NEW YORK, NY (October 5, 2023) – Researchers have used CRISPR gene editing, stem cells and human neurons to study the impact of a gene that is commonly mutated in autism. This new study, published today in The American Journal of Human Genetics, ties mutations in the gene CHD8 with a broad spectrum of molecular and cellular defects in human cortical neurons.  Autism is a highly heritable disorder with a recent increase in incidence — approximately 1 in 40 children in the US are diagnosed with autism. Over the past decade, sequencing studies have found many ...

Check the comments section of many social media and digital news platforms, and you’re likely to find a cesspool of insults, threats and even harassment. In fact, a Pew Research Center survey found that 41% of American adults have personally experienced online harassment, and one in five adults say they’ve been harassed online for their political views. But researchers at BYU and Duke University say derisive online conversations don’t have to be the norm. A joint paper between the two universities found that artificial intelligence can be used to improve conversation quality and promote civil dialogue in online ...

With a myriad of external pressures and challenges facing hospitals and health systems today, it is more important now than ever to mitigate internal risks. Unprofessional behavior, which negatively impacts patient care, retention, and team dynamics, is a legal, financial, and cultural risk that many health systems are now looking to address head-on. Peer-reviewed research consistently shows unprofessional behavior in health systems can be reduced by 85% through implementing the right tools and processes.   The Vanderbilt ...

TikTok and other short-form video platforms are booming in popularity — for entertainment and for sharing information, including health information. Researchers are currently examining the effects of social media videos, and among them is Ciera Kirkpatrick, assistant professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Kirkpatrick, who studies the intersection of communication and health, recently turned her scientific eye toward TikTok. In a newly published article, Kirkpatrick and co-author LaRissa Lawrie, a doctoral ...

Three years ago, as part of the public health messaging in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization launched the "Wear A Mask" campaign on social media. However, despite their benefits to public health, mask-wearing quickly became a highly politicized and divisive issue across the globe. But the campaign gained impressive traction after World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the following tweet on X, the social media platform known at the time as Twitter, on August 21, 2020, thanking BTS, a South Korean K-pop group, for supporting the mask-wearing public ...

In art, the negative space in a painting can be just as important as the painting itself. Something similar is true in insulating materials, where the empty spaces left behind by missing electrons play a crucial role in determining the material's properties. When a negatively charged electron is excited by light, it leaves behind a positive hole. Because the hole and the electron are oppositely charged, they are attracted to each other and form a bond. The resulting pair, which is short lived, is known as an exciton [pronounced exit-tawn].    Excitons are a key part of many technologies, including solar panels, photodetectors and sensors, as well as light-emitting ...

The American College of Cardiology has announced Julie Damp, MD, FACC, as the next vice chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session. Damp will serve as vice chair for ACC.25 and ACC.26 and transition to chair for ACC.27 and ACC.28. "ACC Annual Scientific Session is an incredibly impactful learning experience for cardiovascular care providers globally,” Damp said. “I am truly honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with the ACC team to provide effective and innovative education that impacts the care of our patients and expands the reach of cardiovascular science." Damp is a professor of medicine in cardiovascular medicine ...

A new study may offer a strategy that mitigates negative side effects associated with intravenous injection of nanoparticles commonly used in medicine.   The study was published today in Nature Nanotechnology. “Nanotechnology’s main advantage over conventional medical treatments is its ability to more precisely target tissues, such as cancer cells targeted by chemotherapy. However, when nanoparticles are injected, they can activate part of the immune system called complement,” said senior author Dmitri Simberg, Ph.D., professor of Nanomedicine and Nanosafety at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy ...

A technology being studied to curb climate change – one that could be put in place in one or two decades if work on the technology began now – would affect food productivity in parts of planet Earth in dramatically different ways, benefiting some areas, and adversely affecting others, according to projections prepared by a Rutgers-led team of scientists. Writing in the journal, Nature Food, the scientists described the results of computer models simulating varying climate scenarios and their impacts over time on the production of the world’s four major food crops: ...

About The Study: In this study of 4,070 insured adults with diabetes, disparities in poor glycemic control persisted despite adjustment for social, health care, and behavioral factors. Research is needed to identify the barriers contributing to poor control even in populations with access to care.  Authors: Sandra S. Albrecht, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York, 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.2023.36307) Editor’s Note: Please see the article ...

About The Study: This study of 26.9 million individuals in four Canadian provinces found that cannabis legalization with restrictions was not associated with an increase in hospitalizations due to cannabis but commercialization was. The findings suggest that commercialization of cannabis may be associated with increases in cannabis-related health harms, including cannabis-induced psychosis.  Authors: Daniel T. Myran, M.D., M.P.H., of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is the corresponding author.  To ...

About The Study: In a representative sample of emergency department chest radiographs, results suggest that the generative artificial intelligence (AI) model produced reports of similar clinical accuracy and textual quality to radiologist reports while providing higher textual quality than teleradiologist reports. Implementation of the model in the clinical workflow could enable timely alerts to life-threatening pathology while aiding imaging interpretation and documentation.  Authors: Mozziyar Etemadi, M.D., Ph.D., of Northwestern Medicine ...

They’re being hailed as an effective way to lose weight, but diabetes drugs like Ozempic may come with a heightened risk of severe gastrointestinal problems. That’s according to new research from the University of British Columbia showing that medications known as GLP-1 agonists—which includes brands like Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus and Saxenda—are associated with an increased risk of serious medical conditions including stomach paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstruction. While previous studies highlighted some of these risks in patients with diabetes, this is the first large, population-level study to examine adverse gastrointestinal ...

When the new SARS-CoV-2 virus began killing thousands of people every week, physicians and scientists around the globe raced to learn why the new pathogen was so deadly. Among many early findings, experts noted that the infection played havoc with blood circulation, both inflaming the linings of blood vessels and making the blood itself more likely to form dangerous clots. Critically ill COVID-19 patients suffered pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), arterial thrombosis, as well as microvascular thrombosis affecting tissues of the lungs, kidneys, and heart. Doctors tried a wide array of existing medications in hopes of controlling the blood system impacts, with mixed ...

New research has shed light on how genetics influences the growth of the placenta, revealing a link to risk of disease in the mother. Scientists from the University of Exeter worked with colleagues in Norway and Denmark to lead a largescale international collaboration which examined placental growth in the greatest detail yet. They caried out the first ever genome-wide association study of the weight of the placenta at birth, generating a number of revelations. Among the findings published in Nature Genetics, the team concluded that faster growth of the placenta can contribute to risk of preeclampsia, and to earlier delivery ...

Creating artificial life is a recurring theme in both science and popular literature, where it conjures images of creeping slime creatures with malevolent intentions or super-cute designer pets. At the same time, the question arises: What role should artificial life play in our environment here on Earth, where all life forms are created by nature and have their own place and purpose? Associate professor Chenguang Lou from the Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, together with Professor Hanbin Mao from Kent State University, is the parent of a special artificial hybrid molecule that could lead to ...

Scientists using the H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia have detected the highest energy gamma rays ever from a dead star called a pulsar. The energy of these gamma rays clocked in at 20 tera-electronvolts, or about ten trillion times the energy of visible light. This observation is hard to reconcile with the theory of the production of such pulsed gamma rays, as the international team reports in the journal Nature Astronomy. Pulsars are the left-over corpses of stars that spectacularly exploded in a supernova. The explosions leave behind ...

A team of scientists at the QOT Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies, including a student from the Faculty of Physics (University of Warsaw), made a device capable of the conversion of quantum information between microwave and optical photons. The results of research, published in “Nature Photonics” magazine, highlight a new microwave detection method with possible applications in quantum technologies, as a part of quantum network infrastructure, and in microwave radio-astronomy.    Conversion of quantum information Whenever you listen to a song on your phone or computer, a conversion of information happens – ...

About The Study: This study found that use of glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists for weight loss compared with use of bupropion-naltrexone was associated with increased risk of pancreatitis, gastroparesis, and bowel obstruction but not biliary disease. Given the wide use of these drugs, these adverse events, although rare, must be considered by patients who are contemplating using the drugs for weight loss because the risk-benefit calculus for this group might differ from that of those who use them for diabetes.  Authors: Mahyar Etminan, Pharm.D., M.Sc., of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

For pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, a technology giving insulin doses, as informed by a smartphone algorithm, helps them better manage their blood sugars compared with traditional insulin pumps or multiple daily injections, according to a new randomised trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting in Hamburg (2-6 October). Despite better systems for monitoring blood sugars and delivering insulin, hormonal changes and altered eating patterns during pregnancy mean that ...

A research team co-led by scholars from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has successfully morphed all-inorganic perovskites at room temperature without compromising their functional properties. Their findings demonstrate the potential of this class of semiconductors for manufacturing next-generation deformable electronics and energy systems in the future. All-inorganic lead halide perovskites are becoming increasingly important semiconducting materials in energy conversion and optoelectronics because of their outstanding performance and enhanced environmental stability. “However, unlike metal ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced the launch of Texas Health Equity Alliance for Breast Cancer (THEAL), a community-wide health care initiative to reduce breast cancer disparities in the Houston area, particularly for Black women.  THEAL builds upon the expertise of MD Anderson’s Department of Health Disparities Research in addressing the determinants of cancer disparities while leveraging the cancer prevention and control platform’s experience in leading cross-sector collaboratives ...

“The Queen’s Gambit” miniseries portrayed the life of a fictional chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, who is continuously underestimated in male-dominated competitions. A team of New York University psychology researchers has now found some “real-life” evidence of what Harmon faced as a younger player: Parents and coaches of youth chess players peg the highest potential rating of girl players to be lower than that of boy players. Moreover, the study’s authors, who included Jennifer Shahade, a two-time US Women’s Chess champion, found ...

Young female chess players often face gender bias both in the male-dominated chess world and among parents and mentors who believe girls have less potential to succeed in chess than boys, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.   “It’s disheartening to see young female players’ potential downgraded, even by the people who are closest to them, like their parents and coaches,” said lead researcher Sophie Arnold, a doctoral student at New York University.  The study, which was published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, presents what the researchers say is the first large-scale ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [October 5, 2023] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a non-profit alliance of leading cancer centers across the United States—has released a follow-up survey on the ongoing chemotherapy shortages: 72% of the centers surveyed continue to experience a shortage of carboplatin and 59% are still seeing a shortage of cisplatin. Overall, 86% of centers surveyed reported experiencing a shortage of at least one type of anti-cancer drug. View the updated survey results at NCCN.org/platinum-update. The NCCN Best Practices Committee originally shared survey results ...