The invasive mosquito species, the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), poses significant threats to human and animal health due to its ability to spread over large geographic areas and act as a vector for numerous pathogens. Understanding the ecological relationships this species establishes in different locations is crucial for assessing its worldwide dispersion success and its role in disease transmission. To uncover how invasiveness couples with the ability to adapt to various food sources László Zsolt Garamszegi from the ...

Researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on October 7 have made the surprising discovery that one species of comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) can fuse, such that two individuals readily turn into one following an injury. Afterwards, they rapidly synchronize their muscle contractions and merge digestive tracts to share food. “Our findings suggest that ctenophores may lack a system for allorecognition, which is the ability to distinguish between self and others,” says Kei Jokura (@Ctenophore18) of the University of Exeter, UK, and National Institutes of Natural Sciences in Okazaki, ...

EMBARGOED: NOT FOR RELEASE UNTIL 07 OCTOBER 2024 AT 16:00 (LONDON TIME), 07 OCTOBER 2024 AT 11:00 (US EASTERN TIME). Global warming could increase the threat posed to whale sharks from large ships, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. Researchers from the University of Southampton and Marine Biological Association (MBA) predict that increased ocean temperatures will see this already endangered species driven into new habitats crossed by busy shipping lanes. The study predicts that the co-occurrence of whale sharks and large ships could be 15,000 times higher by the end of the century compared to the present day. Lead author Dr ...

We’ve seen dramatic increases in life expectancy over the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to healthier diets, medical advances and many other quality-of-life improvements. But after nearly doubling over the course of the 20th century, the rate of increase has slowed considerably in the last three decades, according to a new study led by the University of Illinois Chicago. Despite frequent breakthroughs in medicine and public health, life expectancy at birth in the world’s longest-living populations has increased only an ...

A study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers concludes that commonly used ways of positioning the patient’s arm during blood pressure (BP) screenings can substantially overestimate test results and may lead to a misdiagnosis of hypertension. In a report on the study, which will be published Oct. 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine, investigators examined the effects of three different arm positions: an arm supported on a desk, arm supported on a lap, and an unsupported arm hanging at the patient’s side. ...

About The Study: This crossover randomized clinical trial showed that commonly used arm positions (lap or side) resulted in substantial overestimation of blood pressure readings and may lead to misdiagnosis and overestimation of hypertension.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Tammy M. Brady, MD, PhD, email tbrady8@jh.edu To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.5213) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of ...

About The Study: The transition from childhood to adolescence may represent a sensitive developmental period when racism can have long-term deleterious impacts on healthy human development across the life span. Future research should build on the present study and interrogate which social regularities and policies may be perpetuating discrimination against ethnically and racially minoritized adolescents. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Juan Del Toro, PhD, email jdeltoro@umn.edu. To ...

A blood test, performed when metastatic prostate cancer is first diagnosed, can predict which patients are likely to respond to treatment and survive the longest. It can help providers decide which patients should receive standard treatment versus who might stand to benefit from riskier, more aggressive new drug trials. The research, part of a phase 3 clinical trial funded in part by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health, was just published in JAMA Network Open. Before it spreads, prostate cancer can be cured with surgery or ...

October 7, 2024—(BRONX, NY)—Metastatic disease—when cancer spreads from the primary tumor to other parts of the body—is the cause of most cancer deaths. While researchers understand how cancer cells escape the primary site to seed new tumors, it’s not well understood why some of these wayward cancer cells spawn new tumors— sometimes decades later—while others do not.   Now, a research team at the National Cancer Institute-designated Montefiore Einstein ...

Since the 1950s, a chemotherapy drug known as 5-fluorouracil has been used to treat many types of cancer, including blood cancers and cancers of the digestive tract.  Doctors have long believed that this drug works by damaging the building blocks of DNA. However, a new study from MIT has found that in cancers of the colon and other gastrointestinal cancers, it actually kills cells by interfering with RNA synthesis.  The findings could have a significant effect on how doctors treat many cancer patients. Usually, 5-fluorouracil is given in combination with chemotherapy drugs that damage ...

(WASHINGTON – October 7, 2024) - A new study finds that preschool-aged children with sickle cell disease (SCD) who live in food deserts and have limited access to transportation are at greater risk for acute complications and hospitalizations, despite receiving free evidence-based therapy and social support, according to results published today in Blood Advances. “Despite the level of care received by the families and patients within our clinic, we still have a gap in terms of being able to address the barriers ...

Researchers have discovered the most distant Milky-Way-like galaxy yet observed. Dubbed REBELS-25, this disc galaxy seems as orderly as present-day galaxies, but we see it as it was when the Universe was only 700 million years old. This is surprising since, according to our current understanding of galaxy formation, such early galaxies are expected to appear more chaotic. The rotation and structure of REBELS-25 were revealed using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European ...

A common theory that guides financial investment strategies may be a handy tool to protect an endangered Puerto Rican frog. A new study uses modern portfolio theory to identify future “investments” in natural resource management that may help managers decide which actions to take to protect coquí llanero populations in Puerto Rico. The 17 species of coquí frogs, and their signature high-pitched chirp, are considered unofficial mascots of Puerto Rico. The entire population of coquí llanero frogs, the smallest and possibly most endangered of the island’s coquís, ...

Fusion researchers are increasingly turning to the element tungsten when looking for an ideal material for components that will directly face the plasma inside fusion reactors known as tokamaks and stellarators. But under the intense heat of fusion plasma, tungsten atoms from the wall can sputter off and enter the plasma. Too much tungsten in the plasma would substantially cool it, which would make sustaining fusion reactions very challenging. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have experimental results suggesting that sprinkling ...

Developing new cancer treatment tools, using imaging techniques such as PET-CT and MRI, and new radiopharmaceuticals for next-generation personalized therapies (“Theranostics”) to target cancer first at the “diagnosis” phase and then at the “therapy” phase, using the same biological targets (“see to treat”). Additionally, the project aims to develop and implement AI-based tools for data sharing among research and hospitals, supporting clinical decisions and predicting individual patient treatment response and outcome. This is the main ...

Vaccines to prevent common and serious infectious diseases have had a greater impact on improving human health than any other medical advance of the 20th century, surpassing even sanitation and potable water. From the global eradication of smallpox in 1980 to the unprecedented development of effective and safe mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, vaccinations have played crucial roles in preventing millions of premature deaths and hospitalizations in adults and children. These monumental efforts have involved coordinated local, regional, national and international organizations and dedicated clinical ...

With hundreds of observatories scattered throughout the world, there has never been a better time for astronomers to observe the infinite universe that lies beyond Earth. At any moment in time, a telescope pointed at the night sky can observe new transient phenomena, such as supernovae that brighten rapidly and then fade away over days to months, releasing massive amounts of energy in the process. These events are rare in any single galaxy and each gives researchers more insight into the dynamic time-domain sky. But what if these observatories could work even closer together to view these important astronomical events? The National ...

A research team from the International Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, has recently published a comprehensive review in the journal Health Data Science on the application of Brain Network Models (BNMs) in the medical field. This study summarizes recent advances and challenges in using BNMs to simulate brain activities, understand neuropathological mechanisms, evaluate therapeutic effects, and predict disease progression. Brain Network Models ...

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Four physicists affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have been selected by their peers for the distinct honor of Fellow of the American Physical Society. “Our staff power the science and innovation that are continuing to move the discipline of physics and this laboratory into the future,” said Jefferson Lab Director Kim Sawyer. “We’re very proud that the accomplishments and contributions of these four Jefferson Lab staff members to the field of physics are being recognized by their peers with this honor.” According to the APS, fellows have made ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Psychiatric drugs are reported to be about 50% more effective in clinical trials funded by the drug’s manufacturer than when trials of the same drug are sponsored by other groups, new research shows.   While many studies have found more favorable results for drugs in clinical trials funded by their manufacturers, these studies normally just compare a set of manufacturer-funded studies with a set of studies funded in other ways, said Tamar Oostrom, assistant professor of economics at The Ohio State University, who conducted this new research.   This ...

UTSA was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) to lead a multimillion-dollar project that will stimulate nuclear energy research at UTSA, leverage novel experimental data to bolster computational efforts at the university, and provide professional training to prepare undergraduate and graduate students for careers in nuclear energy science. UTSA researchers will collaborate with a leading nuclear energy laboratory as well as across academic institutions. The award is part of the DOE’s Nuclear Energy University Program’s Integrated Research Projects (IRPs). These projects aim to provide research and development solutions ...

The accumulation of fats in the liver is driven by high-fat diets and obesity, and is becoming an increasingly prevalent global health concern. Characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver, this condition poses significant risks for various metabolic disorders. While much of the existing research has focused on fat metabolism within the liver itself, emerging findings emphasize the critical role of the gut in this complex process. Proglucagon-derived peptides (PGDPs), including glucagon, GLP-1, and GLP-2, are known to be the key hormones that regulate lipid metabolism in the liver. Derived from the same precursor—proglucagon, previous studies ...

The surge in the adoption of renewable energy, coupled with the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market in recent years has significantly increased the demand for high-performance, all-solid-state batteries. Compared to conventional liquid electrolyte-based batteries, solid-state batteries offer higher energy density, improved safety, longer lifespan, and reliable operation over a wide temperature range. However, there are still challenges to their widespread applications, including low ionic conductivity, high interfacial resistance, and the presence of particle-particle interfaces in the electrolyte, which leads to increased resistance and lower energy density.   Notably, ...

The human microbiome plays a critical role in our health, influencing everything from disease development to treatment responses. This connection has captured the attention of scientists worldwide, eager to unlock its secrets.  While traditional metagenomics has provided valuable insights, it falls short in resolving microbial diversity at the strain level and accurately profiling genes involved in antibiotic resistance. These limitations highlight the need for more advanced approaches. To address this, a team of researchers led by Associate Professor Masahito Hosokawa, from Waseda University, in collaboration with bitBiome, Inc., developed a groundbreaking single-cell ...

The winner of one of the UK’s biggest academic prizes has discovered what he believes is the key to long-term innovation and economic growth: unplanned intellectual friendships – like Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, or DNA pioneers James Watson and Francis Crick. Professor Kirk Doran, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in the United States, has been researching what drives innovation for 14 years – and has made his discovery by forensically analysing data including published research and census, tax, migration and historical data. Professor Doran has ...