Scientists at the University of Sydney have, for the first time, used a quantum computer to engineer and directly observe a process critical in chemical reactions by slowing it down by a factor of 100 billion times. Joint lead researcher and PhD student, Vanessa Olaya Agudelo, said: “It is by understanding these basic processes inside and between molecules that we can open up a new world of possibilities in materials science, drug design, or solar energy harvesting. “It could also help improve ...

About The Study: In this study of hospitals reporting SARS-CoV-2 infections, there was an increase of hospital-onset SARS-CoV-2 infections when community-onset infections were higher, indicating a need for ongoing and enhanced surveillance and prevention efforts to reduce in-hospital transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infections, particularly when community-incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections is high.  Authors: Kelly M. Hatfield, M.S.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, is the ...

About The Study: In a large cohort of U.S. military veterans serving after 9/11, suicide rates increased more than 10-fold from 2006-2020, a significantly greater rate of change than in the U.S. adult population. Over the 15-year period, veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) had suicide rates 56% higher than veterans without TBI and three times higher than the U.S. adult population. Authors: Jeffrey T. Howard, Ph.D., of the University of Texas at San Antonio, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.2893) Editor’s ...

About The Study: The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 long-term randomized clinical trials involving 2.1 million individuals suggest that current evidence does not substantiate the claim that common cancer screening tests save lives by extending lifetime, except possibly for colorectal cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy.  Authors: Michael Bretthauer, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Oslo in Oslo, Norway, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.3798) Editor’s ...

About The Study: This case series found that young brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts were highly symptomatic regardless of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) status, and the causes of symptoms in this sample are likely multifactorial. Future studies that include young brain donors unexposed to repetitive head impacts are needed to clarify the association among exposure, white matter and microvascular pathologic findings, CTE, and clinical symptoms. Authors: Ann C. McKee, M.D., of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

Due to intensifying sea-ice melting in the Arctic, sunlight is now penetrating deeper and deeper into the ocean. Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behaviour – especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column. As an international team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has now shown, in the future this could lead to more frequent food shortages for the zooplankton, and to negative effects for larger species including seals and whales. The study ...

This study is led by Prof. Junbo Ge (Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases), Prof. Hua Li (Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases), and Prof. Hao Lu (Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases). As an emerging concept, panvascular diseases encompass a group of cardiovascular disorders characterized mainly by atherosclerosis, involving crucial organs such as the ...

Magnetic skyrmions are tiny vortices-like of magnetic spin textures that - in principle - can be used for spintronic devices, for example very fast and energy-efficient data storage devices. But at the moment it is still difficult to control and manipulate skyrmions at room temperature. A new study at BESSY II analyses the formation of skyrmions in ferrimagnetic thin films of dysprosium and cobalt in real time and with high spatial resolution. This is an important step towards characterising suitable materials with skyrmions more precisely in the future. Isolated magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin textures that are in the focus of research ...

A new drug offers a breakthrough world first treatment for Lipoprotein(a), a largely genetic form of cholesterol that increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, announced today by study lead Professor Stephen Nicholls, Director of the Monash University’s Victorian Heart Institute and Victorian Heart Hospital. High levels of Lipoprotein(a), known as Lp(a) or spoken as ‘LP little a’, impact one in five people globally with no approved treatment currently on the market. The trial demonstrated the success of Muvalaplin - the first oral drug ever ...

Scientists at Dalian University of Technology propose a design of copper nanowire assemblies that can sufficiently enhance the de-icing and defrosting efficiency without conventional energy input. Specifically, the defrosting efficacy approaches 100%, a record-high value compared to reported studies. The research, published in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, shows a simple electrochemical method for fabricating nanowire assemblies with controlled pattern, hierarchy, and size. This enables the simultaneous presentation of photothermal, thermal conductive, and superhydrophobic ...

It is well known that biodiversity of cultural landscapes is threatened by land abandonment and agricultural intensification. Traditional, low chemical and machinery input management systems have long been acknowledged for their diverse benefits to maintain and enhance biodiversity, however, the recognition of traditional knowledge, on which these traditional management practices are based, started only relatively recently. The recognition of traditional knowledge holders themselves is an even more recent phenomenon. A recently published paper aims to ...

Amsterdam, Netherlands – 26 Aug 2023: Is the routine implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in myocardial infarction survivors with heart failure still an adequate therapy for prevention of sudden cardiac death? The PROFID EHRA trial is set to answer this question in a large, multicentre, EU-funded study set to enrol the first patient this summer. The consortium of partners and colleagues involved in the trial, including the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), will meet during ESC Congress 2023 to discuss the start of the study. Myocardial ...

Amsterdam, Netherlands – 26 Aug 2023: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) cost the EU an estimated €282 billion in 2021, according to late breaking research presented at ESC Congress 2023.1 Health and long-term care accounted for €155 billion (55%) of these costs, equalling 11% of EU health expenditure. The analysis was a collaborative effort by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the University of Oxford, UK.   Study author Dr. Ramon Luengo-Fernandez of the University of Oxford said: “CVD had a significant impact ...

NIH-funded study supports use of ECMO for critically ill patients with obesity ECMO does not appear to complicate treatment for severe respiratory failure for adults with obesity A National Institutes of Health-supported study suggests that adults with obesity may benefit from the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an advanced form of breathing support, when in intensive care for respiratory failure. ECMO’s use was previously questioned for patients with obesity due to the belief that it may complicate ...

About The Study: Muvalaplin was not associated with tolerability concerns and lowered lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) levels up to 65% following daily administration for 14 days in this first-in-human phase 1 study involving healthy participants. Lipoprotein(a) is associated with atherosclerotic disease and aortic stenosis. Longer and larger trials will be required to further evaluate safety, tolerability, and effect of muvalaplin on Lp(a) levels and cardiovascular outcomes. Authors: Stephen J. Nicholls, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., of Monash University in Clayton, ...

Anyone who’s been caught in an unexpected downpour knows that weather forecasting is an imperfect science. Now, researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology are taking aim at one of meteorologists’ biggest blind spots: extremely short-term forecasts, or nowcasts, that predict what will happen in a given location over the next few minutes. “This isn’t just about whether you should take your umbrella with you when you go on a walk,” said Temimi. “The forecasts that we’re missing – the ones that look ...

About The Study: In this study of 111,000 U.S. military veterans with coronary artery disease, suboptimal lipid-lowering therapy was prevalent in the clinical setting. Optimization of statin therapy was projected to produce clinically relevant reductions in the risks of death and cardiovascular events. Despite a lesser lipid-lowering efficacy of ezetimibe, its widespread use on a population level in conjunction with optimized statin therapy may be associated with further meaningful reductions in cardiovascular risk.  Authors: Gregory G. Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D., of the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado, is the corresponding author.  To ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – White-tailed deer across Ohio have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, new research has found – and the results also show that viral variants evolve about three times faster in deer than in humans. Scientists collected 1,522 nasal swabs from free-ranging deer in 83 of the state’s 88 counties between November 2021 and March 2022. More than 10% of the samples were positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and at least one positive case was found in 59% of the counties in which testing took place. Genomic analysis showed that at least 30 infections in deer had been introduced by humans – ...

A recent analysis of all relevant published studies reveals a lack of evidence to determine the dosing, safety, and efficacy of medical marijuana or cannabis-containing products for managing symptoms experienced by children with cancer. The analysis is published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Although treatments for childhood cancer have improved significantly, even leading to cures for many patients, many children still suffer from symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and weight loss related to cancer and its treatment. Over the last decade, cannabis ...

How tomato plants defend themselves against a devastating ‘young’ Southern African virus has now been investigated at a molecular genetics level for the first time by researchers at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The Ty-1 gene is known to confer resistance to the well-known tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). UJ researchers investigated what happens when tomato plants that harbour the Ty-1 gene are infected with the relatively unknown tomato curly stunt virus (ToCSV). They found a link between tolerance to ToCSV, a plant defence called viral DNA methylation, and Ty-1 gene activity. The research is published ...

New research finds that sleep can be most efficient and restful for older adults when nighttime bedroom ambient temperature ranges between 68 to 77 °F. The authors observed an overall trend: a 5-10 % drop in sleep efficiency as the nighttime ambient temperature increases from 77°F to 86°F. Importantly, this research also reveals substantial between-individual differences in optimal bedroom temperature. “These results highlight the potential to enhance sleep quality in older adults by optimizing home thermal environments and emphasizing the importance ...

You may know it as an aromatic spice to add flavor to your dishes or as a soothing herbal remedy to use for upset stomachs, but researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University have uncovered promising findings that Kencur, a tropical plant in the ginger family native to Southeast Asia, possesses anti-cancer effects. Led by Associate Professor Akiko Kojima of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology, the researchers demonstrated that Kencur extract and its main active component, ethyl p-methoxycinnamate (EMC), significantly suppressed cancer cell growth at the cellular and animal levels. While previous studies on EMC indicated its anti-cancer potential by decreasing the expression ...

A new type of versatile economical photocatalyst that harnesses the visible portion of the sunlight spectrum has been developed by researchers from the University of Johannesburg. It is simple to manufacture. Currently, economical photocatalysts only ‘use’ the UV spectrum of sunlight. The new photocatalyst harnesses about a third of the visible light spectrum. The extremely stable, powder-form three-component photocatalyst is built from graphitic carbon (89% of mass), a modified calixarene (10%) and a niobium-containing MXene (1%). Researchers at the University of Johannesburg have developed a new type of photocatalyst that harnesses the visible ...

A research team led by Dr. Jung-dae Kwon from the Department of Energy & Electronic Materials at the Korea Institute of Materials Science(KIMS) has succeeded in realizing the world's first transparent thin-film solar cell on a flexible substrate that exhibits different reflective colours and does not significantly reduce solar cell's efficiency. KIMS is a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. This is a technology that achieves reflective colour only a single material by periodically incorporating hydrogen into zinc oxide material doped with aluminium, which is a transparent electrode, to induce a refractive index difference. ...

New guidance aimed at helping standardize community overdose response and take-home naloxone kits across Canada is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230128. The guidance is an important document to optimize the effectiveness of take-home naloxone to save lives. The guidance was developed by a panel of experts, including people with lived experience of drug use and overdose response, front-line and harm-reduction workers, public health professionals, clinicians and academics with expertise in harm reduction across Canada. ...