Recent advances in generative AI help to explain how memories enable us to learn about the world, re-live old experiences and construct totally new experiences for imagination and planning, according to a new study by UCL researchers. The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour and funded by Wellcome, uses an AI computational model – known as a generative neural network - to simulate how neural networks in the brain learn from and remember a series of events (each one represented by a simple scene). The ...

As people age, they gradually lose muscle strength in their arms and legs, making it difficult for them to participate in leisure activities such as hiking and traveling, and they often need to rely on assistive devices such as canes and wheelchairs for mobility. However, these assistive devices do not improve muscle strength, so wearable robots that can compensate for the lack of muscle strength with the help of robots are attracting attention as an innovative technology to improve the health and quality of life of the elderly. Dr. Lee Jongwon of the Intelligent Robotics Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology(KIST) ...

Researchers at the University of Bath have invented a new form of high-performance air purifier that promises zero harmful waste. Key to the purifier and how it works is FOAM3R filter technology, patented by the University, which is described as a highly adaptable disruptor technology for microbial, CO2 and volatile organic compound (VOC) odour removal. FOAM3R can be used to produce multi-functional foam structures for a wide range of applications, including aircraft cabins, in-car air filters, ship and boat cabins, residential heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, home air purifiers and respirator and breathing apparatus. The ...

Young people are increasingly planning to not have children Millennials with stronger environmental concerns are less likely to intend to have a child, but this isn’t the case for Gen Z Lower-income families spend more of their income on childcare than wealthier households Parents pay an average of £560 a month on childcare – with a quarter paying over £800 A comprehensive new survey reveals the changing face of UK families amid recent economic, social, and political turmoil. The methodology and initial findings from the UK Generations and Gender Survey are being presented today [Friday 19th January] ...

While several trials have shown that substantial weight loss using diet and lifestyle can reverse type 2 diabetes, new research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association of the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) is among the first to show the subsequent impact of remission on cardiovascular outcomes. The study is by Professor Edward Gregg, Head of the School of Population Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues. The new study shows that in patients that took part in the Look ...

18 January 2024: Researchers in the School of Population Health at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences have provided new evidence of the health benefits of weight loss efforts that lead to diabetes remission for type 2 diabetes patients.   For participants in the weight-loss trial who were able to achieve remission i.e. reduce the need for medications and reduce their HbA1c levels (a measure of blood sugar control), the research found there was a 40% lower rate of cardiovascular disease and 33% lower rate of chronic kidney disease in this group.  While previous trials have shown that substantial weight loss using diet and lifestyle can reverse type ...

HOUSTON – (Jan. 18, 2024) – Quantum technologies bring the promise of faster computing, enhanced drug development and new sensing applications. However, quantum behaviors are difficult to study experimentally since most systems can only sustain quantum effects for a short time. “The reason why quantum physics’ mysterious features tend to vanish so quickly is a process called decoherence,” said Kaden Hazzard, associate professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and a corresponding author on a study published in Nature Physics. “It occurs when a quantum system ...

Life on Earth runs on a 24-hour cycle as the planet turns. Animals and plants have built-in circadian clocks that synchronize metabolism and behavior to this daily cycle. But one beetle is out of sync with the rest of nature. A new study, published Jan. 18 in Current Biology, looks at a beetle with a unique, 48-hour cycle. The large black chafer beetle, Holotrichia parallela, is an agricultural pest in Asia. Every other night, the female beetles emerge from the soil, climb up a host plant ...

A team at NYU Tandon School of Engineering will kick off the second phase of an ambitious research project that aims to transform navigation and accessibility for many of the 285 million people with blindness and low vision (pBLV) worldwide. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the project a three-year $5 million grant last month. Led by John-Ross Rizzo – an associate professor in NYU Tandon’s Biomedical Engineering department, associate director of NYU WIRELESS, affiliated faculty at the NYU Tandon Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) and associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU ...

      MEDIA INQUIRES   WRITTEN BY Laura Muntean   Paul Schattenberg laura.muntean@ag.tamu.edu   paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu 601-248-1891   210-859-5752 FOR ...

You may have heard about the gut microbiome and its influence on a person’s overall health and well-being. It turns out that the same may hold true for the semen microbiome.   According to researchers from the Department of Urology at UCLA, the semen microbiota might play a crucial role in influencing sperm parameters and enhancing male fertility. Considering recent studies highlighting the microbiome’s significance in overall human health, researchers investigated the semen microbiome to understand its potential impact on male infertility. Exploring the functions of these microorganisms in semen could potentially pave the way for developing treatments targeted ...

South Florida’s Nearshore Reefs Less Vulnerable to Ocean Acidification, Study Finds Results offer a glimmer of hope as climate change impacts coral reefs worldwide Researchers studying South Florida’s coral reefs found that the region’s nearshore reefs and more sheltered inshore areas are less vulnerable to ocean acidification than previously thought – a major climate-related threat to coral reefs as ocean waters absorb more atmospheric CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels. This new study, led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, ...

HOUSTON, January 18, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $17.4 million funding for 19 early-stage research projects focused on expanding clean energy technologies at colleges and universities across America. These projects will establish visiting scholars’ programs, create new academic curricula related to geosciences, and provide interdisciplinary training in humanities-driven science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The list includes three projects from the University of Houston, a Carnegie-designated Tier One Research University. Two of these explore the feasibility and benefit of repurposing ...

Ever wonder what kind of TV shows your dog might choose if they could work the remote control? New research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine provides some answers, but the study was more interested in solving a longstanding problem in veterinary medicine than turning canine companions into couch potatoes. According to Freya Mowat, veterinary ophthalmologist and professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine’s department of surgical sciences, researchers wanted to determine factors, including age and vision, that influence a dog’s ...

Living in a high-income neighborhood, having private health insurance, and being older are tied to an increased likelihood that life support will be withdrawn for people who have suffered severe bleeding in the brain, a new study shows. Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study focused on the social and economic factors linked to the withdrawal of life support and related death after being hospitalized for intracerebral hemorrhages. Such bleeds, sometimes referred to as hemorrhagic stroke, often lead to swelling in the brain, which can put a patient into a coma and frequently ...

The Xue Lab at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) has made another breakthrough in better understanding, and potentially modulating, the immune system to fight diseases.   The insights into a specific protein and how it regulates the training and efficacy of central memory T cells are published by Hai-Hui (Howard) Xue, a member of the CDI, in the journal Nature Immunology.   The immunological implications could produce better vaccines and cancer treatments in the future, according to the Xue lab, which is also part of the Institute for Immunologic ...

Halfway through a true crime podcast, a morning commuter jerks the wheel to narrowly avoid a collision. When discussing the podcast with a coworker later that day, the driver can easily recall the details of the episode’s second half but retains only a blurry recollection of how it began. A new study from psychologists at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology suggests that we remember the moments immediately following a distressing episode more sharply than the moments leading up to it. Clarifying the relationship ...

TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2024 – The 2022 FIFA World Cup ended with a tight win for Argentina over France on penalties, but it was also a triumph for SARS-CoV-2 with a significant jump in the number of cases, some of which York University researchers say could have been prevented. New research published today and led by York used the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a case study to help determine the best ways to mitigate virus spread and hospitalizations at mass gatherings in the future. A technique was used ...

Reston, VA—A novel imaging approach, 68Ga-pentixafor PET/CT, has been shown to accurately identify sub-types of primary aldosteronism (an adrenal gland disorder), outperforming traditional methods for diagnosis. Reported in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, this detailed imaging technique provides a clearer picture of the adrenal glands, helping doctors decide more confidently whether surgery is the right option for patients. Primary aldosteronism is an endocrine disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands produce too much of the hormone aldosterone, frequently ...

An international team of researchers has uncovered a remarkable genetic phenomenon in lycophytes, which are similar to ferns and among the oldest land plants. Their study, recently published in the journal PNAS, reveals that these plants have maintained a consistent genetic structure for over 350 million years, a significant deviation from the norm in plant genetics. "The exceptionally slow pace of genomic evolution sets these plants apart," said Dr. Fay-Wei Li, a professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute and a senior author of the study. ...

Temperature, day length and humidity have been found to be linked to the increased spread of a diarrhoeal illness a new study from the University of Surrey reveals. The findings could help predict further outbreaks of the illness, potentially leading to better preparedness within health services. During this unique study, researchers led by Dr Giovanni Lo Iacono, investigated the impact of weather on the transmission of campylobacteriosis, a bacterial infection which can cause diarrhoea and stomach pains. According to the World Health Organisation, Campylobacter infections are the most common causes of human bacterial gastroenteritis in the world. Infections are generally ...

Scientists have developed two agents, made of therapeutic nanoparticles and antibodies, that could be given to patients shortly before a blood draw to allow physicians to better detect tumor DNA in blood using a technology called liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsies promise to transform how cancers are diagnosed, monitored, and treated by detecting DNA that tumors shed into the blood. But the body presents a significant challenge. Immune cells in the liver and DNA-degrading enzymes in blood remove circulating tumor DNA from the bloodstream within minutes, making this DNA difficult to capture and detect in a blood test. To overcome this, a team from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard ...

A fungal pathogen, Rosellinia necatrix, that attacks plants, produces antimicrobials to combat the plant-hosted bacteria that would otherwise inhibit its infection success.  #### Article Title: The soil-borne white root rot pathogen Rosellinia necatrix expresses antimicrobial proteins during host colonization Article URL: http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1011866   Author Countries: Germany, Spain, the Netherlands Funding: EACC and DET acknowledge receipt of PhD fellowships from CONACyT, Mexico. ALM is holder of a postdoctoral research fellow funded by the 'Fundación Ramón Areces'. BPHJT ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Tumors constantly shed DNA from dying cells, which briefly circulates in the patient’s bloodstream before it is quickly broken down. Many companies have created blood tests that can pick out this tumor DNA, potentially helping doctors diagnose or monitor cancer or choose a treatment. The amount of tumor DNA circulating at any given time, however, is extremely small, so it has been challenging to develop tests sensitive enough to pick up that tiny signal. A team of researchers from MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has now come up with a way to significantly boost that signal, by temporarily slowing the clearance of tumor DNA circulating in the bloodstream. The ...

Sea otters may be key drivers of changes in California's kelp forests, according to data spanning a century ##### In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Climate: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000290 Article Title: Sea otter recovery buffers century-scale declines in California kelp forests Citation: Nicholson TE, McClenachan L, Tanaka KR, Van Houtan KS (2024) Sea otter recovery buffers century-scale declines in California ...