COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have unraveled the step-by-step activation process of a protein with a deep evolutionary history in all domains of life, opening the door to harnessing its functions for use as a biotechnology tool. The protein belongs to the “superfamily” of Argonaute proteins, which previous research has suggested to be involved in gene silencing, a fundamental process known as RNA interference. These proteins are well-characterized in eukaryotes – the plants, fungi, animals, humans and other life forms with cells that have a defined ...

URBANA, Ill. — As the global population grows under a changing climate, the urgency to find sustainable protein sources is greater than ever. Plant-based “meat” and “dairy” products may be popular, but they’re not the only environmentally friendly meat alternatives.  A new study in mice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms in high-fat diets could slow weight gain, improve immune response, reduce inflammation, enhance energy metabolism, and ...

Exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics — particles smaller than 5 millimeters and 1 micrometer across, respectively — have been linked to adverse health outcomes. Although some of their sources are well known, others haven’t been thoroughly vetted yet. Below are recent papers published in ACS journals that report new insights into the origins of some microscopic plastic pieces: laser-cut acrylic sheets, orthodontic rubber bands and children’s food containers. Reporters can request free access to these papers by emailing newsroom@acs.org. “Characterization ...

An Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai study sheds light on the intricate interplay between mammary adipose (fat) tissue and breast health, and offers exciting possibilities for understanding breast development, lactation, cancer, and obesity and related metabolic disorders. The study was published today in Nature. The research team was led by Prashant Rajbhandari, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease), and a member of the Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism Institute at Icahn Mount Sinai. The ...

CLEVELAND - Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, being highly resistant to chemotherapy. However, there are no effective alternative therapies to chemotherapy, so chemo remains the best available treatment. Although there are fewer than roughly 60,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed annually in the U.S., about 95 percent of people with it die from it, mainly because it often goes undetected in early stages. Approved multi-agent chemotherapy regimens offer a marginal advance over single-agent ...

Some of the world’s most distinct and ancient animal species, which play crucial roles in our planet’s ecosystems, are exploited for the wildlife trade across large parts of the world, according to new research from the University of Sheffield.   The study, led by researchers from the University’s School of Biosciences, has found that in large areas of the world, a wide range of functionally and evolutionarily distinct species are targeted for the wildlife trade, which has the potential to cause major losses of evolutionary history and alter key ecological processes.   Published in Nature, the ...

The very first rule for people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is to eat a healthy nutritious diet. Attention to ingested calories, as well as nutrients contained in various foods, become integral parts of a diabetic person's life. However, this might not be enough: an important role in determining the future health status of people with this condition could be played by the degree of processing of foods that end up on the dish. These products are described as "ultra-processed" and are associated with adverse health outcomes, as reported in general population studies. A study conducted by the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention at the I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed in Pozzilli, ...

LOS ANGELES, CA — Keck Hospital of USC earned five stars, the highest rating possible, on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2023 quality star rating report. Only approximately 16% of hospitals across the country, 483 out of 3,076, received five stars out of a one-to-five-star rating system. “This prestigious designation demonstrates our continuing commitment to patient safety and to best patient outcomes, and is the result of the hard work of every physician, nurse and staff member at the hospital,” said Stephanie Hall, MD, MHA, chief medical officer ...

About 15 years ago, researchers reported that the timing of spring in high-Arctic Greenland had advanced at some of the fastest rates of change ever seen anywhere in the world. But, according to new evidence reported in the journal Current Biology on July 26, that earlier pattern has since been completely erased. Instead of coming earlier and earlier, it seems the timing of Arctic spring is now driven by tremendous climate variability with drastic differences from one year to the next. “As scientists we are obliged to revisit previous ...

The United States has more than 10 times the number of mass shooting incidents than other developed countries, yet little research has shown the distribution and types of shootings, geographically. “I’m constantly asked, ‘What is public health doing about the rise in mass shootings?” says Leslie Barnard, MPH, a student working with the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative. Barnard, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology in the Colorado School of Public Health at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, wanted to find answers to address public ...

Eighty-two percent of child deaths in low-income countries could be prevented, according to a study from the international CHAMPS network published in JAMA Network Open. The study, which used the minimally invasive autopsy technique developed by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), found an infectious agent in 87% of cases and identified malnutrition as the most common underlying cause of death. Ninety-nine percent of deaths in children under five years of age occur in low- and middle-income countries. "If we want to prevent these deaths, we need to know the causes, but the problem is that we lack reliable data," says Quique Bassat, ...

About The Study: The findings of this study including 268 counties in 22 states suggest that wastewater surveillance can provide an accurate assessment of county SARS-CoV-2 incidence and may be the best metric for monitoring amount of circulating virus as home testing increases and disease acuity decreases because of vaccination and treatment. Authors: Meri R. J. Varkila, M.D., of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, 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.2023.25591) Editor’s Note: Please ...

About The Study: This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial including 19,000 older adults found a significant increase in intracranial bleeding with daily low-dose aspirin but no significant reduction of ischemic stroke. These findings may have particular relevance to older individuals prone to developing intracranial bleeding after head trauma (e.g., from falls).  Authors: John J. McNeil, Ph.D., of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, 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.2023.25803) Editor’s ...

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the Earth's most consequential interannual climate fluctuation. Alternating irregularly between warm El Niño and cold La Niña phases, it brings shifts in ocean surface temperature and disrupts wind and rainfall patterns across the tropics. Unlike El Niño, which usually lasts one year, La Niña tends to develop after an El Niño and lasts for two consecutive years or more. This is known as a multiyear La Niña event and exerts prolonged and aggregated impacts, such as increased wildfires, flooding, and altered ...

Earth is truly unique among our Solar System’s planets. It has vast water oceans and abundant life. But Earth is also unique because it is the only planet with plate tectonics, which shaped its geology, climate and possibly influenced the evolution of life. Plate tectonics describes the movement and interaction of tectonic plates on Earth’s surface. This movement is driven by the very slow creeping motion of Earth's mantle, called convection, which carry heat from the interior to our planet's ...

Alcohol is one of the most commonly used psychoactive drugs, with a growing number of users in many parts of the world. Despite the awareness regarding its adverse effects, individuals can get habituated to alcohol consumption, leading to a medical condition called alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD is characterized by the abuse, dependency, and addiction of alcohol, leading to compromised social responses and interactions of the individual. Moreover, it impairs spatial working memory (memory that allows us to orient ourselves ...

Researchers have found that people with obstructive sleep apnea have an increased cardiovascular risk due to reduced blood oxygen levels, largely explained by interrupted breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea has long been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular issues, including heart attack, stroke, and death, but the findings from this study, partially supported by the National Institutes of Health and published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, show the mechanism mostly responsible ...

Research from the Registro Nacional de Cáncer notes that Uruguay has the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in Latin America. In particular, cervical cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related morbidity among Uruguay's female population. To further motivate action to combat cervical cancer, BGI Genomics today released its State of Cervical Cancer Awareness Report in Uruguay. This report assesses the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to cervical cancer screening and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. By examining these key areas, this survey seeks to highlight the associated barriers and opportunities. ...

Although rare, mucosal melanoma in humans has a low survival rate. It has been difficult to investigate due to a lack of similar cancers in animals for study. Researchers explored a protein common to human and canine mucosal melanoma. The protein seems to be what makes this cancer so problematic, as it mobilizes the cancer cells, allowing them to spread. Researchers hope that eliminating this protein could lead to a potential treatment. The study is published in Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Melanoma is a type of cancer that begins in ...

As an electromechanical actuator, symmetric-actuating devices are often used in the fields where symmetrical motion, drive, and control are required, such as grasping or scissoring operations, and fast symmetric opening or closing of microchannels. One scenario with strong demand is minimally invasive surgery, including precision grasping and cutting tumor cells, retinal microsurgery, etc. In the field of micro electromechanical devices, the scissoring or grasping operation essentially belongs to two symmetrical actuations between two end-effectors. However, there is almost no one motor that can directly generate two symmetrical linear motions. In general, to produce two symmetrical ...

DALLAS, July 26, 2023 — Existing research shows certain types of migraines can increase the risk of stroke, and there is growing evidence that they may also lead to other types of cardiovascular disease (CVD). To learn more about these connections, the American Heart Association, the world's leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, is providing a total of $2.1 million in grants for seven new scientific research projects. The selected teams of scientists for the “Migraine ...

NEW YORK, July 26, 2023 – The Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences announced today the 2023 laureates of the  Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists.   Each will receive $250,000, the largest unrestricted scientific award for America’s most innovative, faculty-ranked scientists and engineers who are under the age of 42. The winners and their distinguished research: 2023 Laureate in Life Sciences: William Anderegg, Ph.D., The University of Utah (Ecology & Evolutionary ...

Lymph nodes are one of the body’s first lines of defense against disease. Immune cells are dispatched from these biological police stations to fight off intruders. But somehow, lymph nodes are also the first stop for most metastatic cancers. “It’s paradoxical,” Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Assistant Professor Semir Beyaz says. “The cancer goes right in, but the immune cells aren’t doing anything. It’s important to understand what’s going on because this is how cancer takes the whole body hostage.” Beyaz joined with collaborators from Massachusetts General Hospital to investigate. They ...

Researchers from WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, University of Bonn, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg published a new Journal of Marketing article that examines how consumers respond to new products co-developed with universities and the unique marketing opportunities for these products. Firms often collaborate with universities to access novel scientific knowledge and technological expertise with an aim to develop superior new products. For example, Italian start-up Angles90 co-developed the first dynamic training grips with the faculty of Strength Training Ergonomics at the Technical University of ...

PULLMAN, Wash. –Sexual health, diet and exercise are the three topics that steal the show when it comes to popular health-related videos on TikTok. Unfortunately, there’s little else in terms of engaging health-related content on the video sharing platform, a Washington State University study found.  The social media platform’s mostly young audience also seems to prefer health-related videos featuring popular influencers’ role model appeals, such as their diet or exercise routine, rather than expert medical advice, ...