A new study from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University published in the journal Microbiome has found changes in the microbiome in multiple locations in the body are linked to the formation of kidney stones. The human microbiome comprises trillions of microorganisms, including healthy bacteria. In recent years, research has begun to uncover its role in health and numerous diseases. The research team examined the gut, urinary and salivary microbiomes in 83 patients who had kidney stones ...

Brine shrimp of the genus Artemia are small crustaceans that can thrive in environments where sodium concentrations are as high as 25% (more than eight times typical ocean sea water). Also known by the household pet trademark ‘sea monkeys,’ these animals are abundant in inland salt lakes where brine-fly larvae are the only other animals known to exist. The mechanisms which permit brine shrimp to tolerate some of the harshest environments are only partially understood. Previously known adaptive features include a tight protective layer (integument) to avoid water loss and the increased extrusion of sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions ...

Quality of life for people with dementia living in residential and nursing home care substantially improved after staff took part in a digital training programme that was specially adapted to Covid-19 restrictions. The training also led to a significant drop in the prescription of potentially harmful sedative medications to residents. The iWHELD programme supported care home staff in delivering personalised care and encouraging meaningful social interactions. Through a digital platform featuring live coaching sessions led by trained coaches, the programme supported ...

UC Riverside scientists have discovered a stealth molecular weapon that plants use to attack the cells of invading gray mold.  If you’ve ever seen a fuzzy piece of fruit in your fridge, you’ve seen gray mold. It is an aggressive fungus that infects more than 1,400 different plant species: almost all fruits, vegetables, and many flowers. It is the second most damaging fungus for food crops in the world, causing billions in annual crop losses. A new paper in the journal Cell Host & Microbe describes how plants send tiny, innocuous-seeming lipid “bubbles” filled with RNA across enemy lines, into the cells of the aggressive mold. Once ...

People who received gentle electric currents on the back of their heads learned to maneuver a robotic surgery tool in virtual reality and then in a real setting much more easily than people who didn’t receive those nudges, a new study shows. The findings offer the first glimpse of how stimulating a specific part of the brain called the cerebellum could help health care professionals take what they learn in virtual reality to real operating rooms, a much-needed transition in a field that increasingly relies on digital simulation training, said author and Johns Hopkins University roboticist Jeremy ...

A team of scientists from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed a groundbreaking statistical technique, “BridgePRS,” to enhance disease prediction in people of non-European ancestry, particularly those of African descent. This development represents a substantial step towards reducing health care inequities and a future of more personalized and precise medical interventions based on genetic information. Details of their work were published in Nature Genetics on Wednesday, December 20. Current polygenic risk scores (PRS), essential tools for predicting disease risk encoded in our ...

A groundbreaking new technique invented by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science may revolutionize the field of synthetic biology. Known as CReATiNG (Cloning Reprogramming and Assembling Tiled Natural Genomic DNA), the method offers a simpler and more cost-effective approach to constructing synthetic chromosomes. It could significantly advance genetic engineering and enable a wide range of advances in medicine, biotechnology, biofuel production and even space exploration. CReATiNG works by cloning and reassembling natural DNA segments from yeast, allowing scientists to create synthetic chromosomes that can replace their native counterparts in cells. ...

IOP Publishing (IOPP) has secured its first ‘Read and Publish’ transformative agreement in Taiwan, demonstrating its dedication to expanding open access (OA) to research in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and at scale globally.  The three-year transformative agreement with the Physics Research Promotion Centre, which is part of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), will enable 20 Taiwanese universities to offer their researchers unlimited OA publishing at no cost to them. The agreement will also allow authors to retain copyright ...

Adjuvant therapies to help infertile women conceive by IVF - especially those whose treatments have been unsuccessful in the past - are now a common feature both before and during the treatment cycle. Now, a new analysis of the evidence for many nutritional supplements and diets thought to improve outcome in IVF has concluded that adopting a Mediterranean diet during treatment would offer a single ‘straightforward approach’ with good evidence of benefit in contrast to that of a Western diet. Evidence from studies of nine commonly used nutritional supplements was found to be inconsistent and not always of good quality. The analysis, by Professor Roger ...

A review in the Journal of Internal Medicine explores the potential of non-invasive interventions such as light, sound, and magnets to stimulate gamma brain waves for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Such strategies may be beneficial because Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by reduced fast brain oscillations in the gamma range (30–100 Hz). The authors note that recent studies reveal that it is feasible and safe to induce 40 Hz brain activity in patients with Alzheimer’s disease through a range of methods. Also, preliminary evidence suggests that such treatment can yield beneficial ...

The inability to burp—called retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction (R-CPD)—is caused by failure of the throat’s cricopharyngeal muscle to relax to allow the outward passage of gas. An interview-based study in Neurogastroenterology & Motility that included 199 adults affected by the condition reveals the impact of R-CPD on quality of life. Most participants reported abdominal bloating, socially awkward gurgling noises, excessive flatulence, and difficulty vomiting. Only half discussed their symptoms with their primary care clinician, and 90% felt they did not receive ...

Women who lost a parent early in life may be more likely to experience separation anxiety with romantic partners during adulthood, according to a study published in Stress and Health. In addition to feeling distressed when separated from their partners, these women may also experience anxious attachment, or worry that significant others will not be available at times of need. The study included 60 women who lost one or both parents in their youth and 60 who had living parents. Based on participants’ answers to questionnaires, women who lost a parent reported higher levels of anxious attachment and adult separation anxiety ...

New research indicates that higher doses of topical corticosteroids, which are commonly used to treat inflammatory skin conditions, are linked with elevated risks of osteoporosis and bone fractures associated with osteoporosis. The findings are published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology and are based on information from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Investigators selected 129,682 osteoporosis cases and 34,999 major osteoporotic fracture (MOF) cases and matched them with 518,728 and 139,996 controls (without osteoporosis or MOF) ...

Researchers have developed an augmented reality head-up display that could improve road safety by displaying potential hazards as high-resolution three-dimensional holograms directly in a driver’s field of vision in real time. Current head-up display systems are limited to two-dimensional projections onto the windscreen of a vehicle, but researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College London (UCL) developed a system using 3D laser scanner and LiDAR data to create a fully 3D representation of London streets. The system ...

If we don’t take out the trash regularly, our homes become unpleasant and even a danger to our health. The same applies to our cells: If excess proteins and strands of genetic material aren’t removed, the cell and ultimately the entire organism can fall ill. For instance, scientists suspect there is a connection between Alzheimer’s and mutations that cause defects in cellular garbage removal. What’s more, tests with mice have shown that suppressing the breakdown of DNA and RNA can trigger serious autoimmune diseases. But concrete evidence is missing: “There’s a lot of research showing how genetic information in the ...

High-frequency terahertz waves have great potential for a number of applications including next-generation medical imaging and communication. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have shown, in a study published in the journal Advanced Science, that the transmission of terahertz light through an aerogel made of cellulose and a conducting polymer can be tuned. This is an important step to unlock more applications for terahertz waves. The terahertz range covers wavelengths that lie between microwaves and infrared light on the electromagnetic spectrum. It has a very high frequency. Thanks to this, many researchers ...

Worldwide, more than one billion people are obese. Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers. But permanently losing weight isn’t easy: complex interactions between body systems such as gut physiology, hormones, and the brain are known to work against it. One method for weight loss is intermittent energy restriction (IER), where days of relative fasting alternate with days of eating normally. “Here we show that an IER diet changes the human brain-gut-microbiome axis. The ...

Recent controversy has surrounded the concept of loot boxes – the purchasable video game features that offer randomised rewards but are not governed by gambling laws.   Now research led by the University of Plymouth has shown that at-risk individuals, such as those with known gaming and gambling problems, are more likely to engage with loot boxes than those without. The study is one of the largest, most complex and robustly designed surveys yet conducted on loot boxes, and has prompted experts to reiterate the call for stricter enforcement around them. ...

New research into large language models shows that they repeat conspiracy theories, harmful stereotypes, and other forms of misinformation.  In a recent study, researchers at the University of Waterloo systematically tested an early version of ChatGPT’s understanding of statements in six categories: facts, conspiracies, controversies, misconceptions, stereotypes, and fiction. This was part of Waterloo researchers’ efforts to investigate human-technology interactions and explore how to mitigate risks. They discovered that GPT-3 frequently made mistakes, contradicted ...

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have used artificial intelligence to discover a new method for understanding small defects called dislocations in polycrystalline materials, materials widely used in information equipment, solar cells, and electronic devices, that can reduce the efficiency of such devices. The findings were published in the journal Advanced Materials.    Almost every device that we use in our modern lives has a polycrystal component. From your smartphone to your computer to the metals and ceramics in your car. Despite this, polycrystalline materials are tough to utilize because of their complex structures. Along with their composition, the performance ...

The Asian Fund for Cancer Research (AFCR) is thrilled to unveil its fresh brand logo and slogan, marking a pivotal moment in the organization's quest to advance breakthroughs in cancer globally. The redesigned emblem and impactful slogan firmly establish AFCR as a prominent voice in the ongoing battle against cancer, extending its influence beyond Asia. "Advancing Cancer Breakthroughs from Asia to the World" This compelling slogan powerfully encapsulates AFCR's unwavering commitment to drive innovation and foster collaboration in cancer research ...

A 12-week course of daily beetroot juice supplement for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lowered blood pressure and improved how far patients could walk in six minutes in research published today (Wednesday) in the European Respiratory Journal [1]. COPD is a serious lung condition affecting around 400 million people worldwide [2]. COPD which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, causes breathing difficulties and severely limits people’s capacity for physical activity. It also increases the risk ...

Blood fat-lowering statins could slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, at least for some patients. This is the result of a new study led by Karolinska Institutet published in Alzheimer Research and Therapy. But the researchers are cautious in their interpretations and see the results as a first step in a research journey that may eventually provide the answer. A new study shows that people with Alzheimer's dementia deteriorated more slowly in their cognitive functions if they were also treated with a lipid-lowering ...

The use of potentially harmful ‘trip-killers’ to cut short ‘bad drug trips’ after taking psychedelics, such as LSD or magic mushrooms, is an emerging concern, warn doctors in a research letter, published online in Emergency Medicine Journal. Their analysis of relevant threads on the social media platform Reddit, shows that drugs such as benzodiazepines (sedatives) and antipsychotics are the options most frequently recommended, but warnings about their potential side effects are rarely included, they highlight. The intensity of a psychedelic drug trip can cause distress, agitation, ...

There are three potentially unique acoustic features of healing music that transcend musical genres, suggests research published in the open access journal General Psychiatry. The findings might help to personalise playlists for patients, using artificial intelligence to analyse individual physiological and psychological responses, and help to evaluate the effectiveness of existing music therapies, suggest the researchers. Despite evidence of the therapeutic effects of music for mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder, there’s no consensus on what defines healing ...