Osaka, Japan – As cute as raccoons may look, their behaviors are troublesome, and so are their droppings. Known to contain Escherichia albertii—a harmful enteropathogen—raccoon feces challenge zoonotic researchers who grapple to isolate this bacterium for further study. Fortunately, Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have come up with a novel culture medium for efficient isolation of E. albertii, making progress toward alleviating this particular raccoon-conveyed threat. Due ...

The research team led by Dr. Se-Jong Kim and Dr. Juwon Na of the Materials Data Management Center in the Materials Digital Platform Division together with the research team led by Professor Seungchul Lee of POSTECH has developed a technology that can automatically identify and quantify materials microstructure from microscopic images through human-in-the-loop machine learning. KIMS is a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Microscopic imaging systems visualize material structure information at multiple ...

Further conservation measures are required to protect Vietnamese reptiles, such as the psychedelic rock gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica), from habitat loss and overharvesting, concludes a new report, published in the open-access scientific journal Nature Conservation. Having identified areas of high reptile diversity and large numbers of endangered species, the study provides a list of the 50 most threatened species as a guide for further research and conservation action in Vietnam.  The study, based on the bachelor thesis of Lilli Stenger (University of Cologne, Germany), recommends IUCN CPSG’s ...

A unique program that sees students at the Medical College of Georgia working as anesthesia technologists throughout their four years of medical school can influence more of them to pursue the specialty as a career, investigators report. The MCG Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine’s nearly 100-year-old Externship Program is one of only five or six in the country and allows interested medical students to work nights, weekends and holidays, as a critical part of the anesthesia and operating room teams. Anesthesia techs are typically responsible for sterilizing, cleaning, assembling, calibrating, testing and troubleshooting various pieces of machinery in the operating ...

WASHINGTON (September 6, 2023) – An annual survey of physical and sexual violence suffered by Californians documents for the first time the higher incidence of violence among non-binary and transgender people. One in 20 California adults has experienced physical violence (5%) in the past year, a decrease from 8% in 2022, according to The California Violence Experiences Study (CalVEX); but the reported rates for non-binary and transgender individuals were notably higher, 14% and 27%, respectively. “The new data we have in this year’s report show that rates of violence have declined since levels seen during the pandemic, but these experiences remain too ...

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 6, 2023 – Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in genetic testing and precision medicine, today revealed new nationwide survey results indicating widespread confusion and misconceptions about ovarian cancer screening among a majority of women.  The Myriad Genetics Cancer Risk survey shows that nearly three out of four women (71%) falsely believe annual pap smears include testing for ovarian cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the “only gynecologic cancer the Pap test screens for is cervical cancer.” “Ovarian cancer is ...

Non-Hermitian systems with their spectral degeneracies known as exceptional points (EPs) have been explored for lasing, controlling light transport, and enhancing a sensor’s response. A ring resonator can be brought to an EP by controlling the coupling between its frequency degenerate clockwise and counterclockwise traveling modes. This has been typically achieved by introducing two or more nano-tips into the resonator’s mode volume. While this method provides a route to study EP physics, the basic understanding of how the nano-tips’ shape and size symmetry impact the system’s non-Hermicity is missing, along with additional loss from both in-plane and out-of-plane ...

A newly discovered way of optimising plant enzymes through bioengineering has increased knowledge of how plant material can be converted into biofuels, biochemicals and other high-value products. The University of Adelaide-led study presents innovative ideas for how the walls of plant cells can be assembled, structured and remodelled by controlling specific enzymes’ catalytic function. Fundamental plant cell properties – such as structure, integrity, cytoskeletal organisation and stability ...

A multidisciplinary team of investigators from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center was awarded a $2.5 million Translational Team Science Award from the Department of Defense to develop a tailored treatment for glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor with limited treatment options. The team — including David Nathanson, associate professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Benjamin Ellingson, director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Imaging Laboratory and professor of radiological ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL SEPT. 5, 2023 AT 8 P.M. ET) – A new analysis of liver cancer has identified racial and ethnic differences and emerging trends for this highly fatal disease. The study,  conducted by researchers with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and collaborating organizations, also identified potential targeted interventions to improve control and prevention.  Their extensive review, published Sept. 6 in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, examined 14,420 confirmed ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Forest thinning is improving the robustness of older trees and enhancing native biodiversity on federal lands in eastern Oregon, evidence that collaborative efforts to restore forests are working, research by Oregon State University shows. The study led by James Johnston of the OSU College of Forestry involved long-term monitoring and research partnerships between OSU, the U.S. Forest Service and local groups in Oregon’s Blue Mountains. Published today in Forest Ecology and Management, the findings illustrate the collaboration’s success ...

There’s been a striking 79% increase in new cases of cancer among the under 50s around the world over the past three decades (1990-2019), finds research published today in the open access journal BMJ Oncology. Breast cancer accounted for the highest number of ‘early onset’ cases in this age group in 2019. But cancers of the windpipe (nasopharynx) and prostate have risen the fastest since 1990, the analysis reveals. Cancers exacting the heaviest death toll and compromising health the most among younger adults in 2019 were those of the breast, windpipe, lung, bowel, and stomach. The findings ...

There’s strong evidence of a ‘threshold effect’ in English hospitals’ efforts to comply with the 18-week referral to treatment standard, concludes a long term data analysis of performance against the target, published online in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety. The target focused activity on meeting the threshold requirement for patients on the waiting list after which it tailed off—the so-called threshold effect–rather than instigating pervasive improvement in practice, the analysis indicates. Clinical need may be a secondary consideration for meeting the target, suggest the researchers. In 2012, an 18-week ...

The hyperactivity disorder, usually referred to as ADHD, is an independent risk factor for several common and serious mental health issues, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health. It is associated with major depression, post traumatic stress disorder, the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, and suicide attempts, the findings show, prompting the researchers to recommend vigilance by health professionals in a bid to ward off these disorders later on. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition in children and teens that extends into adulthood in up to around two thirds of cases. Worldwide, its prevalence ...

The rotating shoulders and extending elbows that allow humans to reach for a high shelf or toss a ball with friends may have first evolved as a natural braking system for our primate ancestors who simply needed to get out of trees without dying. Dartmouth researchers report in the journal Royal Society Open Science that apes and early humans likely evolved free-moving shoulders and flexible elbows to slow their descent from trees as gravity pulled on their heavier bodies. When early humans left forests for the grassy savanna, the researchers say, their versatile appendages were essential ...

Limestone spheroids, enigmatic lithic artifacts from the ancient past, have perplexed archaeologists for years. While they span from the Oldowan to the Middle Palaeolithic, the purpose behind their creation remains a subject of intense debate. Now, a study conducted by a team from the Computational Archaeology Laboratory of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with researchers from Tel Hai College and Rovira i Virgili University seeks to shed light on these mysterious objects, offering insights into the intentions and skills of early hominins. Spheroids ...

Across the globe, and particularly in Brazil, lies an embarrassment of riches that also stage a showdown as mitigating climate change and protecting biodiversity square off against growing food. In this week’s Science of the Total Environment, scientists from and once affiliated with Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (MSU-CSIS) identify ways for landowners in rural areas to be able to capitalize on win-win situations, whether they have fruitful land ...

Among 2,055 adults with a wide range of glomerular diseases, the COVID-19 vaccination did not adversely affect kidney function or worsen kidney damage and appeared safe in this population. Patients with glomerular disease (GN) may be at increased risk of severe COVID-19, yet concerns over vaccines causing disease relapse may lead to vaccine hesitancy. Researchers examined the associations of COVID-19 with longitudinal kidney function and proteinuria and compared these to similar associations with COVID-19 vaccination. In this cohort study of 2,055 patients with minimal change disease (MCD), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), membranous nephropathy, or ...

INDIANAPOLIS—A new multi-site study led by Indiana University School of Medicine found increasing pediatric readiness in emergency departments reduces, but does not eliminate, racial and ethnic disparities in children and adolescents with acute medical emergencies. The study also involved researchers from Oregon Health and Science University and UC Davis Health. They recently published their findings in JAMA Open Network. “Ours is a national study group focused on pediatric emergency department readiness,” said Peter Jenkins, MD, associate professor surgery at IU School of Medicine and first ...

AMHERST, Mass. – States that enacted laws permitting children to carry and apply sunscreen at school experienced an increased interest in sun protection and a higher rate of sunscreen use among adolescents, according to new research by a University of Massachusetts Amherst resource economist.  Brandyn Churchill, assistant professor of resource economics at UMass Amherst, is co-author of the study that is the first to examine state-level “SUNucate” laws, which permit students to apply sunscreen at school and wear sun-protective clothing even if it does not ...

Right at the bottom of the deep sea, the first very simple forms of life on earth probably emerged a long time ago. Today, the deep sea is known for its bizarre fauna. Intensive research is being conducted into how the number of species living on the sea floor have changed in the meantime. Some theories say that the ecosystems of the deep sea have emerged again and again after multiple mass extinctions and oceanic upheavals. Today's life in the deep sea would thus be comparatively young in the history of the Earth. But there is increasing evidence that parts of this world are much older than previously thought. A research team led by the University ...

Images EAST LANSING, Mich. – Advancements that could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment for diabetic retinopathy, a common complication that affects the eyes, have been identified by a multi-department research team from Michigan State and other universities. Their findings were recently published in Diabetologia, the official journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Additional contributors are from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Case Western Reserve University and Western University ...

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers want Floridians to be prepared when the next pandemic or hurricane hits the state. A new study published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction examines the best locations for field hospitals that can supplement health care facilities when resources are stretched thin. “One of the goals of RIDER is to look after our most vulnerable when disasters hit,” said Eren Ozguven, director of the Resilient Infrastructure ...

Researchers have discovered a new avenue of cell death in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. A new study, led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University and published online in the journal Annals of Neurology on Aug. 21, reveals for the first time that a form of cell death known as ferroptosis — caused by a buildup of iron in cells — destroys microglia cells, a type of cell involved in the brain’s immune response,  in cases of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. The ...

Reston, VA—The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) has issued a new consensus statement to provide standardized guidance for the selection and management of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients being treated with 177Lu-PSMA radionuclide therapy. The statement, published in the July issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, also reviews current clinical struggles physicians face during treatment with 177Lu-PSMA-617 radionuclide therapy. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 177Lu-PSMA-617 for the treatment of men with mCRPC after progressing on taxane-based chemotherapy ...