Skin-to-skin contact between parent and infant during the first hours after a very premature birth helps develop the child's social skills. This is according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and others. The study also shows that fathers may play a more important role than previous research has shown. In current practice, very premature babies are usually placed in an incubator to keep them warm and to stabilize them during the first hours after birth. In the “Immediate parent-infant skin-to-skin study” (IPISTOSS), 91 premature babies born at 28 to 33 weeks were randomized to either ...

Plants regulate their development with a distinct group of molecular players. ROP proteins, a group of plant-specific proteins, are known to control plant tissue formation. Now, Hugh Mulvey and Liam Dolan at the GMI show that ROP proteins evolved at the transition between unicellular and multicellular plant life. The findings are published on November 30 in the journal Current Biology.   Being non-mobile, plants follow a very different lifestyle from us animals. To grow and develop, plants also need a distinct ...

In a study with 22 pairs of identical twins, Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues have found that a vegan diet improves cardiovascular health in as little as eight weeks. Although it’s well-known that eating less meat improves cardiovascular health, diet studies are often hampered by factors such as genetic differences, upbringing and lifestyle choices. By studying identical twins, however, the researchers were able to control for genetics and limit the other factors, as the twins grew up in the same households ...

MIT geologists have found that a clay mineral on the seafloor, called smectite, has a surprisingly powerful ability to sequester carbon over millions of years.  Under a microscope, a single grain of the clay resembles the folds of an accordion. These folds are known to be effective traps for organic carbon.  Now, the MIT team has shown that the carbon-trapping clays are a product of plate tectonics: When oceanic crust crushes against a continental plate, it can bring rocks to the surface that, over ...

About The Study: In this study of 3 million U.S. adults, anxiety and depression were significantly higher among adults ages 18 to 39 compared with adults age 40 and older during the COVID-19 pandemic. Less favorable economic conditions and responses to social upheaval may have contributed to young adults’ worse mental well-being. These findings suggest a need for greater mental health care and economic policies targeted toward younger adults.  Authors: Sarah Collier Villaume, Ph.D., of Northwestern University in Evanston, ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that structural racism must be considered as a fundamental contributor to the unequal distribution of lung cancer risk factors and thus disparate lung cancer risk across different racial and ethnic groups. Additional research is needed to better identify mechanisms contributing to inequitable lung cancer risk and tailor preventive interventions.  Authors: Sidra N. Bonner, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

A new analysis of the brain activity of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the first to reveal that traumatic memories are represented in the brain in an entirely different way than sad autobiographical memories. This finding supports the notion that traumatic memories in PTSD are an alternate cognitive entity that deviates from regular memory, and may provide a biological explanation for why the recall of traumatic memories often displays as intrusions that differ profoundly from “regular” negative memories for patients with PTSD. The study, ...

New Haven, Conn. — It is well known that people who have lived through traumatic events like sexual assault, domestic abuse, or violent combat can experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including terrifying flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the incident. But what exactly happens in the brains of PTSD patients as they recall these traumatic events? Are they remembered the same way as, say, the loss of a beloved pet — or, for that matter, a relaxing walk on the beach? A new study co-led by Yale researchers finds that the brain activity triggered by recollections of traumatic experiences ...

New study tackles the mystery of why bacteria often carry diverse ranges of weapons. The findings show that different weapons are best suited to different competition scenarios. Short-range weapons help bacteria to invade established communities; long-range weapons are useful once established. A new study led by the University of Oxford has shed light on why certain species of bacteria carry astonishing arsenals of weapons. The findings, published today in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, could help us to engineer microbes that can destroy deadly pathogens, reducing our reliance on antibiotics. Many species of bacteria possess ...

SAN FRANCISCO—November 30, 2023—When women with diabetes become pregnant, they face not only the typical challenges of pregnancy and impending parenthood, but also a scary statistic: they’re five times more likely to have a baby with a congenital heart defect. Researchers at Gladstone Institutes have now discovered why that is, identifying the cells and molecules that go awry in the developing hearts of fetuses in women with diabetes. They found that a small subset of cells destined to become part of the heart’s aorta and pulmonary artery have unusually high levels of retinoic acid activity, which coaxes them to behave more like cells found ...

Efficiently meeting the growing demand for public services in metropolitan areas has long been a persistent challenge. A research team at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a novel performance evaluation method, which marks a major breakthrough in tackling a century-old problem of evaluating blocking probabilities in queueing systems with overflow, providing ways to allocate limited resources better. With the remarkable advances in computational efficiency and accuracy, the method has great potential to optimise the performance of numerous telecommunication networks and even medical care systems, ultimately enhancing ...

COSPAR and the Erasmus+ Education Programme COSPAR’s participation in Erasmus+ programmes is part of the COSPAR Panel on Education’s new approach to its mission of developing “means and media to encourage and spread space-related education”. The StudenTs As plaNetary Defenders (StAnD) project aims to engage primary and secondary school students in the subject of asteroids, meteors, and planetary defence. The 36-month StudenTs As plaNetary Defenders (StAnD) programme brings asteroids, comets, meteors and meteorites to the classroom using carefully prepared activities and experiments. The programme includes the installation of meteor detection cameras in participating ...

Basic oxide catalysts contain oxygen ions with unpaired electrons that can be shared with other species to facilitate a chemical reaction. These catalysts are widely used in the synthesis of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and petrochemicals. There have been efforts to improve the catalytic power of these catalysts by improving their basicity or the ability to donate electrons or accept hydrogen ions. Various strategies include doping the catalyst with highly electronegative cations such as alkali metals, substituting oxide ions ...

New research on tree reproduction is helping solve a puzzle that has stumped tree scientists for decades. Many tree species exhibit a reproductive phenomenon known as “masting”, where individual trees have very low seed production in most years followed by a sudden burst of seed production that is synchronized over large parts of its range. The reason for this coordinated reproduction within a species is unclear.  A new study by scientists at The Jones Center at Ichauway and the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station showed ...

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered how Lactobacillus, a bacterium found in fermented foods and yogurt, helps the body manage stress and may help prevent depression and anxiety. The findings open the door to new therapies to treat anxiety, depression and other mental-health conditions. The new research from UVA’s Alban Gaultier, Ph.D., and collaborators is notable because it pinpoints the role of Lactobacillus, separating it out from all the other microorganisms that naturally live in and on our bodies. These organisms are collectively known as the microbiota, and scientists have increasingly ...

Annapolis, MD; November 30, 2023—Hung from a common utility pole, a fiber optic cable—the kind bringing high-speed internet to more and more American households—can be turned into a sensor to detect temperature changes, vibrations, and even sound, through an emerging technology called distributed fiber optic sensing. However, as NEC Labs America photonics researcher Sarper Ozharar, Ph.D., explains, acoustic sensing in fiber optic cables "is limited to only nearby sound sources or very loud events, such as emergency vehicles, car alarms, or cicada emergences." Cicadas? Indeed, periodical cicadas—the ...

BATON ROUGE – Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have received $13.8 million for five years of research funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to study the ideal “dose” of behavioral interventions to treat childhood obesity in rural and minority communities across Louisiana and Tennessee. Pennington Biomedical’s Amanda Staiano and Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Bill Heerman are co-principal investigators on the randomized, multisite trial. Despite ongoing efforts, childhood obesity rates have continued to increase over the ...

“Dripstones, or speleothems, are unique natural archives - like Earth’s USB sticks. They store a wealth of information on past climate which helps us to better understand the environment in which early humans lived”, Jenny Maccali explains. She is a scientist at SapienCE Centre of Excellence, and has has lead the study, now published in Climate of the Past. New perspective to ancient climate South Africa has a highly dynamic climate resulting from its position at the convergence of two oceanic basins, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. ...

There is an ever-present struggle to reduce carbon-based energy sources and replace them with low or no-carbon alternatives. The process of splitting water could be the resolution.   Hydrogen production is a simple, safe, and effective method to produce more energy than gasoline can by the simple process of splitting water. Harvesting energy this way as opposed to relying heavily (or at all) on carbon-based energy sources is increasingly becoming the standard. Researchers have found a method to use transition metal ...

A paper describing the distributed cooperative control problem with the heterogeneous model structures and external disturbances for the connected vehicle (CV) platoon was published in the journal Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation on November 25th, 2022.   In recent decades, the cooperative control problems of CV platoon on highways have attracted widespread interest for their significant impact on road transportation. The platoon control of CV has the advantages of improving the safety of highways, increasing the ...

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA & PLYMOUTH MEETING, UNITED STATES [November 30, 2023] — Today the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology (SLACOM) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) host the Latin American Regional Breast Cancer Summit: Advocating and Implementing Guideline-Concordant Cancer Care for Patients. Esteemed experts from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Peru, and the United States will present challenges, barriers, and potential solutions for improving access to guideline-concordant breast cancer care in the Latin American region. The regional summit provides an opportunity for a diverse group ...

In a major advancement in medical technology, researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation have developed an adhesive gel, offering a revolutionary treatment for gastrointestinal leaks, a condition clinically known as enterocutaneous fistulas. This development marks a significant milestone in addressing a challenging medical condition that has long plagued patients and clinicians.   Enterocutaneous fistulas, which are abnormal connections between the gastrointestinal tract and the skin, are primarily a ...

Results of a new meta-analysis in shows that intravenous fluid (IV) therapy using balanced solutions rather than commonly used saline can reduce the risk of in-hospital death of critically ill patients by four percent. Findings from the BEST-Living Study were presented today at the Critical Care Canada Forum (CCCF 2023) and simultaneously published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Prof Simon Finfer AO, an Intensive Care physician, Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, and Adjunct Professor, UNSW Sydney - who was the senior author on the paper - said the results supported the important ...

As the holiday season approaches, many home kitchens will produce the mouthwatering smells of fresh-baked goods and comfort food. From macadamia nut cookies and pecan pies to turkey stuffing, nuts feature heavily in seasonal pastries and dishes. Below are some recent papers published in ACS journals that report new insights into popular tree nuts. Reporters can request free access to these papers by emailing newsroom@acs.org. “Bulk and Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Analysis for the Authentication of Walnuts (Juglans regia) ...

A new study published in the journal eGastroenterology provides an updated assessment of the diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment of hepatorenal syndrome-acute kidney injury (HRS-AKI). This severe and often fatal condition can occur in patients with cirrhosis. HRS-AKI is a functional and progressive kidney failure that is potentially reversible but most often rapidly fatal. It accounts for 11%–20% of all AKI episodes in patients with cirrhosis, and its diagnosis is often challenging to differentiate from prerenal or acute tubular necrosis (ATN). The study, led by Jorge Arnold, found that early recognition of HRS-AKI is crucial for standard pharmacological treatment with terlipressin ...