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Technology4 Mar 2024

Cost of direct air carbon capture to remain higher than hoped

Switzerland plans to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by no later than 2050. To achieve this, it will need to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In its climate strategy, the Swiss government acknowledges that some of these emissions, particularly in agriculture and industry, are difficult or impossible to avoid. Swiss climate policy therefore envisages actively removing 5 million tonnes of CO2 from the air and permanently storing it underground. By way of comparison, the Intergovernmental ...

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Science4 Mar 2024

Unraveling the mystery of chiton visual systems

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — You’d probably walk past a chiton without even seeing it. These creatures often look like nothing more than another speck of seaweed on the crusty intertidal rocks. But it sees you. At least, if it’s one of the species with eyes dotting its platemail shell. A team of scientists — led by Rebecca Varney at UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB) — discovered that some of these tough mollusks sport the most recently evolved eyes with a lens. What’s more, the ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Case Western Reserve University-led research team discovers new method to test for oral cancer

CLEVELAND—Oral cancers and precancerous mouth lesions are considered especially difficult to diagnose early and accurately. For one, biopsies are expensive, invasive, stressful for the patient and can lead to complications. They’re also not feasible if repeated screenings of the same lesion are required. But a team of researchers, led by a clinician scientist at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, has discovered a noninvasive, low-cost test to detect oral cancer, monitor precancerous lesions and determine when a biopsy is warranted. Their findings, published ...

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Social Science4 Mar 2024

Firearm access and gun violence exposure are common in Black and native communities

A New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center study is the first to provide nationally representative data on gun use, storage and violence within Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native (AIAN) families. Both Black and native communities have seen increasingly elevated rates of gun violence victimization, including homicide and suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In recent years, minorities have become more represented among new firearm owners. Despite this, research on firearm access, storage and use has focused on samples of white adults. This prevents understanding the access Black and native individuals have to firearms, whether they are stored ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

New AI smartphone tool accurately diagnoses ear infections

A new cellphone app developed by physician-scientists at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately diagnose ear infections, or acute otitis media (AOM), could help decrease unnecessary antibiotic use in young children, according to new research published today in JAMA Pediatrics. AOM is one of the most common childhood infections for which antibiotics are prescribed but can be difficult to discern from other ear conditions without intensive training. The new AI tool, which makes a diagnosis by assessing ...

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Science4 Mar 2024

Screen time and parent-child talk when children are ages 12 to 36 months

About The Study: This study found a negative association between screen time and measures of parent-child talk when children are 12 to 36 months of age. For every additional minute of screen time, children heard fewer adult words, spoke fewer vocalizations, and engaged in fewer back-and-forth interactions. Interventions aiming to promote early use of language should include support to manage screen time. Authors: Mary E. Brushe, Ph.D., of the University of Western Australia in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.6790) Editor’s ...

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Science4 Mar 2024

Firearm access and gun violence exposure among American Indian or Alaska native and Black adults

About The Study: In this nationally representative survey study of 3,542 American Indian or Alaska Native and Black U.S. adults, a substantial percentage of both groups reported living in homes with firearms, storing firearms loaded and unlocked, frequently carrying firearms outside the home, and having been exposed directly and indirectly to gun violence. These findings underscore the need for nuanced public health campaigns and policies and highlight challenges for law enforcement in contexts of racial disparities ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Associations of medical debt with health status, premature death, and mortality in the US

About The Study: The findings of this study of 2,943 counties suggest that medical debt is associated with worse health status, more premature deaths, and higher mortality rates at the county level in the U.S. Therefore, policies increasing access to affordable health care, such as expanding health insurance coverage, may improve population health. Authors: Xuesong Han, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed ...

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Science4 Mar 2024

Low-cost liquid tames tooth decay

An inexpensive, cavity-fighting liquid called silver diamine fluoride (SDF) works as well as dental sealants to keep tooth decay at bay in a school cavity prevention and treatment program, according to a new study by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry. The study, which followed more than 4,000 elementary school students for four years and is published in JAMA Pediatrics, shows that SDF is an effective alternative to sealants, and can increase access to dental care while reducing costs. Dental cavities are the most prevalent ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

More than 1/3 illicit drugs sold on the dark web contain unexpected substances

Testing of illicit drugs bought online found 35% were not what they said they were, highlighting the urgent need for more local drug testing facilities in Australia to prevent harm and overdose. The RMIT-led study analysed 103 illicit drug samples sourced from the now-defunct dark web forum Test4Pay in collaboration with the Australian National University, UNSW Sydney and Canadian testing facility Get Your Drugs Tested. While 65% of samples contained only the advertised substance, the study found 14% of samples had a mixture ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

A better way to deliver fetal therapy for serious genetic disorders

In a discovery that opens the door to a less invasive way of treating some serious disorders before birth, UC San Francisco scientists have found that delivering medicine through amniotic fluid is as effective as delivering it to the fetal brain via cerebrospinal fluid. The experiment was done in mice with a genetic disorder called Angelman syndrome. Treating genetic diseases like Angelman in utero could prevent serious symptoms that begin while the fetus is still developing. It’s also easier to access neurons in the fetal brain because the blood-brain barrier that normally acts as a filter ...

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Science4 Mar 2024

Researchers develop amphibian-inspired camouflage skin

Inspired by amphibians such as the wood frog, investigators designed and synthesized a new type of camouflage skin involving one-dimensional photonic crystal structures assembled in three-dimensional flexible gels. As described in Advanced Optical Materials, the camouflage skin can quickly recognize and match the background by modulating the optical signals of external stimuli. It demonstrated excellent mechanical performance, self-adaptive camouflage capabilities in response to complex surroundings, and long-term stability in real-world living environments. Bright structural color and mechanical flexibility were maintained even at temperatures as low as -80℃. The advance ...

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Technology4 Mar 2024

Network of quantum sensors boosts precision

The quantum systems employed in quantum technologies, for example single atoms, are also very sensitive: any interaction with the environment can induce changes in the quantum system, leading to errors. However, this remarkable sensitivity of quantum systems to environmental factors actually represents a unique advantage. This sensitivity enables quantum sensors to surpass conventional sensors in precision, for example when measuring magnetic or gravitational fields. Noise cancellation using correlation spectroscopy The delicate quantum properties needed for sensing can be covered up ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Robotic hip exoskeleton shows promise for helping stroke patients regain their stride

Robotic Hip Exoskeleton Shows Promise for Helping Stroke Patients Regain Their Stride A portable robotic device created by UMass Amherst researchers provides new avenue for making state-of-the-art gait rehabilitation methods more effective and accessible AMHERST, Mass. – More than 80% of stroke survivors experience walking difficulty, significantly impacting their daily lives, independence, and overall quality of life. Now, new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst pushes forward the bounds of stroke recovery ...

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Environment4 Mar 2024

Conservation value of field research stations grossly misunderstood and underfunded according to 173 conservation scientists in new study

SAN DIEGO – Funding of field conservation research stations worldwide has been drastically reduced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, raising the alarm of more than 170 conservation researchers representing 157 field stations in 56 countries in a new paper published in Conservation Letters. The authors contend that field research stations have a high return on investment and are essential and highly effective tools for biodiversity conservation. Trillions of U.S. dollars were mobilized in economic recovery following the pandemic, yet the authors raise concerns ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Study underscores social factors of low breast cancer screening in the US

There is a pressing need to explore and understand which social determinants of health (SDOH) and health inequities act as significant influential factors that contribute to low breast cancer screening behaviors in the United States. Health disparities have been consistently associated with delayed screening, which then contributes to higher mortality rates among both Hispanic and Black populations. Moreover, poverty, lack of education, neighborhood disadvantage, residential segregation, racial discrimination, lack of social support and social isolation ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Nanomedicine research aims to transform treatment of aortic aneurysms

Aortic aneurysms are bulges in the aorta, the largest blood vessel that carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, or injury can all increase the risk of aneurysms, which tend to occur more often in Caucasian male smokers over the age of 65. “The soft tissues that make up blood vessels act essentially like rubber bands, and it’s the elastic fibers within these tissues that allow them to stretch and snap back,” says Professor Anand Ramamurthi, chair of the Department of Bioengineering in Lehigh University’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

HIV medication can be used safely with gender-affirming hormone therapy

New research definitively shows that HIV antiretrovirals can be taken together with gender-affirming hormone therapy without changing how well either drug works. The study findings can help healthcare providers address potential patient concerns that one drug will counteract the other. “This study is the first head-to-head pharmacokinetic analysis of two common HIV medications and long-term feminizing hormone therapy use,” says Walter Kraft, MD, director of the Division of Clinical ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Gene-edited lymphocytes and the path toward ‘off-the-shelf’ therapy against cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is among the most common malignancies affecting women worldwide. In 2020 alone, approximately 600,000 women were diagnosed with this disease, and over 314,000 died from it. In 99% of the cases, cervical cancer cells harbor human papilloma virus (HPV), and thus, HPV vaccines are an effective way to mitigate the risk of developing this disease. Unfortunately, such preventive measures are useless against established cancers, which are generally incurable once they become metastatic or relapsing. Fortunately, scientists have made substantial progress in developing a promising ...

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Science4 Mar 2024

Humans have driven the Earth’s freshwater cycle out of its stable state

A new analysis of freshwater resources across the globe shows that human activity has pushed variation in the planet’s freshwater cycle well outside of its pre-industrial range. The study shows that the updated planetary boundary for freshwater change was surpassed by the mid-twentieth century. In other words, for the past century, humans have been pushing the Earth’s freshwater system far beyond the stable conditions that prevailed before industrialization. This is the first time that global water cycle change has been assessed over such a long timescale with an appropriate reference baseline. The findings, published in Nature Water, show that human ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Exposure to different kinds of music influences how the brain interprets rhythm

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- When listening to music, the human brain appears to be biased toward hearing and producing rhythms composed of simple integer ratios — for example, a series of four beats separated by equal time intervals (forming a 1:1:1 ratio). However, the favored ratios can vary greatly between different societies, according to a large-scale study led by researchers at MIT and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and carried out in 15 countries. The study included 39 groups of participants, many of whom came from societies ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Study shows differences in how patients with impulse control disorder process consequences

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – March 4, 2024 – Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that affects movement and muscle control. One characteristic of the disease is the deficiency of dopamine, a neurotransmitter or brain chemical that plays a role in movement and can impact how people think and feel. Dopaminergic medicines can help alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. However, in some patients, the medications can cause impulse control disorder (ICD), characterized by risky behavior such as excessive gambling, shopping, ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Improving access to early-stage lung cancer care in Europe

There are stark differences between European countries when it comes to both the reimbursement of, and access to, new treatments for patients with early-stage lung cancer. There are also differences in reimbursement times and indications between the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Researchers from Amsterdam UMC Cancer Center Amsterdam analysed the landscape, and their results are published today in The Lancet Regional Health Europe as part of a series on the latest developments in the treatment of this lung cancer. "Tackling inequalities in access to care must be a common European priority," ...

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Medicine4 Mar 2024

Low iron levels resulting from infection could be key trigger of long COVID

Problems with iron levels in the blood and the body’s ability to regulate this important nutrient as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection could be a key trigger for long COVID, new research has discovered. The discovery not only points to possible ways to prevent or treat the condition, but could help explain why symptoms similar to those of long COVID are also commonly seen in a number of post-viral conditions and chronic inflammation. Although estimates are highly variable, as many as three in 10 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 could go on to develop long COVID, with symptoms including fatigue, ...

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Science4 Mar 2024

Swapping meat for Quorn lowers bad cholesterol by 10-percent

Regularly substituting meat for mycoprotein such as Quorn could help to lower bad cholesterol by 10-percent, which is comparable to switching to a Mediterranean or vegan diet. New research by the University of Exeter, published in Clinical Nutrition, also found substituting meat for Quorn reduces blood glucose and c-peptide concentrations associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. With one in six UK adults suffering from raised cholesterol, the findings indicate that mycoprotein - the high protein, high-fibre food source that’s the main ingredient in Quorn - could play a key role in ...

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