The world has not hit the brakes on methane emissions, a powerful driver of climate change. More than 150 nations have pledged to slash by 30% this decade under a global methane pledge, but new research shows global methane emissions over the past five years have risen faster than ever. The trend “cannot continue if we are to maintain a habitable climate,” the researchers write in a Sept. 10 perspective article in Environmental Research Letters published alongside data in Earth System Science Data. Both papers are the work of the Global ...

Researchers at the University of Exeter and clinical radiopharmaceutical company Serac Healthcare Ltd are researching a new molecular imaging marker which could help to detect disease progression sooner. The novel imaging agent 99mTc-maraciclatide has been used to scan the first patient with the aim of evaluating the marker’s potential for predicting interstitial lung disease in a Phase II study titled ‘PRospective Evaluation of Interstitial Lung Disease progression with quantitative CT’ ...

New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) found that more than a third of quitters who were given a vape in A&E experimented with different devices bought from shops or online   People who smoke and had little experience with vapes were particularly receptive to an opportunistic approach in a medical setting    The study found that some quitters reduced their vaping significantly within a few months, showing that not everyone who uses an e-cigarette becomes dependent on vaping long-term   Peer-reviewed – Observational Study- People  Experimenting with commercially ...

People with obesity who are long-time exercisers have healthier belly fat tissue and can store fat there more effectively than nonexercisers with obesity, according to a new study from a team of researchers at the University of Michigan.   The research team also grew fat tissue in the lab from cells collected from both exercisers and nonexercisers, and cells from the exercisers developed into a tissue that stored fat more effectively.     "Our findings indicate that in addition to being a means to expend calories, exercising regularly for several months to years seems to modify your fat tissue ...

Bothnia dystrophy is a form of hereditary blindness, prevalent in the region Västerbotten in Sweden. A new study at Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications shows that gene therapy can improve vision in patients with the disease. Bothnia dystrophy occurs mainly in the region Västerbotten in Sweden, but the disease has also been identified in other parts of the world. The disease leads to progressive visual impairment due to the destruction of the visual cells in the retina. It is caused by an inherited genetic mutation ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to two psychologists, the field of psychological science has a problem with the concept of self-control. It has named self-control both a “trait” — a key facet of personality involving attributes like conscientiousness, grit and the ability to tolerate delayed gratification — and a “state,” a fleeting condition that can best be described as willpower. These two concepts are at odds with one another and are often confused, the authors report. “Self-control is a cherished quality. People who have lots of it are celebrated and seen as morally righteous,” wrote University of Toronto psychology professor Michael Inzlicht ...

The lead article in the current issue of The Criminologist, written by Nancy Rodriguez, University of California Irvine professor of criminology, law and society, shines a light on the lack of prison violence metrics that could help advance safety. “For the 800,000 persons currently confined and the 200,000 state and federal correctional officers who work within U.S. prisons, the threat of violence is a routine feature of daily life,” she writes. “Accounts from incarcerated persons and staff detail the ever-present threats ...

Ikoma, Japan – One of the most fascinating discoveries in biology is that cells have mechanisms for dynamically regulating genetic expression. This ability to promote or restrict the transcription of specific genes without altering the DNA sequences themselves is essential to all forms of life, from single-cell organisms to the most complex plants and animal species. While our understanding of these so-called epigenetic mechanisms is far from complete, remarkable progress has been made in this field with the understanding of the role of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). PRC2 is a protein that, in many plants, binds to specific DNA sequences called polycomb ...

Inventors and researchers have been developing robots for almost 70 years. To date, all the machines they have built – whether for factories or elsewhere – have had one thing in common: they are powered by motors, a technology that is already 200 years old. Even walking robots feature arms and legs that are powered by motors, not by muscles as in humans and animals. This in part suggests why they lack the mobility and adaptability of living creatures. A new muscle-powered robotic leg is not only more energy efficient than a conventional one, it can also perform high jumps and fast movements as well as detect and react to obstacles – ...

Molybdenum (Mo) carbides, known for their unique electronic and structural properties, are considered promising alternatives to noble metal catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis. However, traditional methods for preparing Mo carbides suffer from complex processes, stringent synthesis conditions, challenging crystal regulation, and high energy consumption. Additionally, Mo carbides are susceptible to oxidation and deactivation, which poses a significant barrier to their widespread application. In a study published in Nature Chemistry, a research group led by Prof. SUN Jian from the Dalian Institute ...

For more information, contact: Nicole Fawcett, nfawcett@umich.edu     EMBARGOED for release at 5 a.m. ET Sept. 9, 2024     Researchers identify factor that drives prostate cancer-causing genes Factor previously known to play a role in advanced cancer is fundamental in early stages of cancer development   ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have uncovered a key reason why a typically normal protein goes awry and fuels ...

A new molecular engineering technique can precisely influence the development of organoids. Microbeads made of specifically folded DNA are used to release growth factors or other signal molecules inside the tissue structures. This gives rise to considerably more complex organoids that imitate the respective tissues much better and have a more realistic cell mix than before. An interdisciplinary research team from the Cluster of Excellence “3D Matter Made to Order” with researchers based at the Centre for Organismal Studies and the Center ...

In hospital operating rooms and intensive care units, propofol is a drug of choice, widely used to sedate patients for their comfort or render them fully unconscious for invasive procedures.  Propofol works quickly and is tolerated well by most patients when administered by an anesthesiologist. But what is happening inside the brain when patients are put under and what does this reveal about consciousness itself?  Investigators at U-M who are studying the nature of consciousness have successfully used the drug to identify the intricate brain geometry behind the unconscious state, offering an unprecedented ...

New research suggests that a family member’s cancer diagnosis may increase first-degree relatives’ and spouses’ risks of developing psychological and cardiovascular illnesses. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Having a family member diagnosed with cancer can be a stressful and traumatic experience for the entire family. Because stress influences not only mental health but also cardiovascular health, investigators explored whether a cancer diagnosis contributes ...

Skin pigmentation disorders affect people across the world. One of them, vitiligo, is said to have a worldwide incidence of 1-2%. What causes the loss of pigmentation in vitiligo has long been unclear, but an Osaka Metropolitan University-led team has uncovered clues to the mechanism behind the disorder. In findings published in The Journal of Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine Specially Appointed Associate Professor Lingli Yang, the corresponding author, and researchers including Specially Appointed Professor Ichiro ...

Solving the problem of error is essential for the practical application of quantum computing technologies that surpass the performance of digital computers. Information input into a qubit, the smallest unit of quantum computation, is quickly lost and error-prone. No matter how much we mitigate errors and improve the accuracy of qubit control, as the system size and computation scale increase, errors accumulate and algorithms become impossible to perform. Quantum error correction is a way to solve this problem. As the race for global supremacy in quantum technology intensifies, most major companies and research groups leading the development of quantum ...

Humans will build Artificial Intelligence (AI) which surpasses our own capabilities once we crack the ‘neural code’, says an AI technology analyst. Eitan Michael Azoff, a specialist in AI analysis, argues that humans are set to engineer superior intelligence with greater capacity and speed than our own brains. What will unlock this leap in capability is understanding the ‘neural code’, he explains. That’s how the human brain encodes sensory information, and how it ...

Targeting vaccination programs for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to older adults with underlying health conditions is a cost-effective way to reduce disease, according to a new modelling study https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240452 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). RSV infections cause major illness, especially in infants and older adults, and rates of infection increase with age. There are now vaccines available to prevent disease caused by RSV in adults, and vaccination campaigns may reduce the incidence in older adults and associated ...

About The Study: The findings of this cohort study showed a significant recent downward trend in both melanoma incidence and melanoma mortality in the age group 30 to 49 years in Sweden. The reasons for these declines are unclear but may include UV protection, public health campaigns, changing population demographics, and the introduction of effective melanoma treatment. None of these possibilities were evaluated; further study is needed. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Hildur Helgadottir, MD, PhD, email hildur.helgadottir@sll.se. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

The risk of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, now appears to be decreasing in Sweden - at least in those under 50, according to a new study. “We can see a trend break in young adults around 2015 where the incidence curves are falling,” says first author Hildur Helgadottir, senior consultant and associate professor of oncology at the Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet. She and her research colleagues have analyzed data from the Swedish Melanoma Registry and followed melanoma incidence and mortality for different age segments over time. This means that they have compared individuals in a certain age range at one ...

The chatbot ChatGPT performed better than trainee doctors in assessing complex cases of respiratory disease in areas such as cystic fibrosis, asthma and chest infections in a study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria [1].   The study also showed that Google’s chatbot Bard performed better than trainees in some aspects and Microsoft’s Bing chatbot performed as well as trainees.   The research suggests that these large language models (LLMs) could be used to support trainee doctors, nurses and general practitioners to triage patients more quickly and ease pressure on health services.   The ...

Night owls have a higher BMI, larger waists, more hidden body fat and are almost 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) than those who go to bed earlier, new research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September), has found. Lead researcher Dr Jeroen van der Velde, of Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands, says: “Previous studies have indicated that a late chronotype – preferring to go to bed late and wake up later – is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. Late chronotypes are ...

Altitude changes during commercial flights may affect the blood glucose levels of people with type 1 diabetes who are treated with insulin pump therapy, according to new research to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Madrid (9-13 Sept). “We investigated the effect atmospheric pressure changes during flight can have on insulin pumps following concerns that glucose levels may drop below the normal ranges during or immediately after flights,” explained lead author Dr Ka Siu Fan from the Royal Surry County Hospital and University ...

New research being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September), shows that eating fruit, oats and rye in childhood is associated with a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D). Eating berries, however, is linked to lower odds of developing the condition. T1D is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas.  This prevents the body from producing enough of the hormone insulin to properly regulate blood sugar levels. What triggers the immune system’s attack is unknown but is thought to involve a combination ...

Patients who are being treated with systemic glucocorticoids are more than twice as likely to develop diabetes as those not receiving the treatment, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September) will hear. Glucocorticoids (sometimes known as steroids) fight inflammation and are used to treat a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cancers and other medical problems. While they can be very effective in decreasing inflammation, glucocorticoids have many adverse effects including ...