Misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccines can negatively impact public confidence in immunisation uptake, a new UNSW Sydney study reveals. A new study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE revealed over 103 million people globally liked, shared, retweeted or reacted with an emoji to misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines. In 2020, a social media post claiming, "a new vaccine for COVID-19 will alter a person's DNA and result in them becoming genetically modified" was circulated on Facebook accounts in Australia. Up until August 21, 2020, this false claim had attracted 360 shares and was viewed 32,000 times. The study, led by UNSW researchers, ...

Quick: Pick your three favorite fast-food restaurants. If you're like many people, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King may come to mind--even if you much prefer In-N-Out or Chick-fil-A. A new study from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and UC San Francisco's Department of Neurology found that when it comes to making choices, we surprisingly often forget about the things we like best and are swayed by what we remember. The paper, publishing this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combines insights from economics and psychology with decision-making experiments and fMRI brain scans to examine how our imperfect memories affect our decision making. "Life is not a multiple-choice test," says Berkeley ...

Autoimmune diseases have something in common with horses, bachelor's degrees and daily flossing habits: women are more likely to have them. One reason for autoimmune diseases' prevalence in women may be sex-based differences in inflammation. In a new study, West Virginia University researcher Jonathan Busada investigated how sex hormones affect stomach inflammation in males and females. He found that androgens--or male sex hormones--may help to keep stomach inflammation in check. "Stomach cancer is primarily caused by rampant inflammation," said Busada, an assistant professor in the School of ...

Brown bears that are more inclined to grate and rub against trees have more offspring and more mates, according to a University of Alberta study. The results suggest there might be a fitness component to the poorly understood behaviour. "As far as we know, all bears do this dance, rubbing their back up against the trees, stomping the feet and leaving behind odours of who they are, what they are, what position they're in, and possibly whether they are related," said Mark Boyce, an ecologist in the Department of Biological Sciences. "What we were able to show is that both males and females have more offspring if they rub, more surviving offspring if they rub and they have more mates if they rub." The research team led by Boyce ...

Citrus greening disease was first discovered in Florida in 2005. Since then, production of oranges in the United States for processing has declined by 72 percent between the 2007-2008 growing season and the 2017-2018 growing season, primarily in Florida. The disease was discovered in California in 2012, and now the state is beginning to see a rapid increase of citrus greening disease. As there is currently no cure for citrus greening disease, many growers are concerned about its rapid spread and many plant pathologists are focused on learning more about the complicated nature of this disease. To add to this growing body of knowledge about citrus greening disease, a group of scientists working in California, ...

Annually, more than 350,000 children in the world are affected by pediatric cancer. Radiation has improved outcomes dramatically, but the damage caused to healthy tissue can affect the long-term health of a child. While clinicians and radiation specialists design treatments using the most up-to-date information available, there hasn't been a single guiding source of data to make evidence-based decisions that are specific for children. Now, a volunteer international research collaboration is working toward providing evidence-based guidelines for radiation therapy dosing for children. Results from this effort will help in minimizing side effects while continuing to provide ...

LA JOLLA, CA--Scientists at Scripps Research have unveiled a new Ebola virus vaccine design, which they say has several advantages over standard vaccine approaches for Ebola and related viruses that continue to threaten global health. In the new design, described in a paper in Nature Communications, copies of the Ebola virus outer spike protein, known as the glycoprotein, are tethered to the surface of a spherical carrier particle. The resulting structure resembles the spherical appearance of common RNA viruses that infect humans--and is starkly different from the snake-like shape of the Ebola virus. The scientists say the design is intended to stimulate a better protective immune response than standard vaccine approaches, ...

New Brunswick, N.J. (May 12, 2021) - A Rutgers study finds that symbiotic bacteria that colonize root cells may be managed to produce hardier crops that need less fertilizer. The study appears in the journal Microorganisms. Bacteria stimulate root hair growth in all plants that form root hairs, so the researchers examined the chemical interactions between bacteria inside root cells and the root cell. They found that bacteria are carried in seeds and absorbed from soils, then taken into root cells where the bacteria produce ethylene, a plant growth hormone that ...

Environmental enrichment -- with infrastructure, unfamiliar odors and tastes, and toys and puzzles -- is often used in zoos, laboratories, and farms to stimulate animals and increase their wellbeing. Stimulating environments are better for mental health and cognition because they boost the growth and function of neurons and their connections, the glia cells that support and feed neurons, and blood vessels within the brain. But what are the deeper molecular mechanisms that first set in motion these large changes in neurophysiology? That's the subject of a recent study in END ...

East Hanover, NJ. May 12, 2021. A team of specialists in regenerative rehabilitation conducted a successful pilot study investigating micro-fragmented adipose tissue (MFAT) injection for rotator cuff disease in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury. They demonstrated that MFAT injection has lasting pain-relief effects. The article, "A pilot study to evaluate micro-fragmented adipose tissue injection under ultrasound guidance for the treatment of refractory rotator cuff disease in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury," (doi: 10.1080/10790268.2021.1903140) was published ahead of print on April 8, 2021, by the Journal ...

Severe symptoms of COVID-19, leading often to death, are thought to result from the patient's own acute immune response rather than from damage inflicted directly by the virus. Immense research efforts are therefore invested in figuring out how the virus manages to mount an effective invasion while throwing the immune system off course. A new study, published today in Nature, reveals a multipronged strategy that the virus employs to ensure its quick and efficient replication, while avoiding detection by the immune system. The joint labor of the research groups of Dr. Noam Stern-Ginossar at the Weizmann Institute of Science and Dr. Nir Paran and Dr. Tomer ...

New science about the fate of freshwater ecosystems released today by the journal Sustainability finds that only 17 percent of rivers globally are both free-flowing and within protected areas, leaving many of these highly-threatened systems¬--and the species that rely on them --at risk. "Populations of freshwater species have already declined by 84 percent on average since 1970, with degradation of rivers a leading cause of this decline. As a critical food source for hundreds of millions of people, we need to reverse this trend," said Ian Harrison, freshwater specialist at Conservation International, adjunct professor ...

By Karina Ninni | Agência FAPESP – A study of 92 adolescents conducted in Brazil suggests girls are more likely than boys to develop metabolic alterations associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure and excessive blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (dyslipidemia). The study was conducted with FAPESP’s support by scientists affiliated with the University of São Paulo’s Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICB-USP) and the Medical School of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo (FCM-SCMSP). The findings are reported in an article in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition. According to the authors, the obese girls displayed a pattern of lipid profile alterations not seen in girls without obesity and a higher propensity to ...

Asian students and faculty have long been a cornerstone of science in the U.S., drawn by the promise of collaboration and cutting-edge research. However, the Asian community is facing increased racist attacks and scrutiny from the government. A cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores how Asian scientists are reassessing their futures in the U.S. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, racist attacks against the Asian community in the U.S. have increased notably, with nearly 4,000 incidents reported between March 2020 and February 2021. Some attribute this to former President Donald Trump's rhetoric about the pandemic originating in China, writes Senior Editor Andrea Widener. ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Melanocytic nevi, or moles, are nonmalignant growths that arise from pigment producing cells of the skin. They are mostly found in sun-exposed areas; however, they also can be found in sun-protected areas, such as the palms, soles of feet and nail beds, where they are known as acral nevi. While the mutation profile of nevi in sun-exposed areas is well understood, less is known about the genes that are commonly mutated in acral nevi. And while a subset of melanoma of sun-exposed skin arises in nevi, the link between nevi and melanoma in acral skin is poorly understood. In ...

NEW YORK, NY--While there was extensive use of drug repurposing throughout the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was substantial heterogeneity over the types of drugs used for treatment purposes globally. Some drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, saw sharp declines in use, while adjunctive therapies grew into a more relied upon method for patient management. In a number of cases, scientific discovery overturned misconceptions proclaimed via press conferences and social media. The OHDSI network study "Use of repurposed and adjuvant drugs in hospital patients with covid-19: multinational network cohort study," published May 11 by The BMJ, provides a global view ...

URBANA, Ill. - Gut health is having a moment, with sales of fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, and kimchi steadily on the rise. The benefits of "good bacteria" in fermented foods and supplements go well beyond the gut, moderating immune responses, heart health, weight, and even mood. But do products hold up to the claims on their labels? A new study from the University of Illinois and The Ohio State University examined bacterial content of five brands of kefir, a fermented dairy beverage often likened to drinkable yogurt. The research showed the majority of products overstated bacterial density and contained species not included on the label. "Our ...

The ability to connect and feel a sense of belonging are basic human needs but new Swansea University research has examined how these are determined by more than just our personal relationships. Research led by psychologist Professor Andrew Kemp, of the College of Human and Health Sciences, highlights the importance of taking a wider approach to wellbeing and how it can be influenced by issues such as inequality and anthropogenic climate change. Professor Kemp worked with PhD student Jess Mead and consultant clinical psychologist Dr Zoe Fisher, of the University's Health and Wellbeing Academy, on the study which presents a transdisciplinary ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Young people with diverse gender identities may be bullied and victimized up to three times more often than peers who identify as male or female, a new study of more than 4,464 adolescents in Illinois found. The students were part of a statewide survey of eighth- through 12th-grade youths in Illinois schools. "Transgender youths reported the highest rates of all forms of peer victimization, which were double to nearly triple those of males and up to 2.6 times higher than those of females," said social work professor Rachel Garthe of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who led the research. "Slightly ...

Can a protein found in a mosquito lead to a better understanding of the workings of our own brains? Prof. Ofer Yizhar and his team in the Weizmann Institute of Science's Neurobiology Department took a light-sensitive protein derived from mosquitos and used it to devise an improved method for investigating the messages that are passed from neuron to neuron in the brains of mice. This method, reported today in Neuron, could potentially help scientists solve age-old cerebral mysteries that could pave the way for new and improved therapies to treat neurological and psychiatric conditions. Yizhar and his lab team develop so-called optogenetic methods - research techniques that allow them to "reverse engineer" the activity of specific brain circuits ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. - As climate change threatens global food security, researchers at Michigan State University are building better beans crucial to human nutrition by tapping into the genetics of the more heat-resistant tepary bean. The tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) is a sister of the common bean which includes kidney, pinto and navy beans. "The common bean is the number one source of protein and nutrients for many people living in Central America and Africa," said Robin Buell, a professor of plant biology in MSU's College of Natural Science and former director of the Plant Resilience Institute. Her research on bean genetics was published May 11 in Nature Communications. "Mother nature has already made plants that are adapted to different climates," ...

Molecules are the building blocks for our modern world, from phones to cars to Doritos. But coming up with new ones is still an incredibly costly and time-consuming process. A group of University of Chicago chemists wants to find a better way. "If you look at a diagram of a molecule, it seems like you should be able to just snap them together like Tinkertoys, but you can't," said Asst. Prof. Mark Levin. "We'd like to change that." Their new discovery, published May 12 in Nature, represents a first step towards that transformation: a way to easily cut nitrogen atoms from molecules. Despite decades of experiments, chemistry remains an art in many ways because molecules are built in a long, iterative process: attaching ...

In plants, disease resistance proteins serve as major immune receptors that sense pathogens and pests and trigger robust defense responses. Scientists previously found that one such disease resistance protein, ZAR1, is transformed into a highly ordered protein complex called a resistosome upon detection of invading pathogens, providing the first clue as to how plant disease resistance proteins work. Precisely how a resistosome activates plant defenses, however, has been unclear. A joint team led by Profs. ZHOU Jianmin, CHEN Yuhang and HE Kangmin at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. CHAI Jijie at Tsinghua University recently employed state-of-the-art electrophysiology and single-molecule imaging to investigate the molecular ...

Scientists are exploring a number of ways for people with disabilities to communicate with their thoughts. The newest and fastest turns back to a vintage means for expressing oneself: handwriting. For the first time, researchers have deciphered the brain activity associated with trying to write letters by hand. Working with a participant with paralysis who has sensors implanted in his brain, the team used an algorithm to identify letters as he attempted to write them. Then, the system displayed the text on a screen - in real time. The innovation could, with further development, let people with paralysis rapidly ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Researchers with the BrainGate collaboration have, for the first time, used an implanted sensor to record the brain signals associated with handwriting, and used those signals to create text on a computer in real time. In a study published in the journal Nature, a clinical trial participant with cervical spinal cord injury used the system to "type" words on a computer at a rate of 90 characters per minute, more than double the previous record for typing with a brain-computer interface. This was done by the participant merely thinking about the hand motions involved in creating written letters. The research team is hopeful that such a system could one day help to restore ...