The public funding of science is responsible for many of the biomedical and other scientific breakthroughs on which our lives depend. However, the process through which funding decisions are made, the peer review of grant proposals, has been historically understudied, and current approaches can lead to undesirable outcomes. Writing in Research Integrity and Peer Review, Stephen A. Gallo, then affiliated with the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and Michael Pearce, Carole J. Lee, and Elena A. Erosheva from the University of ...

In the peak heat of summer, beachgoers don’t want their plans thwarted by harmful algal blooms (HABs). But current methods to remove or kill toxin-producing algae and cyanobacteria aren’t efficient or practical for direct applications in waterways. Now, researchers reporting in ACS ES&T Water have coated a floating sponge in a charcoal-like powder, and when paired with an oxidizing agent, the technique destroyed over 85% of algal cells from lake and river water samples. Swaths of electric green and bright orange-red HABs, or the less brilliantly colored cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa, can produce toxins that can sicken humans ...

An evaluation of 17 previously published studies suggests that exposure to lead in the womb or in childhood is associated with an increased risk of engaging in criminal behavior in adulthood—but more evidence is needed to strengthen understanding. Maria Jose Talayero Schettino of the George Washington University, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health. Lead exposure can cause a variety of health challenges, such as cardiac issues, kidney ...

Biofilms are highly resistant communities of bacteria that pose a major challenge in the treatment of infections. While studying biofilm formation in laboratory conditions has been extensively conducted, understanding their development in the complex environment of the human respiratory tract has remained elusive. A team of researchers led by Alexandre Persat at EPFL have now cracked the problem by successfully developing organoids called AirGels. Organoids are miniature, self-organized 3D tissues grown from stem cells to mimic actual body tissues and organs in the human body. They represent ...

Many of the answers for effectively responding to a pathogen lie in its genome. Understanding the genetic code of a pathogen like Ebola or the virus that causes COVID-19 allows scientists to track its movement, predict future behavior, identify the source of the outbreak and, most importantly, develop effective vaccines and treatments. This technology was critical during the pandemic, and it will be even more so with future outbreaks.  That makes the continued development of genomic sequencing one of the most ...

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a breath test that quickly identifies those who are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. The device requires only one or two breaths and provides results in less than a minute. The study is available online in the journal ACS Sensors. The same group of researchers recently published a paper in the journal Nature Communications about an air monitor they had built to detect airborne SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — within about ...

Researchers from the UvA and North Carolina State University have identified the specific mixture of pheromone chemicals that male moths use during courtship. The findings provide more detail about the complex blend of chemicals that males and females of this group of moths use in fundamental short-range communication. The publication in the scientific journal Current Biology appeared on 1 August. Scent compounds are essential for male moths to entice female conspecifics to mate. Both partners need to find and recognize each other in the dark. This is done by sex pheromones secreted by the female. Then it is up to the male to convince the female ...

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies used to treat cancer come with the risk of adverse autoimmune responses, including arthritis that can persist for years and require joint replacement surgery. Little is known about the specific cells responsible for these events. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and collaborators led a study to investigate these immune adverse events and identified a specific type of CD8 T cell that characterizes inflammatory arthritis induced by ICI therapies. Researchers ...

Even vulnerable people, who are at risk of severe Covid-19, achieved good antibody levels after three doses of mRNA vaccine. This is shown by a study from the University of Gothenburg on patients having undergone a bone marrow transplant or with liver disease, including cirrhosis. The aim of the study, which has been published in the journal Infectious Diseases, was to investigate the effects of repeated vaccinations and hybrid immunity against Covid-19 among particularly vulnerable individuals. Hybrid immunity refers to the protection provided by vaccination in combination with SARS-CoV-2 ...

UCSF Medical Center Is Among Nation’s Top Hospitals for 2023-24  U.S. News & World Report ranks UCSF Health adult care among nation’s top 10 hospitals in 7 specialties, Best in the West for neurology/neurosurgery and rheumatology UCSF Medical Center has been named to the Honor Roll of the nation’s top hospitals for adult care in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 Best Hospitals rankings, representing the highest quality of care and safety standards in the country.  The distinction was earned by only 22 medical ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- When assessing the skills and competencies or “human capital” of long-term care registered nurses in the United States, studies often focus solely on years of experience and traditional educational backgrounds. However, a new study conducted by a nurse scientist now at University of Missouri found that by incorporating additional criteria, such as ability to speak multiple languages, additional certificates or trainings and licenses to practice in multiple states, immigrant nurses often represent far more human capital than their American-born counterparts. Roy Thompson, a postdoctoral fellow in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing ...

In a new study published on 21 July 2023 by the journal Bone Research, a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University, using a combination of lineage tracing and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), delved into the contribution of synovial/tendon sheath progenitor cells to heterotopic bone formation. The researchers identified a distinct population of Tppp3+ tendon progenitor cells that actively participated in the formation of ectopic bone in vivo. Their findings provide new insights into the intricate cellular processes driving heterotopic ossification and offer potential therapeutic targets to prevent and ...

It’s easy to imagine that growing up in a neighborhood with safe and clean parks, little to no discrimination, and where people are not struggling financially makes for a lower-stress childhood. In contrast, neighborhoods with few community spaces, violence, and poverty create a higher-stress environment for a child to live in. Unfortunately, systemic and structural issues such as wealth inequality, residential segregation, barriers to home ownership, and environmental injustice in neighborhoods where Black American adolescents disproportionately reside make ...

A type of soil called terra preta da Amazônia, or Amazon dark earth (ADE), promotes faster growth of trees and enhances their development in qualitative terms, according to an article published in the journal Frontiers in Soil Science.  The findings reported in the article resulted from studies supported by FAPESP (projects 20/08927-0, 18/19000-4 and 14/50320-4) under the aegis of its Biodiversity, Characterization, Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use Program (BIOTA).  “ADE is rich in nutrients and supports communities of microorganisms that help plants grow, among other things. Native people of the Amazon have ...

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 1, 2023 — When a fragrance wafted through the bedrooms of older adults for two hours every night for six months, memories skyrocketed. Participants in this study by University of California, Irvine neuroscientists reaped a 226% increase in cognitive capacity compared to the control group. The researchers say the finding transforms the long-known tie between smell and memory into an easy, non-invasive technique for strengthening memory and potentially deterring dementia.   The team’s study appears in Frontiers in Neuroscience. ...

Almost half of patients who experienced a stroke in the right cerebral hemisphere later develop a very unusual symptom: they lose the ability to perceive what is happening in the left side of space. As a result, they tend to eat only the right side of their plate, ignore people on their left, and have great difficulty finding their way around. This disorder, known as hemispatial neglect, does not involve basic visual abilities, which remain intact. “These patients see very well. The problem ...

PHILADELPHIA—A Penn Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) team will seek to develop treatments for three rare, incurable genetic diseases with the help of a $26 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research will focus on three genetic diseases that impact newborns in the first weeks and months after birth: Phenylketonuria (PKU), hereditary tyrosinemia type 1 (HT1), and mucopolysaccharidosis type 1 (MPSI), commonly known as Hurler’s Syndrome. PKU causes an amino acid—called phenylalanine—to build up in the body, and as long as treatment begins at birth, PKU is ...

False claims and disinformation, especially in a social media-driven society, have become major problems with potentially severe consequences. Kash Barker, Ph.D., principal investigator and the Anadarko Presidential Professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Gallogly College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, is leading a team of researchers examining indirect attacks targeting infrastructure systems via unwitting users, supported by a $599,947 grant from the National Science Foundation's Secure ...

Despite this prevailing negative sentiment, results showed the public generally think the most suitable punishment for disruptive, non-violent protesters is a fine or lesser penalty than imprisonment. The research, led by the University of Bristol, suggests public opinion may not be supportive of the Government’s recent legislative changes, through The Public Order Act 2023, which introduce harsher sentences for disruptive protesters. The online poll, conducted by YouGov this month, surveyed 2,069 adults of all political viewpoints across Britain. ...

HAMILTON, ON, Aug. 1, 2023 – Based on decades of work to uncover the underlying mechanisms of asthma and other respiratory conditions, researchers at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton have produced a simple, rapid test that can identify the presence of a key driver of severe asthma. John Brennan, director of McMaster’s Biointerfaces Institute, and Parameswaran Nair, a respirologist at the St. Joseph’s-based Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, led the creation of a new rapid test that can quickly and accurately identify white blood cells known as eosinophils, even when they are present in complex biological samples ...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2023 – Since ancient times, gemstones have been mined and traded across the globe, sometimes traveling continents from their origin. Gems are geologically defined as minerals celebrated for beauty, strength, and rarity. Their unique elemental composition and atomic orientation act as a fingerprint, enabling researchers to uncover the stones’ past, and with it, historical trade routes. In AIP Advances, from AIP Publishing, Khedr et al. employed three modern spectroscopic techniques to rapidly analyze gems found in the Arabian-Nubian Shield and compare them with similar gems from around the world. Using ...

Birds can be electrocuted if they come into contact with two energized parts of a power line at once—which can happen when they spread their wings to take off from or land on a power pole. Because of this, energy companies invest substantial time and money into making sure power lines are avian safe, installing safe perches and insulating energized elements. However, a recent study published on August 1 in the journal iScience presents a new priority for conservation, as it suggests that electrocution is no longer the only leading cause of death for ...

Media contacts:     Coby Schal, coby@ncsu.edu Mick Kulikowski, News Services, 919.218.5937 or mick_kulikowski@ncsu.edu                          Aug 1, 2023              Male Moth ‘Aphrodisiac’ Revealed  EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 11 A.M. EDT ON TUESDAY, AUG.1 North Carolina State University researchers have identified the specific blend of pheromone chemicals – including a newly revealed aphrodisiac – used by male moths during courtship as they attempt to entice females to mate. The findings provide more detail ...

Bottom Line: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that all persons planning to or who could become pregnant take a daily supplement containing 0.4 to 0.8 mg (400 to 800 μg) of folic acid. Neural tube defects are among the most common congenital malformations in the U.S., with an estimated 3,000 pregnancies affected each year. Many of these neural tube defects are caused by low folate levels in the body. The USPSTF routinely makes recommendations about the effectiveness ...

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that providing fair and equal access to health care may reduce the disparities in treatment outcomes between Black and white patients with advanced prostate cancer. Authors: Neeraj Agarwal, M.D., of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, 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.2023.26546) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, ...