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ORNL, UT’s Spark Cleantech Accelerator partner to support entrepreneurs
Physics 2023-08-08

ORNL, UT’s Spark Cleantech Accelerator partner to support entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur-fellows in Innovation Crossroads, a Department of Energy Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will complete the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, a 12-week program offered by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Spark Innovation Center at the UT Research Park. “By combining the resources of Innovation Crossroads and the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, we are building a stronger program for entrepreneurs,” said Dan Miller, program lead for Innovation Crossroads. “Entrepreneurial ecosystems depend on relationships among early-stage companies. This new collaboration — ...
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Alfred E. Mann Charities, Inc. awards $500,000 to USC Neuro Revascularization Center
Medicine 2023-08-08

Alfred E. Mann Charities, Inc. awards $500,000 to USC Neuro Revascularization Center

The USC Neuro Revascularization Center (USC NRV Center) performs approximately 40-50 complex revascularization procedures per year, making it one of the most clinically robust programs in the country. Its multidisciplinary approach—combining plastic surgery, vascular surgery, and neurosurgery—is what allows the center to treat the most complex clinical cases and answer some of the toughest research questions.  A recent $500,000 gift from Alfred E. Mann Charities will support clinical excellence, novel research, and educational opportunities at the center with a clear focus ...
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Opioids, methadone and babies
Science 2023-08-08

Opioids, methadone and babies

LOS ANGELES (August 8, 2023) — Whatever the opioid crisis calls to mind, it likely isn’t pacifiers and diapers. But when 1 out of every 5 hospitalized infants receives opioids, and when some infants require methadone treatment, it’s time to widen the scope. A new study led by pediatric surgeons at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shows that methadone use after surgery can prolong a baby’s recovery and increase an infant’s dependence on ventilators and intravenous (IV) nutrition.  To call the opioid problem in the United States a crisis is not hyperbole. The rate of death due to opioid overdose has risen ...
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Investors force Black families out of home ownership, new research shows
Science 2023-08-08

Investors force Black families out of home ownership, new research shows

Investors have been buying houses at a steady rate since the last recession, but how much does it affect availability in the housing market? New research from the Georgia Institute of Technology shows investors are most likely to push out Black, middle-class homeowners from neighborhoods. Data from 800 neighborhoods in the Atlanta metropolitan area between 2007 and 2016 revealed that major investors bought homes in majority-minority neighborhoods far from downtowns and in lower-income areas. These homes were often undervalued because of their minority populations, but they remained desirable and offered good market value. The neighborhoods ...
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Cybersecurity project plans to connect researchers across the country
Technology 2023-08-08

Cybersecurity project plans to connect researchers across the country

From building fighter jets to automobiles, the manufacturing world is increasingly adapting digital instruction as technology advances. Mechanical parts can be designed on a computer and shipped over the network to a manufacturing machine that follows digital instructions to produce a specific part. The move into the digital world makes securing online information a national interest.  Dr. Narasimha Reddy, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, recently received a National Science Foundation grant to research cybersecurity ...
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Science 2023-08-08

The “unknome”: a database of human genes we know almost nothing about

Researchers from the United Kingdom hope that a new, publicly available database they have created will shrink, not grow, over time. That’s because it is a compendium of the thousands of understudied proteins encoded by genes in the human genome, whose existence is known but whose functions are mostly not. The database, dubbed the “unknome”, is the work of Matthew Freeman of the Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, England, and Sean Munro of MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, and ...
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Texas A&M's McKay receives NSF CAREER Award
Science 2023-08-08

Texas A&M's McKay receives NSF CAREER Award

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) can be found in every water body on Earth, encompassing both saltwater and freshwater. It is a significant carbon source and is critical in environmental carbon cycling, which is the circulation of carbon in various forms through the environment and nature that makes the Earth sustainable for life. The interaction between DOM and sunlight is essential for the carbon cycle to function effectively. However, the chemical structure of light-absorbing compounds, also known as chromophores, in DOM remains limited. Dr. Garrett McKay, principal investigator of the Aquatic Chemistry Lab and assistant professor ...
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Researchers use SPAD detector to achieve 3D quantum ghost imaging
Technology 2023-08-08

Researchers use SPAD detector to achieve 3D quantum ghost imaging

WASHINGTON — Researchers have reported the first 3D measurements acquired with quantum ghost imaging. The new technique enables 3D imaging on a single photon level, yielding the lowest photon dose possible for any measurement. “3D imaging with single photons could be used for various biomedical applications, such as eye care diagnostics,” said researcher Carsten Pitsch from the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, both in Germany.  “It can be applied to image materials and tissues that are sensitive to light or drugs that become toxic when exposed ...
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NASA announces monthly themes to celebrate the Heliophysics Big Year
Space 2023-08-08

NASA announces monthly themes to celebrate the Heliophysics Big Year

This October, NASA is launching the Heliophysics Big Year ­– a global celebration of solar science and the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. Modeled after the “Big Year” concept from citizen scientists in the bird-watching community, the Heliophysics Big Year challenges everyone to get involved with fun Sun-related activities. For each month from October 2023 to December 2024, the Heliophysics Big Year will celebrate under a theme, sharing opportunities to participate in many solar science events from watching eclipses to joining citizen science projects. During ...
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Stroke rehab at home is near
Science 2023-08-08

Stroke rehab at home is near

The world of at-home stroke rehabilitation is growing near, incredible news for the 795,000 people in the United States who annually suffer a stroke. A new low cost, portable brain-computer interface that connects the brain of stroke patients to powered exoskeletons for rehabilitation purposes has been validated and tested at the University of Houston.   “We designed and validated a wireless, easy-to-use, mobile, dry-electrode headset for scalp electroencephalography (EEG) recordings for closed-loop brain–computer ...
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Social Science 2023-08-08

People’s everyday pleasures may improve cognitive arousal and performance

Listening to music and drinking coffee are the sorts of everyday pleasures that can impact a person’s brain activity in ways that improve cognitive performance, including in tasks requiring concentration and memory. That’s a finding of a new NYU Tandon School of Engineering study involving MINDWATCH, a groundbreaking brain-monitoring technology. Developed over the past six years by NYU Tandon's Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Rose Faghih, MINDWATCH is an algorithm that analyzes a person's brain activity from data collected via any wearable device that can monitor electrodermal activity ...
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Environment 2023-08-08

Nitrogen runoff strategies complicated by climate change

Washington, DC— As climate change progresses, rising temperatures may impact nitrogen runoff from land to lakes and streams more than projected increases in total and extreme precipitation for most of the continental United States, according to new research from a team of Carnegie climate scientists led by Gang Zhao and Anna Michalak published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The conditions predicted by these findings are opposite to recent decades, when increasing precipitation has outpaced warming and led to more aquatic nitrogen pollution. Understanding the relative roles of changes in temperature and rainfall is critical for designing ...
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Wearables will transform health, but change brings challenges say researchers
Medicine 2023-08-08

Wearables will transform health, but change brings challenges say researchers

In a series of three editorials published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the international team of scientists discuss issues facing the wearables field including lack of standardisation of devices and data, disconnects between research and industry and the impact of inequality in ownership. Currently around a third of UK adults own a smartwatch or fitness tracker. A 2021 Australian-based survey reported 24 percent used fitness trackers and 23 percent used smartwatches. Some use them to track their steps, others their sleep, but few understand the potential of these devices to transform our understanding of how everyday activity influences health. “If you ...
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Meet the Persian Gold Tarantula: a new species discovery just on time for Tarantula Appreciation Day 2023
Environment 2023-08-08

Meet the Persian Gold Tarantula: a new species discovery just on time for Tarantula Appreciation Day 2023

The Persian Gold Tarantula (Chaetopelma persianum) is a newly described species recently discovered in northwestern Iran. In fact, the “woolly, golden hairs” the scientists observed and examined on a single specimen, were one of the features so unique that it was not necessary for additional individuals to be collected and physically studied. It was clear enough that it was a species previously unknown to the scientific community.  The paper, authored by Iranian arachnologist and taxonomist Dr Alireza Zamani (University of Turku, Finland) and his Canadian colleague Rick C. West, was published in the peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal ZooKeys on the observance ...
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Social Science 2023-08-08

Poor time management causes poor sleep for college students

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A lack of time management skills, particularly in organization, can lead to poor sleep quality for college students according to research conducted at The University of Alabama.  Dr. Adam Knowlden, associate professor of health science with the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences, investigated time management and how it influences sleep health in full-time college students in the areas of setting goals and priorities, mechanics of time management, and preference for organization.  “College students tend to deal with lifestyle-related sleep problems,” said Knowlden. “For example, balancing academic and social ...
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Menstrual equity in the criminal legal system
Science 2023-08-08

Menstrual equity in the criminal legal system

A new study has shown that among incarcerated women, many have to trade or barter to access menstrual hygiene products. The study, which examines menstrual equity, or the access to menstrual products and safe menstruating environments, in the criminal legal system, is published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women’s Health. Click here to read the article now. Patricia Kelly, PhD, from Thomas Jefferson University School of Nursing, and coauthors, found that 53.8% of women involved in the criminal legal system received less than five menstrual ...
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Medicine 2023-08-08

From bench to bedside: patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy receives first dose of gene therapy developed at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – In a landmark moment for the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s, a 5-year-old from Bellefontaine, Ohio, received the first dose of a recently approved gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where the therapy was invented and initially tested. The therapy, developed, tested and patented at Nationwide Children’s marks an extraordinary achievement in the field of neuromuscular medicine and provides a life-altering treatment for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This is the second gene therapy developed at Nationwide Children’s to receive FDA approval, two ...
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Scientists spurred by a thirst to transform the field of phytoplankton forecasting
Science 2023-08-08

Scientists spurred by a thirst to transform the field of phytoplankton forecasting

Safe drinking water is threatened globally by the increased toxicity of phytoplankton — or microscopic algae — blooms. The need for a better understanding of when and where the blooms will emerge spurred Virginia Tech researchers to start developing the first automated, real-time lake phytoplankton forecasting system. Working with the University of Florida, Virginia Tech faculty have been awarded a $2.2 million National Science Foundation grant as one of 12 projects funded by the foundation's new Using the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges program. "The enormous opportunity to apply biological principles to ...
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Pause in recent coral recovery on much of Great Barrier Reef
Science 2023-08-08

Pause in recent coral recovery on much of Great Barrier Reef

In-water monitoring by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) shows hard coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef remains at similar levels to that recorded in 2022, with small decreases in the Northern, Central and Southern regions. Published today (Wednesday 9 August), AIMS’ Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition for 2022/23 found that while some reefs continued to recover, their increased hard coral cover was offset by coral loss on other reefs. Most reefs underwent little change in coral ...
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Texting while walking makes college students more likely to fall
Social Science 2023-08-08

Texting while walking makes college students more likely to fall

When it comes to college-aged adults who are glued to their smartphones, experts argue over whether texting while walking increases the risk of an accident. Some studies have shown that texting pedestrians are more likely to walk into oncoming traffic, while other studies suggest that young adults have mastered the art of multitasking and are able to text accurately while navigating obstacles. However, few studies have measured how texters respond to unpredictable hazard conditions. By simulating an environment with random ...
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Medicine 2023-08-08

Sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages and risk of liver cancer, chronic liver disease mortality

About The Study: Among 98,000 postmenopausal women, compared with consuming three or fewer servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per month, those who consumed one or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day had a higher incidence of liver cancer and death from chronic liver disease. Future studies should confirm these findings and identify the biological pathways of these associations. Authors: Xuehong Zhang, M.B.B.S., Sc.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For ...
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A call to improve mental health support to reduce the risks of self-harm and suicide in autistic individuals
Medicine 2023-08-08

A call to improve mental health support to reduce the risks of self-harm and suicide in autistic individuals

Toronto, ON, August 9, 2023 – Autistic females (assigned sex at birth) have an 83% increased risk of self-harm leading to emergency healthcare relative to non-autistic people, according to a new study from ICES and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Autistic males also had a 47% greater risk of self-harm events and had the highest incidence of suicide death compared to autistic females and non-autistic individuals. The study, “Self-Harm Events and Suicide Deaths Among Autistic Individuals in Ontario, Canada,” was published today in JAMA Network Open ...
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Medicine 2023-08-08

Association of radiation facility volume with survival for men with very high-risk prostate cancer

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that the expertise and resources that accompany high-volume treatment facilities are associated with improved outcomes for men with very high-risk prostate cancer, but further investigation is needed to identify the specific causes for this association. Authors: Sagar A. Patel, M.D, of Emory University in Atlanta, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi: ...
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Science 2023-08-08

Management of acetaminophen poisoning in the US and Canada

About The Study: This study provides a consensus statement on consistent evidence-based recommendations for medical, pharmacy, and nursing education and practice to optimize care of patients with acetaminophen poisoning. Authors: Richard C. Dart, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, 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/jamanetworkopen.2023.27739) Editor’s Note: Please ...
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Medicine 2023-08-08

Study finds women who consumed sugar sweetened beverage daily had higher risk of developing liver cancer and chronic liver disease

Approximately 65% of adults in the United States consume sugar sweetened beverages daily. Chronic liver disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and can result in liver cancer and liver disease-related mortality. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, led one of the first studies to look at the association between intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and incidence of liver cancer and chronic liver disease mortality. Results are published in JAMA. “To our knowledge, ...
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