Using artificial intelligence technology and mathematical modeling, a research group led by Nagoya University has revealed that human behavior, such as lockdowns and isolation measures, affect the evolution of new strains of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, developed to become more transmissible earlier in its lifecycle. The researcher’s findings, published in Nature Communications, provide new insights into the relationship between how people behave and disease-causing agents.    As with any other living organism, viruses evolve over time. Those with survival advantages become dominant in the gene pool. Many environmental factors ...

Babies as young as four months old can make sense of how their bodies interact with the space around them, according to new research from the University of Birmingham. The findings, published today (21 November 2023) in Scientific Reports, shed new light on how self-awareness develops. Experts from the Birmingham BabyLab showed babies a ball on a screen moving towards or away from them. When the ball was closest to them on the screen, the babies were presented with a ‘touch’ (a small vibration) on their hands, whilst their brain activity was being measured. The data collection for the study was conducted at Goldsmiths (University of London). The researchers ...

Ten newly discovered species of trilobites, hidden for 490 million years in a little-studied part of Thailand, could be the missing pieces in an intricate puzzle of ancient world geography. Trilobites are extinct sea creatures with half-moon-shaped heads that breathed through their legs. A 100-page monograph in the British journal offers great detail about the new species, including one named in honor of Thai Royal Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The trilobite fossils were trapped between layers of petrified ash in sandstone, ...

ROCKVILLE, Md.—Even though it’s known that people who have a higher genetic risk for obesity generally have a higher body mass index (BMI), researchers have unveiled a new methodological approach to find out why some individuals are more susceptible to weight gain than others for reasons not related to their genetic liability to obesity, according to a study published in Obesity, The Obesity Society’s (TOS) flagship journal. The study is the first of its kind to determine in a pair of twins with large intrapair BMI differences whom of the co-twins had acquired a BMI that deviated from their genetically-informed BMI. “This novel approach opens doors ...

Sophia Antipolis – 21 November 2023:  The first clinical trial to challenge the routine implantation of a defibrillator in myocardial infarction survivors with heart failure has enrolled its first patient. The PROFID EHRA trial is part of the EU-funded PROFID project, which aims to personalise the prevention of sudden cardiac death after myocardial infarction and involves a consortium of 21 multidisciplinary partners including the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Sudden cardiac death is a major public health problem ...

The burden of heat-related mortality during the summer of 2022 in Europe may have exceeded 70,000 deaths according to a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a research centre supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation. The authors of the study, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, revised upwards initial estimates of the mortality associated with record temperatures in 2022 on the European continent. In an earlier study, published in Nature Medicine, the same team used epidemiological models applied to weekly temperature and mortality data in 823 regions in 35 European countries and estimated the number ...

Donor doping into a mother material with disordered intrinsic oxygen vacancies, instead of the widely used strategy of acceptor doping into a material without oxygen vacancies, can greatly enhance the conductivity and stability of perovskite-type proton conductors at intermediate and low temperatures of 250–400 °C, as demonstrated by Tokyo Tech scientists (e.g. 10 mS/cm at 320 °C). This innovative approach provides a new design direction for proton conductors for fuel cells and electrolysis cells. Many countries in the world are pushing for the development ...

Saying "I'm sorry," especially in the workplace, can be tricky terrain. Delivering an effective apology can help resolve conflicts, restore trust and promote collaboration among coworkers. But what works best? A research team including a University of Arizona faculty member says that to make your next apology more effective, use language that goes against gender stereotypes. Sarah Doyle, associate professor in the Department of Management and Organizations in the Eller College of Management, said the team wanted to ...

People with diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus) are two-to-three times more likely to have depression than people without, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Current treatment includes therapy, medicine, or both. However, the understanding of the multifaceted relationship between nutrition, mental health, and DM is relatively new in scientific discourse. Mason researchers sought to learn about the connection between nutrition, diabetes, and mental health.  Two literature reviews from assistant ...

A groundbreaking study recently published in JAMA indicates that aspirin may not be necessary as part of an antithrombotic regimen for patients with a fully magnetically levitated left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Ochsner Health surgical director for the Mechanical Assist Device Circulatory Support Program, Dr. Aditya Bansal, was a contributing author on the study known as the ARIES-HM3 trial. The ARIES-HM3 trial, a randomized trial involving 628 patients with advanced heart failure, compared the outcomes of patients who received aspirin (100 mg/d) with those who received a placebo in addition to a vitamin K antagonist ...

Development of potential or improved anti-cancer treatments are being blocked or slowed down by lack of transparency in data sharing between pharmaceutical companies and research groups, according to cancer clinicians, researchers and consumers.   The multidisciplinary team led by Flinders University researchers Mr Natansh Modi and Dr Ashley Hopkins evaluates the literature and policy developments since the 2013 data sharing commitments were struck by US and European regulators, including the commitment to publish clinical trial results.   The agreement forged by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers ...

Perimenopausal women need better education and support about how their periods might change towards the end of their reproductive life, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in Post Reproductive Health, highlighted how as women approach the menopause, their periods may become unpredictable, heavy and cause worse premenstrual symptoms – including mood swings, breast tenderness and headaches. The team of researchers from the UCL EGA Institute of Women’s Health and Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, ...

Key takeaways UCLA psychologists used music to manipulate emotions of volunteers and found the dynamics of their emotions molded otherwise neutral experiences into memorable events. The tug of war between integrating memories and separating them helps to form distinct memories, allowing people to understand and find meaning in their experiences, and retain information. These findings could hold therapeutic promise in helping people with PTSD and depression. Time flows in a continuous stream — yet our ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that autism is becoming more common in young children. In an effort to improve the challenges young autistic children face as part of their early development, researchers have focused on developing and evaluating nonpharmaceutical interventions that can be provided in early childhood. Micheal Sandbank, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at the UNC School of Medicine, is an expert on the research supporting these early interventions, which informs clinical practice across the United States. A new comprehensive meta-analysis, led by Sandbank, shows that many low-quality ...

A new study from UCLA Health researchers demonstrates that a novel treatment is effective in most patients with major depressive symptoms even after multiple failed courses of antidepressant medication. The treatment, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), may work even more rapidly than past findings have suggested, starting to alleviate symptoms as quickly as one week. Researchers from the Neuromodulation Division of UCLA’s Semel Institute analyzed the outcomes of hundreds of patients treated at UCLA Health from 2009 to 2022 with rTMS therapy, which uses magnetic fields to effectively “rewire” ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 20 November 2023 Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet @Annalsofim Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent. ---------------------------- 1. ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 1,100 experts have joined the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in boycotting the medical journal Nutrients until it stops publishing egregious animal experiments that could have been ethically conducted in humans. The boycott, which also applies to Nutrients’ publisher, MDPI, comes after repeated requests to the journal’s editors asking them to institute sound editorial practices. A letter sent to those editors today, Nov. 20, 2023, says “As a community of scientists and health care professionals, we have ...

DURHAM, N.C. – A Duke Health analysis of breast cancer in North Carolina showed that the state’s urban counties had higher overall incidences of disease than rural counties, especially at early stages upon diagnosis.   The findings, appearing in the journal Scientific Reports, serve as a national template for assessing the impact of poor environmental quality across different stages of breast cancer, which is marked by highly diverse origins and mechanisms for spreading. North Carolina serves as a good model; it has a diverse population ...

URBANA, Ill. — Cesarean section (C-section) procedures have increased dramatically around the world in the recent decades. Overweight and obesity rates, common risk factors for pregnancy outcomes and for C-sections, are also on the rise — creating a major health issue in low- and middle-income countries. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign investigates how high obesity levels lead to hospital specializations that affect the frequency of C-sections in Mexico. “Of course, obesity is a medical factor for C-sections; however, when we started this project we did not believe it to be the ...

With the rapid development in computing power over the past few decades, machine-learning (ML) techniques have become popular in medical settings as a way to predict survival rates and life expectancies among patients diagnosed with diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and, more recently, COVID-19. Such statistical modeling helps patients and caregivers balance treatment that offers the highest chance of a cure while minimizing the consequences of potential side effects. A professor and his doctoral student at The University of Texas at Arlington have published a new model of predicting survival from ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It has been uncertain how Mycobacterium tuberculosis deflects the immune response in humans, though evidence has pointed to host immunometabolism — the intrinsic link between metabolism in immune cells and their immune function. The pathogen M. tuberculosis is known to disrupt a metabolic pathway called glycolysis in infected myeloid cells, which include macrophages, through an unclear mechanism. A more accurate understanding of this pathogenic mechanism could provide a target against the bacterium that caused 1.6 million deaths in 2021, along with 10 million new cases of tuberculosis every year. Now a study published ...

In a leap forward for neuroanatomy education, the Global Neuroanatomy Network (GNN) is about to launch, creating a new, accessible, peer-reviewed collection of resources for instructors around the world. Developed as a response to the challenges faced in transitioning neuroanatomy education to an online format during the pandemic, the GNN represents a collaborative effort by educators globally. The initiative began as a conversation on social media, recognizing the need for better resources and support for teaching neuroanatomy online. As educators ...

Newly published research reexamines the evaluation of scientific findings, proposing a network-based methodology for contextualizing a publication’s impact. This new method, which is laid out in an article co-authored by Alex Gates, an assistant professor with the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science, will allow the scientific community to more fairly measure the impact of interdisciplinary scientific discoveries across different fields and time periods. The article was published ...

Researchers in UC Santa Barbara’s newly designated Biological Engineering (BioE) Department have received a significant boost from the U.S. Army, which awarded the university a $9.85 million grant to design and purchase state-of-the-art equipment that project leader Michelle O’Malley, a professor of chemical engineering and biological engineering, says “allows UCSB scientists to do things that we never thought were possible.” The funding, awarded through the Department of Defense’s Defense University Research ...

The latest image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a portion of the dense center of our galaxy in unprecedented detail, including never-before-seen features astronomers have yet to explain. The star-forming region, named Sagittarius C (Sgr C), is about 300 light-years from the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. “There’s never been any infrared data on this region with the level of resolution and sensitivity we get with Webb, so we are seeing lots of features here for the first time,” said the observation team’s principal investigator Samuel Crowe, an undergraduate student at the University ...