BGI Genomics recently joined a mission business to South America in April 2023. Given that this continent ranks fourth in area and fifth in population worldwide, the economic and healthcare enhancement potential of this continent is compelling.  Every South American country faces different healthcare challenges and priorities. Still, the promise of precision medicine is clear: It offers an opportunity to shift the delivery of care from a legacy one-size-fits-all approach to applying the right treatment for the right patient at the right time. To help deliver on precision medicine's potential, BGI Genomics considers genetic ...

WASHINGTON—In a new Scientific Statement released today, the Endocrine Society identifies areas for future endocrine research to reduce health disparities in pediatric and sexual and gender minoritized populations. This Scientific Statement expands the Society’s 2012 statement by focusing on endocrine disease disparities in the pediatric and sexual and gender minoritized populations. These include pediatric and adult lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) people. The writing group focused on prevalent conditions such as growth disorders, puberty disorders, ...

PULLMAN, Wash. —Short science-backed messages about the health risks of using cannabis while pregnant could be an effective way to discourage the dangerous trend. In a new study published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, researchers at Washington State University found that conveying simple, scientific facts about how THC can harm a fetus was associated with reduced intentions to use cannabis while pregnant. This held true for messaging that was written to a group of women, aged 18-40, in either a narrative, story-based format or a non-narrative, factual-based one.  Additionally, the researchers found that short and simple communications designed to increase media literacy, ...

WILMINGTON, Del. (May 16, 2023) – As part of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (AMP® BGTC), Nemours Children’s Health has been chosen to conduct a first-of-its-kind gene therapy clinical trial for Morquio A syndrome. Nemours Children’s will work collaboratively with the FNIH AMP® BGTC, a public-private partnership between the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), biopharmaceutical and life science companies, and non-profit ...

EMBARGO: 16 May 2023 at 08:00 CEST Paris, France. At EuroPCR 2023, the interventional community paid tribute to Emergency Medical Services throughout the world for their critical role in enabling timely care. International representatives of emergency medical services received the Andreas Grüntzig Ethica Award at the opening ceremony of this year’s Course, further spotlighting the importance of their work in the establishment of networks for the care of STEMI patients. This year, EuroPCR 2023 celebrated 30 years of primary percutaneous coronary ...

Prof. dr. René Medema has an excellent scientific track record. He leads a prominent research group and has an extensive national and international network. He also has more than ten years of executive experience in a position with final responsibility as chairman of the board of the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Medema is very motivated to fulfill the administrative role in the Princess Máxima Center, he says. ‘It’s great to make a substantial contribution to further improving the prospects for ...

UPTON, NY—Hydrogen, the simplest element on Earth, is a clean fuel that could revolutionize the energy industry. Accessing hydrogen, however, is not a simple or clean process at all. Pure hydrogen is extremely rare in nature, and practical methods to produce it currently rely on fossil fuels. But if scientists find the right chemical catalyst, one that can split the hydrogen and oxygen in water molecules apart, pure hydrogen could be produced from renewable energy sources such as solar power. Now, ...

“In the present study, we used multiple complementary approaches to evaluate the possible effects of zoledronic acid on cellular senescence.” BUFFALO, NY- May 15, 2023 – A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 9, entitled, “In vitro and in vivo effects of zoledronic acid on senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype markers.” Zoledronic acid has been found to reduce fracture ...

URBANA, Ill. — From self-driving tractors to weeding robots and AI-powered data collection, automated machinery is revolutionizing agricultural production. While these technological advancements can greatly improve productivity, they also raise new questions about safety measures and regulations. To address these issues, a recent study from the University of Illinois reviewed current academic literature on the safety of automated agricultural machines. Based on a review of more than 60 papers, the researchers identified three ...

1. Experts say it’s not yet time to take off masks in the health care setting Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-1190 URL goes live when the embargo lifts A new commentary from infectious disease experts at George Washington University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) says for patient safety, masking should continue in health care settings. This message conflicts with a recent commentary from authors from 8 U.S. institutions suggesting that the time for universal masking is over. The commentary is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Masking has been a controversial ...

New University of Colorado Boulder research shows the number of farms globally will shrink in half as the size of the average existing farms doubles by the end of the 21st century, posing significant risks to the world’s food systems. Published today in the journal Nature Sustainability, the study is the first to track the number and size of farms year-over-year, from the 1960s and projecting through 2100. The study shows that even rural, farm-dependent communities in Africa and Asia will experience a drop in the number of operating farms. “We see a turning point from widespread farm creation to widespread consolidation on a global level, and that's ...

Drugs approved in the US require “substantial evidence” that they are effective. But an investigation by The BMJ into the recent approval of the antibiotic Recarbrio from Merck suggests that these standards are being bypassed. Peter Doshi, senior editor at The BMJ, describes how US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists had serious doubts about Recarbrio - a product 40 times more expensive than an existing generic alternative - but the agency approved it anyway. Did the FDA break its own rules in approving this antibiotic, and what does this case tell us about problems within the agency, he asks?  Recarbrio is a combination therapy made up ...

Two years of heavy exposure to TCE, a liquid chemical that lingers in the air, water and soil, may increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease by 70%.    Previous research has linked TCE, or trichloroethylene, to certain cancers, but a new study publishing in JAMA Neurology on May 15, 2023, is believed to be the first large-scale study to demonstrate its association with Parkinson’s.      TCE has been used for industrial and commercial purposes for nearly 100 years, and was used ...

Researchers from The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have measured the extent to which a bone fracture can lead to early death, and created a publicly available tool that doctors and patients can use to calculate risk.  The research, ‘Skeletal Age’ for mapping the impact of fracture on mortality has just been published in the prestigious scientific journal, eLife. In the study of more than 1.6 million adults, the scientists found that a bone fracture was associated with a loss of one to ...

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers studying clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), a blood condition that may increase the risk of blood cancer, discovered that obesity was strongly associated with the condition. Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.  CHIP is a condition where blood cells accumulate genetic mutations, increasing the risk of developing blood cancer. Although CHIP is common in aging, the risk factors that contribute to the condition are poorly understood.     “Our study’s results showed being overweight ...

The study is led by Xiaojun Han (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology).   With the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization, environmental problems became increasingly serious. Dye wastewater is considered to be one of the biggest challenges due to its high toxicity. Organic dyes have mutagenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic properties, and threaten the health and life of humans while hindering plant photosynthesis, which brings risks to the ecosystem. Traditional organic pollutant treatment ...

As more people use cannabis for recreational purposes, attitudes towards the drug have changed. For example, research has shown that dispensaries often recommend cannabis – also referred to as marijuana – to pregnant women to ease pregnancy symptoms, especially morning sickness. There is a growing body of literature attesting to poor child outcomes if cannabinoids are consumed during pregnancy. The exact effects on the developing fetus, however, remain unclear. Researchers in the US have now examined how timing of cannabis exposure during pregnancy impacts fetal development. “We show that even when marijuana use occurred only ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY 14 MAY 2023 AT 00:01 CET Severe hot flashes after menopause increase metabolic syndrome risk in women Women who experience more severe hot flashes after menopause are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure, according to research presented at the 25th European Congress of Endocrinology in Istanbul. The findings of this long-term study highlight the importance of using hormone replacement therapy for menopause in these women. Metabolic syndrome is a group of three or more ...

CLEVELAND—Irregularities in the body’s genetic coding to make proteins are linked to cancerous tumors. But most genetic material contains elements whose function isn’t clear. Could abnormalities in non-coding material also impact a person’s health, or even be linked to cancers as well? A new study by researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine suggests that the non-coding genetic molecules also play a key role in health and disease, including tumor development. More specifically, ...

DETROIT (May 15, 2023) – Henry Ford Health Interventional cardiologists William O’Neill, M.D., and Khaldoon Alaswad, M.D., took a page out of the medical history books by performing a new coronary bypass procedure replicated from one not used in decades to treat a patient living with crippling angina ― a severe symptom of coronary artery disease. Retired painting contractor Fred Casciano, 60, from Traverse City, became the first patient anywhere to receive the life-changing transcatheter procedure on April 12 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The procedure was re-engineered from an operation first developed in the 1950s. “This new ...

The more, the better “TomoTwin paves the way for automated identification and localization of proteins directly in their cellular environment, expanding the potential of cryo-ET,” says Gavin Rice, co-first author of the publication. Cryo-ET has the potential to decipher how biomolecules work within a cell and, by that, to unveil the basis of life and the origin of diseases. In a cryo-ET experiment, scientists use a transmission electron microscope to obtain 3D images, called tomograms, of the cellular volume containing complex biomolecules. To gain a more detailed image of ...

A clinical trial of an experimental universal influenza vaccine developed by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC), part of the National Institutes of Health, has begun enrolling volunteers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. This Phase 1 trial will test the experimental vaccine, known as H1ssF-3928 mRNA-LNP, for safety and its ability to induce an immune response. The trial will enroll up to 50 healthy volunteers aged ...

TUCSON, Arizona — University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers are taking the foot off the brake in their quest to improve opioid therapy while decreasing its side effects.  Led by John Streicher, PhD, a Department of Pharmacology associate professor in the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson and a member of the UArizona Health Sciences Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center, the researchers have expanded upon their previous research focused on one specific protein – heat shock protein 90 – and its role in opioid receptor activation and pain relief. Their prior investigations have ...

Dr. Laura Moyer ’99 ’02G ’05 PhD, manager of metallography, light optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction at Lehigh University, has been elected as a Fellow of ASM International, the leading association of engineers and scientists in the field of materials science. The honor recognizes Moyer’s “outstanding leadership and technical contributions to the education of personnel in both manufacturing and academia,” benefitting the field of materials science and engineering. The ...

Researchers have developed a new smaller, lighter design for space-based imaging spectrometers with high spectral resolution. These high-dispersion imaging spectrometers could be used onboard spacecraft or satellites to study the Earth’s atmosphere or the atmospheres of other planets. James P. McGuire, Jr. from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will present the new research at the Optica Design and Fabrication Conference, which will take place 04 – 08 June 2023 in Quebec City, Canada.  “This spectrometer provides the same measurement capabilities as conventional designs, but at one tenth the ...