UCLA-led team finds a stem-cell derived mechanism that could lead to regenerative therapies for heart damage A UCLA-led team has identified an essential internal control mechanism that can promote the maturation of human stem cell-derived heart muscle cells, offering a deeper understanding of how heart muscle cells develop from their immature fetal stage to their mature adult form. The findings, published  in the peer-reviewed journal Circulation, could lead to new therapies for heart disease and cardiac damage. The collaborative effort with Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore and other institutions identified an RNA splicing ...

Advances in lung cancer treatment highlight importance of tumour testing at diagnosis    Research presented at the ESMO Congress 2023 sets potential major changes in first-line treatment for patients with NSCLC with targetable tumour cell mutations  Lugano, Switzerland, 17 October 2023 – More people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are likely to benefit from new drugs that target molecular alterations in tumour cells, with less need for chemotherapy, following results of multiple landmark clinical trials reported for the first time in late-breaking presentations at the ESMO Congress 2023 (1-7). Better outcomes were achieved with combinations ...

Researchers have discovered the link between the gut microbiota and Alzheimer’s disease. For the first time, researchers have found that Alzheimer’s symptoms can be transferred to a healthy young organism via the gut microbiota, confirming its role in the disease. The research was led by Professor Yvonne Nolan, APC Microbiome Ireland, a world leading SFI funded research centre based at University College Cork (UCC), and the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC, with Professor Sandrine Thuret at King’s ...

NORMAN, Okla. (Oct. 17, 2023) -- In collaboration, the University of Oklahoma has taken the lead in a Department of Energy project, with support from Kansas State University, to pioneer a new generation of reversible electrochemical cells. The cells have the potential to revolutionize energy storage by integrating seamlessly with fossil fuel assets. The project’s objective was to conduct an extensive study aimed at developing an energy storage technology capable of efficiently converting carbon dioxide emissions captured from fossil fuel assets into valuable fuels, such as methane, says ...

Polygenic risk scores, which estimate a person’s disease risk based on thousands or millions of common genetic variants, perform poorly in screening and prediction of common diseases such as heart disease, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. It has been claimed that polygenic risk scores will transform the prediction and prevention of common diseases. Companies have already been established that sell polygenic risk score testing services. Polygenic risk score testing is also one of the aims of the nationwide Our Future Health project*. The new study, published in BMJ Medicine, looked at 926 polygenic risk scores for 310 diseases. ...

A new study provides compelling evidence that animal care and management practices at zoos and aquariums have significantly improved over time. The study, led by Species360 and University of Southern Denmark Research Scientist Dr. Morgane Tidière in collaboration with 41 co-authors from academic, governmental, and zoological institutions around the world, is the first to examine life expectancy and lifespan equality together as a proxy of population welfare in marine mammal species.  The study also found that marine mammal species live longer ...

New Specimen Collection System Enhances Assisted Reproductive Technologies Considered an experimental procedure during the late 1970s when it made headlines with each birth it produced, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has helped many couples overcome infertility issues for more than four decades. In several nations, IVF is responsible for up to 3% of the babies born.  The procedure, now a cornerstone of infertility treatments, has expanded to include other assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). One of those ARTs, known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), involves using a microscopic needle to inject a single sperm into an egg.  Though ...

OCTOBER 17, 2023, NEW YORK – It is with great pleasure that Ludwig Cancer Research announces its launch of the Ludwig Leadership Fellows Program. Conceived, funded and managed by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the Program aims to accelerate the careers of exceptional young scientists by helping them establish genuinely independent programs of research immediately after the completion of their graduate studies. “Our hope is that the Leadership Fellows program will contribute to a pipeline of outstanding future leaders of cancer research,” said Chi Van Dang, scientific director of the Ludwig Institute. “We and many others have grown increasingly alarmed ...

HOUSTON, October 17, 2023 – Twenty-six active college football coaches make up the American Heart Association’s 2023 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list, a list of current coaches in consideration for the annual top honor. The award is given each January to a college football coach for contributions that make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life - both on and off the field. The ...

BOSTON – Novel treatments, combination therapies, and personalized medicine headline several studies led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and presented for the first time at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 in Madrid, Spain. The studies will be presented both in-person and online on October 20-24, 2023. A full list of Dana-Farber oral abstracts is available here. A pivotal lung cancer study (LBA65) led by Pasi Jänne, MD, PhD, director of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, looking at the efficacy and safety of adagrasib with pembrolizumab in patients that have advanced non-small cell lung ...

CHICAGO (October 17, 2023): Members of the media can still apply to cover the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2023. One of the largest international meetings of surgeons in the world, Clinical Congress will feature many opportunities to report on groundbreaking surgical research, connect with surgeon experts, and learn more about the latest trends in surgery.  When: October 22-25, 2023  Where: Boston, Massachusetts. This year’s conference will once again be a hybrid event (held onsite and virtually).  Apply: Please read the ACS Criteria for Media Credentials before submitting your application for credentials. Apply ...

  Using a small bird’s nest-making process as a model, researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a nontoxic process for making cellulose gels. The freeze-thaw process is simple, cost-effective, and can create cellulose gels that are useful in a number of applications, including tunable gels for timed drug delivery. The process also works with bamboo and potentially other lignin-containing plant fibers. Cellulose is a wonderful material for making hydrogels – which are used in applications ranging from contact lenses to wound care and drug delivery. But creating hydrogels from cellulose is tricky, and often the processes used to create the hydrogels ...

CORNELL UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE FOR RELEASE: October 17, 2023 Abby Shroba Kozlowski cell: 607-229-2681 ars454@cornell.edu Familiarity breeds contempt for moral failings ITHACA, N.Y. – People judge members of their own circles more harshly than they judge individuals from other groups for the same transgressions, according to new Cornell University research. Morality plays a central role in this phenomenon. The researchers found that because morality is a social glue that holds a community together, when someone breaks those moral rules inside the group, it is perceived as more of a threat than when outsiders breaks the same rules in their own groups. “When ...

Between the Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Just Transition Mechanism, both the United States and Europe are poised to put tens of billions of dollars toward creating green jobs. At the same time, there are conversations about how to ensure workers in the current fossil fuel industry have the skills to participate in this green revolution. But new research published in Nature Communications shows many fossil fuel workers have the right skills already — the problem is that those new green jobs likely won’t be in the right place. The results spell a message for those planning a greener economy: If all they think about ...

Cold Spring Harbor, NY - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (CSHL Press), a publisher of scientific books, journals, and electronic media, today announced the publication of The Medical Revolution of Messenger RNA by science and technology journalist Fabrice Delaye. Many people think it took just ten months to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19. What most don’t know is that it was made possible by using messenger RNA (mRNA), the molecule that instructs cells to make a ...

A study published today in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery demonstrates outstanding long-term survival following low-risk isolated surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). The study reviewed 42,586 patients who underwent low-risk isolated SAVR between 2011 and 2019 at 981 different cardiac surgery programs across the U.S. Conducted by eight leading national investigators, the assessment relied on evidence from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Database, with linkage to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Death Index (NDI). The STS ...

A phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the injectable prescription medication tirzepatide, showed an additional 21.1% weight loss after intensive lifestyle intervention in adults with obesity or who were overweight with weight-related comorbidities, excluding Type 2 diabetes. The findings of the SURMOUNT-3 study, sponsored by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, were simultaneously published this week in the journal Nature Medicine and presented at a national conference of obesity researchers. Tirzepatide, marketed ...

WASHINGTON, DC – Applications are currently being accepted for the Summer 2024 term of two undergraduate internship programs offered by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science: the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program and the Community College Internships (CCI) program. The application deadline is January 9, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. EST. Through SULI and CCI, undergraduate students and recent graduates discover science and technology careers at the DOE national laboratories and gain the experience needed to transition ...

WASHINGTON, DC – Applications are currently being accepted for the Summer 2024 term of the DOE Office of Science’s Visiting Faculty Program (VFP). The application deadline is January 9, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Two application assistance workshops will be held for all faculty interested in applying to VFP: November 17, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. ET (register here) December 1, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. ET (register here) In addition, prospective VFP applicants can engage with recruiters and scientists from the DOE national laboratories at a summer internship fair sponsored by the Office of Workforce ...

Big Tech’s race into augmented reality (AR) grows more competitive by the day. This month, Meta released the latest iteration of its headset, the Quest 3. Early next year, Apple plans to drop its first headset, the Vision Pro. The announcements for each platform emphasize games and entertainment that merge the virtual and physical worlds: a digital board game imposed on a coffee table, a movie screen projected above airplane seats. Some researchers, though, are more curious about other uses for AR. The University of Washington’s Makeability Lab is applying these budding technologies to assist people with disabilities. This month, ...

AUSTIN, Texas -- A rule to limit trading based on nonpublic stock information has limited effectiveness, according to a recent study by Texas McCombs Finance Professor Robert Parrino. Issued in 2000 by the Securities & Exchange Commission, Rule 10b5–1 requires corporate insiders to schedule the purchase or sale of a predetermined number of shares through a third-party broker up to two years in advance. Because the trades under these “plan” sales are scheduled in advance of their execution, insiders are presumed less likely to be acting on inside information. But ...

A special brain-wave cap can diagnose stroke in the ambulance, allowing the patient to receive appropriate treatment faster. Jonathan Coutinho, neurologist at Amsterdam UMC, is one of the inventors the swimming cap: "Our research shows that the brain-wave cap can recognize patients with large ischemic stroke with great accuracy. This is very good news, because the cap can ultimately save lives by routing these patients directly to the right hospital." The research is published today in Neurology.  Every year, millions of people worldwide suffer an ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke. An ischemic stroke occurs ...

Aspergillus fumigatus is the major airborne fungus present indoors and outdoors that causes various diseases, the severity of which are dependent on an individual’s immune status.  Researchers in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center have received a $423,500 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health for research aimed at reducing disease and mortality rates associated with Aspergillus infections ...

Lugano, Switzerland, 17 October 2023 – Women living and working in places with higher levels of fine particle air pollution are more likely to get breast cancer than those living and working in less polluted areas. Results of the first study to take account of the effects of both residential and workplace exposure to air pollution on breast cancer risk are presented at the ESMO Congress 2023 in Madrid, Spain (1).   “Our data showed a statistically significant association between long term exposure to fine particle air pollution, at home and at work, and risk of breast cancer. This contrasts with previous research which looked only at fine particle exposure ...

Thermosensation is critical for the survival of animals, but the mechanisms by which this is modulated by nutritional status remain unclear; here, behavioral and live brain imaging studies reveal why food-sated fruit flies prefer to stay at relatively higher temperatures compared to hungry flies. ##### In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002332 Article Title: Independent insulin signaling modulators govern hot avoidance ...