Researchers at Monash University have identified a new way of mapping ‘phosphenes’ – the visual perception of the bright flashes we see when no light is entering the eye – to improve the outcome of surgery for patients receiving a cortical visual prosthesis (‘bionic eye’). Cortical visual prostheses are devices implanted onto the brain with the aim of restoring  sight by directly stimulating the area responsible for vision, the visual cortex, bypassing damage to the retina of ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A civics test policy mandated in 18 states that focuses on rote memorization and testing of political knowledge did not improve youth voter turnout as intended, according to Penn State College of Education researchers. As an alternative, they recommend a thorough integration of practical information on the voter registration process within social studies curricula. “Providing students opportunities to really engage with what leadership means, having discussions and debates with leaders and politicians, mock elections… ...

A small molecule previously shown to enhance strength in injured or old laboratory mice does so by restoring lost connections between nerves and muscle fibers, Stanford Medicine researchers have found. The molecule blocks the activity of an aging-associated enzyme, or gerozyme, called 15-PGDH that naturally increases in muscles as they age. The study showed that levels of the gerozyme increase in muscles after nerve damage and that it is prevalent in muscle fibers of people with neuromuscular diseases. The research is the first to show that damaged motor neurons — nerves connecting the spinal cord to muscles — can be induced to regenerate ...

A prestigious National Institute on Aging training grant to develop a future workforce of research scientists in the field of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias was awarded to researchers at the Center for Innovation in Brain Science at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, Regents Professor and director of the Center for Innovation in Brain Science, is principal investigator on Translational Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, or TRADD, a five-year, ...

Researchers led by Professor Steve Watson and Dr Eleyna Martin from the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham have delivered a breakthrough for thrombosis researchers, by producing the first binding molecules (ligands) of defined composition to make platelets clump together in a predictable way.  The research team developed antibody fragments called nanobodies and crosslinked these to make ligands to four platelet receptors (GPVI, CLEC-2, FcɣRIIA and PEAR1).  The nanobodies can be used to develop validated clinical assays for testing patients with platelet disorders such as bleeding or thrombosis, and as research ...

HOUSTON, October 11, 2023 – The American Heart Association’s Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards has named football legend Archie Manning and his wife, “First Lady of Football” Olivia, as recipients of the 2024 Paul “Bear” Bryant Heart of a Champion Award, presented by Houston-based St. Luke’s Health. The Heart of a Champion Award recognizes individuals whose notable contributions and positive influence have helped define the ways we enjoy, watch and engage in sports, and whose life exemplifies characteristics for which Coach Bryant was known, ...

A saline injection treatment widely used for calcific tendinopathy - a common, painful condition caused by a build-up of calcium in the rotator cuff tendons of the shoulder - provides no meaningful benefit over placebo, concludes a trial published by The BMJ today. The results show that benefits from ultrasound guided lavage (where saline is injected into the calcium deposits to help dissolve them) along with a steroid injection or from a steroid injection alone are no better than from sham (placebo) treatment. The researchers say the findings question the use of ultrasound guided lavage for this condition ...

A team of scientists have presented a five-step approach to through which governments can plan a transition away from high levels of industrial meat production and consumption that is fair and just for affected stakeholders.  As part of a policy forum article published in the CABI One Health journal researchers – led by Cleo Verkuijl of the Stockholm Environment Institute – argue that a just transition in animal agriculture is necessary for more effective and equitable One Health outcomes. The scientists highlight that – motivated by both environmental and public health concerns – policymakers in several countries are adopting regulatory and financial measures ...

The majority of research and public discourse on US maternal mortality focuses on pregnancy-related maternal deaths—deaths caused or accelerated by a pregnancy—rather than the broader category of pregnancy-associated maternal deaths, which are deaths from any cause during pregnancy or up to one year postpartum, including those that are pregnancy-related. As US maternal mortality continues to worsen at an alarming and inequitable rate, clinical and public health communities should expand their research to include pregnancy-associated maternal deaths to better identify the factors that contribute to this worsening epidemic, according ...

(Thursday, 12 October 2023, Berlin, Germany) New research reveals that acne significantly influences how individuals are perceived in social settings. Faces with acne are seen as less attractive, trustworthy, confident, successful, dominant and happy, with adult female acne having the strongest negative effect. 1 This ground-breaking research, presented today at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress 2023, assessed the effect of different anatomical variants of acne on natural gaze patterns and social perception.1 The researchers tracked the eye movements of 245 participants (mean age: 31.63 years; SD: ...

(Thursday, 12 October 2023, Berlin, Germany) Skin cancer detection using artificial intelligence (AI) software has rapidly improved, new research has shown, with the latest software reaching a 100% detection rate for melanoma.1 The study, presented today at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress 2023, assessed 22,356 patients with suspected skin cancers over a 2.5-year period.1 As well as a 100% (59/59 cases identified) sensitivity for detecting melanoma - the most serious form of skin cancer2 - the new ...

Human milk is known to provide numerous health benefits to infants, including lower risks of infection, childhood obesity, allergies and autoimmune diseases, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.  Yet some 60% of new parents struggle to meet their breast-feeding goals, and an inadequate milk supply is the most frequent reason given for earlier-than-desired weaning.  A team of breast cancer-breast ...

As California works to meet climate and air quality goals, a key to the transition will come from biomass, which is renewable organic material from plants and animals. New research from the University of California, Davis, published in the journal Global Change Biology Bioenergy, examines the good and bad uses of biomass and the best pathways to meet California’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 85% of 1990 levels by 2045. “California is fortunate in having a large biomass resource,” said lead author Peter Freer-Smith, an adjunct professor in the Department of Plant Sciences. “Finding ...

Filaments of dust and gas festoon this star-forming region in a new infrared image from MIRI. One of the greatest strengths of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is its ability to give astronomers detailed views of areas where new stars are being born. The latest example, showcased here in a new image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), is NGC 346 – the brightest and largest star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, visible to the unaided eye in the southern constellation Tucana. This ...

The National Cancer Institute awarded investigators at Huntsman Cancer Institute a grant totaling more than $3 million to conduct a clinical trial to see if combining creatine monohydrate supplementation and resistance exercise training helps preserve muscle in people who have metastatic prostate cancer. Loss of muscle mass is a major side effect of treatment for prostate cancer. Creatine monohydrate supplementation, a naturally occurring molecule in the body, helps combat fatigue and provides more energy, resulting in better workouts. Researchers hypothesize that taking creatine monohydrate ...

With a population of 127 million and a land mass about a fifth the size of the United States, Mexico has a large spectrum of climates and landscapes, ranging from mountains to coastal regions and from deserts to glaciers. Because of these variations, it is important for communities to understand precipitation patterns to plan appropriately for weather events and water resources management.   A team led by Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at The University of Texas at Arlington, has created a new isotope database that includes 608 monthly rain samples (spanning 2018-22) from 21 monitoring stations ...

TAMPA, Fla. — Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common type of skin cancer in the United States, impacting approximately 700,000 people each year. While medications exist to prevent the development of disease, they are associated with side effects, suggesting the need for new drugs that can be safely used to prevent it. In a new article published today in Science Translational Medicine, a team of Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with NFlection Therapeutics and researchers at Stanford University, reports the ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will host its annual Leading Edge of Cancer Research Symposium Nov. 16-17, 2023, featuring presentations and discussions on genomics, immunity and inflammation, computational approaches for spatial biology, and emerging technologies that are driving the next wave of cancer breakthroughs. The in-person symposium at MD Anderson will include keynote presentations from Paul Mischel, M.D., professor of Pathology at Stanford University, Andrea Schietinger, Ph.D., associate professor of Immunology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Kevan Shokat, Ph.D., chair of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at University ...

Speech production is a complex neural phenomenon that has left researchers explaining it tongue-tied. Separating out the complex web of neural regions controlling  precise muscle movement in the mouth, jaw and tongue with the regions processing the auditory feedback of hearing your own voice is a complex problem, and one that has to be overcome for the next generation of speech-producing protheses. Now, a team of researchers from New York University have made key discoveries that help untangle that web, and are using it to build vocal reconstruction technology that recreates the voices of patients ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers in the Oregon State University College of Engineering are spearheading a $2 million federal effort to explore new ways of developing electrical components that are better able to withstand extreme operating conditions, especially high temperatures. The team will try to find novel, artificial-intelligence-based methods for designing and building long-lasting, high-efficiency electrical components for harsh-environment applications such as high-power radar and the aerospace, automotive and wireless communications industries. “The semiconductor ...

The National Science Foundation is funding a $13.9 million program led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks to help multiple communities respond to coastal erosion, flooding, permafrost thaw and other hazards attributed to climate change. The four years of funding is part of the foundation’s Navigating the New Arctic program. The funding supports AC³TION, a project led by the Alaska Coastal Cooperative at UAF in collaboration with the rural coastal communities, Arizona State University, the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Texas El Paso. The group’s acronym stands for Alaska Coastal Cooperative for Co-producing Transformative Ideas and Opportunities ...

MINNEAPOLIS – Among people who report memory and thinking problems, some show no signs of a problem on standard tests, while others have subtle declines on their tests. A new study shows that people who have subtle problems with these tests may have an increased risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia. The study is published in the October 11, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Several studies have found that people with subjective ...

MINNEAPOLIS – New guidance has been issued for clinicians on the determination of brain death, also known as death by neurologic criteria. A new consensus practice guideline, developed through a collaboration between the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Child Neurology Society (CNS), and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) is published in the October 11, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This guideline updates the 2010 AAN ...

“The present study is among few to examine racial/ethnic disparities in dementia risk and their related pathways [...]. It is the first to do so in a UK population.” BUFFALO, NY- October 11, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 18, entitled, “Pathways explaining racial/ethnic and socio-economic disparities in dementia incidence: the UK Biobank study.” Pathways explaining racial/ethnic disparities ...

“[...] our approach enables mechanistic studies of drug resistance with 3D cultures of primary cancer cells to develop and test treatments that suppress cancer [...].” BUFFALO, NY- October 11, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on October 4, 2023, entitled, “Inhibiting BRAF/EGFR/MEK suppresses cancer stemness and drug resistance of primary colorectal cancer cells.” Drug resistance is a major barrier against successful treatments of cancer patients. Gain of stemness under drug pressure is a major mechanism that renders treatments ineffective. Identifying ...