"The perspective is enormous, because you’re taking something that is currently waste and making high-value products from it."   This is what Professor Per Halkjær Nielsen, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience at Aalborg University in Denmark, says about the results of a research project that utilizes surplus biomass in wastewater treatment plants in new ways. The focal point is biopolymers that can be described as long chains of molecules that are bound to each other and that are produced by living organisms, including bacteria. Today, synthetic ...

“In the last decade, immunotherapy agents changed the treatment landscape for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).” BUFFALO, NY - October 18, 2024 – A new case report was published in Oncoscience (Volume 11) on October 8, 2024, entitled, “Complete and long-lasting response to immunotherapy in a stage IV non-small cell lung cancer with brain metastasis.” As highlighted in the abstract of this report, approximately 20% of lung cancer patients have brain metastases at diagnosis, which is associated with a worse prognosis and negatively impacts quality ...

American lobsters along Maine’s coast have relocated to new habitats, while the population simultaneously shrunk in abundance and grew older, according to a new study by University of Maine researchers. For decades, the vast majority of adult lobsters resided in boulder shelter habitats. This knowledge helped inform longtime conservation efforts and regulations within the more than $740 million fishery.  A team of UMaine scientists, however, found that from 1995-2021, occupancy of boulder habitats dropped 60%. Meanwhile, the number ...

MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2024 – The Acoustical Society of America is hosting a virtual meeting Nov. 18-22. Journalists are invited to virtually attend press conferences on Monday, Nov. 18 and attend technical sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This scientific conference brings together interdisciplinary groups of acoustics professionals, spanning many fields, including physics, medicine, and music, to discuss the latest advancements. From dinosaurs to pipe organs, the virtual conference will cover a wide range of topics. Experts will present ...

In an article in the journal BioScience, an international team of researchers led by Dr. Cleo Bertelsmeier from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, argue that the global spread of nonnative plants is a key factor driving the growing number of insect invasions worldwide. The research challenges traditional assumptions about the principal causes of nonnative insect invasions. The authors note that when nonnative plants become established in new regions, they create ecological niches that permit the establishment of insect species from the plants' native ranges, which can produce further cascading effects: "Plant invasions ...

Key Takeaways  Music may have a calming effect on patients recovering from surgery– reducing anxiety, perceived pain, and heart rate.  A reduction in cortisol levels when listening to music may play a role in easing patients’ recovery.  Looking for a creative way to quicken your recovery from surgery? The key may be found in listening to music, according to research presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2024 in San Fransisco, California. Researchers at California Northstate ...

 Key Takeaways  Analysis of Reddit posts shows that many breast cancer patients often struggle with multiple emotional and financial concerns during treatment and long after.  There is a need for increased access to education and workshops on coping, treatment decision-making, and understanding diagnoses and prognoses.  Although breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer diagnosed in women, finding support during treatment and through survivorship can be incredibly challenging. An analysis of posts from breast cancer patients on the ...

Key Takeaways  The American College of Surgeons Geriatric Surgery Verification program is a quality-improvement program aimed at improving the care of older adult patients. The program consists of 32 evidence-based standards.   The death rate after surgery was reduced by nearly half — from 10.2% to 5.7% — at one hospital after implementing the ACS GSV program standards.  The proportion of patients with documented care preferences, including advanced-care directives, nearly tripled after implementing the program standards.   Implementing ...

Key Takeaways  Cancer patients are nearly 5 times more likely to experience bankruptcy.  Studies are the first to use objective data to evaluate the financial fallout for patients with cancer.  For patients with bladder, liver, lung, and colorectal cancers, the impact on credit scores was larger compared with other types of cancers.   A diagnosis of cancer can take a toll on more than a person’s health. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston found that financial fallout can follow patients with cancer ...

Key Takeaways  The world's first combined face and whole-eye transplantation used personalized surgical cutting guides and a novel “shortcut” to maintain blood flow to the transplanted eye.   Innovative surgical techniques ensured optimal blood flow to the retina, safeguarding the viability of the transplanted eye during the procedure.  An explanation of how an NYU Langone Health surgical team performed the world’s first combined face and whole-eye transplantation will be presented at the American ...

Key Takeaways  Two new studies shed light on the costs associated with newer weight loss drugs and their use before bariatric surgery.   Long term, the cost effectiveness of bariatric surgery is greater than that of GLP-1 RA weight loss drugs alone, but a combination of the two treatments is more cost effective than surgery alone.  Taking GLP-1 RA weight loss drugs in the year before bariatric surgery is not linked to worse health outcomes within one month after surgery, or significantly different weight loss one year after the operation.  Newer ...

Key Takeaways:  Microgravity Innovation: The unique conditions of low Earth orbit help to self-assemble human liver tissues with enhanced functionality, compared to Earth-based methods.  Advanced Tissue Preservation: The project includes developing a bioreactor for the stable supercooling preservation of tissues, a critical step toward transporting viable tissues back to Earth.  Clinical Implications: This research could lead to novel stem cell-derived liver tissues, providing ...

Key Takeaways  Implementing a system-wide preoperative nutrition program projected an 18% decrease in hospitalization days and a 33% decrease in postoperative complications across multiple surgical specialties.  The program’s financial implications include a projected annual savings of $7.8 million for the payer/insurance sector.  Preoperative nutrition interventions are shown to reduce "outlier days" — hospital days exceeding the expected number — which significantly contributes ...

Key Takeaways  Young adults with colon cancer are typically diagnosed at a later stage and with a more aggressive type of the disease. There are also racial and ethnic disparities, including a significantly higher rate of colon cancer among non-Hispanic Black adults.   Obesity, family history, inflammatory bowel disease, and symptoms, such as abdominal pain or rectal bleeding, are factors strongly associated with colon cancer in younger adults.   Important concerns for ...

Researchers at the University of California San Diego Center for Epigenomics (C4E) have developed a new technique, called Droplet Hi-C, that allows scientists to rapidly determine chromatin organization, the arrangement of genetic material within cells. Chromatin organization influences how genes are activated in our cells and, in turn, how those cells function. In addition to being faster than existing methods for studying chromatin organization, droplet Hi-C is more affordable, which could make it significantly easier for scientists to understand how genes influence the progression of complex diseases, such as cancer and neurological disorders. The ...

All cancer mutations that cause drug resistance fall into one of four categories. New research has detailed each type, helping to uncover targets for drug development and identify potential effective second-line therapies. In a new large-scale study, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Open Targets, and collaborators used CRISPR gene editing to map the genetic landscape of drug resistance in cancers, focusing on colon, lung, and Ewing ...

New study introduces a novel computational holography-based method that enables high-resolution, non-invasive imaging through highly scattering media, without the need for traditional tools like guide stars or spatial light modulators. By leveraging computational optimization, the method drastically reduces the number of measurements required and corrects over 190,000 scattered modes using just 25 holographic frames. This innovation shifts the imaging burden from physical hardware to flexible, scalable digital processing, allowing for faster, more efficient imaging across a wide range of fields, from medical diagnostics to autonomous navigation. Its importance lies in providing a versatile, ...

An international study involving people from 11 countries has shown most people, including those in areas most affected by climate change, don’t understand the term ‘Climate Justice’. However they do recognise the social, historical, and economic injustices that characterise the climate crisis. The findings could help shape more effective communications and advocacy. Researchers from the Univeristy of Nottingham’s School of Psychology led a study that surveyed 5,627 adults in 11 countries (Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Philippines, United Arab Emirates, United ...

The migration of the monarch butterfly is one of the wonders of the natural world. Each autumn, a new generation of monarch butterflies is born in the northern United States and southern Canada. Hundreds of millions of these butterflies then fly to the mountains of Central Mexico, between 4,000km and 4,800km away. There, they overwinter in forests of the sacred fir Abies religiosa at high altitudes. Without these sacred firs, the monarchs couldn’t survive their grueling migration. But under global warming, these forests are predicted to slowly ...

Rapid synthesis of high-entropy alloy nanoparticles (HEA NPs) offers a new opportunity to develop functional materials in various applications. Although some methods have successfully produced HEA NPs, these methods generally require rigorous conditions such as high pressure, high temperature, restricted atmosphere and limited substrates, which impede practical viability.   In a new paper published in Light: Science & Applications, a team of scientists, led by Professor Zhu Liu from the Research Centre for Laser Extreme Manufacturing, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed ...

Fuel cells and metal-air batteries are considered the future of clean energy technology, but they rely on one critical reaction—the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)—to convert energy efficiently. Traditionally, platinum (Pt) and its alloys have been the go-to catalysts for this process due to their high activity, but they come with significant drawbacks, such as high cost and poor stability. Now, a team of researchers led by Yuan Zhao from Jinling Institute of Technology (China) may have found a promising solution. Their ...

Hamilton, ON, Oct. 17, 2024 – McMaster University researchers have discovered a previously unknown cell-protecting function of a protein, which could open new avenues for treating age-related diseases and lead to healthier aging overall.   The team has found that a class of protective proteins known as MANF plays a role in the process that keep cells efficient and working well.   The findings appear in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.    Our ...

A new University of Maryland-led discovery could spur the development of new and improved treatments for Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a rare genetic disorder with no known cure that causes accelerated aging in children. Published in the journal Aging Cell on October 18, 2024, in collaboration with researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke University, the study identified a protein linked to the cardiovascular health of animal models with progeria ...

By Dylan Walsh for UC Berkeley Haas In the U.S., demand for in vitro fertilization (IVF) increased almost 140% between 2004 and 2018. Among other things, this trend suggests a business opportunity; in that same span of time the market share of for-profit chain clinics grew from 5% to 20%, with chains now performing over 40% of IVF treatment cycles nationwide. “Chain organizations are very common in hotels and restaurants,” says Ambar La Forgia, an assistant professor at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. “But when it comes to healthcare, because it hasn’t ...

A new UC Davis MIND Institute study offers critical insights into Rett syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects mostly girls. The research reveals how this condition affects males and females differently, with symptoms progression linked to changes in gene responses in brain cells. Rett syndrome is caused by mutations of the MECP2 gene located on the X chromosome. Children with Rett initially show typical development before symptoms start. The symptoms vary widely. They include loss of hand function, breathing difficulties and seizures that affect the child’s ability to speak, walk, and eat. Rett is less common in males, ...