One of the beneficial gut bacteria residing in the human gut, which normally cannot survive in an environment with oxygen, can now be made oxygen-tolerant. This is a key finding in the development of future probiotic treatment that is now being explored to improve glucose control in individuals with prediabetes. Our intestines are home to trillions of bacteria, the gut microbiota, which are important for functions such as digesting food and educating and activating the immune system. During the past decade it has been clarified that changes in the bacterial composition can be linked to various diseases. Significant expectations have been attributed to the next generation ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (August 2, 2023)—Not all women experience menopause the same way. The severity of menopause symptoms is influenced by a multitude of behavioral, biological, social, psychological, and demographic factors. A new study suggests that infertility may also be a risk factor for some menopause symptoms, including depressive mood, irritability, and sleep problems. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society. A woman’s reproductive history has been implicated as a factor in the timing of menopause onset and the prevalence of menopause ...

In animals, movements such as locomotion or grooming are known to influence neuronal activity within the cerebral cortex. Moreover, recent studies also suggest that these changes in neuronal activity are not confined to a specific area but are pervasive throughout cortical and subcortical regions of the brain. Interestingly, in animals trained for reward-based learning tasks, such spontaneous movements—despite being uninstructed and unnecessary—may be aligned to task events and may significantly contribute to ...

As we age, our bodies undergo various changes that can impact our overall health and make us more susceptible to diseases. One common factor in the ageing process is low-grade inflammation, which contributes to age-related decline and impairment. However, the precise pathways responsible for this inflammation and their impact on natural ageing have remained elusive until now. A new study led by Andrea Ablasser at EPFL now shows that a molecular signaling pathway called cGAS/STING, plays a critical role in driving chronic inflammation and functional decline during aging. By blocking the STING protein, the researchers were able to suppress inflammatory responses in senescent ...

Cancer research centers conducting clinical trials could enroll more patients from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups by placing greater emphasis on relieving investigators of the costs of translating consent documents into languages other than English, according to a UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center study. “We identified a readily addressable weakness in the clinical trial process, and we believe that overcoming this barrier, as we have begun to do, will ensure better representation of trial participants from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, ...

Maillard reaction locks away 4 million tonnes of organic carbon a year   Process helped stabilise conditions for complex life to evolve   A chemical process used in the browning of food to give it its distinct smell and taste is probably happening deep in the oceans, where it helped create the conditions necessary for life.   Known as the Maillard reaction after the French scientist who discovered it, the process converts small molecules of organic carbon into bigger molecules known as polymers. In ...

An international team of researchers has found a genetic variant that may explain why some people of African ancestry have naturally lower viral loads of HIV, reducing their risk of transmitting the virus and slowing progress of their own illness. Reported today in Nature, this is the first new genetic variant related to HIV infection discovered in nearly 30 years of research. It could, in the future, help direct the development of new treatments approaches for those living with HIV. HIV remains a major threat to global health. According to UNAIDS, there were 38.4 million people living with HIV globally in 2021. A combination of pre-exposure drugs and medicines that dramatically ...

Building on the Middle East’s reputation as one of the historical birthplaces of cereal crop domestication, a KAUST-led team has compiled the first complete genome map of an ancient grain known as einkorn[1]. The 5.2-billion-letter-long sequence provides a window into the evolutionary origins of different wheat species. It could help farmers and crop breeders to develop bread wheat varieties with enhanced disease resistance, higher yields and improved hardiness. “By understanding the genetic diversity and evolutionary history of einkorn, researchers can now leverage its potential for future ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that, although sexual minority women are at high risk of postpartum depression, their sexual identities are largely undocumented in medical records, highlighting the need for strategies to measure sexual orientation that can reliably capture this information. Authors: Leiszle Lapping-Carr, Ph.D., of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at ...

About The Study: In this study of 6.3 million older U.S. adults, the mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine was associated with a slightly lower risk of several adverse events compared with BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech), possibly due to greater protection against COVID-19. Future research should seek to formally disentangle differences in vaccine safety and effectiveness and consider the role of frailty in assessments of COVID-19 vaccine performance. Authors: Daniel A. Harris, Ph.D., of the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, is the corresponding ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — While mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 have been found to be safe and effective for the general population, in-depth evidence about safety and effectiveness for older adults and individuals with chronic health conditions is more limited. To address that gap, a team led by Brown University researchers conducted the largest head-to-head comparison study of the two mRNA vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. The results, published in JAMA Network Open, ...

In California, thousands of miles of fiber optic cables crisscross the state, providing people with internet. But these underground cables can also have a surprising secondary function: they can sense and measure earthquakes. In a new study at Caltech, scientists report using a section of fiber optic cable to measure intricate details of a magnitude 6 earthquake, pinpointing the time and location of four individual asperities, the "stuck" areas of the fault, that led to the rupture. For several years, Professor of Geophysics Zhongwen Zhan (PhD '14) ...

A non-opioid designer molecule for treating chronic neuropathic pain by calming hyperactive pain-sensing neurons in the peripheral nervous system has had promising results in a preclinical study conducted by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Burke Neurological Institute. In the study, published Aug. 2 in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, the first-in-class drug conceptualized by lead author Dr. Gareth Tibbs was found to function according to its design at both the molecular level and as an apparently side-effect-free pain reliever in rats. “With either a single dose or seven days of daily dosing, we saw a significant reversal of neuropathic pain signs in the ...

“We searched for human genetic variation that associates with spontaneous control of HIV and identified a novel region in the genome that is only variable in populations of African ancestries,” says Professor Jacques Fellay at EPFL’s School of Life Sciences. “We used a combination of computational and experimental approaches to explore the biological mechanism behind the genetic association and provide evidence that the gene CHD1L acts to limit HIV replication in a subset of white blood cells.” HIV is still a problem Despite significant advances in treatment and access to therapy, the ...

Owing to human activities and climate change, many animal species have invaded new habitats. Such biological invasion comes with devastating impacts on the local biodiversity and ecosystems. The red swamp crayfish—known to the scientific world as Procambarus clarkii (P. clarkii)— is no exception. P. clarkii is a freshwater crayfish native to the tropical regions of southern USA and northeastern Mexico. After their introduction to different parts of the world, they have become one of the most widespread and invasive animal species. They are known for their adaptability and aggressive behavior that ensure their survival in a wide range of environments, ...

Breast cancer survival rates have improved considerably in the last few decades in Colombia, but factors that increase the likelihood of patients experiencing cardiovascular side effects, like cardiotoxicity, are not well-known or well-treated. A recent study in the North-East region of Colombia found 11.94% of patients with a high BMI being treated for breast cancer at a regional center experienced heart damage, or cardiotoxicity, during chemotherapy. The study will be presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Latin America 2023 Together with Asociación Costarricense ...

AUSTIN, Texas – A new statistical tool can help researchers get meaningful results when a randomized experiment, considered the gold standard, is not possible. Randomized experiments split participants into groups by chance, with one undergoing an intervention and the other not. But in real-world situations, they can’t always be done. Companies might not want to use the method, or such experiments might be against the law. Developed by a researcher at The University of Texas at Austin, the new tool called two-step synthetic control adapts an existing research workaround, known as the synthetic control method. The ...

The first-ever study to look at drivers of both marine heatwaves and cold spells in the shallow nearshore along the California Current —coordinated by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary — found that certain environmental conditions and the state of the ocean can lead to an enhanced risk for ocean temperature extremes.   The findings were recently published in Nature Scientific Reports in an article titled “Effects of basin-scale climate modes and upwelling on nearshore marine heatwaves and cold spells in the California Current.”   Extreme ...

Just as bacteria can develop antibiotic resistance, viruses can also evade drug treatments. Developing therapies against these microbes is difficult because viruses often mutate or hide themselves within cells. But by mimicking the way the immune system naturally deals with invaders, researchers reporting in ACS Infectious Diseases have developed a “peptoid” antiviral therapy that effectively inactivates three viruses in lab tests. The approach disrupts the microbes by targeting certain ...

Antiviral therapies are notoriously difficult to develop, as viruses can quickly mutate to become resistant to drugs. But what if a new generation of antivirals ignores the fast-mutating proteins on the surface of viruses and instead disrupts their protective layers?   “We found an Achilles heel of many viruses: their bubble-like membranes. Exploiting this vulnerability and disrupting the membrane is a promising mechanism of action for developing new antivirals,” said Kent Kirshenbaum, professor of chemistry at NYU and the study’s senior author.   In a new study ...

DALLAS, August 2, 2023 — The American Heart Association, a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives, has recognized 2,671 health care and emergency response organizations — nearly 145 more than in 2022 — for their commitment to improving health outcomes for cardiovascular patients through evidence-based efficient and coordinated care. The American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® and Mission: Lifeline® are hospital-based quality improvement recognition programs that use the latest evidence-based scientific guidelines to save lives and hasten health care recovery ...

With a survival rate in the single digits, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly lethal. In fact, by the time PDAC is clinically diagnosed, it is already considered incurable via surgery or other means in up to 90% of patients. Yangzom D. Bhutia, D.V.M., Ph.D., from the Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine, has for years focused her research on PDAC. To bolster her efforts, the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health recently awarded Bhutia a five-year, $1.76 million grant (“SLC6A14 as a unique ...

A sociological study by the University of Zurich confirms that a considerable proportion of employees perceive their work as socially useless. Employees in financial, sales and management occupations are more likely to conclude that their jobs are of little use to society. In recent years, research showed that many professionals consider their work to be socially useless. Various explanations have been proposed for the phenomenon. The much-discussed “bullshit jobs theory” by the American anthropologist David Graeber, for example, states that some jobs are objectively useless and that this occurs more frequently ...

SPOKANE, Wash. – One year after the Dobbs decision, 41.8% of U.S. women of reproductive age have to drive 30 minutes or more to reach an abortion care facility, according to a study of data as of June 2, 2023. Researchers predicted that number would rise to 53.5% if other state bills under consideration are passed. The study estimated longer drives as well, finding that 29.3% of women didn’t have access to a facility within a 60-minute drive and 23.6% lacked access even within a 90-minute drive. Those figures would jump to 45.6% ...

Adverse childhood experiences have impacts deep into old age, especially for those who experienced violence, and include both physical and cognitive impairments. It’s known that a difficult childhood can lead to a host of health issues as a young or midlife adult, but now, for the first time, researchers at UC San Franciso have linked adverse experiences early in life to lifelong health consequences. They found that older U.S. adults with a history of stressful or traumatic experiences as children were more likely to experience both physical and cognitive impairments in their senior years. Stressful childhood experiences could include exposure to ...