A leading researcher has been awarded a prestigious Royal Society Fellowship worth over £1.4 million to study how dryland landscapes respond to a changing climate. Dr Monika Markowska will join Northumbria University in January 2024 as part of her Royal Society University Research Fellowship. The Royal Society is the world’s oldest independent scientific academy, bringing together many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and medicine. Specialising in the variability of the Earth’s past climate, Dr Monika Markowska is an Isotope Geochemist, who is currently based at Max Planck ...

Production of biological substances for medicine using genetically engineered yeast cells shows new promising results in basic research from an international team of researchers. In 2022, the researchers attracted international attention by programming the longest-ever biosynthetic pathway - or 'assembly line' - into a microbial cell factory and designing it to produce biological substances for cancer drugs. In an article published in the scientific journal Nature Chemical Biology, Biosynthesis of natural and halogenated plant monoterpene indole alkaloids in yeast, the researchers now present results with the artificial production ...

CÚRAM researchers at University of Galway, together with colleagues at the Centre for Molecular Nanometrology at University of Strathclyde have published work unveiling the inner workings of cells. Published recently in the German scientific journal  Angewandte Chemie, the work provides a deeper understanding of the way components within cells are interconnected. This research has been on the agenda of scientists worldwide for many years, and has yielded plenty of useful information on how certain diseases behave. Through cellular visualisation using SRS microscopy, ...

Actuators, which convert electrical energy into motion or force, play a pivotal role in daily life, albeit often going unnoticed. Soft material-based actuators, in particular, have gained scientific attention in recent years due to their lightweight, quiet operation, and biodegradability. A straightforward approach to creating soft actuators involves employing multi-material structures, such as "pockets" made of flexible plastic films filled with oils and coated with conductive plastics. When subjected to electrical activation, the film displaces the fluid and contracts the pocket, similar to a biological muscle. This system ...

DUARTE, Calif., Nov. 10, 2023 – In a breakthrough for human milk science, researchers at City of Hope, Los Angeles, have dosed the first patient in a Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating a novel therapy for blood cancer patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The investigational treatment, PBCLN-010 in combination with PBCLN-014, combines human milk sugars with a strain of bacteria found in the gut of nursing infants. “Previous clinical trials of PBCLN-010 + PBCLN-014 have shown that it can safely and predictably control the gut microbiome ...

With an eye toward a decade ahead that promises change, opportunity, and challenge, the University of Virginia on Friday launched its Futures Initiative to help plan for the next 10 years in higher education. Over the next year, a group of thought leaders from across the University, known as the Futures Initiative Group, will examine the current drivers of change in academia, such as artificial intelligence and large language models like ChatGPT, while also looking ahead to the eventual impact of sensor technology, virtual classrooms, the Internet of Things, and myriad other technological changes. The goal of the initiative—which was announced at Datapalooza 2023, an annual event ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Regenstrief Institute, the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI) and the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) are hosting a mini-summit at the AMIA 2023 Annual Symposium to address how informatics can help resolve health issues caused by climate change. The event will bring together national and international experts to form an informatics infrastructure that will highlight and bring exposure to climate change's effects on health. The event Mini-Summit 2023 -- Climate and health: How can informatics help? was planned because of the growing awareness around ...

HOUSTON ― Howard Meyers, of Dallas, Texas, a member of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors (BOV), has committed $25 million to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to establish the Meyers Institute for Oncology Nursing. The first of its kind, the Meyers Institute for Oncology Nursing will support and develop nurses throughout their careers by providing educational, professional and wellness-based resources tailored to cancer care nurses and nurse scientists. This ...

Some individuals with anti-Ro/SSA antibodies (anti–Sjögren's-syndrome–related antigen A autoantibodies, also called anti-Ro antibodies) have autoimmune diseases such as lupus or Sjögren's syndrome, but many have no symptoms. A clinical trial published in Arthritis & Rheumatology found that high levels of these antibodies in pregnant women are associated with fetal atrioventricular block (AVB), which occurs when inflammation and subsequent scarring prevent electric signals from the heart’s atria from reaching the ventricles. The disease ...

In a post hoc analysis of the phase 2 NOBILITY trial, researchers found that treatment with obinutuzumab—an antibody that targets a protein expressed on certain immune cells—was superior to placebo for preserving kidney function and preventing flares in patients with lupus nephritis, a kidney condition associated with the autoimmune disease lupus. In the analysis, which is published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, compared with standard-of-care treatment alone, the addition of obinutuzumab to lupus nephritis treatment reduced the risk of developing a composite outcome of death, fall in kidney function, or treatment failure by 60%. Adding obinutuzumab ...

Statement Highlights: The new American Heart Association PREVENTTM risk calculator estimates the 10- and 30-year risk of total cardiovascular disease for people aged 30 years and older. The calculator estimates the risk of heart attack, stroke and — for the first time — heart failure. The equations are sex-specific and race-free, acknowledging that race is not a biological factor, and can include an index of social determinants of health. This is the first risk calculator that combines measures of cardiovascular, kidney ...

Physical fitness since childhood is associated with cerebellar grey matter volume in adolescents. According to a recent study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Eastern Finland, those who were stronger, faster and more agile, in other words, had better neuromuscular fitness since childhood, had larger Crus I grey matter volume in adolescence. Despite the importance of the developing cerebellum on cognition and learning, the associations between physical fitness and cerebellar volume in adolescents have remained unclear. This study examined the associations ...

When scientists examined pellets from recycled plastic collected in 13 countries they found hundreds of toxic chemicals, including pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The results are published in a study led by scientists at the University of Gothenburg. Because of this, the scientists judge recycled plastics unfit for most purposes and a hinder in the attempts to create a circular economy. Delegates, scientists and health and environmental advocates from around the world are traveling to Nairobi, Kenya for next week’s meeting of the third session of the Plastics Treaty Intergovernmental Negotiating ...

A significant breakthrough in developing a passive radiative cooling (PRC) material has been announced by researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU). The findings have just been published in the prestigious scientific journal Science titled “Hierarchically structured passive radiative cooling ceramic with high solar reflectivity.”  The material, known as cooling ceramic, has achieved high-performance optical properties for energy-free and refrigerant-free cooling generation. Its cost-effectiveness, durability and versatility make it highly suitable for commercialisation in numerous applications, particularly in ...

In a study published in the journal Circulation Research, researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC)  led by Dr. José Luis de la Pompa reveal the essential role of the protein neuregulin-1 (Nrg1) in the intricate transformation of the heart from its delicate primordial structure into a powerful pumping organ. The findings not only highlight the pathways through which the human heart forms, but also suggest important directions for future medical advances. Commenting on the study, Dr. de la Pompa, head of the ...

Students who feel they have been victimized because of social characteristics such as their ethnicity or their sexuality are at additional risk of trauma, a new national US study has revealed.  Published in the peer-reviewed Journal of School Violence, the research, of more than 2,200 young victims of bullying, found students reported that their physical health; self-esteem; social relationships, and schoolwork suffered more if they felt bias was behind the perpetrators’ actions.   This was particularly ...

The study, supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in the European Heart Journal, is the first to assess how different movement patterns throughout the 24-hour day are linked to heart health. It is the first evidence to emerge from the international Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium. Cardiovascular disease, which refers to all diseases of the heart and circulation, is the number one cause of mortality globally. In 2021, it was responsible for one in three ...

Never being visited by friends or family is associated with an increased risk of dying, according to a study published in BMC Medicine. The authors suggest that their findings could be used to help identify patients at a higher risk of dying due to social factors, and to develop more effective interventions to combat the increased risk of death associated with social isolation. Although previous research has identified associations between deaths due to any causes and both a ‘sense of loneliness’ and living alone, the combined impacts of different types of social interaction ...

Lisbon, Portugal: Patients with breast cancer in conflict zones around the world are being “massively under-served” by governments, UN aid agencies and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Professor Richard Sullivan told the Advanced Breast Cancer Seventh International Consensus Conference (ABC 7). [1]   Among people fleeing conflict zones, either displaced within their own country or across borders to other countries, patients with breast cancer are the “single largest group of cancer patients that present to UN agencies and international NGOs,” said Prof. Sullivan, who is director of the Institute of Cancer Policy and co-director of the Centre for ...

Is the US reporting system for vaccine safety broken?  Investigation raises concerns that the system is not operating as intended and signals are being missed A US reporting system designed to detect potential safety issues with vaccines is supposed to be user-friendly, responsive, and transparent. But an investigation published by The BMJ today finds it’s not meeting its own standards. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), co-managed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), collects reports of symptoms, ...

Gut bacteria protects against diarrhoeal disease Peer reviewed - Systematic review – people and animals The severity of a diarrhoeal disease could be down to the bacteria in your gut – according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Cryptosporidiosis is responsible for over 100,000 deaths annually – predominantly in children under five. It also affects animals, and a new study published today shows that large animals – including primates - with less different ...

A long-beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough and last seen by scientists in 1961 has been photographed for the first time in an Indonesian tropical forest. An international team of researchers worked with local communities to deploy over 80 camera traps to film the elusive animal. Besides rediscovering the echidna, the team uncovered a wealth of species completely new to science, including beetles, spiders, and a remarkable tree-dwelling shrimp. A wide range of images and video footage from the expedition are available (see link below). More than sixty years after it was last recorded, an expedition ...

A panel of international experts representing the World Health Organization’s Guideline Development Group has updated its guidance on treatments for patients with covid-19. The new recommendations published by The BMJ are part of a living guideline, developed by the World Health Organization with the methodological support of MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation, to provide up to date, trustworthy guidance on the management of covid-19 and help doctors make better decisions with their patients. The guidance ...

A four-year, $2.6 million grant to study circadian rhythm and novel therapies to protect the heart during a heart attack or cardiac surgery has been awarded to UTHealth Houston by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Principal investigator Holger Eltzschig, MD, PhD, professor, and co-investigator Wei Ruan, MD, PhD, assistant professor, from the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, are studying translational, pharmacologic, and interventional strategies targeting ...

The immune system is a crucial part of our survival, regularly fending off wide-ranging attacks on the body, both internal and external. Unsurprisingly, the elegant defense system that protects us from viruses, bacterial infections, cancer, and other threats is immensely complicated. Each time it mounts a response, it must quickly and carefully orchestrate communication across vast numbers of cells and molecules. Jennifer Oyler-Yaniv is working to figure out how, exactly, the immune system does this — and when and why it fails.  “There's always the next question, the next ...