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Technology6 Feb 2024

Breaking boundaries in quantum photonics: Groundbreaking nanocavities unlock new frontiers in light confinement

In a significant leap forward for quantum nanophotonics, a team of European and Israeli physicists, introduces a new type of polaritonic cavities and redefines the limits of light confinement. This pioneering work, detailed in a study published today in Nature Materials, demonstrates an unconventional method to confine photons, overcoming the traditional limitations in nanophotonics. Physicists have long been seeking ways to force photons into increasingly small volumes. The natural length scale of the photon is the wavelength and when a photon is forced into a cavity much smaller than ...

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Medicine6 Feb 2024

New cell therapy shows promise with ARDS patients

Promising trial results indicate that a new type of cell therapy could improve the prognosis of those who are critically ill with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) resulting from severe Covid-19. Published in the journal Nature Communications, Professor Justin Stebbing of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is the joint senior author of the new study investigating the use of agenT-797, MiNK Therapeutic’s allogeneic, unmodified invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapy. The iNKT cell therapy has the effect of rescuing exhausted T cells and prompting an anti-inflammatory cytokine response, potentially activating anti-viral immunity to ...

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Science6 Feb 2024

Law enforcement seizures of psilocybin mushrooms rose dramatically between 2017-2022

Law enforcement seizures of “magic mushrooms” or “shrooms” containing the psychoactive component psilocybin increased dramatically in the United States between January 2017 and December 2022, according to a new study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. The number of law enforcement seizures increased from 402 seizures in 2017 to 1,396 in 2022. In addition, the total weight of psilocybin mushrooms seized by law enforcement increased ...

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Medicine6 Feb 2024

Police seizures of psychedelic drugs are soaring throughout the United States

Seizures by law enforcement officials of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, have increased by 369% since 2017, a new study shows. The authors say their findings may signal growing availability and public awareness of the hallucinogenic drug, along with possible heightened risks associated with recreational and unsupervised use of the drug. The study was led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and other members of the National Drug Early Warning System, an organization that conducts surveillance of shifting drug trends. Their analysis of national and state-level trafficking data ...

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Social Science6 Feb 2024

Thailand’s Iron Age Log Coffin culture

Decidious and evergreen forests dominate the limestone karst formations of the northwestern highlands of Thailand. A vast number of caves and rock shelters intersperses the mountains. In over 40 such caves in Mae Hong Son province, large wooden coffins mounted on stilts, dating between 2,300 and 1,000 years ago, can be found. During the Iron Age period, each of these up to several-meter-long coffins was crafted from a single teak tree and features refined carvings of geometric, animal- or human-like shapes at the handles ...

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Medicine6 Feb 2024

Mobile patient lifts help ICU patients recover

Tokyo, Japan – A recent randomized controlled trial in Tokyo, Japan, has unveiled the positive impact of early mobilization, assisted by mobile patient lifts, on the recovery of ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The debate surrounding the efficacy of early mobilization in ICU has persisted for an extended period. The treatment of critically ill patients in ICUs, often involving prolonged limb immobilization or restricted mobility, is acknowledged as a risk factor for diminished physical strength and diminished quality of life post-recovery, ...

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Medicine6 Feb 2024

Re-excision rates after breast-conserving surgery pose ongoing challenges in the US: UTHealth Houston study unveils high reoperation rates and costs

Rates of re-excision after initial breast-conserving surgery in women with breast cancer remain high across the United States, leading to an increased cost of care and a higher risk of postoperative complications, according to new research from UTHealth Houston. The study, led by first author Youngran Kim, PhD, assistant professor; and senior author Trudy Krause, PhD, professor, was published today in Annals of Surgical Oncology. Both are with the Center for Health Care Data in the Department of Management, Policy ...

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Medicine6 Feb 2024

Extra fingers and hearts: pinpointing changes to our genetic instructions that disrupt development

Our genomes provide the instructions for proper growth and development. Millions of genomic switches, known as enhancers, control the location and timing of gene expression, which in turn ensures the correct proteins are made in the right cells at the right time throughout our lives. New research from University of California San Diego Assistant Professor Emma Farley’s lab shows how we can now predict which single base-pair changes to the DNA within our genomes will alter these instructions and disrupt development, causing extra digits and hearts. We now ...

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Environment6 Feb 2024

A common add-on in IVF may be an expensive waste of time, study in Lancet reveals

One of the most common add-ons to IVF procedures undertaken in Australia and globally by infertile couples may be a waste of time as well as expensive and invasive, and maye even reduce the chances of success, according to a new report in The Lancet. The research, by Monash University’s Professor Ben Mol in Australiaa and Dr. Rui Wang and colleagues in China, found that intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) whereby a single sperm is injected directly into a mature egg – originally developed in 1992 for couples with severe male infertility but which has since expanded ...

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Medicine6 Feb 2024

Males born to obese mothers more likely to suffer health issues as adults

Males born to obese women are more likely to be overweight at birth and develop metabolic complications in later life, including liver disease and diabetes. The way that male sex hormones activate pathways in the developing liver is partly to blame. That’s the finding from a new study led by University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers looking at the impact of maternal obesity on fetal liver androgen signalling. Male fetuses of obese pregnant women have different signals that are activated by male sex hormones in the liver, which encourages them to prioritise growth at the expense of their health. UniSA researcher Dr Ashley Meakin ...

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Earth Science6 Feb 2024

Contrasting response of rice rhizosphere microbiomes to in situ cadmium-contaminated soil remediation

Understanding the responses of different rhizosphere microbial lineages to soil amendments during in situ remediation of Cd-contaminated soil is of great importance in the assessment of the restoration and crop health. This study demonstrates the distinct responses of rice rhizosphere microbial communities to soil amendment applications, highlighting the interactive associations between microbiomes, which is vital for enhancing our ability to develop effective strategies for sustainable soil management. The researchers' findings appeared December 4, 2023 in Soil Ecology Letters. A series ...

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Medicine6 Feb 2024

Chemoradiotherapy patients are more likely to have multiple infections and encouraged to start antibiotic therapy immediately for early intervention

Pulmonary malignancy is one of the most frequent and fatal cancers in older patients. Studies have shown that lung cancer patients have a high incidence of lower respiratory tract infections. This is due to the fact that these patients usually have airway obstruction, sticky sputum that is not easy to cough up, destruction of mucosal surfaces, and treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. When most patients are found to have lung cancer, they have already developed distal metastasis and lost the chance of surgery, therefore, they usually choose to be treated with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted drugs. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy ...

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Science6 Feb 2024

Fatty acids hold clue to creating memories

Researchers at the University of Queensland have revealed the crucial role of saturated fatty acids in the brain’s consolidation of memories. Dr Isaac Akefe from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute has uncovered the molecular mechanism and identified the genes underlying the memory creation process, opening the door to a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disorders. “We’ve shown previously that levels of saturated fatty acids increase in the brain during neuronal communication, but we ...

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Science6 Feb 2024

Improved differential-neural cryptanalysis for round-reduced Simeck32/64

Deep learning has led to great improvements recently on a number of difficult tasks. In CRYPTO 2019, Gohr innovatively integrated deep learning with differential cryptanalysis, specifically applied to Speck32/64, resulting in developing a neural distinguisher that outperforms the DDT-based distinguisher. Applying differential neural cryptanalysis methods to more cryptographic algorithms is an issue worth studying. To solve the problems, a research team led by Liu ZHANG published their new research on 15 Dec 2023 in Frontiers of Computer Science co-published by Higher Education Press ...

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Science6 Feb 2024

Heavy cannabis use increases risk of developing an anxiety disorder, study suggests

Ottawa, ON, February 5, 2024 – Twenty-seven percent of individuals who had an emergency department visit for cannabis use developed a new anxiety disorder within three years, according to new research. Led by researchers at the Bruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa Department of Family Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, and ICES, this is the largest study of the relationship between cannabis use and anxiety to date. The study published today in The Lancet’s open access journal eClinical Medicine included over 12 million individuals living in Ontario, Canada, between 2008 and 2019 who had never received a diagnosis or treatment for anxiety. The researchers ...

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Science6 Feb 2024

Amsterdam UMC research shows that ultrasound can be used to detect placenta problems in small babies

A Doppler ultrasound that measures the blood flow of small unborn babies can reveal whether or not the placenta is working properly. In case of repeated deviations from these Doppler measurements, additional monitoring of the unborn baby is necessary. These deviations indicate a higher risk of oxygen deficiency and other health problems for the baby. This study by Amsterdam UMC in collaboration with UMC Groningen and 17 other Dutch hospitals is published today in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Around 10% of unborn babies are classed as small for ...

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Environment6 Feb 2024

New species of Jurassic pterosaur discovered on the Isle of Skye

A new species of pterosaur from specimens found on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, has been announced by scientists from the Natural History Museum, University of Bristol, University of Leicester, and University of Liverpool. The new pterosaur is part of the Darwinoptera clade of pterosaurs. Its discovery shows that the clade was considerably more diverse than previously thought, and persisted for more than 25 million years, from the late Early Jurassic to the latest Jurassic. During this period species within the clade spread worldwide. The discovery underpins a new and more complex model for the early evolution of pterosaurs. The rarity of Middle Jurassic pterosaur ...

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Science6 Feb 2024

Influence of voting advice web tools is limited during elections with authoritarian candidates, study shows

The influence of online vote advice tools designed to help voters discover more about candidates is limited when elections are affected by authoritarianism, a new study shows. Voting advice applications offer voters nonpartisan information about political parties, candidates, and policy issues. The research shows they could be an alternative source of information for those interested in learning about politics in democracies, but their use would be limited in authoritarian settings, particularly in the longer term. In the short-term, and during highly competitive elections with tiny winning margins for candidates ...

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Science6 Feb 2024

Solving an age-old mystery about crystal formation

A million years ago, the oldest known species to walk upright like a human, the Homo Erectus, had a human-like fascination with crystals. Historians can even pin down the possible reasons – crystals didn’t look like anything around at the time - trees, valleys, mountains. Crystals were a material to ponder, a fascinating diversion for the mind. To this day, the human preoccupation with the magic of crystals continues to fill the mind’s eye of scientists who have developed ways to use crystals for everything from malaria cures to solar cells and semiconductors, catalysts and optical elements. Over the years crystals have become crucial constituents ...

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Technology6 Feb 2024

New research shows AI dog personality algorithm could match you with your new ‘best friend’

A multi-disciplinary research team specializing in canine behavior and Artificial Intelligence has developed an AI algorithm that automates the high-stakes process of evaluating potential working dogs’ personalities. They hope to help dog training agencies more quickly and accurately assess which animals are likely to succeed long term in careers such as aiding law enforcement and assisting persons with disabilities. The personality test could also be used for dog-human matchmaking, helping shelters with proper placement, thus reducing the number of animals returned ...

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Environment5 Feb 2024

In a warming world, climate scientists consider category 6 hurricanes

– By Linda Vu For more than 50 years, the National Hurricane Center has used the Saffir-Simpson Windscale to communicate the risk of property damage; it labels a hurricane on a scale from Category 1 (wind speeds between 74 - 95 mph) to Category 5 (wind speeds of 158 mph or greater). But as increasing ocean temperatures contribute to ever more intense and destructive hurricanes, climate scientists Michael Wehner of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and James Kossin of the First Street Foundation wondered whether the ...

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Medicine5 Feb 2024

Better together: Beckman imaging facilities share $3 million Alzheimer’s research grant

What do a synthetic chemist, a medical imaging expert, and a neurologist have in common? They’re coming together in the Biomedical Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology to develop better diagnostic tools and imaging agents to detect early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. The dream team A team led by Liviu M. Mirica along with Wawryzneic “Wawosz” Dobrucki and Dr. Daniel A. Llano received a $3 million grant from the U.S. National Institute on ...

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Medicine5 Feb 2024

$1.9 million NIH grant to support research on impacts of the microbiome on human health

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The bacteria and microorganisms that live within the human body — the microbiota — can impact human health, disease risk and even how the body absorbs medications, but the details of these processes are unclear. To help understand how complex communities of microbes impact human health, the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Science has awarded a 5-year, $1.9 million Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award to Jordan Bisanz, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science. “It is clear that the diversity of microbes in the ...

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Energy5 Feb 2024

First representative survey of energy insecurity in New York City

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted the first representative survey of energy insecurity and health of New York City residents. The study’s findings – including that energy insecurity is experienced by approximately 30 percent of New York City (NYC) residents – are published online and in print, in the February issue of the journal Health Affairs. The study and its results help officials understand challenges faced by residents and develop possible interventions and efforts in response. Results ...

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Medicine5 Feb 2024

Primary care housing intervention linked to improved patient health outcomes

Brigham researchers found that participation in a housing program was associated with fewer outpatient visits, improved physical and mental health, and stronger connections to their primary care clinics and care team. Lack of safe and affordable housing is a critical issue in the United States and creates immense challenges for patients’ health, well-being, and ability to access care. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, evaluated data from a social ...

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