COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adam Leroy, a professor of astronomy at The Ohio State University, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Henry Draper Medal.  The oldest medal awarded by the National Academy of Sciences, the Henry Draper Medal celebrates those who have made “a recent, original investigation in astronomical physics, of sufficient importance and benefit to science to merit such recognition.” It is awarded every four years. Leroy’s work was selected for pathbreaking efforts that have characterized, “in unprecedented detail, the physical ...

Non-white communities had significantly less access to opioid medications commonly prescribed for moderate to severe pain than white communities over the decade beginning in 2011, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The findings, published Jan. 23 in Pain, stretched across all socioeconomic groups, and suggest that communities of color may be especially vulnerable to the unintended consequences of efforts to reduce unsafe use of opioid analgesics. From 2011 to 2021, prescription opioid use dropped by about 50% ...

The prevalence of diagnosed disorders from recurrent use of sedative, hypnotic and antianxiety medications in adolescents and young adults has increased sharply since 2001, according to Rutgers Health researchers.   Their study, published in Addiction, examined diagnoses of these disorders in adolescents and young adults between 2001 to 2019.   Sedative, hypnotic and antianxiety medications are used to treat a variety of conditions, including sleep and anxiety disorders. According to Harvard Health, consistent use of these drugs can lead to a higher tolerance for their effects, meaning patients require higher doses to achieve the intended effects.   For ...

A recent study by researchers from Peking University demonstrates the potential of nuclear electric resonance to control the nuclear spins of nitrogen atoms in DNA using electric field gradients, thereby achieving artificial intervention to manipulate DNA for computation. Utilizing molecular dynamics simulations, quantum chemical computations and theoretical analyses, the research reveals how electric field gradient orientation patterns vary with DNA bases and nitrogen atom sites, encoding genetic and structural information into the direction of nitrogen nuclear spins. The research was published Dec. 12 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner ...

“It has been postulated that the clinical benefit of adding POM results from enhanced immunocompetency.” BUFFALO, NY - January 23, 2025 – A new editorial was published in Oncoscience’s Volume 12 on January 14, 2025, titled “Pomalidomide improved immune profiles in myeloma." The editorial by researchers Hannah Seah, Vaishnavi Reddy Bade, Lakshmi Bhavani Potluri, Srikanth Talluri, and Rao H. Prabhala from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, VA Boston Healthcare System, and Harvard Medical School, discuss how the drug pomalidomide (POM) can help improve the immune system ...

The PREPSOIL project, a pivotal initiative within the EU's Mission Soil framework, will host an engaging webinar on February 13, 2025, focusing on the importance of soil literacy among young people. The event highlights the vital connection between young citizens and soil health, offering educators innovative ways to integrate soil-related topics into their curriculum. As part of the Mission Soil's eight goals, increasing soil literacy across Member States aims to foster greater awareness, involvement, and proactive behavior toward soil health. By embedding soil health education in school curriculums, the initiative seeks to empower the next generation to take informed ...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2025 – Many science fiction authors try to incorporate scientific principles into their work, but Ian Tregillis, who is a contributing author of the Wild Cards book series when he’s not working as a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, took it one step further: He derived a formula to describe the dynamics of the fictional universe’s viral system. In independent research published in the American Journal of Physics, from AIP Publishing, Tregillis and George R.R. Martin derive a formula for viral behavior in the Wild Cards universe. Wild Cards is a science fiction series written by a collection of authors and ...

The remains of the earliest dinosaurs may lie undiscovered in the Amazon and other equatorial regions of South America and Africa, suggests a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. Currently, the oldest known dinosaur fossils date back about 230 million years and were unearthed further south in places including Brazil, Argentina and Zimbabwe. But the differences between these fossils suggest dinosaurs had already been evolving for some time, pointing to an origin millions of years earlier. The new study, published in the journal Current Biology, accounted for gaps in ...

About The Study: The results of this retrospective cohort study of 44,000 individuals suggest that fasting plasma glucose level, age, body mass index (BMI), and male sex were all associated with development of diabetes, with significant interaction between these variables. These data contribute to understanding the clinical course of diabetes and highlight the substantial individual variation in diabetes risk according to commonly measured clinical variables. The findings facilitate lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions to treat those at highest risk of diabetes to reduce future morbidity and mortality. Further work is needed to validate this risk ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, food insecurity in pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of perinatal complications, and these associations were overall attenuated to the null among individuals who received food assistance in pregnancy. These findings support clinical guidelines of screening for food insecurity in pregnancy and provide evidence to expand food assistance programs that may help improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Rana F. Chehab, PhD (Rana.Chehab@kp.org) and Yeyi ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, in-home cannabis smoking was associated with significantly increased odds of child exposure to cannabis smoke, as assessed by urinary cannabinoid biomarkers. As young children spend most of their time at home, reducing in-home cannabis smoking could substantially reduce their exposure to the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals found in cannabis smoke.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Osika Tripathi, PhD (otripath@health.ucsd.edu) and ...

Researchers have found that a newly developed diet inspired by the eating habits of non-industrialised societies can significantly reduce the risk of a number of chronic diseases – and are to share recipes with the public. Industrialised diets—high in processed foods and low in fiber— have contributed to a substantial rise in chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, in affluent countries such as Ireland. A paper published today in the prestigious scientific journal Cell shows that a newly developed diet that mimics eating habits in non-industrialissed ...

130 years after a fungus-eating plant received its name, a Kobe University researcher has uncovered the purpose of the structure that inspired its name — revealing a novel mechanism by which plants ensure reproduction. MAKINO Tomitaro, a towering figure in Japanese botany, named around 1,000 species and discovered about 600 new plants between 1887 and 1957. Among his notable discoveries was the diminutive orchid Stigmatodactylus sikokianus, first identified in 1889. After Makino’s discovery, the plant was named for the unique, tiny finger-like appendage (the “dactylus” part) on its stigma, the flower’s ...

Genetically tailored treatment plans for children with a type of kidney cancer could help provide the most effective care while minimising side effects as much as possible. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital, the University of Würzburg, and their collaborators, have mapped the genetic differences across children with a type of childhood kidney cancer called Wilms tumour.   In about 30 per cent of children with Wilms tumour, there is an inherited genetic change that increases the risk of developing this cancer. This study, published today (23 January) in Cancer Discovery, ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a new type of optical memory called a programmable photonic latch that is fast and scalable. This fundamental memory unit enables temporary data storage in optical processing systems, offering a high-speed solution for volatile memory using silicon photonics. The new integrated photonic latch is modeled after a set-reset latch, a basic memory device used in electronic devices to store a single bit by switching between set (1) and reset (0) states based on inputs. “While optical communications and computing have seen significant progress over the past decades, data storage has been predominantly implemented using electronic memory,” ...

A case report published in Eurosurveillance on an adult with an imported case of leprosy in Ireland shows that there are notable challenges in tackling the disease in settings where it is rare. The affected individual was one of five individuals with leprosy reported in Ireland in the past decade. The authors report challenges faced in the public health response due to a delayed recognition of the symptoms by healthcare providers, a lack of specific Irish and European guidelines, and contact tracing in a congregate setting. Ahead of World Leprosy Day, this case study highlights ...

Despite South Florida’s reputation as paradise, the reality for many is stark. In the 2023-24 school year, Broward County reported more than 6,027 homeless children. The community also faces challenges like chronic absenteeism, mental health issues, poor nutrition, and limited access to quality early learning programs. These factors perpetuate a cycle of poverty and low educational attainment, hindering social mobility and the path to stronger communities. To help address these issues, Florida Atlantic University has been selected as the recipient of a $21 million multi-year grant from the United States Department of Education Promise Neighborhoods ...

The Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on January 9th to collaborate on key carbon-neutral technologies such as solar energy, hydrogen, and energy storage. The MOU was signed virtually via electronic signatures, with KIER President Chang-Keun Yi and NREL Director Dr. Martin Keller serving as the official signatories. * NREL is a DOE national laboratory focused on the research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, energy system integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL ...

Chicago, January 23, 2025 —JAMA today announces a new cohort of ten academic physicians and nurses selected for the JAMA Editorial Fellowship Program, designed to engage early career clinical or health services researchers with JAMA’s editorial team to learn about editorial decision-making and enhance skills in scientific communication.   Fellows were chosen based on their demonstrated interest in medical publishing, medical education or research, or a career in academic medicine, as well as their communication skills and knowledge of medical research and study design.   The 2025 JAMA editorial fellows are:   Hannah ...

A recent study1 from Purdue University scientists reveals following a consistent dietary pattern that features lean red meat can contribute to gut microbiota balance and support cardiovascular health.  Balanced Diets with Lean Red Meat Support Gut and Heart Health  Researchers in the study assessed the effects of adopting and then intermittently stopping a healthy U.S.-style dietary pattern that included three ounces of lean red meat (beef and pork) daily in healthy young adults, a process called, “dietary pattern cycling.”  The ...

It is a result of his ERC Consolidator Grant-funded project POPCRYSTAL, with which Paolo Falcaro from the Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at TU Graz has now acquired an ERC Proof of Concept Grant (PoC). The new project called FRESCO, which is being funded to the tune of 150,000 euros over a period of 18 months, aims to increase food safety and reduce food waste. This is made possible by a microporous crystalline composite developed as part of the POPCRYSTAL project, which detects toxic chemical compounds that are produced when ...

Marketers today increasingly rely on online platforms like mobile apps, social media, and direct email to deliver promotional content, drawn by their cost-effectiveness and extensive reach. However, despite these advantages, traditional offline promotion, such as printed coupons, might still outperform their digital counterparts in driving consumer behavior.     Offline media are reported to enhance consumers’ ability to recall promotional content and improve their perception of the advertised products. Yet, a direct comparison of how offline and online promotional media affect consumer behavior has remained largely unexplored.   To ...

In the quest for stronger, more resilient buildings and infrastructure, engineers are turning to innovative solutions, such as concrete-filled steel tube columns (CFST) strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). These advanced composite structures combine the robust load-bearing capabilities and strength of CFST columns with the lightweight, corrosion-resistant properties of CFRP. The result is a cutting-edge construction material that not only enhances structural performance but also offers increased durability and reduced maintenance. Given the potential of ...

Climate change is making extreme weather events worse, empowering meteorological phenomena such as storms, hurricanes, heatwaves, and droughts. Against this backdrop, numerical weather predictions (NWPs), which use complex mathematical models that simulate atmospheric conditions, have become critical to protect people and businesses from these events and other weather-borne disasters. Unsurprisingly, NWP models need a massive amount of daily data to make accurate predictions. While some of this data comes from satellite images and ground-based stations, a fine atmospheric vertical structure ...

Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, found in large quantities in soil. While Si is not essential for land plants, many plants, such as rice and grasses, have used Si to develop powerful defense mechanisms against various environmental stresses. Si accumulates in plant leaves and aerial organs as amorphous silica (SiO2), which offers protection against pathogens, herbivores, and environmental challenges like drought. Understanding the processes through which plants manage this beneficial element could enhance crop resilience and productivity, especially in the face of climate change. In a breakthrough study, ...