people of color, low-income communities, and rural populations, worsening disparities in access to healthcare, social services, education, and employment for these populations. Addressing digital redlining and the digital divide is imperative for ...

ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Prostate cancer patients receiving care at hospitals that are part of a special drug-pricing program were more likely to stick to their prescription drug therapy than patients at other hospitals, according to a study from researchers at the University of Michigan’s Rogel Cancer Center and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.   The 340B Drug Pricing Program is a federal program that requires the pharmaceutical industry to provide a discount on the cost of drugs to participating hospitals who serve a disproportionate number of Medicare and Medicaid patients. The program was started to enable hospitals to stretch scarce resources, ...

Embargoed for release: Wednesday, March 20, 5:00 PM ET Key points: In a study of 4.3 million pregnant women and their children, prenatal exposure to topiramate, an antiseizure medication used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and migraines, was not associated with additional risk of the children developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Consistent with previous research, the study also found that prenatal exposure to valproate and lamotrigine—two other antiseizure medications—were associated with ...

An investigational gene therapy for a rare neurodegenerative disease that begins in early childhood, known as giant axonal neuropathy (GAN), was well tolerated and showed signs of therapeutic benefit in a clinical trial led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Currently, there is no treatment for GAN and the disease is usually fatal by 30 years of age. Fourteen children with GAN, ages 6 to 14 years, were treated with gene transfer therapy at the NIH Clinical Center and then followed for about six years to assess safety. Results ...

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) can provide nearly 10 times higher energy density compared to the present Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and hence are identified as one of the potential future storage systems. However, LMBs pose certain safety concerns and cannot be used for fast-charging applications. Uncontrolled dendrite formation, leading to excessive heating and battery short circuit is one of the critical challenges of its advancement. Researchers have previously attempted to address the safety concerns in LMBs but with methods that were laboursome and money/time intensive. T. N. Narayanan’s lab at the Tata Institute ...

IRVINE, CA, March 20, 2024 --The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF), a nonprofit focused on transforming pediatric cancer care by funding research breakthroughs, today announced the expansion of its leadership team. Executive Director Jeri Wilson, who has led the organization for 12 years, will step into the newly created role of Vice President of Development, Principal Gifts.  Danielle Fragalla, a known nonprofit leader in California, will become Chief Executive Officer. In the 12 years Ms. Wilson has led the Foundation, it has grown from a grassroots ...