UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — One double-helix strand of DNA could extend six feet, but it is so tightly coiled that it packs an entire sequence of nucleotides into the tiny nucleus of a cell. If that same DNA was instead split into two strands and divided into many, many short pieces, it would become trillions of uniquely folded 3D molecular structures, capable of bonding to and possibly manipulating specifically shaped molecules — if they’re the perfect fit. These short, single-stranded segments of DNA or RNA are called aptamers, also known as “chemical antibodies.” According to Penn State researchers, ...

Many people who dream of an organized, uncluttered home à la Marie Kondo find it hard to decide what to keep and what to let go. But for those with hoarding disorder — a mental condition estimated to affect 2.5% of the U.S. population — the reluctance to let go can reach dangerous and debilitating levels. Now, a pilot study by Stanford Medicine researchers suggests that a virtual reality therapy that allows those with hoarding disorder to rehearse relinquishing possessions in a simulation of their own home could help them declutter ...

A new study by Australian researchers has shown that fluctuating blood pressure can increase the risk of dementia and vascular problems in older people. Short blood pressure (BP) fluctuations within 24 hours as well as over several days or weeks are linked with impaired cognition, say University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers who led the study. Higher systolic BP variations (the top number that measures the pressure in arteries when a heart beats) are also linked with stiffening of the arteries, associated with heart disease. The findings have been published in the journal Cerebral Circulation – Cognition and ...

There are significant gaps in the UK public’s awareness of the tell-tale signs and symptoms of cancer in children and teens, with just a third of adults expressing confidence in being able to recognise them, find the results of a nationally representative survey published online in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood. Public awareness of the cancer signs and symptoms in this age group is much lower than it is in adults, suggesting the need for initiatives to plug this knowledge gap, say the researchers. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of ...

ChatGPT, the AI language model capable of mirroring human conversation, may be better than a doctor at following recognised treatment standards for clinical depression, and without any of the gender or social class biases sometimes seen in the primary care doctor-patient relationship, finds research published in the open access journal Family Medicine and Community Health. However, further research is needed into how well this technology might manage severe cases as well as potential risks and ethical issues arising from its use, say the researchers. Depression is very common, and many of those affected turn first to ...

Immersive virtual reality—digital technology that allows a person to experience being physically present in a non-physical world—seems to ease the pain and distress felt by patients with cancer, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. The technology may also have potential for people with other distressing long term conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), kidney disease, and dementia, the findings indicate. As the physical and practical costs of virtual reality technologies have fallen, interest in their use for improving patients’ quality of life has ...

Having older siblings and childhood tonsil removal are linked to a heightened risk of ankylosing spondylitis, a type of chronic inflammatory arthritis, finds a large study published in the open access journal RMD Open. The findings lend weight to the theory that childhood infections have a role in the development of the condition, which is characterised by inflammation of the spine, joints, and tendons, resulting in pain, stiffness, and fatigue. While genetic predisposition is the leading cause of the disease, early life environmental factors ...

Some strains of heavily antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Ghana are not successful at spreading outside of the hospital, suggesting that control measures can be focused on clinical settings to help curb treatment-resistant infections.  Scientists, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Oslo University Hospitals, the University for Development Studies, Ghana, and collaborators, used a One Health1 approach to understand the spread of antibiotic resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) bacteria in Ghana. It is a bacterial species ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Asian, Hispanic and Black children are much less likely to see ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors, or otolaryngologists, and receive ear tubes for recurring ear infections, according to research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2023 annual meeting. Ear tube placement (tympanostomy) is the most common outpatient procedure in U.S. children. The tubes reduce ear infections by letting air flow in and out of the middle ear and draining the fluid that builds up. The procedure requires a referral to an ENT, and if left untreated, ear infections can ...

A cheap and widely available prescription drug can improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in patients seen in GP surgeries, new research presented today at UEG Week 2023 has found.  Amitriptyline, which is commonly used at low doses for a range of health concerns, has been found to improve irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms too, according to the results of the ATLANTIS trial.  Led by researchers at the Universities of Leeds, Southampton, and Bristol and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the study was conducted in primary care. GPs prescribed the drug and patients managed their own dose based on the severity of their symptoms, ...

A new mouse model of infection with the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy tracks closely the disease course doctors have observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant patients, and suggests that treatment with the antiviral Paxlovid provides protection for both mother and child. The new model is described in a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers found that pregnant mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 later in gestation tended to have worse COVID-19-like disease, as seen in pregnant patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections. Treating the mice with the active ingredients ...

First-generation students at The University of Texas at Arlington will have the opportunity to receive additional scholarship support thanks to a generous gift from Yardi Systems.   Yardi Systems, a property management software leader for real estate clients worldwide, has made a $320,000 gift to establish the Yardi Scholars program, which will award scholarships to students with financial need who intend to major in business, with preference given to first-generation students. Scholars will receive $10,000 per year for up to four consecutive years of study.   “Supporting education is a core pillar of Yardi’s corporate philanthropy,” ...

Clinicians who show more empathy promote better psychological health among breast cancer patients, according to a Rutgers study examining how oncology doctors facilitate psychological well-being.   “Our findings suggest that provider communication is a key component to reducing uncertainty, and thus providers play a key role in helping to facilitate psychological well-being,” said Liesl Broadbridge, a doctoral degree candidate at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information (SC&I) and the lead author of the study published in Patient Education and Counseling. Researcher findings suggest that discussing uncertainties with patients and being empathetic ...

Images Highlights: Researchers at Michigan State University and Purdue University were awarded $2 million by the National Science Foundation to develop new “living materials” for construction that can repair themselves and sequester carbon dioxide.   The materials will be sourced from sustainable biomass, including agricultural waste, and imbued with microbes that absorb carbon dioxide and synthesize polymers and minerals to bolster the materials’ strength.   Unlike ...

URBANA, Ill. – Nanozymes are synthetic materials that mimic the properties of natural enzymes for applications in biomedicine and chemical engineering. They are generally considered too toxic and expensive for use in agriculture and food science. Now, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a nanozyme that is organic, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and cost effective. In a newly published paper, they describe its features and its capacity to detect the presence of glyphosate, a common agricultural herbicide. Their goal is to eventually create a user-friendly ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Women are nearly 50% more likely than men to develop depression after suffering a concussion or other traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to an analysis of nine studies and nearly 700,000 people presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2023 annual meeting. “Most studies showing the link between TBI and depression have focused on men,” said Isaac G. Freedman, M.D., MPH, lead author of the study and an anesthesiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. ...

Quantum networks hold enormous potential for groundbreaking advances in many areas of science and technology. Once this technology matures, it is expected to be an essential component of quantum computing. It could have the equivalent impact as the internet has had on digital communication. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that three collaborative projects in quantum networking will receive $24 million for up to three years. The DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory will ...

PHILADELPHIA (October 16, 2023) – Penn Nursing, with partners from the Annenberg Virtual Reality ColLABorative and New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing, have been awarded 2023 grant from the Hillman Emergent Innovation: Serious Illness and End of Life program to study the use of social virtual reality (VR) in enhancing the treatment experience and reducing loneliness in people undergoing hemodialysis. This grant is awarded by The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation. Hemodialysis is a life-saving treatment for people experiencing ...

A new study published by CHEST Science Journal shows that high-performance intensive care units (ICUs) might also have better patient outcomes during health crises. The study used as a benchmark the mortality rate observed in Brazilian ICUs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and analyzed data from over 380,000 patients of private hospital ICUs across 10 Brazilian states. The research was coordinated by the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) and concluded that the mortality rate during the pandemic was significantly reduced in ICUs that exhibited high efficiency before the pandemic.  The COVID-19 ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 16 October 2023 Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet @Annalsofim Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent. ---------------------------- 1. Information ...

Andrea Califano, Dr, has been honored with the 26th Alfred G. Knudson Award in Cancer Genetics by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for his exceptional contributions to the field of cancer research. Califano, a pioneer in the field of cancer genetics, is the Clyde and Helen Wu Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.  The award is named in honor of geneticist and cancer researcher Alfred G. Knudson, MD, a 1947 graduate of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, who helped uncover several major genetic mysteries behind ...

Patients with a previous or current cancer diagnosis are more likely to have a stroke than the general population, but how are specific cancers and treatments associated with stroke risk? A collaborative team led by University of Cincinnati, University of North Carolina (UNC) and Duke University researchers is seeking to answer that question. Soma Sengupta, MD, PhD, now division chief of neuro-oncology at UNC, had the idea to study the prevalence of stroke in patients with different cancer types while a faculty member at UC. She recruited a team that included stroke experts Stacie Demel, DO, PhD, of UC and Wuwei Feng of Duke to put together a retrospective pilot study. “This ...

MIT engineers aim to produce totally green, carbon-free hydrogen fuel with a new, train-like system of reactors that is driven solely by the sun.  In a study appearing today in Solar Energy Journal, the engineers lay out the conceptual design for a system that can efficiently produce “solar thermochemical hydrogen.” The system harnesses the sun’s heat to directly split water and generate hydrogen — a clean fuel that can power long-distance trucks, ships, and planes, while in the process emitting no greenhouse gas emissions.  Today, hydrogen is largely produced through processes that involve natural gas and other fossil fuels, ...

Previous research has implicated fungi in chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, but there is limited understanding of how these common microbes could be involved in the development of these conditions. Working with animal models, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions discovered how the fungus Candida albicans enters the brain, activates two separate mechanisms in brain cells that promote its clearance, and, important for the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease development, generates amyloid beta (Ab)-like peptides, toxic protein ...

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The U.S. Department of Energy has just announced the selection of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility as the lead for its new High Performance Data Facility Hub. Jefferson Lab will partner with DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to form a joint project team led by Jefferson Lab. The HPDF will be a $300-500 million computing and data infrastructure resource that will provide transformational capabilities for data analysis, networking and storage for the nation’s research enterprise. ...