HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments at MD Anderson include positive results from a Phase I trial for patients with TP53-mutant acute myeloid leukemia, a novel machine learning ...

Humans have the ability to learn a new concept and then immediately use it to understand related uses of that concept—once children know how to “skip,” they understand what it means to “skip twice around the room” or “skip with your hands up.”  But are machines capable of this type of thinking? In the late 1980s, Jerry Fodor and Zenon Pylyshyn, philosophers and cognitive scientists, posited that artificial neural networks—the engines that drive artificial intelligence and machine learning— are not capable of making these connections, known as “compositional generalizations.” However, in the decades ...

SEATTLE – T cells are soldiers on the front lines of the human immune system. They are responsible for many important roles, including attacking viral- or bacterial-infected cells and certain cancer cells, and immunological memory – remembering the specific pathogens or the cancer signatures that originally trigger T cells.  Until now, understanding how a T cell forms into a specific role, for example a cell-killing (cytotoxic) T cell or memory T cell, has eluded us. In a paper that will be published online by Cell Reports on October 25, ISB researchers made the breakthrough ...

Researchers at Stockholm University have unveiled the hidden intricacies of how sperm go from passive bystanders to dynamic swimmers. This transformation is a pivotal step in the journey to fertilization, and it hinges on the activation of a unique ion transporter. Imagine sperm as tiny adventurers on a quest to reach the ultimate treasure, the egg. They don't have a map, but they make use of something even more extraordinary: chemo-attractants. These are chemical signals released by the egg that act as siren call, directing and activating the sperm. When these signals bind to receptors on the sperm's surface, it triggers a series of events, starting their movement towards ...

Researchers have developed a new way of improving diagnosis of bipolar disorder that uses a simple blood test to identify biomarkers associated with the condition. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used a combination of an online psychiatric assessment and a blood test to diagnose patients with bipolar disorder, many of whom had been misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder. The researchers say the blood test on its own could diagnose up to 30% of patients with bipolar disorder, but that it is even more effective when combined with a digital mental health assessment. Incorporating biomarker ...

Illegal hunting and trading of wildlife in China is becoming a significant threat to biodiversity and public health, according to a new paper by a team of researchers that includes two scholars from the School of Public and International Affairs. It is the first comprehensive assessment of this issue for China. The paper, "Assessing the illegal hunting of native wildlife in China," appears in Nature today. Its co-authors are Dan Liang, Xingli Giam, Sifan Hu, Liang Ma, and David S. Wilcove. Liang is an associate research scholar at SPIA's Center for Policy Research on Energy and the ...

About The Study: In this study with 9,479 participants, racial and ethnic survival disparities were identified in patients with early-stage breast cancer receiving standardized initial care, and potentially at-risk subgroups, for whom focused interventions may improve outcomes, were found.  Authors: Erica T. Warner, Sc.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, 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.2023.39584 Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional ...

About The Study: Terminating metformin treatment was associated with increased dementia incidence in this study of 12,000 early terminators and 29,000 routine users of metformin. This finding may have important implications for clinical treatment of adults with diabetes and provides additional evidence that metformin is associated with reduced dementia risk.  Authors: Sarah F. Ackley, Ph.D., of Boston University, Boston, 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.2023.39723) Editor’s Note: Please see the article ...

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have built a superconducting camera containing 400,000 pixels — 400 times more than any other device of its type. Superconducting cameras allow scientists to capture very weak light signals, whether from distant objects in space or parts of the human brain. Having more pixels could open up many new applications in science and biomedical research. The NIST camera is made up of grids of ultrathin electrical wires, cooled to near absolute zero, in which current moves with no resistance until a wire is struck by a photon. In these superconducting-nanowire cameras, the energy imparted by ...

A study led by UCLA researchers found that the children of parents who experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)– such as abuse, neglect, violence in the home, or loss of a parent – are at increased risk of arrests and convictions by young adulthood. The authors report that their findings suggest that there is a crucial need for prevention of ACE exposure in the first place, as well as efforts to mitigate the impact of ACEs before they have downstream impacts on the next generation of children who are not yet born. The study appears in JAMA ...

Scientists have observed the creation of rare chemical elements in the second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen – casting new light on how heavy elements are made. Researchers examined the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A, which was caused by a neutron star merger. The explosion was observed using an array of ground and space-based telescopes, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Publishing their findings today in Nature (25 Oct), ...

The first data from the InSight mission made it possible to determine the internal structure of Mars in a series of papers from the scientific team published in the summer of 2021. However, since then, the analysis of new data generated by a powerful meteorite impact that occurred on September 18 2021, questioned the first estimates of the internal structure of the Red Planet. By studying the propagation times of waves generated by this impact, an international team led by Henri Samuel, CNRS researcher at the Institut ...

NASA’s InSight mission to Mars helped scientists map out Mars’ internal structure, including the size and composition of its core, and provided general hints about its tumultuous formation. But findings from a new paper published in the journal Nature could lead to reanalysis of that data. An international team of researchers discovered the presence of a molten silicate layer overlying Mars’ metallic core—providing new insights into how Mars formed, evolved and became the barren planet it is today. Published on October 25, 2023, the team’s paper details the use of seismic data to locate and identify a thin layer of molten ...

Scientists have long debated the Anthropocene Epoch, a proposed unit of geologic time corresponding to the most recent period in history. It’s characterized by substantial human impact on the planet. Are we living in the Anthropocene? And if we are, then when did it start?  In a research article published this month in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The University of Toledo’s Dr. Trisha Spanbauer and Stanford University’s Dr. M. Allison Stegner lend credence to the argument for its existence. The pair analyzed open-source data to track vegetation ...

Key takeaways 47.5% of respondents ages 13–24 feel most TV shows and movie plots don’t need sexual content; 51.5% want to see more focus on friendships and platonic relationships. 56% of those aged 10–24 prefer original content over franchises and remakes. Twice as many adolescents prefer binge releases over weekly drops. Adolescents want to see lives like their own depicted on screen. This year’s Teens & Screens report from UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers, or CSS, found that teens — plus the 18- to 24-year-old demographic that advertisers typically ...

Existing air pollution regulations will reduce thousands of premature adult deaths in the UK, but even the most effective technically feasible actions, which will save thousands more lives, will do little to protect the country’s sensitive ecosystems, find UCL researchers. The new research, published in GeoHealth, found that existing air pollution regulations could avoid 6,751 early deaths amongst adults in the UK by 2030 compared to if no regulations existed. That estimate nearly doubles to 13,269 avoided adult premature deaths if all possible technically feasible measures are employed to reduce air pollution immediately.  However, existing regulations don’t ...

It’s the day after the Baltimore Orioles clinched the American League East Championship with their 100th win of the season, and lifelong fan Tim Evans is showing his pride on his sleeve. “It’s so great,” Evans, 62, says with a huge smile, wearing his orange O’s jersey. The last time the Orioles won the AL East was in 2014, the same year Evans was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive nervous system disease that causes muscle weakness and loss of motor and speech functions. Evans currently has severe speech and swallowing problems. He can talk slowly, but it’s hard for most people to understand him.   However, ...

(LOS ANGELES) – October 25, 2023 - The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) has developed a novel organ-on-a-chip device for measuring electrical resistance across endothelial barriers. This chip had carbon-based, screen-printed electrodes incorporated into a multi-layered, microfluidic chip fabricated by a simple and cost-effective method. Endothelial cells line blood and lymph vessels of the body and form a barrier layer which controls the flow of fluid and substances to and from the vessels and surrounding tissues. Study of the crucial roles ...

(SAN ANTONIO, OCTOBER 25, 2023)—The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a five-year, $3.6 million grant to two professors at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to develop a better way to communicate engineering acumen to diverse engineering classes. Joel Alejandro Mejia and M. Sidury Christiansen are collaborating on an ethnographic project, “Rhetorical Engineering Education to Support Proactive Equity Teaching and Outcomes (RESPETO).” The project will include a handbook of recommended pedagogical approaches to address exclusionary language and linguistic practices in engineering classes. The project was motivated by several factors. Among them, ...

Researchers from TU Dortmund University and RWTH Aachen University published a new Journal of Marketing article that examines how specific types of marketing knowledge contributions have developed over the past few decades and suggests ways to move the field toward “big picture” theories that will have greater impact. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Conceptual Contributions in Marketing Scholarship: Patterns, Mechanisms, and Rebalancing Options” and is authored by Bastian Kindermann, ...

Opening a clamshell of berries and seeing them coated in fuzzy mold is a downer. And it’s no small problem. Gray mold and other fungi, which cause fruit to rot, lead to significant economic losses and food waste. Now, researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that compounds from sunflower crop waste prevented rotting in blueberries. They suggest the food industry could use these natural compounds to protect against postharvest diseases. Sunflowers are cultivated around the world for their seeds and oil, but the flower stems — known as receptacles — are generally considered to be a waste product. Noting that this crop is particularly ...

The Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR) in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, on behalf of the REMAP-CAP Investigator Network, announce clinical trial results examining the use of vitamin C and simvastatin to treat severely ill patients with COVID-19. Published today in JAMA and NEJM, and presented at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine in Milan, the studies are part of the ongoing Randomized Embedded Multifactorial Adaptive Platform for Community Acquired Pneumonia (REMAP-CAP) trial. Simvastatin, a widely available and inexpensive drug that is included on the WHO list of essential medicines, ...

About The Study: In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, vitamin C had low probability of improving the primary composite outcome of organ support–free days and hospital survival in two harmonized randomized clinical trials.  Authors: Neill K. J. Adhikari, M.D.C.M., M.Sc., of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, and Francois Lamontagne, M.D., M.Sc., of the Universite de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Canada, are the corresponding authors. To access the embargoed study: ...

About The Study: In a randomized clinical trial including 524 trauma patients receiving mechanical ventilation with risk factors for developing acute respiratory distress syndrome, the addition of sigh breaths did not significantly increase ventilator-free days. Prespecified secondary outcome data suggest that sighs are well-tolerated and may improve clinical outcomes.  Authors: Richard K. Albert, M.D., of the University of Colorado, Denver, 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/jama.2023.21739) Editor’s Note: Please see the ...

About The Study: The results of this randomized clinical trial involving 126 patients do not support the use of the very short-acting beta-blocker landiolol for managing patients with tachycardia treated with norepinephrine for established septic shock.  Authors: Tony Whitehouse, M.D., of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom, 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/jama.2023.20134) Editor’s Note: Please ...