PHILADELPHIA – The federal health system for reporting “adverse events” after vaccination, known as VAERS, is designed to assist in the early detection of complications and responsive action. But when the pandemic and advent of new vaccines for Covid-19 turned a spotlight on this formerly little-known system, the flood of web and social media references to it was accompanied by confusion about what the system is and what the reports in it signify. A new report from the Annenberg Public Policy Center examines misconceptions about the government’s Vaccine Adverse ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA — In computer graphics and computer-aided design (CAD), 3D objects are often represented by the contours of their outer surfaces. Computers store these shapes as “thin shells,” which model the contours of the skin of an animated character but not the flesh underneath. This modeling decision makes it efficient to store and manipulate 3D shapes, but it can lead to unexpected artifacts. An animated character’s hand, for example, might crumple when bending its fingers — a motion that resembles how an empty rubber glove deforms rather than the motion of a hand filled with bones, tendons, ...

Atlanta (May 24, 2023) - Chemical Insights Research Institute (CIRI) of UL Research Institutes and the Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA), announce the publication of, “UL 200B: Guidance Document for Safe Use of 3D Printing for Institutions of Higher Education.” The availability of 3D printing has fostered creative and innovative learning experiences for many within the large population of students in higher education. There are roughly 17.3 million undergraduates in the U.S. alone. Because 3D printers are affordable compact, and user friendly, they can ...

(Memphis, Tenn.—May 24, 2023) When a cell divides, it retains information about how to grow and instructions about what type of cell to become. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have gained a new understanding of how these processes can work, revealing a previously unappreciated role for the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. The study was published today in Nature. When a cell undergoes differentiation, stem cells (the earliest cells that develop) undergo changes that transform them into a different type of cell, typically one with a more specialized function (such as a skin or muscle cell). As ...

– By Rachel Berkowitz Designing the next generation of efficient energy conversion devices for powering our electronics and heating our homes requires a detailed understanding of how molecules move and vibrate while undergoing light-induced chemical reactions. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have now visualized the distortions of chemical bonds in a methane molecule after it absorbs light, loses an electron, and then relaxes. Their study provides insights into how molecules react to light, which can ultimately be useful for developing new methods ...

PHILADELPHIA (May 24, 2023) – The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is pleased to announce that ten teams from health systems around the country have been selected for the Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship Program (JJNIF), powered by Penn Nursing and the Wharton School–a ground-breaking, one-year, team-based nursing fellowship for Chief Nursing Officers, nurse executives, and senior nurse leaders. The fellowship is unique in that two nurse leaders – one Chief Nursing Officer or nurse executive and one other senior ...

Washington, DC (May 24) – Tambourine, in partnership with the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, today announced the ALS Breakthrough Research Fund and released the Fund’s first Request for Proposals (RFP). The Fund seeks to change how we understand and treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by supporting innovative basic and discovery-focused research around the world. It particularly focuses on soliciting and funding creative, high-risk, high-reward ideas that might not otherwise fit existing grant programs but hold the potential to ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments include a new treatment option for relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma, a better understanding of protein variants that trigger tumor cell death and activate ...

Few effective strategies have been shown in randomized clinical trials to improve memory or slow cognitive decline among older adults. Nutritional interventions may play an important role because the brain requires several nutrients for optimal health, and deficiencies in one or more of these nutrients may accelerate cognitive decline. The COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), a large-scale nation-wide randomized trial directed by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham, included two separate clinical trials ...

Research led by UCL, in partnership with the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) and AstraZeneca, has identified a new compound that can stimulate nerve regeneration after injury, as well as protect cardiac tissue from the sort of damage seen in heart attack. The study, published in Nature, identified a chemical compound, named ‘1938’, that activates the PI3K signalling pathway, and is involved in cell growth. Results from this early research showed the compound increased neuron growth in nerve cells, and in animal models, it reduced heart tissue damage after major trauma and regenerated lost motor function in a model of nerve injury. Though further research is ...

A new analysis led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) at the University of Florida found a 349 percent rise in seizures of illicit ketamine by drug enforcement throughout the United States from 2017 through 2022. The study findings suggest that rising use of ketamine, a short-acting dissociative anesthetic commonly prescribed off-label to treat chronic pain and depression, can increase the likelihood that people who use recreationally or who use inadvertently may encounter an adulterated and potentially harmful version of the drug. The study publishes online May 24 in JAMA Psychiatry. “This ...

About The Study: In this Danish nationwide cohort study, overall risk of new-onset mental disorders in SARS-CoV-2–positive individuals did not exceed the risk among individuals with negative test results (except for those age 70 and older). However, when hospitalized, patients with COVID-19 had markedly increased risk compared with the general population, but comparable to risk among patients hospitalized for non–COVID-19 infections. Future studies should include even longer follow-up time and preferentially ...

About The Study: In this study including 5,813 youths ages 10 to 19 who died of an assault-related firearm injury, socially vulnerable communities in the U.S. experienced a disproportionate number of assault-related firearm deaths among youths. Although stricter gun laws were associated with lower death rates in all communities, these gun laws did not equalize the consequences on a relative scale, and disadvantaged communities remained disproportionately impacted. While legislation is necessary, it may not be sufficient to solve the problem of assault-related firearm deaths among children and adolescents.  Authors: Deepika Nehra, M.D., of the University ...

About The Study: This study of 6.6 million individuals in Demark found that cannabis use disorder was associated with an increased risk of psychotic and nonpsychotic bipolar disorder and unipolar depression. These findings may inform policies regarding the legal status and control of cannabis use. Authors: Oskar Hougaard Jefsen, M.D., of Aarhus University Hospital–Psychiatry in Aarhus, Denmark, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.1256) Editor’s ...

“Cold atomic gases were well known in the past for the ability to ‘program’ the interactions between atoms,” says Professor Jean-Philippe Brantut at EPFL. “Our experiment doubles this ability!” Working with the group of Professor Helmut Ritsch at the University of Innsbruck, they have made a breakthrough that can impact not only quantum research but quantum-based technologies in the future. Density waves Scientists have long been interested in understanding how materials self-organize into complex structures, such as crystals. In the often-arcane world of quantum physics, ...

Bipolar disorder underlies roughly five percent of all suicides among young people. Previous studies also show that there is often a long delay between the onset of bipolarism and its correct diagnosis and treatment. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now show that fewer boys commit suicide in Swedish regions where bipolar diagnoses are more common. The study, which is published in JAMA Psychiatry, could contribute to more proactive care for reducing the number of suicides. “Bipolar disorder is often more distressing for people who develop it early in life and is one of the psychiatric disorders most associated with suicide risk,” says ...

In a ground-breaking experiment, scientists from the University of Groningen, together with colleagues from the Dutch universities of Nijmegen and Twente and the Harbin Institute of Technology (China), have discovered the existence of a superconductive state that was first predicted in 2017. They present evidence for a special variant of the FFLO superconductive state on 24 May in the journal Nature. This discovery could have significant applications, particularly in the field of superconducting electronics. The lead author of the paper is Professor Justin Ye, who heads the Device Physics of Complex Materials group at the University of Groningen. Ye and his team have ...

For Immediate Release Contact:  Mark Couch, 303-724-5377, mark.couch@cuanschutz.edu   Where Do Our Limbs Come From?             AURORA, Colo. (May 24, 2023) – An international collaboration that includes scientists from the University of Colorado School of Medicine has uncovered new clues about the origin of paired appendages – a major evolutionary step that remains unresolved and highly debated. The researchers describe their study in an article published today in the journal Nature. “This has become ...

Which kind of resistance training promotes more muscle growth: low load with many repetitions or high load with fewer repetitions? According to a study conducted at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo state, Brazil, it makes no difference.  The study lasted eight weeks and involved 18 volunteers in two different training protocols. One group performed high-load (HL) exercises with fewer repetitions, while the other did low-load (LL) exercises with more repetitions. Muscle mass was measured in the first and last exercise sessions. A comparison of the two groups did not show any difference in muscle growth or metabolic stress, measured in an ...

While some patients recover from the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, others have experienced the aftereffects of COVID-19 long after the initial infection. One of these long COVID symptoms is reduced exercise capacity. But questions remain about the mechanisms underlying why some COVID patients continue to experience diminished exercise capacity while others recover without this condition. In a study recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a team of researchers from UC San Francisco found that lower than expected exercise capacity was common ...

Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have used artificial intelligence models and machine-learning algorithms to successfully predict which components of amino acids that make up therapeutic proteins are most likely to safely deliver therapeutic drugs to animal eye cells.   The project, a collaboration with researchers from the University of Maryland, holds promise for advancing new and more tolerable drug treatments for common chronic blinding eye diseases, including glaucoma and macular degeneration, which affect 3 million and about 20 million people in the United States, respectively. Current drug therapies ...

Impaired function of lung fibroblast is considered causative for symptoms of the incurable lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Using high-resolution epigenetic profiling, German and British scientists have now identified potential targets for COPD treatment. The team detected early epigenetic changes in the genome of COPD fibroblasts, providing new insights into the disease pathogenesis and potential therapeutic avenues. COPD, affecting approximately 600 million people globally, is characterized by chronic inflammation, progressive airway narrowing, and alveolar destruction. Despite its global prevalence, ...

Philadelphia, May 24, 2023 – Repeatedly heading a soccer ball has been previously associated with negative long-term brain health for professional players. However, in a new study from researchers at the Minds Matter Concussion Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), a small number of repeated soccer headers equivalent to a throw-in did not cause immediate neurophysiological deficits for teens, suggesting that limited soccer heading exposure in youth sports may not result in irreversible harm if players are properly trained. The ...

Amsterdam, May 24, 2023 – In a noteworthy case study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease investigators report autopsy findings in a 65-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who received three open label infusions of the experimental anti-amyloid beta (Aβ) antibody drug lecanemab. Four days after the last infusion, she experienced stroke symptoms and died several days later due to multifocal intracerebral hemorrhage despite attempts at therapeutic intervention. Neuropathologic findings reflected ...

Researchers from City, University of London, in collaboration with the University of Surrey, De Montfort University, Universities UK (UUK) and the National Centre (NatCen) for Social Research have conducted the first pilot study into students’ experiences of all forms of violence and victimisation at UK universities. The Violence at University project, led by Dr Carrie-Anne Myers, Reader in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City, aimed to investigate whether an effective tool could be developed for tracking when, where and how incidents take place. Tackling violence and harassment has been high on universities’ agenda for several years. Hate crime has ...