Researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and their collaborators have developed a gene therapy strategy to selectively manipulate Parkinson's disease-affected circuitry and attenuate the core motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease in rodent and nonhuman primate animals. The study was published in Cell on Nov. 2. Parkinson's disease, characterized by the loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly population, affecting more than 6 million people worldwide. Dopamine ...

Women who receive a false positive mammography result are more likely to develop breast cancer over the subsequent 20 years, report researchers from Karolinska Institutet in a study published in JAMA Oncology. The risk is highest for women aged between 60 and 75 and who have low breast density.  In global terms, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, and screening is an important tool for catching women with a tumour at the earliest possible stage. In Sweden, all women between ...

About The Study: In this study of 274 midlife women, greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were associated with higher carotid atherosclerosis and, among women who were APOEɛ4 carriers, greater brain small vessel disease and poorer cognitive performance. These findings point to the adverse implications of PTSD symptoms for cardiovascular and neurocognitive health among women in midlife, particularly for women who are APOEɛ4 carriers.  Authors: Rebecca C. Thurston, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh, is the corresponding author.   To access the embargoed ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that the risk of developing breast cancer after a false-positive mammography result differs by individual characteristics and follow-up. These findings can be used to develop individualized risk-based breast cancer screening after a false-positive result.  Authors: Xinhe Mao, M.Sc., of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, 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/jamaoncol.2023.4519) Editor’s Note: Please ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Practicing mindfulness focused on healthy eating can be good for the heart, a new study shows, because it improves self-awareness and helps people stick to a heart-healthy diet. When people who had elevated blood pressure participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program for the study, they significantly improved their scores on measures of self-awareness and adherence to a heart-healthy diet compared to a control group. The results were published in JAMA Network Open. “Participants ...

NEW ORLEANS, LA- Ochsner Health, the leading healthcare system in the Gulf South, and Infirmary Health, Alabama's largest private non-profit healthcare provider, are proud to announce a landmark partnership with Ochsner Accountable Care Network, a top-performing accountable care organization (ACO) in both clinical performance and healthcare savings for the Medicare population. The partnership aims to improve health outcomes for seniors across the Gulf Coast region. Infirmary Health's hospitals and acute care facilities are recognized as national leaders in innovative and compassionate care for ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a new optical coherence tomography (OCT) approach that can directly image coordination of tiny hair-like structures known as motile cilia in their natural environment. The ability to observe cilia dynamics in living organisms gives researchers a powerful new tool to investigate how these structures move cells and substances through the female reproductive system, as well as other functions of cilia throughout the body. “Our new method has the potential to answer the longstanding question about cilia's ...

Recycling is just as essential in cells as in our more familiar macroscopic world. Cells continuously generate waste products and accumulate damaged components while performing regular functions. Various recycling mechanisms have evolved to ensure efficient use of these resources and help maintain homeostasis, with autophagy being one of the most well-preserved among countless animal, plant, and fungal lineages. In the main form of autophagy, materials floating in the cell are transported to specialized organelles, such as lysosomes or vacuoles, within small capsule-like structures called ...

Mutations in the PIK3CA gene that lead to elevated production of the PI3Ka protein are among the most frequent alterations found in cancer, including in approximately 40% of hormone receptor–positive breast cancers. Alpelisib, the first drug targeting PI3Ka, was approved for use in the United States four years ago, but cancers with mutated PIK3CA eventually develop resistance to the medication. A team led by investigators at the Mass General Cancer Center, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, recently identified that resistance in some cases can be caused by secondary mutations in the PIK3CA gene itself. This leads ...

As the nearest celestial body to Earth, Moon’s space environment is distinctive to Earth’s mainly because of lack of a significant atmosphere/ionosphere and a global magnetic field. From a global perspective, solar wind can bombard its surface, and the solar wind materials cumulated in the soil record the evolution of the Solar System. Many small-scale remanent magnetic fields are scattered over the lunar surface and, just as planetary magnetic fields protect planets, they are believed to divert the incident solar wind and shield the local lunar surface beneath, thus producing ...

CLEVELAND—Case Western Reserve University has established an Institute for Glial Sciences to advance research of glial cells and their critical role in the health and diseases of the nervous systems, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, pediatric leukodystrophies, Autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson’s disease and cancer. Housed within the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine’s Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, the new institute will be directed by Paul Tesar, the Dr. Donald and Ruth Weber Goodman Professor of Innovative ...

PITTSBURGH – November 2, 2023 – A vaginal film designed to slowly dissolve over the course of 30 days is being put to the test for the first time in a study launched this week that aims to determine its feasibility and acceptability as a potential HIV prevention method for women. The study, which is being conducted in the United States and Africa by MATRIX, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project focused on the early research and development of innovative HIV prevention products for women, will help inform the final design of a monthly film containing the antiretroviral (ARV) ...

Recently, the tethered satellite system (TSS) has been used in Earth observations, space interferometry and other space missions, due to potential merits of TSS. The tethered TSAR (tomographic synthetic aperture radar) system is a group of tethered SAR satellites that can be rapidly deployed and provide a stable baseline for 3-dimensional topographic mapping and moving target detection. Successful deployment is critical for TSAR tethered system. Several control methods, including length, length rate, tension, and thrust-aided control, have been proposed over the years. Among them, adjusting tension is a viable yet challenging approach due to tether's strong nonlinearity and ...

Research out of Drexel University’s College of Engineering suggests that over the next two decades people living in the Schuylkill Watershed, which includes Philadelphia, could experience as many as 82 more days of water shortfalls due to localized weather impacts of climate change. The projections, which account for changes in population, land use, and climate, indicate that — due to more frequent extreme weather events associated with climate change — the watershed may only be able to meet demand about 67% of the time, a drop of 22% from its current reliability. Published in the journal Water, the paper ...

Researchers at National Jewish Health found that Indigenous coal miners may develop disabling black lung disease but are less likely to qualify for medical benefits using currently required lung function standards rather than standards specific to Indigenous populations.  Black lung (also called coal worker’s pneumoconiosis) is a debilitating respiratory illness that can occur several decades after a miner’s first exposure to coal mine dust. Disease severity can be influenced by adequacy of dust controls, medical surveillance programs ...

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have received a $3.12 million National Institutes of Health grant to study whether acupuncture can alleviate chest pain caused by stable angina. Stable angina is defined as predictable chest pain during exertion or when under mental or emotional stress and is a condition that affects millions of Americans.  A large body of research has shown that acupuncture can help mitigate many types of chronic pain. But little is known about its effect on ischemic pain, which is caused when the heart isn’t getting enough oxygen, as is the case with stable angina.  The two-site study will be led by principal investigators Judith Schlaeger, ...

Washington, D.C.—A new study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, provides the first characterization of the coral microbiome under hypoxia, insufficient oxygen in the water. The research is an initial step toward identifying potential beneficial bacteria for corals facing this environmental stressor.  The researchers conducted the study because of the increasing awareness of the impact of the microbiome on host health. For example, a healthy human gut microbiome plays key roles ...

A research team at Johns Hopkins Medicine has created and trained a machine learning model to calculate percent necrosis (PN) — or, what percentage of a tumor is “dead” and no longer active — in patients with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. The model’s calculation was 85% correct when compared to the results of a musculoskeletal pathologist. Upon removing one outlier, the accuracy rose to 99%. A post-chemotherapy PN calculation helps provide the patient with a prognosis for survival. For example, a PN of 99% indicates that 99% of the tumor is dead, suggesting chemotherapy was effective and the patient has improved ...

INDIANAPOLIS — Regenstrief Institute’s Susan Hickman, PhD, has been elected as a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Dr. Hickman will be inducted on November 9 into the social research, policy and practice section of the GSA College of Fellows during the society’s 2023 annual scientific meeting. In addition to being director and a research scientist with the IU Center for Aging Research at Regenstrief Institute, Dr. Hickman is a professor at Indiana University School of Nursing, the Pettinga Chair in Aging Research with the Indiana University School of Medicine and the co-director of the IUPUI ...

DALLAS, Nov. 2, 2023 — Medical experts note that hormone and body composition changes during the transition to menopause can increase the risk of developing heart disease after menopause.[1] The American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, offers tips to support women’s heart health during this transition. “More women in the U.S. are living longer, and a significant portion of them will spend up to 40% of their lives postmenopausal,” said Brooke Aggarwal, Ed.D., M.S., F.A.H.A., assistant professor of medical sciences in Cardiology ...

The discharge of organic effluents—biodegradable waste materials from plants and animals—into freshwater bodies is a significant environmental concern, affecting the health and sustainability of these aquatic ecosystems. However, the methods currently available for inspecting water quality are complex and costly. In this regard, researchers from Ritsumeikan University, Japan, have recently developed a self-powered, inexpensive, and floating biosensor for monitoring water quality at the input of freshwater lakes and rivers. This paper was made available online on September 9, 2023, and was published in Volume 200 of the Biochemical Engineering ...

Quantum-based systems promise faster computing and stronger encryption for computation and communication systems. These systems can be built on fiber networks involving interconnected nodes which consist of qubits and single-photon generators that create entangled photon pairs. In this regard, rare-earth (RE) atoms and ions in solid-state materials are highly promising as single-photon generators. These materials are compatible with fiber networks and emit photons across a broad range of wavelengths. Due to their wide spectral range, optical fibers ...

In a world increasingly aware of the environmental challenges posed by microplastics, a pioneering study conducted by Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag from Babes-Bolyai University, and published in PeerJ Life & Environment, sheds new light on the impact of media narratives on public perception and awareness of microplastic risks. Microplastics - tiny plastic particles that pollute both terrestrial and marine ecosystems - have garnered significant scientific, media, and public attention in recent years. However, this study reveals a lack of consensus between the scientific community and the media, particularly when it comes to how ...

Researchers at Delft University of Technology, led by assistant professor Richard Norte, have unveiled a remarkable new material with potential to impact the world of material science: amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC). Beyond its exceptional strength, this material demonstrates mechanical properties crucial for vibration isolation on a microchip. Amorphous silicon carbide is therefore particularly suitable for making ultra-sensitive microchip sensors. The range of potential applications is vast. From ultra-sensitive microchip sensors and advanced solar ...

A powerful new way to fill major gaps in public bee data – including from Africa, Asia and other under-reported zones – has been addressed with a centralised tool for consolidating bee pollinator occurrences around the globe. Called BeeBCD, the package outlined in a new Nature journal article, brings together more than 18 million bee occurrence records from multiple public and private databases to improve accuracy and accessibility of species data from around the world for future conservation, research and farming management. The rationalised bee occurrence datasets will help support future plant and crop production ...