SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 13, 2025 – With cancer still rising in the U.S. Latino population, leaders at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) and national cancer experts have published an online book with innovative recommendations to reduce Latino cancer. The book, “Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings,” highlights results of the same-named conference that brought 300 researchers, advocates and survivors to San Antonio in February 2024. A follow-up conference is planned for Feb. 18-20, 2026, in San Antonio. Included ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The invasive emerald ash borer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was first found in the United States in southeast Michigan in 2002. In the decades since, the wood-boring beetle has spread east and west across the U.S. and Canada, killing tens of millions of ash trees, causing one of the costliest forest insect invasions to date. More than 90% of all ash infested by the insect native to Asia eventually die, threatening to make the tree species functionally extinct in North America. In response, researchers at Penn State are working with the U.S. Forest Service and other partners to identify and develop ...

CRISPR is a powerful gene-editing tool that holds enormous potential for treating genetic diseases by allowing scientists to cut, replace, or delete mutations in DNA. It can also modify gene expression, temporarily amplifying or diminishing its effects.  Yet, despite its promise, applying CRISPR (which is a reagent, or a substance that facilitates a reaction) in patients presents significant challenges. “CRISPR is difficult to control when you want to do gene editing in vivo, or directly in the patient,” says Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez, an assistant professor of bioengineering in Lehigh University’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering ...

Scientists at the University of Stuttgart have succeeded in controlling the structure and function of biological membranes with the help of "DNA origami". The system they developed may facilitate the transportation of large therapeutic loads into cells. This opens up a new way for the targeted administration of medication and other therapeutic interventions. Thus, a very valuable instrument can be added to the toolbox of synthetic biology. Prof. Laura Na Liu and her team published their findings in the journal Nature Materials (DOI: 10.1038/s41563-024-02075-9). The ...

Lap Fai (Craig) Yu, Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computing, and Joel Martin, Associate Professor, Kinesiology, College of Education and Human Development, received funding for the project: “EAGER: TaskDCL: Adapting Mixed Reality Training Programs to Real-World Scenes to enhance Human-AI Teaming in Emergency Responses.”  This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project funds research that intends to speed up the development of mixed reality and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help ...

HOUSTON and BEAUMONT, TEXAS ― In an effort to improve public health and reduce cancer risk in East Texas, leaders in Beaumont are working with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to launch Be Well™ Beaumont through a newly announced $10 million gift from ExxonMobil. Community members, collaborators and representatives from MD Anderson kicked off the 10-year initiative today in Beaumont.   Be Well Beaumont aims to promote wellness and to lower cancer risk among community members by providing them with cancer prevention education and tools. ...

The cause of rare diseases is increasingly being detected through genome sequencing, which involves reading the entire human DNA by first breaking it into small pieces—short reads. Christian Gilissen, Lisenka Vissers, and colleagues found that a new technique using long reads is even more effective at detecting complex causes. They report that eighty to ninety percent of cases were detectable, as stated in the American Journal of Human Genetics.   Rare diseases are typically due to genetic causes. These causes are more and ...

One supermassive black hole has kept astronomers glued to their scopes for the last several years. First came a surprise disappearance, and now, a precarious spinning act.  The black hole in question is 1ES 1927+654, which is about as massive as a million suns and sits in a galaxy that is 100 million light-years away. In 2018, astronomers at MIT and elsewhere observed that the black hole’s corona — a cloud of whirling, white-hot plasma — suddenly disappeared, before reassembling months later. The brief though dramatic shut-off was a first in black hole astronomy. Members of the MIT team have now caught the same black hole exhibiting ...

New research identifies differing trends in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses among adolescents and adults, including an increase among adults from 2020 to 2023. The study, published in the American Psychiatric Association Journal Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, found a significant downward trends in ADHD incidence among adults from 2016 to 2020 and adolescents from 2016 to 2018. The ADHD incidence rate remained stable for adolescents in subsequent years. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder involving inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity that interferes with a person’s functioning and ability ...

A new study shows that the risk of developing dementia anytime after age 55 among Americans is 42%, more than double the risk reported by older studies.  That dementia risk translates into an estimated half-million cases this year, rising to 1 million new cases a year by 2060, according to the new work. Dementia involves progressive declines in memory, concentration, and judgment. The increasing number of cases is directly tied to the aging of the U.S. population. Beyond aging, a high risk of dementia is linked to genetic factors, as well as high rates of hypertension and diabetes, obesity, unhealthy diets, ...

In brief In their overview study, the team of researchers led by Russell McKenna identified 14 key impact categories of wind energy. They provide possible solutions for the identified impacts and suggest research priorities. More than 400 studies were included in the analysis. The review paper, recently published in the journal Joule, provides guidance for future studies and policy decisions.   What is the study about, and what is its core message? Russell McKenna: The study looks at the impacts of wind energy on the systems in which it is embedded; whether environmental and climate systems, socio-economic, ...

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that although children and young adults with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) can have severe disease during the acute phase, most recovered quickly and had a reassuring midterm prognosis. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Dongngan T. Truong, MD, email truongd@kidsheart.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.5466) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, ...

About The Study: The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis highlight the burden of sexual violence against children worldwide based on current available evidence. There is a pressing need to enhance data collection efforts globally, especially in under-researched regions and for boys. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Antonio Piolanti, PhD, email antonio.piolanti@aau.at. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.5326) Editor’s ...

HOUSTON ― Smokers undergoing lung cancer screening may have the best chance of quitting if they receive integrated care, which includes medication and comprehensive counseling with tobacco treatment specialists, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.   The study results, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, demonstrated that integrated care outperformed other cessation methods with a nearly two-fold improvement in the odds of quitting. In this randomized clinical trial of 630 current smokers who were eligible for lung cancer screening, over ...

“Microplastic particles are currently found almost everywhere – in water, food, fish, and even breast milk,” says Artūras Torkelis, a PhD student at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU). He emphasises that proper waste management is essential for reducing these risks. The use of plastic in Europe has skyrocketed over the past decade. Recent statistics reveal that in 2021, each person in the European Union (EU) generated an average of 36 kg of plastic packaging waste. Of the more than 16 million tonnes of plastic packaging generated that year, only 6.5 million tonnes were recycled. Plastic recycling remains a serious problem. ...

A research team led by Prof. HU Li at the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has revealed that parvalbumin (PV) interneurons in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) preferentially encode pain intensity and drive nociceptive-evoked gamma oscillations (GBOs). Published online in Neuron on January 13, the study fills a longstanding gap in understanding the origins of nociceptive-evoked GBOs and their selective relationship with pain processing across different species. The findings suggest the potential for using these oscillations as a promising target for therapeutic interventions. Pain is a ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Due to the physical contact nature of their occupation, the elite athletes of the National Football League (NFL) often experience pain. However, an analysis of 2021 and 2022 data from the National Football League Prescription Drug Monitoring Program shows that team members in those two years were even less likely than both the general U.S. population and males of similar age living in the U.S., to have a prescription for an opioid pain medication. The study found that less than 3 percent of pain medications prescribed to the athletes who played in one or both of the two seasons were for opioids. Slightly more than 86 percent of the ...

The mosquito-borne Zika virus is known for causing microcephaly, a birth defect in which abnormal brain development results in a smaller-than-expected head. A new study published Jan. 13 in mBio shows that the Zika virus hijacks a host protein called ANKLE2, which happens to be important for brain development, to assist its own reproduction. Because Zika, unlike most related viruses, can cross the placenta, this can have disastrous consequences in pregnancy.  “It’s a case of Zika being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Priya Shah, associate professor in the departments of Microbiology and Molecular ...

The concentration of the population in cities is accelerating, and difficulties in maintaining various infrastructures are arising due to extreme weather. Extensive infrastructures like waste landfill facilities face significant challenges due to the difficulty for managers to stay on-site or access them. These maintenance issues are resulting in various problems, including environmental pollution. To solve these issues, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Sun Kyu, Park) has developed a cost-effective and high-efficiency maintenance technology using satellite ...

This work reveals a new mechanism by which brown fat is converted into heat, and which protects from pathologies associated with obesity. The MCJ protein is key to the fat burning mechanism now identified, making it a promising target for treating obesity, according to the authors in Nature Communications. The research is led by Guadalupe Sabio, from Spain’s National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), and Cintia Folgueira, from both CNIO and the National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC). Obesity, which affects 650 ...

‘True Food’ Research Database Offers Rankings for 50,000 Processed Foods   The database, developed by researchers at Mass General Brigham and made available to the public, sheds light on the availability of processed foods at different grocery stores, highlighting the need for more understanding and regulation of the foods offered     A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham provides information to empower consumers and policymakers about the degree of processing of the foods available at three large grocery retailers. Using an algorithm, the researchers analyzed ...

Scientists at Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) have solved a big mystery in cancer research – why cells die in different ways following radiotherapy. This surprising finding opens up new opportunities to improve treatment and increase cure rates. The findings were published in Nature Cell Biology by first author Dr Radoslaw Szmyd of CMRI’s Genome Integrity Unit, which is led by Professor Tony Cesare. Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is a critically important type of cancer treatment. Scientists have struggled for decades to understand why radiation therapy kills cells from the ...

The most detailed study to date on the mechanisms by which a common type of bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, adapts to living on the human body could help improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of certain infections. The study, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge, the Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (IBV) at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and their collaborators, involved using the genomes of thousands of S. aureus isolates cultured from the human nose and on the skin to investigate which genes are important for the bacteria to adapt and persist. Published today (13 January) in Nature Communications, ...

Legions of battery engineers and their supporters have sought for years to build batteries cheaper than the dominant lithium-ion technology, hoping to capture some of lithium-ion’s $50 billion-a-year and growing market. The latest darling contender among researchers, startups, and venture capitalists – sodium-ion batteries – has received much attention after COVID-induced mineral supply chain challenges sent lithium prices on a wild ride. Still, achieving a low-cost contender may be several years away for sodium-ion batteries and will require a set of technology advances and favorable ...

Scientists from the Francis Crick Institute, UCL, UCLH and Personalis have found that a test to detect circulating tumour DNA can predict lung cancer outcome in a Cancer Research UK-funded study. Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is fragments of DNA released into the blood by tumours. It’s known to be important for disease prognosis but can be difficult to measure precisely. In research published today in Nature Medicine, Crick and UCL scientists worked with Personalis to test a platform called NeXT Personal, which can detect very small amounts – 1 part per million – ...