Mothers who are Hispanic or who come from rural or low socioeconomic status neighborhoods are less likely to have their child's critical heart condition diagnosed before birth, according to a new study in the journal Circulation. This is the largest and most geographically diverse study of these challenges to date. The study compared patient data of more than 1,800 children from the United State and Canada diagnosed with two of the most common, and the most serious, critical congenital heart defects: hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), when the left side of the heart is not developed completely, and transposition of ...

Patients with chronic kidney disease and Type 2 diabetes who took the experimental drug finerenone were about 30% less likely to develop the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (AFib) than those taking a placebo, according to data presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. Last year, researchers reported that the trial, called FIDELIO-DKD, met its primary endpoint showing a significant benefit of finerenone, a nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, in terms of a composite of sustained decrease in kidney function, kidney failure and renal death. The new analysis reveals that patients derived these benefits regardless of their history with AFib and suggests that taking finerenone also reduced the rate of ...

A subgroup of patients who experienced an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) that did not respond to standard advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), were immediately transported to a cardiac care center, and placed on a device similar to a heart-lung bypass machine were more likely to have survived with good brain function six months later than similar patients who received standard care at the site where the OHCA occurred. The study was presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. "This study--the largest randomized clinical trial that has been conducted to address this question--shows that a hyperinvasive ...

The ocean is a big place with many deep, dark mysteries. Humans have mapped no more than 20% of the sea, and explored less. Even the kelp forests of Southern California -- among the best studied patches of ocean on the planet -- hide species not yet described by science. Now, UC Santa Barbara's Thomas Turner has published a paper in the journal Zootaxa describing four new species of sponges. These novel specimens weren't dredged from the murky depths or found on some distant seamount, but collected locally from popular dive spots. The study brings Turner's new species count to five, and the scientist believes there may be dozens yet to discover and describe along the West ...

Southern lesser galagos (Galago moholi), a species of primate that lives in southern Africa, boast big, round eyes and are so small they can fit in your hand. A new study from an international team of scientists, however, suggests that there may be a downside to their cuteness: The trade in lesser galagos, also known as bushbabies, which some people keep as pets, may have shifted the genetics within their wild populations over the span of decades, according to the research. Those changes could undercut the ability of the critters to adapt as human farms and cities grow throughout the region. The study was published recently in the journal Primates and ...

Alcohol appears to have an immediate--or near-immediate--effect on heart rhythm, significantly increasing the chance that an episode of atrial fibrillation (AFib) will occur, according to new data presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. The data revealed that just one glass of wine, beer or other alcoholic beverage was associated with twofold greater odds of an episode of AFib occurring within the next four hours. Among people having two or more drinks in one sitting, there was a more than threefold higher chance of experiencing AFib. Using an alcohol sensor placed on participants' ankles, which passively monitored alcohol intake, the investigators ...

As Covid-19 spread around the world, stock markets in individual countries took a major hit - yet stock markets in China where the disease first struck avoided significant falls - researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software found. A research paper Immune or at-risk? Stock markets and the significance of the COVID-19 pandemic by a Lero team based at University of Limerick confirmed that the growth in COVID-19 cases largely explained changes in stock prices, but surprisingly did not have the same impact in China or on the global index ...

Top experts from Brigham and Women's Hospital presented outcomes from some of the most-anticipated clinical trials in cardiology at the virtual American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. In four Late-Breaking Clinical Trial presentations, Brigham cardiologists shared their latest findings on strategies to prevent future cardiovascular events in at-risk patient populations, results of a randomized clinical trial of a statin drug among patients critically ill with COVID-19, and more. ...

On Sept. 9, 2018, astronomers spotted a flash from a galaxy 860 million light years away. The source was a supermassive black hole about 50 million times the mass of the sun. Normally quiet, the gravitational giant suddenly awoke to devour a passing star in a rare instance known as a tidal disruption event. As the stellar debris fell toward the black hole, it released an enormous amount of energy in the form of light. Researchers at MIT, the European Southern Observatory, and elsewhere used multiple telescopes to keep watch on the event, labeled AT2018fyk. To their surprise, they observed that as the ...

The entire ecosystem of the planet, including humans, depends on clean water. When carbonate rock weathers, karst areas are formed, from which around a quarter of the world's population obtains its drinking water. Scientists have been studying how quickly pollutants can reach groundwater supplies in karst areas and how this could affect the quality of drinking water. An international team led by Junior Professor Dr. Andreas Hartmann of the Chair of Hydrological Modeling and Water Resources at the University of Freiburg compared the time it takes water to seep down from the surface to the subsurface with the time it takes for pollutants to decompose ...

Among patients with both heart failure and atrial fibrillation (AFib), treatment strategies focused on controlling the heart rhythm (using catheter ablation) and those focused on controlling the heart rate (using drugs and/or a pacemaker) showed no significant differences in terms of death from any cause or progression of heart failure, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. The trial was stopped early and, as a result, has limited statistical power to reveal differences between the two treatment approaches; however, trends observed in the study suggest the type of heart failure a patient has may influence which approach is optimal, researchers said. Heart failure is a condition ...

Irvine, Calif., May 17, 2021 -- Greenhouse gases and aerosol pollution emitted by human activities are responsible for increases in the frequency, intensity and duration of droughts around the world, according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine. In a study published recently in Nature Communications, scientists in UCI's Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering showed that over the past century, the likelihood of stronger and more long-lasting dry spells grew in the Americas, the Mediterranean, western and southern Africa and eastern Asia. "There has always been natural variability in drought events around the world, but our research shows the clear human influence on drying, specifically from anthropogenic aerosols, carbon dioxide and other ...

DETROIT (May 17, 2021) - A national study on childhood asthma led by Henry Ford Health System has found that family history, race and sex are associated in different ways with higher rates of asthma in children. In a study published in JAMA Pediatrics (hyperlink goes here), researchers found that children with at least one parent with a history of asthma had two to three times higher rates of asthma, mostly through age 4. They also reported that asthma rates in black children were much higher than white children during their preschool years, but the rates of incidence dropped in black children after age 9, while they increased for white children later in childhood. "These findings help us ...

Archaeologists at Northern Arizona University are hoping a new technology they helped pioneer will change the way scientists study the broken pieces left behind by ancient societies. The team from NAU's Department of Anthropology have succeeded in teaching computers to perform a complex task many scientists who study ancient societies have long dreamt of: rapidly and consistently sorting thousands of pottery designs into multiple stylistic categories. By using a form of machine learning known as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), the archaeologists created a computerized method that roughly emulates the thought processes of the human mind in analyzing visual information. ...

The development of dementia, often from Alzheimer's disease, late in life is associated with abnormal blood levels of dozens of proteins up to five years earlier, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Most of these proteins were not known to be linked to dementia before, suggesting new targets for prevention therapies. The findings are based on new analyses of blood samples of over ten thousand middle-aged and elderly people--samples that were taken and stored during large-scale studies decades ago as part of an ongoing study. The researchers linked abnormal blood levels of 38 proteins to higher risks of developing Alzheimers within ...

May 16, 2021 -- In a study of low-income, urban youth in the U.S., researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that students exposed to Photovoice, an educational intervention, experienced greater improvements in STEM-capacity scores and environmental awareness scores compared to a group of youth who were not exposed to the activity. The results suggest that the Photovoice activities may be associated with improved learning outcomes. The study is published in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods. "Our findings suggest that the Photovoice activities result in greater environmental awareness and may be associated with improved learning skills," said Nadav Sprague, doctoral fellow, ...

Stanford researchers have discovered a new kind of biomolecule that could play a significant role in the biology of all living things. The novel biomolecule, dubbed glycoRNA, is a small ribbon of ribonucleic acid (RNA) with sugar molecules, called glycans, dangling from it. Up until now, the only kinds of similarly sugar-decorated biomolecules known to science were fats (lipids) and proteins. These glycolipids and glycoproteins appear ubiquitously in and on animal, plant and microbial cells, contributing to a wide range of processes essential for life. The newfound glycoRNAs, neither ...

FRANKFURT. There are currently only a few synthetic agents that bind to and block the widespread membrane transport proteins, ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC). Scientists at Goethe University and the University of Tokyo identified four of these macrocyclic peptides as models for a novel generation of active substances. They used methods for which the scientists involved are considered world leaders. Thanks to deep sequencing, an extremely fast and efficient read-out procedure, the desired macrocyclic peptides could be filtered out of a "library" ...

In a surprise find, scientists have discovered sugar-coated RNA molecules decorating the surface of cells. These so-called "glycoRNAs" poke out from mammalian cells' outer membrane, where they can interact with other molecules. This discovery, reported May 17, 2021, in the journal Cell, upends the current understanding of how the cell handles RNAs and glycans. "This was probably the biggest scientific shock of my life," says study author END ...

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University researchers have developed an innovative way to convert plastics to ingredients for jet fuel and other valuable products, making it easier and more cost effective to reuse plastics. The researchers in their reaction were able to convert 90% of plastic to jet fuel and other valuable hydrocarbon products within an hour at moderate temperatures and to easily fine-tune the process to create the products that they want. Led by graduate student Chuhua Jia and Hongfei Lin, associate professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, they report on their work in the journal, ...

What The Study Did: Researchers assessed the feasibility of using positive behavior supports to promote the use of face coverings in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) attending a summer program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors: Benjamin Aaronson, Ph.D., of the University of Washington in Seattle, 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.2021.10281) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author ...

What The Study Did: Hospital discharge rates, hospitalization outcomes and demographic factors were examined among U.S. patients with ischemic stroke before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors: Adam de Havenon, M.D., of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, 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.2021.10314) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest ...

What The Study Did: Online search data were used to assess changes in home birth information seeking across the United States and United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors: Christina N. Schmidt, B.S., 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.2021.10310) Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full study is linked to this news release. Embed this link to provide your readers free access ...

Early diagnosis and improvement of breast cancer treatments have reduced breast cancer mortality in recent years, with survival rates reaching 85% today. In spite of these data, breast cancer was still the most frequently diagnosed tumour in the world in 2020, mainly due to increased population screening and social factors such as ageing. RANK protein plays a key role in the development of these tumours. Located in the membrane of cells, when it binds to its partner RANKL, it sends signals that stimulate the development of the mammary gland. When these proteins do not work properly, breast cells begin to divide and multiply ...

Mitochondria - the 'batteries' that power our cells - play an unexpected role in common diseases such as type 2 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, concludes a study of over 350,000 people conducted by the University of Cambridge. The study, published today in Nature Genetics, found that genetic variants in the DNA of mitochondria could increase the risk of developing these conditions, as well influencing characteristics such as height and lifespan. There was also evidence that some changes in mitochondrial DNA were more common in people with Scottish, Welsh or Northumbrian genetic ancestry, implying that mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA (which accounts for 99.9% of our genetic make-up) interact with each other. Almost ...