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 ...

Human augmentation technologies refer to technological aids that enhance human abilities. They include things like exoskeletons, but also augmented reality headsets. A study at the Chair of Human-Centered Ubiquitous Media at LMU has now shown that users have high expectations of the effects of these technologies. As soon as they believe that AI is enhancing their cognitive abilities, they increase their risk-taking. And they do this independently of whether the AI is actually assisting them.   “The hype around AI applications affects the expectations of users. This can lead to riskier behavior,” says Steeven Villa, doctoral researcher ...

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – A teenage fascination with metals has led to a prestigious early-career award for a superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) materials scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.  Shreyas Balachandran has been chosen to receive the ICMC Cryogenic Materials Award for Excellence, presented annually to an individual under 40 who has demonstrated innovation, impact and international recognition for their work in advancing the knowledge of cryogenic materials.  “It’s ...

SAN ANTONIO — May 24, 2023 —Dr. Peter Lee of Southwest Research Institute’s Tribology Research and Evaluations Section has been named a Fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE). An STLE fellowship recognizes society members with significant contributions over 20 years of active practice in the field of tribology and lubrication engineering. These contributions must meet a standard considered by STLE above and beyond those typically expected of a scientist or engineer. Tribology is the study of lubrication, friction ...

Known as the “plant destroyer,” the genus Phytophthora is considered one of the most important groups of plant pathogens—causing significant economic and environmental losses throughout history and into today. There are over 200 identified species in the Phytophthora genus. These pathogens, and those yet to be identified, can spread quickly due to the increasing rate of global trade, e-commerce, and travel. Rapid identification is therefore critical for effective plant disease management. While several international online resources for Phytophthora identification ...

Researchers describe the “generic Air-gen effect”—nearly any material can be engineered with nanopores to harvest, cost effective, scalable, interruption-free electricity AMHERST, Mass. – A team of engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has recently shown that nearly any material can be turned into a device that continuously harvests electricity from humidity in the air. The secret lies in being able to pepper the material with nanopores less than 100 nanometers in diameter. The research appeared in the journal Advanced Materials. “This is very exciting,” ...

Recent technological advances have given us a remarkable ability to manipulate and control light waves, opening up numerous applications in various fields, such as optical communication, sensing, imaging, energy, and quantum computing. At the heart of this progress are photonic structures that can control light waves, either at the chip level in the form of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) or in free space as meta-optics. Combining these structures allows for the creation of compact optical systems. The PICs can be used to make subtle changes to the light wave, ...

BOSTON, March 29, 2023 — The Institute for Protein Innovation (IPI), a nonprofit research organization, announced today a $210 million gift from Tim Springer, Ph.D., veteran entrepreneur and professor at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, who founded IPI in 2017 with Andrew Kruse, Ph.D. The gift will advance protein science and accelerate research to improve human health.  The philanthropic gift—made by Springer, his wife Chafen Lu, Ph.D., and their children—adds ...

DALLAS – Texas scientists will receive $2.5 million in funding to advance their research thanks to a new prize program from Lyda Hill Philanthropies and TAMEST (Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology). The Hill Prizes, funded by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, will accelerate high-risk, high-reward research ideas with significant potential for real-world impact. The Prizes will celebrate top Texas innovators and researchers whose work could significantly impact science and society in five categories: Medicine, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences ...

Berlin and Washington DC, May 24, 2023 – Morressier announced today an integrity suite that will be offered as part of its end-to-end platform, designed to increase the quality of and trust in the outputs of scientific research. Pre-flight checks for authors will flag potential quality issues, check for completeness of submissions, and provide recommendations for improvements in areas such as language. Publishers using the Morressier platform now have access to a powerful suite of automated tools to help them identify integrity issues early and at scale. Plagiarism detection tools in the Morressier platform, for instance, indicate phrases in submissions that may ...