Honey bees carrying nectar have the remarkable ability to adjust their flight behavior to avoid overheating when air temperatures increase, according to research led by a University of Wyoming scientist. Jordan Glass, a postdoctoral research associate in UW’s Department of Zoology and Physiology, conducted the study to determine how high air temperatures may limit the ability of honey bees to forage for nectar. His research findings appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s most prestigious multidisciplinary scientific journals covering the biological, physical ...

CLEVELAND – Jeanne Lackamp, MD, DFAPA, FACLP, has been selected to serve as Chair of Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatrist in Chief for University Hospitals (UH), and Director of the UH Behavioral Health Institute. The need for behavioral health services continues to increase locally and across the country. The population is still struggling with the effects of the pandemic, while more people report a sense of isolation and depression. An unprecedented number of Americans are dying from drug overdoses. From popular media to medical literature, calls to address behavioral health needs are on the rise. “Behavioral health is health. It’s ...

ANN ARBOR, MI – A collaborative partnership dedicated to improving statewide cardiovascular care and outcomes — hosted at Michigan Medicine — received national recognition for efforts in patient safety and quality Tuesday. The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium, also known as BMC2, earned the 2023 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award in the local level innovation category. The honor is presented annually by The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum (NQF). BMC2 received the award for its significant improvements in the documentation of radiation use, a decrease in high-dose radiation ...

When a human-AI conversation involves many rounds of continuous dialogue, the powerful large language machine-learning models that drive chatbots like ChatGPT sometimes start to collapse, causing the bots’ performance to rapidly deteriorate. A team of researchers from MIT and elsewhere has pinpointed a surprising cause of this problem and developed a simple solution that enables a chatbot to maintain a nonstop conversation without crashing or slowing down. Their method involves a tweak to the key-value cache (which is like a conversation memory) at the core of many large language models. In some methods, when this cache needs to hold ...

A group of international mycology experts led by Professor Dr Oliver A. Cornely at the University of Cologne has jointly drafted a guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of cryptococcosis, which aims at improving infection management and thus the survival rate of patients. Cryptococcosis is a fungal infection of mainly the lungs that might lead to meningitis. The article ‘Global guideline for the diagnosis and management of cryptococcosis’ was published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Cryptococcosis, ...

Like a Valentine’s Day dinner or a box of chocolates, male fruit flies have their own rituals for wooing a potential mate. As part of a complex courtship behavior, male flies vibrate their wings to produce a distinctive song that conveys a message to nearby females. Using internal information and cues from females and the environment, males decide moment to moment whether to sing and how. Although scientists now know a lot about how fly movements produce songs, it was still not clear which cells and circuits in the fly’s nervous system enable the behavior. Now, using a suite of novel tools, ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – More time stranded on land means greater risk of starvation for polar bears, a new study indicates. During three summer weeks, 20 polar bears closely observed by scientists tried different strategies to maintain energy reserves, including resting, scavenging and foraging. Yet nearly all of them lost weight rapidly: on average around 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, per day. Some have speculated that polar bears might adapt to the longer ice-free seasons due to climate warming by acting like their grizzly bear relatives ...

Key takeaways Diabetes remission: Gastric bypass surgery results in high rates of Type-2 diabetes remission five years after the operation, even after patients regain a significant amount of weight.   Gastric bypass vs. sleeve gastrectomy: Patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy and regained their weight were five times more likely to see their diabetes return than patients who had gastric bypass surgery and regained their weight.   CHICAGO (February 13, 2024): Adults who have obesity and Type 2 diabetes are much more likely to see their diabetes stay in remission if they undergo gastric ...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2024 — Breast cancer is on the rise, but new tools for early detection could save lives. In Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Florida and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan reported successful results from a hand-held breast cancer screening device that can detect breast cancer biomarkers from a tiny sample of saliva. Their biosensor design uses common components, such as widely available glucose testing strips and ...

University of Queensland-led research has shown there is more coral reef area across the globe than previously thought, with detailed satellite mapping helping to conserve these vital ecosystems. Dr Mitchell Lyons from UQ’s School of the Environment, working as part of the Allen Coral Atlas project, said scientists have now identified 348,000 square kilometres of shallow coral reefs, up to 20-30 metres deep. “This revises up our previous estimate of shallow reefs in the world’s oceans,” Dr Lyons said. “Importantly, the high-resolution, up-to-date mapping satellite technology also allows us to see what these habitats ...

About The Study: In this study of 61,000 adults age 45 or older, those who adhered to physical activity guidelines before the pandemic had lower odds of developing or being hospitalized for COVID-19. Thus, higher prepandemic physical activity levels may be associated with reduced odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization for COVID-19. Authors: Dennis Muñoz-Vergara, D.V.M., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, 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/jamanetworkopen.2023.55808) Editor’s Note: Please ...

About The Study: Maternal tobacco use during pregnancy was associated with enduring deficits in childhood neurocognition in this study including 11,000 children. Continued research on the association of maternal tobacco use during pregnancy with cognitive performance and brain structure related to language processing skills and episodic memory is needed. Authors: Hongying Daisy Dai, Ph.D., of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

Smelling a familiar scent can help depressed individuals recall specific autobiographical memories and potentially assist in their recovery, discovered a team of University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers and UPMC social workers in a study published today in JAMA Network Open. The study showed that scents are more effective than words at cueing up a memory of a specific event and could even be used in the clinical setting to help depressed individuals get out of the negative thought cycles and rewire thought patterns, ...

A cohort study of older adults found that those who followed recommended exercise guidelines before the pandemic had significantly lower odds of being infected or hospitalized from COVID-19 than those who did not follow guidelines Need another reason to keep up with your exercise routine? Staying active just might protect you from infection and hospitalization from COVID-19. A new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of Mass General Brigham, suggests that higher levels of physical activity before the pandemic began in 2020 were associated with a lower likelihood of contracting ...

Type 2 diabetes alters the behavior of discs in the vertebral column, making them stiffer, and also causes the discs to change shape earlier than normal. As a result, the disc’s ability to withstand pressure is compromised. This is one of the findings of a new study in rodents from a team of engineers and physicians from the University of California San Diego, UC Davis, UCSF and the University of Utah.  Low back pain is a major cause of disability, often associated with intervertebral disc degeneration. People with Type 2 diabetes face ...

Ophthalmologists at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) have created a novel protocol to rapidly diagnose eye stroke and expedite care to prevent irreversible vision loss. Their study, published Tuesday, February 13, in Ophthalmology, describes using high-resolution retinal imaging in the emergency room, along with rapid remote consultation to confirm diagnosis and expedite care, improving outcomes for eye stroke patients and preserving vision. “The protocol implements highly sensitive retinal imaging at the patient’s point of entry into the medical system, reducing the need for onsite ophthalmology ...

In nature, the collective motion of some birds and fish, such as flocks of starlings and shoals of sardines, respectively, can generate impressive dynamic phenomena. Their study constitutes active matter science, which has been a topic of great interest for the past three decades. The unique collective dynamics of active matter are governed by the motion of each individual entity, the interactions among them, as well as their interaction with the environment. Recent studies show that some self-propelling molecules and bacteria show circular motion with a fixed chirality (the property of an object where it cannot be superimposed upon its mirror image through any number of rotations ...

Lost fishing lines and ropes are a growing problem. As a leading fishing nation, Norway, with its long coastline and fish-rich waters, is particularly vulnerable to marine litter. A new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows that only a third of all ropes produced and sold in Norway can be recycled in a sustainable way. The rest are burned, buried, sent out of the country - or just pile up and contribute to something called ghost fishing. That's when lost or abandoned fishing gear, floating in the ocean or anchored to the bottom, inadvertently continues to catch marine creatures long ...

The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) proudly celebrates the outstanding contributions of Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng, the Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at Yale University.  Dr. Cheng's relentless dedication over the past three decades has led to an experimental botanical drug, YIV-906, to enter various phase II human trials and establishing a now clinical-stage platform biotechnology company committed to developing groundbreaking medicines targeting cancer and aging-related diseases. NFCR has been a vital and steadfast supporter of Dr. Cheng's pioneering work, providing more than $2.5 MM ...

Extracted from the core of sandalwood trees (santalum album tree), sandalwood oil has been used for many centuries by several cultures throughout the world for perfume, soaps, incense and candles. With its earthy sweet scent, this essential oil also is used in the food industry and topically in various cosmetic preparations. Importantly, this natural oil is known for its health benefits and medicinal applications from antibacterial to anticancer because of its phytochemical constituents. In addition to containing esters, free acids, aldehydes, ketones and santenone, sandalwood oil primarily (90 percent or more) constitutes santalol – ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 8AM EST ON FEB. 13, 2024 ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University researchers have created a new version of a microbe to compete economically with E. coli – a bacteria commonly used as a research tool due to its ability to synthesize proteins – to conduct low-cost and scalable synthetic biological experiments. As an inexpensive multiplier – much like having a photocopier in a test tube – the bacteria Vibrio natriegens could help labs test protein variants for creation of pharmaceuticals, synthetic fuels and sustainable compounds that battle weeds or pests. The microbe can work effectively without costly incubators, shakers or deep freezers ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study examines the circumstances behind who is found at fault when cars hit pedestrians in an urban area.   Results showed that the environment where the crash took place – especially the types of roads and the amount of access to marked crosswalks – played a key role in whether the pedestrian or the driver was blamed for the collision.   In the study, done in Columbus, pedestrians were more likely to be blamed when they were crossing roads with a high volume of cars traveling at faster speeds, and where crosswalks were few and far between.   In areas of the city – such as downtown – ...

Oxytocin (OXT) is a hormone that is known for its effects on psychological well-being and emotional bonding in animals. Interestingly, research has shown that this natural chemical in the brain plays a crucial role in other cognitive processes as well, including learning and memory. Now, scientists may have discovered exactly how OXT influences memory in animals by studying “OXT neurons” that contain OXT receptors and function differently based on the availability of the chemical in the brain. In a recent study published on 16 November 2023, in PLOS One, a group ...

In supramolecular chemistry, the self-assembly state of molecules plays a significant role in determining their tangible properties. Controlling the self-assembled state has garnered significant attention as it can be exploited to design materials with desired properties like charge transport capability and fluorescence wavelength. For years, scientists have been trying to decipher how molecular organization impacts the properties of supramolecular assemblies that are in the nano (<10 nm) and mesoscopic (10–1000 nm) scales. However, the study of structures with supramolecular polymer assemblies derived from the same monomer is often hindered by dynamic structural ...

Marine heatwaves will become a regular occurrence in the Arctic in the near future and are a product of higher anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions – as shown in a study just released by Dr. Armineh Barkhordarian from Universität Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence for climate research CLICCS. Since 2007, conditions in the Arctic have shifted, as confirmed by data recently published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Between 2007 and 2021, the marginal zones ...