Shaggy-haired, tusked pigs roam free in the woods of Germany and Austria. Although these game animals look fine, some contain radioactive cesium at levels that render their meat unsafe to eat. Previously, scientists hypothesized that the contamination stemmed from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. But now, researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology report that nuclear weapon fallout from 60 to 80 years ago also contributes significantly to the wild boars’ persistent radioactivity. Radioactive cesium, a byproduct of nuclear weapons explosions and nuclear ...

With a remarkable observational campaign that involved 12 telescopes both on the ground and in space, including three European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, astronomers have uncovered the strange behaviour of a pulsar, a super-fast-spinning dead star. This mysterious object is known to switch between two brightness modes almost constantly, something that until now has been an enigma. But astronomers have now found that sudden ejections of matter from the pulsar over very short periods are responsible for the peculiar switches. “We have witnessed extraordinary cosmic events where enormous amounts of matter, similar to cosmic cannonballs, are launched into ...

The COVID-19 pandemic made it very clear that we need better methods to quickly screen for dangerous pathogens and substances. One such compound that regularly flies under the radar is lipopolysaccharide (LPS), largely known as "endotoxins." This molecule, which is found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, can be very harmful to humans. It can trigger a major immune response, producing fever and inflammation. In the worst cases, it can cause organ failure due to sepsis. Surprisingly, for such a ubiquitously present toxin, there are very few ways to effectively detect the presence of LPS. The gold standard for its detection is the limulus amebocyte ...

A new study has found that 12% of Americans are responsible for eating half of all beef consumed on a given day, a finding that may help consumer groups and government agencies craft educational messaging around the negative health and environmental impacts of beef consumption. Those 12% – most likely to be men or people between the ages of 50 and 65 – eat what researchers called a disproportionate amount of beef on a given day, a distinction based on the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which suggest 4 ounces per day of meat, poultry, and eggs combined for those consuming 2200 ...

Living in a racially segregated neighborhood puts Black children at a higher risk of having elevated blood lead levels, and this association has persisted over more than two decades, according to new research from the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, which is led by University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda. The study, published in Pediatrics, analyzed data from the early 1990s and from 2015 from blood lead level tests of more than 320,000 children younger than 7 in North Carolina. Researchers ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – Grandparents appeared to serve as an important private safety net when COVID-19 first hit the U.S., according to a study led by a Washington State University researcher.   The pandemic’s arrival in 2020 coincided with a surge of nearly 510,000 children living in “doubled-up” households, co-residing with other adults in addition to their parents or parents’ partners. While these living arrangements had already been increasing before COVID-19, this was an additional increase beyond what would be expected based on previous trends ...

Research Highlights: A study of more than 83,000 questionnaires by women ages 50-79, found more than 25% developed irregular heart rhythms, known as atrial fibrillation, which may increase their risk for stroke and heart failure. Stressful life events and insomnia were strongly linked to the development of atrial fibrillation, highlighting the need for mental well-being evaluations to be included with physical health examinations. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 DALLAS, Aug. 30, 2023 — After menopause an estimated 1 in 4 women may develop irregular heart rhythms — known as atrial fibrillation – ...

Statement highlights: This statement emphasizes that policies for patient data sharing should be interpreted and applied respectfully toward patients and research participants, equitable in impact both in terms of risks and potential benefits, and beneficial across broad and demographically diverse communities in the United States.  The statement outlines six new principles focused on encouraging the generalizability of research advances, good stewardship across the translational spectrum, transparency, education and involvement of patients, access and privacy protections.  Embargoed until 4:00 ...

Fresh discoveries about a type of immune cells could give lung cancer patients a more accurate prognosis and better identify who will benefit from immunotherapies. Researchers found that the location in and around tumours of cytotoxic T cells, which play a key role in fighting cancer, may help predict patient survival and indicate whether or not treatments will work. The findings could help to pave the way for improved immunotherapies - powerful but expensive life-extending treatments which currently fail in 80 per cent of cases - allowing them to work more effectively in more patients, researchers say. Experts ...

"The unprecedented societal interruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 and onward took their toll on economic activity. Lockdowns disrupted supply chains and caused economic losses with implications for private households," lead author Robin Middelanis from PIK explains. "Global stress like this reduces the economic capacity to cope with additional shocks from weather extremes that put even more pressure on already stressed societies.” For an individual climate disaster, impacts from local production losses can be flexibly reduced to a certain extent by the support ...

Bottom Line: Engaging in administrative tasks to estimate costs or pay for care among a cohort of cancer patients and survivors was associated with an 18% increase in cost-related treatment delays or nonadherence. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Author: Meredith Doherty, PhD, LCSW, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) Background: Navigating the U.S. health care system ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ — It’s “liquid courage,” not necessarily “beer goggles”: New research indicates that consuming alcohol makes you more likely to approach people you already find attractive but does not make others appear more attractive, according to a report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. The conventional wisdom of alcohol’s effects is that intoxication makes others seem better looking. But, according to the new study, this phenomenon has not been studied systematically. Earlier research typically ...

Results from a study just released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health show major inequities in the location of lead service lines across New York City. Communities with large numbers of Hispanic/Latino residents and those with children who are already highly vulnerable to lead exposure from numerous sources are disproportionately impacted by water service lines that may contain lead. The study findings are published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children. Even at lower levels of exposure, lead is associated with impaired cognitive function, attention-related behavioral problems, and diminished academic ...

Metasurfaces, also known as invisibility cloak technology, are an artificial material adept at manipulating. With metasurfaces allowing for lenses to be reduced to one 10,000th the size of conventional lenses, they are generating considerable interest as optical components allowing miniaturization of optical systems for the next generation of virtual and augmented reality as well as LiDAR. If metasurfaces become commercially viable, overcoming the challenges of complex manufacturing processes and high production costs, Korea could gain a significant technological edge ...

An online course designed to curb negative thinking has had strong results in helping people reduce the time they spend ruminating and worrying, a new study from UNSW Sydney has shown. And researchers say the online course, which will soon be hosted on the Australian Government funded online clinic This Way Up and is free with a prescription from a clinician, was found to significantly improve the mental health of the people who participated in the study. The trial was part of a collaboration between UNSW, the Black Dog Institute and The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St ...

Professionals working with children and young people will be offered training in brain science in an Australia-first initiative between The University of Queensland (UQ) and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) through the Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership (TQKP). Thriving Kids Brain Builders is a neuroscience translation initiative being developed with UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) for people working across the health, education, social and community services, justice and housing sectors. QBI ...

Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the world, but not only does it put the lives of those diagnosed at risk, but can also severely impact patient quality of life due to side-effects of treatment.   One such side-effect commonly reported by patients is sexual dysfunction – however, a new long-term clinical trial led by Edith Cowan University (ECU) and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Breakthrough Meeting in Japan, has revealed there is a therapy which may help combat this ...

How long can trees tolerate drought before the forest dies? Researchers from UC Davis can now predict which forests could survive despite future drought. Their new method links precipitation to tree growth, and it can help people decide where to put their resources as climate change affects patterns of snow and rainfall that impact the health of forests. “If a forest is doing OK, but in the future we know it’s likely to get only half the average rainfall it used to get, we can calculate the likelihood ...

As part of an innovative prison reform program, the Oregon State Penitentiary created a healing garden on its grounds to provide some respite from the concrete and resemble the outside world. One incarcerated man who had spent most of the past two decades in solitary confinement described going to the garden as, “the first time I walked on grass in 20 years.”  “Many of us have found beauty in weeds and flowers growing through the cracks in the pavement,” he told UC San Francisco researchers, who helped institute and then evaluated the reforms. “There is both beauty and inspiration in knowing that we, ...

Quantifying Counterfactual Military History probes whether historic battles and military interventions could have turned out quite differently Oxford, U.K., 30 August 2023 – Statistical methods can evaluate whether pivotal military events, like the Battle of Jutland, American involvement in the Vietnam war or the nuclear arms race, could’ve turned out otherwise, according to a new book. Military historical narratives and statistical modelling bring fresh perspectives to the fore in ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Recently, when customers began complaining that their vehicles with driver-assistance technologies were “phantom braking” or slamming on the brakes without any visible obstacles present, researchers at Michigan State University wanted to learn more about this phenomenon — why it happens and how to stop it. “Frequent phantom braking incidents can erode confidence in autonomous driving technologies,” said Qiben Yan, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering. “If riders perceive the technology as unpredictable or unreliable, they’ll be less likely to embrace it.” Autonomous vehicles have a vision system, ...

Late preterm infants, or infants born between 34 and 36-6/7 weeks gestation, are the majority of infants born preterm, and are at greater risk for academic delays compared to full term infants. Certain factors, including a low level of maternal education, prenatal tobacco use, twins/multiple gestation and male sex increased the risk for deficits in math and reading by kindergarten for late preterm infants, a new study finds. However, sensitive parenting and preschool enrollment are two possible ways to counter the risk of being born late preterm, and to promote academic resilience. “Our findings highlight an opportunity for pediatric providers to offer prevention strategies ...

A multidisciplinary team lead by University of Texas at Arlington mathematics Assistant Professor Souvik Roy is on a mission to improve medical imaging using a new technique called quantitative photoacoustic tomography (QPAT).A multidisciplinary team lead by University of Texas at Arlington mathematics Assistant Professor Souvik Roy is on a mission to improve medical imaging using a new technique called quantitative photoacoustic tomography (QPAT). QPAT is an imaging modality that combines ultrasound, which is an imaging technique that uses sound waves to image features inside ...

Astronomers have uncovered a link between Neptune's shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, in which the waxing and waning of the Sun's entangled magnetic fields drives solar activity. This discovery is based on three decades of Neptune observations captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, as well as data from the Lick Observatory in California. The link between Neptune and solar activity is surprising to planetary scientists because Neptune is our solar system's farthest major planet and receives sunlight with about 0.1% ...

A University of Massachusetts Amherst biomedical engineer has used a nanogel-based carrier designed in his lab to deliver a drug exclusively to the liver of obese mice, effectively reversing their diet-induced disease. “The treated mice completely lost their gained weight, and we did not see any untoward side effects,” says S. Thai Thayumanavan, distinguished professor of chemistry and biomedical engineering. “Considering 100 million Americans have obesity and related cardiometabolic disorders, we became pretty excited about this work.”  Efforts ...