Background and objectives Terminal ileum intubation is considered the completion step of colonoscopy and is usually performed to assess the ileum. The histological examination of the ileal mucosa, which is acquired during terminal ileum intubation, may allow an accurate diagnosis. However, there is no absolute consensus on when ileoscopy and biopsy should be attempted. As a result, we aimed to evaluate whether terminal ileum intubation and biopsy should be performed routinely. Methods Systematic searches were performed in the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases, as well as the Science Citation Index via the Web of Science ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — A tiny region in a little-known muscle protein may hold the key to a healthy, steady heartbeat, as well as possible clues to future treatment of devastating heart ailments. Washington State University researchers have found a region of a protein called leiomodin that is critical in maintaining the length of tiny filaments that control a person’s heartbeat. The work, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Arizona and Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, is featured in the high-profile journal Circulation Research. “It’s a small part of a big protein ...

Background and objectives DNA polymerase epsilon catalytic subunit A (POLE) gene plays a crucial role in DNA repair and chromosomal replication. Mutations in the POLE gene have been linked to cancer, particularly colorectal carcinoma (CRC). However, the genomic landscape and pathological significance of POLE mutant CRC remain underreported. This study aimed to characterize the clinicopathologic features and genomic landscape of CRC harboring POLE mutations and to investigate the implications of co-occurring genetic alterations. Methods We ...

High school students often have trouble getting to bed at a reasonable time, which makes it difficult for them to start school early in the morning. This is because teenagers are biologically wired to fall asleep later than adults, with their biological clock shifting progressively later throughout adolescence. The result is that most teenagers don’t get enough sleep on school days, and their sleep deficits increase as the week progresses. “This is concerning, as chronic sleep deprivation not only affects well-being, but also has a measurable impact on mental health, physical ...

Nations worldwide underestimate greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater facilities, but updating measurements could fix this. Nations worldwide underestimate greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater systems, research from Princeton University shows. Outdated inventory methods and failure to include items like latrines and untreated sewage in national reports are main reasons. In an article published Feb. 11 in the journal Nature Climate Change, the researchers report that nations underestimated emissions of gases including methane ...

The Lancet: New weight loss pill leads to greater blood sugar control and weight loss for people with diabetes than current oral GLP-1, phase 3 trial finds A novel GLP-1 receptor agonist (RA) pill called orforglipron leads to a larger reduction in blood sugar levels after a year than the current available oral GLP-1 RA (semaglutide), finds a phase 3 randomised controlled trial published in The Lancet. Additionally, participants taking orforglipron had significantly greater reductions in body weight than those taking oral semaglutide.   Currently the only available oral ...

Physical fitness and psychological resilience develop side by side during adolescence, a life stage that lays the foundation for adult health. Cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, and agility are well-known predictors of cardiometabolic health, while self-efficacy, defined as the belief in one’s ability to overcome challenges, shapes motivation, persistence, and coping strategies. Although both have independently been linked to healthier lifestyles and improved well-being, less attention has been given to how they may influence ...

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing group of older adults in the U.S., but they often face language and cultural barriers when seeking care for dementia-related symptoms.  As part of a broader mission to tackle these challenges, a Rutgers Health-led study involving internationally renowned clinicians and scientists from the National Institute on Aging-funded Rutgers-NYU Resource Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Research Center in Asian and Pacific Americans and Stanford Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center has proposed a ...

“They took Dad.” That sentence opens Carolina Valdivia’s new book, Sanctuary Making: Immigrant Families Reshaping Geographies of Deportability, published this month by the University of California Press. The book chronicles what happens to families in the aftermath of those three words, and the extraordinary lengths that ordinary people go to in order to protect the ones they love. “This is a book with a sense of urgency” wrote Emmy Award–winning journalist and former Univision News anchor Jorge Ramos in his review. “From the first line — ...

Lasers cut precisely and without contact – ideal for surgery. The problem is that, in hard tissues such as bone, they are too slow and do not cut deep enough. Researchers at the University of Basel have now demonstrated a way to cut much deeper and faster with a surgical laser than with previous laser systems. The saw, chisel and drill are tried-and-true tools in bone surgery. In the future, lasers could be added to this toolbox, especially when it comes to very precise cuts. Lasers do not exert any mechanical pressure, meaning they can reduce the risk of ...

Research Highlights: In an analysis of data from 2011 to 2022, the number of deaths after first hospitalization for a severe heart attack increased significantly among men and women ages 18-54. At the same time, the number of deaths was higher among women than men in this age range for both a heart attack caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery and one resulting from a partial coronary artery blockage. After accounting for all risk factors assessed, heart attack deaths remained linked to more nontraditional risk factors—including low income, kidney disease and non-tobacco drug use—rather than traditional risk factors, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, ...

For scientists who study the Southern Ocean, a long-standing silver lining in the gloomy forecast of climate change has been the theory of iron fertilization. As temperatures rise and glaciers in Antarctica melt, ice-trapped iron would feed blooms of microscopic algae, pulling heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. There’s just one problem: The theory doesn’t hold water. In what researchers describe as the most accurate measurement of iron inputs from a glacier in Antarctica, marine scientists from Rutgers University-New Brunswick have discovered that meltwater from an Antarctic ice shelf supplies far less iron to surrounding ...

LOS ANGELES — High-grade astrocytoma, which includes glioblastoma, is a fast-growing, aggressive brain cancer that often returns after the tumor is removed, making it difficult to treat. Patients with recurrent high-grade astrocytoma typically only survive for four to five months.   Immune checkpoint inhibitors, medications that allow the body’s own immune system, particularly cancer-fighting T-cells, to recognize, find and attack tumor cells, can help stop ...

Osaka, Japan – Achondroplasia, also known as short-limb dwarfism, is associated with neurological symptoms and complications due to narrowing of the skeletal structures surrounding the spinal cord. Despite achondroplasia being the most common cause of dwarfism, the mechanisms underlying the condition remain to be analyzed, meaning that current treatment options are insufficient. Now, a team at The University of Osaka has created a mouse model of achondroplasia that has advanced understanding of ...

Water droplets have a unique ability: They can leap from a surface on their own.  This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as when a surface repels water or when heat is involved, such as a water or oil droplet skittering across a hot pan. It also happens at a very small scale. Up to this point, researchers have observed droplets up to 3 millimeters in diameter exhibiting this behavior. When droplets are larger than that, gravity prevents it from jumping. A new study published in Nature identifies a previously unreported way to get a puddle of water up to a centimeter wide to jump into the air, something ...

An international team of scientists has shed light on the development of the malaria parasite and have identified a unique protein essential for its survival and transmission, which offers a promising new target for antimalaria drugs. The discovery centres on a molecule named Aurora-related kinase 1 (ARK1). In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Nottingham, National Institute of Immunology (NII), India, University of Groningen, the Netherlands, the Francis Crick Institute, and international collaborators, have revealed that ARK1 acts as a ‘traffic controller’ during the parasite's unusual cell division and growth process. Malaria ...

A new study spanning eleven years of data has revealed a clear link between wildfire smoke pollution and an increase in violent assaults in Seattle. These findings represent the first direct causal evidence that short-term exposure to wildfire-driven air pollution can increase interpersonal violence in an urban environment.  As wildfires intensify around the world due to climate change, Lion Kircheis, the author of the study warns that air-quality deterioration may be driving ...

An international team of scientists led by the University of Bath has developed a new catalyst – a substance that speeds up chemical reactions – that uses sunlight to break down so-called ‘forever chemicals’ prevalent in the environment and known to accumulate in the human body with unknown long-term health effects. They hope this technology could in the future be scaled up and used to detect or remove these persistent chemicals from the environment. Published today in ...

Green hydrogen is considered an indispensable component of the global energy transition, but its production still faces massive economic and environmental hurdles. For example, the promising PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolysis process, which is particularly suitable for producing green hydrogen when the supply of electricity from wind power and photovoltaic systems fluctuates, is still very expensive compared to production using fossil fuels. Sustainability also needs to be scrutinised here. This is because it relies on environmentally hazardous ...

The construction sector is currently responsible for 37 percent of global CO2 emissions and therefore holds enormous potential in the green transition. It requires new knowledge to change the way we build and maintain the existing building stock if resource consumption and climate footprint are to be reduced. This is the background for a new research program called Civil Engineering and the Green Transition in the Built Environment (CEBE), which will research new solutions to promote sustainability in the built environment. As ...

Small household solar power systems have been gaining traction—and investment—as means to provide affordable and sustainable energy to those living without access to electricity.  But new research led by the University of Michigan shows that simply having access to solar technology does not mean people will adopt it and realize access to meaningful energy services. In a series of three peer-reviewed articles, researchers led by Pamela Jagger published results from a two-year study that involved surveying more than 1,000 households in Malawi, an African nation with one of the world's lowest energy access rates.  The study, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, ...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – ‘forever chemicals’ in common parlance – are a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals often used in non-stick coatings, water-resistant fabrics, fire-fighting foams, food packages, cleaning products, and plastics. They contain exceptionally strong molecular bonds, which makes them hard to break down. PFAS pollution is increasingly detectable in water, soil, and tissues of organisms, and some have been implicated in human cancers, obesity, infertility, and hormonal imbalances. A ...

Synovial sarcoma is an aggressive malignant tumor that primarily affects the limbs of teenagers and young adults. While it can be cured if completely removed by surgery, recurrence or metastasis, the spread of cancer to organs such as the lungs, can make treatment difficult and life-threatening. This may also render radiation and chemotherapy ineffective. Therefore, current treatments alone are insufficient, and new treatments are needed. Fortunately, cancer research has changed focus and now theorizes new solutions in energy metabolism, asking “What nutrients do ...

February 26, 2026 – While heart disease in younger populations is rising globally, there have been virtually no studies examining parenting while navigating an early-onset cardiovascular condition. To address this gap, new focus group research has pinpointed the main concerns of parents with an early-onset cardiovascular condition facing the complex task of managing their own recovery while raising younger children. The study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier, highlights the need for developmentally appropriate communication ...

New research has revealed that the Old Irish Goat shares a 3,000-year genetic link with goats living in Ireland during the Late Bronze Age. The findings suggest the rare indigenous breed represents a continuous Irish lineage stretching back millennia. Led by University College Dublin, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast and international partners, the new biomolecular and archaeological study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science reshapes the understanding of Ireland’s agricultural past and supports conservation of the Old Irish Goat as a living link to ancient farming communities. Oldest goat remains in Ireland Researchers analysed ...