A new drug combination that is better at treating miscarriage is also more cost effective than current standard NHS treatment, finds a new study led by the University of Birmingham and Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research. A previous study by the same team and published in The Lancet * in August last year, found that a combined drug treatment is more effective than the standard medication for women having miscarriages without symptoms - also known as missed, delayed or silent miscarriage. Missed miscarriage occurs when a baby has died in the womb but the mother hasn't ...

A study by the University of Southampton has shown its LifeLab programme, aimed at improving adolescent health through hands-on learning, significantly increases young people's understanding of what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle. Led by a team from both the Faculty of Medicine and Education School at the University of Southampton, the LifeLab programme aims to encourage engagement with the science behind public health messages, to support development of health literacy alongside decision-making skills and promotion of adolescents' sense of control over their lives and futures. Based at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust, LifeLab is a state-of-the-art teaching laboratory ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has now claimed over 2 million deaths worldwide, and this number is only increasing. In response, health agencies have rolled out tests to diagnose and understand the disease. Besides the now widely known PCR test, there is interest in serological (blood) tests that detect "antibodies" against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These blood tests have considerable applications, from identifying blood donors with high levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, whose blood can be used for convalescent plasma therapy, to measuring vaccine effectiveness. So, what are antibodies? These are proteins produced by the ...

This rare fossil find comes from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in England, a series of sedimentary rocks that was formed in a shallow, tropical-subtropical sea during the Upper Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. The fossil shark skeleton was found more than 20 years ago on the southern coast of England and is now held in the Etches Collection. Additional fossil shark specimens from it will be investigated in the years to come. Due to their life-long tooth replacement shark teeth are among the most common vertebrate finds encountered in the fossil record. The low preservation potential of their poorly mineralized cartilaginous skeletons, on the ...

A scientist from HSE University has developed an image recognition algorithm that works 40% faster than analogues. It can speed up real-time processing of video-based image recognition systems. The results of the study have been published in the journal Information Sciences. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which include a sequence of convolutional layers, are widely used in computer vision. Each layer in a network has an input and an output. The digital description of the image goes to the input of the first layer and is converted into a different set of numbers at the output. The result goes to the input of ...

Wastewater testing is an effective way to identify new cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes and other congregate living settings, and it may be particularly useful for preventing outbreaks in college dormitories, a new University of Virginia study finds. The research, a collaboration of UVA's School of Medicine and School of Engineering, was led by UVA Health's Amy Mathers, MD. It offers some of the first clear guidance on the most effective methods to perform testing to detect COVID-19 in wastewater. The researchers evaluated and compared sampling and analysis techniques by testing them within buildings with known numbers of positive cases. They were then able to determine wastewater testing's strengths and limitations as a tool for monitoring COVID-19 in a building population. ...

SASKATOON - Tepary beans--a high protein legume common to the southwest United States and Mexico--may hold the key to adapting bean crops for the increasingly harsh conditions brought on by a changing climate, according to research led by University of Saskatchewan (USask) and Michigan State University. In a study just published in Nature Communications, the researchers found that as the mercury rises to 27oC at night--a temperature devastating for current bean crops--specific genes sensitive to heat stress in the tepary bean get activated, protecting the plant. ...

The investigators used machine learning to predict which patients might get worse and not respond positively to being turned onto their front in intensive care units (ICUs) - a technique known as proning that is commonly used in this setting to improve oxygenation of the lungs. While the AI model was used on a retrospective cohort of patient data collected during the pandemic's first wave, the study demonstrates the ability of AI methods to predict patient outcomes using routine clinical information used by ICU medics. The researchers say the approach, where each patient's ...

Alexandria, Va., USA -- Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a byproduct of human metabolism and exists in high levels in exhaled air, and is therefore often used as a proxy for indoor air quality. The study "Ventilation Assessment by Carbon Dioxide Levels in Dental Treatment Rooms," published in the Journal of Dental Research (JDR), evaluated CO2 levels in dental operatories and determined the accuracy of using CO2 levels to assess ventilation rate in dental clinics. Researchers at the University of Rochester, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, N.Y., USA, conducted CO2 concentration and ventilation rate assessments in 10 closed dental treatment rooms with varying ...

Roads can be barriers to wildlife of all sorts, and scientists have studied road impacts on animals ranging from Florida panthers and grizzly bears to box turtles, mice, rattlesnakes and salamanders. But much less is known about the impact of roads on pollinating insects such as bees and to what extent these structures disrupt insect pollination, which is essential to reproduction in many plant species. In a paper published online May 10 in the Journal of Applied Ecology, University of Michigan researchers describe how they used fluorescent pigment as an analog for pollen. They applied the luminous pigment to ...

(Boston)--Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease caused by cigarette smoking that reduces lung function and causes difficulty breathing. It is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Current treatments for COPD only affect symptoms, not progression. Identifying who is going to get COPD before they get it is key to figuring out how to intercept the disease at an early stage. Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a panel of genes that are active in smokers and ex-smokers who experience faster loss of lung function over time. They believe these genes could be useful to predict which people are most at risk for smoking-related ...

(Boston)--Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a global health problem. Almost half the adults over the age of 75 have some form of knee OA--one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Because there is no cure for knee OA, current treatment relies on accurately identifying and staging the disease. Using an Artificial Intelligence-based approach known as deep learning, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have now identified a new measure to determine the severity of knee osteoarthritis--named "subchondral bone length" (SBL). There are only a handful of proven imaging markers of knee OA. Currently, medical imaging tools such as Magnetic ...

DALLAS - April 30, 2021 - UT Southwestern scientists successfully employed a new type of gene therapy to treat mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), uniquely utilizing CRISPR-Cas9-based tools to restore a large section of the dystrophin protein that is missing in many DMD patients. The approach, described online today in the journal Science Advances, could lead to a treatment for DMD and inform the treatment of other inherited diseases. "Thousands of different mutations causing Duchenne have been identified, but they tend to cluster into certain parts of the dystrophin gene," says study leader END ...

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine researchers are the first to demonstrate that COVID-19 can be present in the penis tissue long after men recover from the virus. The widespread blood vessel dysfunction, or endothelial dysfunction, that results from the COVID-19 infection could then contribute to erectile dysfunction, or ED, according to the study recently published in the World Journal of Men's Health. Endothelial dysfunction is a condition in which the lining of the small blood vessels fails to perform all of its functions normally. As a result, the tissues ...

Researchers have mapped out the changes in metabolism that occur after a heart attack, publishing their findings today in the open-access eLife journal. Their study in mice reveals certain genes and metabolic processes that could aid or hinder recovery, and might be good targets for treatments to prevent damage after a heart attack. "Although some studies have looked at how changes in individual body tissues underlie mechanisms of disease, the crosstalk between different tissues and their dysregulation has not been examined in heart attacks or other cardiovascular-related complications," explains first author Muhammad Arif, a PhD student at KTH Royal ...

Controlling, and mitigating the effects of ice growth is crucial to protect infrastructure, help preserve frozen cells and to enhance texture of frozen foods. An international collaboration of Warwick Scientists working with researchers from Switzerland have used a phage display platform to discover new, small, peptides which function like larger antifreeze proteins. This presents a route to new, easier to synthesise, cryoprotectants.Caption: Using viruses (phage display) to identify the one molecule in a billion (peptide8) that controls the formation of ice. Credit: University of Warwick Ice binding proteins, which includes antifreeze proteins, are produced by a large range of species from fish, ...

An investigational gene therapy can safely restore the immune systems of infants and children who have a rare, life-threatening inherited immunodeficiency disorder, according to research supported in part by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers found that 48 of 50 children who received the gene therapy retained their replenished immune system function two to three years later and did not require additional treatments for their condition, known as severe combined immunodeficiency due to adenosine deaminase deficiency, or ADA-SCID. The findings were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. ADA-SCID, ...

Low doses of a four-drug combination helps prevent the spread of cancer in mice without triggering drug resistance or recurrence, shows a study published today in eLife. The findings suggest a new approach to preventing cancer metastasis in patients by simultaneously targeting multiple pathways within a metastasis-promoting network. They may also help identify people who would most likely benefit from such treatment. Metastasis, the spread of cancerous cells through the body, is a common cause of cancer-related deaths. Current approaches to treating metastatic cancer have focused on high doses of individual drugs or drug combinations to hinder pathways that promote the spread of cancer cells. But these approaches can be toxic to the patient, and may inadvertently activate other pathways ...

A new study from the University of Chicago has found that the photosynthetic bacterium Synechococcus elongatus uses a circadian clock to precisely time DNA replication, and that interrupting this circadian rhythm prevents replication from completing and leaves chromosomes unfinished overnight. The results, published online on May 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, have implications for understanding how interrupted circadian rhythms can impact human health. Circadian rhythms are the internal 24-hour clock possessed by most organisms on earth, regulating ...

Argonne scientists across several disciplines have combined forces to create a new process for testing and predicting the effects of high temperatures on refractory oxides. Cast iron melts at around 1,200 degrees Celsius. Stainless steel melts at around 1,520 degrees Celsius. If you want to shape these materials into everyday objects, like the skillet in your kitchen or the surgical tools used by doctors, it stands to reason that you would need to create furnaces and molds out of something that can withstand even these extreme temperatures. That's where refractory oxides come in. These ceramic materials can stand up to blistering heat and retain their shape, which makes them useful for all kinds of things, from kilns ...

May 11, 2021 - Like other medical specialties at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, orthopaedic surgery rapidly pivoted from in-person visits to remote appointments via telemedicine. Analysis of that initial experience finds that some groups of patients faced persistent or worsening disparities as the shift to telemedicine occurred, reports Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® (CORR®), a publication of The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons®. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. "We found concerning disparities in access ...

TAMPA, Fla. - A hallmark of cancer is its ability to evade the immune system. It is why researchers are focused on finding new strategies and targets to jumpstart the immune system so it can mount a response against tumors. One such target is the inhibitory receptor T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3), a protein that is overexpressed in many different types of cancer and is associated with poor patient outcomes. It is known to block the activity of immune cells, such as dendritic cells, but how remains unclear. In a new article published in the journal Immunity, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers show that TIM-3 inhibits the STING signaling pathway in dendritic cells, thereby blocking their ability to elicit an immune response. Dysregulation ...

Point: Novel chiral diacid monomers were synthesized. Chirally interactive BioNylons were prepared. BioNylon showed thermal/mechanical performances than conventional Nylons. BioNylons disintegrated and degraded with pepsin. Summary: Marine plastic waste problems have been more serious year by year. One of the worst issues is that creatures in ocean are going extinct by mistakenly swallowing them.. Conventional biodegradable plastics are degradable in digestive enzymes, but their performances are too low to use in society. In this study, researchers from JAIST have used bio-derived resources such as itaconic acid and amino acid for the syntheses of high-performance BioNylons having the pepsin degradation function. Ishikawa, ...

Quantum mechanics can be used to create more stable and more easily produced organic solar cells. These are the findings of new research from the University of Gothenburg. Organic solar cells have many advantages compared with traditional silicon-based solar cells. They can be manufactured cheaply at a large scale using printing presses, and they are light, malleable and flexible. The problem is that today's organic solar cells are not as stable and effective as silicon-based solar cells. In a new study, a research group has taken on this problem and found a way that can lead to more cost-effective solar cell technology. "There are excellent opportunities for utilising quantum efficiencies to change different chemical ...

The Sturtian Snowball Earth glaciation (717~660 million years ago) represents the most severe icehouse climate in Earth's history. Geological evidence indicates that, during this glaciation, ice sheets extended to low latitudes, and model simulations suggest global frozen ocean as well as a prolonged shut-down of the hydrological cycles. The Snowball Earth hypothesis poses that the Sturtian global glaciation is directly triggered by intense continental weathering that scavenges atmospheric CO2, while the global frozen condition is terminated by ...