Digital payment platforms such as Venmo work great for sharing a dinner bill with friends, buying gifts at a pop-up shop or making payments without cash or credit cards. But these digital payment platforms have a dark side: They can be misused for drug dealing and other illicit activity, suggest researchers from the University of California, Davis. And social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram can act as marketing tools for digital drug dealing. “While platforms like Venmo revolutionize financial interactions, they also highlight the need for ongoing vigilance and adaptive regulatory measures,” said Pantelis ...

The deep sea is home to one of the world's largest communities of animals about which we still know very little. Yet it is already subject to a growing number of human-induced environmental pressures. How do its inhabitants respond to these stressors? A new study led by researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications, provides first insights into the stress response of a deep pelagic jellyfish to ocean warming and deep-sea mining induced sediment plumes. One particular and potentially large environmental stressor for organisms in the deep ocean is the environmental ...

Female academics are significantly underrepresented in winning academic prizes and having awards named after them, a new study shows.   Analysis of nearly 9,000 awardees and 346 scientific prizes and medals published today (Tuesday 21 November) in Nature Human Behaviour has found that men win eight prizes for every one won by a woman if the award is named after a man. These awards represent almost two thirds of all scientific prizes.   Female academics are however more likely to win awards that have been named after other notable female scientists, with 47% of those awards going to women and 53% to men.   Dr Katja Gehmlich, Associate Professor in the Institute ...

  Leipzig/Mainz. The extent to which aerosol particles affect the climate depends on how much water the particles can hold in the atmosphere. The capacity to hold water is referred to as hygroscopicity (K) and, in turn, depends on further factors – particularly the size and chemical composition of the particles, which can be extremely variable and complex. Through extensive investigations, an international research team under the leadership of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research ...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers have discovered solar-wind hydrogen in lunar samples, which indicates that water on the surface of the Moon may provide a vital resource for future lunar bases and longer-range space exploration. Space-based resource identification is a key factor in planning for civilian- and government-led space exploration. “Hydrogen has the potential to be a resource that can be used directly on the lunar surface when there are more regular or permanent ...

Scientists have identified the genes in the probiotic Bifidobacteria longum responsible for improving gut motility. A research team reporting November 21st in the journal Cell Host & Microbe found that B. longum strains possessing the abfA cluster of genes can ameliorate constipation through enhanced utilization of an indigestible fiber called arabinan in the gut. “We established the causal link between a genetic variant—the abfA cluster—to the key functional difference of probiotic B. longum in multiple model organisms, including mice and humans, and provided mechanistic and ecological insights ...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2023 – Forensic science has captured the public imagination by storm, as the profusion of “true crime” media in the last decade or so suggests. By now, most of us know that evidence left at a crime scene, such as blood, can often reveal information that is key to investigating and understanding the circumstances around a crime — and that scientific methods can help interpret that information. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, a group of scientists from Boston University and the University of Utah demonstrated ...

About The Study: In this study of 25,000 veterans receiving dialysis, unstable housing experienced before starting dialysis was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, and risks increased with age. Further efforts are needed to understand the experiences of older adults with unstable housing and to estimate the scope of unstable housing among all individuals receiving dialysis. Authors: Tessa K. Novick, M.D., M.S.W., M.H.S., of the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas  is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

About The Study: In this study of 7,000 older U.S. residents, food insecurity was associated with increased dementia risk, poorer memory function, and faster memory decline. Future studies are needed to examine whether addressing food insecurity may benefit brain health. Authors: Aayush Khadka, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.44186) Editor’s ...

Despite public perception, the Antarctic ozone hole has been remarkably massive and long-lived over the past four years, University of Otago researchers believe chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) aren’t the only things to blame.   In a study, just published in Nature Communications, the group analysed the monthly and daily ozone changes, at different altitudes and latitudes within the Antarctic ozone hole, from 2004 to 2022.   Lead author Hannah Kessenich, PhD candidate in the Department of ...

Scientists have engineered a living material resembling human phlegm, which will help them to better understand how a certain kind of infection develops on the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. The study, published in Matter, was led by Dr Yuanhao Wu and is a collaboration between Professor Alvaro Mata in the School of Pharmacy and Department of Chemical Engineering and Professor Miguel Cámara from the National Biofilms Innovation Centre in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham. Biofilms are strong living 3D materials that play ...

EMBARGOED by JAMA Network Open until 11 am, ET, Nov. 21, 2023 Contact: Gina DiGravio, 617-358-7838, ginad@bu.edu BU Study Finds Long-term Acute Care Hospital Closures Associated with Changes in Hospital Care Practices (Boston)—Long-term acute care hospitals (LTCHs) are common sites of post-acute care for patients recovering from severe respiratory failure requiring long-term mechanical ventilation. Because of longer lengths of stay compared to regular, short-stay hospitals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) reimburses LTCHs at higher rates. However, since 2005, ...

What is the mechanism that allows our brains to incorporate new information about the world, and form memories? New work by a team of neuroscientists led by Dr Tomás Ryan from Trinity College Dublin shows that learning occurs through the continuous formation of new connectivity patterns between specific engram cells in different regions of the brain. Whether on purpose, incidentally, or simply by accident, we are constantly learning and so our brains are constantly changing. When we navigate the world, interact with each other, or consume media content, our brain is grasping ...

A drug that boosts bone growth in children with the most common form of dwarfism, may also reduce their chances of sudden infant death syndrome, sleep apnoea and needing surgery, according to a new study. The international research trial, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, has showed for the first time that vosoritide treatment increases height, facial volume and the size of the foramen magnum, the hole at the base of the skull that connects the brain with the spinal cord, in children under five with achondroplasia. MCRI is the largest vosoritide ...

Zinc — cheap, abundant, environmentally friendly — may be the answer to better batteries, but there’s a major problem: Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) cannot match lithium-ion batteries in terms of power output. To test what electrode material composition might be able to bring AZIBs up to par, a research team based in China developed two organic frameworks with the same constituents but arranged in different ways.   When put to the test, the framework with appropriate density of active sites — where the zinc ions gain electrons to recharge the ...

On October 13, 2023, in Addis Ababa, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) and BGI Genomics signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance the Institute's genomics and precision medicine capabilities. The Institute got its name from the Norwegian physician, Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, who first described the leprosy bacillus (Mycobacterium leprae) and joined the Ethiopian Ministry of Health in 2004. Located in Addis Ababa, it serves as a biomedical hub for the region. BGI Genomics provides ...

This study delves into the behavioral complexities of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by introducing the rigid-autonomous phase sequence (RAPS) formation concept. RAPS are may be responsible for the cognitive, sensory-motor, and memory-related challenges faced by individuals with ASD. By uniting these insights under a single theoretical framework, this research paves the way for innovative treatments, promising a brighter future for those with ASD. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neuropsychiatric condition, marked ...

Success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) demands keeping up with the latest tools and techniques. The AI boom, for example, has made coding and data management skills integral. But going back to school isn’t an option for most scientists. Short training programs like webinars and boot camps have become a popular alternative among busy STEM professionals. However, these formats can have significant shortcomings. There’s often no guarantee attendees will leave with the skills needed to advance their careers. And they can be exclusionary, preventing learners of all abilities and circumstances from benefiting equally. “We’ve ...

EL PASO, Texas (Nov. 21, 2023) – Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, affect millions of people in the United States, and the cost of caring for people who live with these conditions adds up to hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Now, researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso may potentially have found a solution in used coffee grounds — a material that is discarded from homes and businesses around the world every day. A team led by Jyotish Kumar, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and overseen by Mahesh ...

Gender stereotypes harm people of both genders—and society more broadly—by steering and sometimes limiting people to behaviors, roles, and activities linked with their gender. Widely shared stereotypes include the assumption that men are more central to professional life while women are more central to domestic life. Other stereotypes link men with math and science and women with arts and liberal arts. Perhaps surprisingly, research has shown that countries with higher economic development, individualism, and gender-equality tend to also have more pronounced gender differences in several domains, ...

Supramolecular polymers (SPs) are molecular assemblies composed of non-covalently bonded small molecules. They show high recyclability originating from their dynamic nature of monomer binding, which is different from covalent polymers with non-biodegradable nature. The small repeating units that form SPs, called monomers, are specifically designed to construct multiple non-covalent bonds to enhance the stability of the resulting SPs. Such monomers can be organized into structurally distinct assemblies by forming various ...

Osaka, Japan – To age or not to age! How does aging affect organisms on a cellular level? What mechanisms help cells survive self-inflicted or external harm? It is known that lysosomes—critically important cellular structures—are crucial for digesting damaged cellular components and pathogens, and maintain stability within cells and tissues. But can they also be repaired, and if so, how? In a study published this month in EMBO Reports, researchers from Osaka University and Nara Medical University have shown that damaged lysosomes are repaired by a mechanism called “microautophagy” and have identified two key regulators of this ...

Mount Sinai Health System announced that Brendan Carr, MD, MA, MS, a nationally recognized leader in academic medicine and health policy, will be its next Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Carr joined Mount Sinai as its head of emergency medicine in February 2020, just before New York City became the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. He played a critical role during the pandemic and led local, regional, and national initiatives focused on improving the Health System’s emergency and critical care capacity. He was ...

SEATTLE, WASH.—November 21, 2023—Uncovering biological properties of extracellular vesicles, which play a vital role in how cells communicate, and understanding how sex hormones drive behavior and development are two areas that the new cohorts of Allen Distinguished Investigators will research, thanks to over $10 million in funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The 18 researchers will develop technologies, design approaches, and uncover insights into fundamental areas of human biology. 2023 Allen Distinguished Investigators Kenneth Witwer, ...

CHICAGO – A newly developed artificial intelligence (AI) system that analyzes specialized MRIs of the brain accurately diagnosed children between the ages of 24 and 48 months with autism at a 98.5% accuracy rate, according to research being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Mohamed Khudri, B.Sc., a visiting research scholar at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, was part of a multi-disciplinary team that developed the three-stage system to analyze and classify diffusion tensor MRI (DT-MRI) of the brain. DT-MRI is a special technique that detects how water travels along white matter tracts in the brain. “Our ...