Life on Earth didn’t arise as described in textbooks No, oxygen didn’t catalyze the swift blossoming of Earth’s first multicellular organisms.  The result defies a 70-year-old assumption about what caused an explosion of oceanic fauna hundreds of millions of years ago.   Between 685 and 800 million years ago, multicellular organisms began to appear in all of Earth's oceans during what's known as the Avalon explosion, a forerunner era of the more famed Cambrian explosion. During this era, sea sponges and other bizarre multicellular organisms replaced small single-celled ...

Relatives are a great resource in today's healthcare system. In Norway, relatives' efforts add up to approximately the same number of person-years as provided by the public municipal health and care services. But the role of relatives is changing. Changes in the age composition of the population, changed social structures and family patterns will affect how many relatives each of us has to support us in the future. In order to look after relatives in the best possible way, it is necessary to have increased knowledge about relatives' involvement and the need for support in various ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced a   $16.25 million gift from Howard and Susan Elias to accelerate brain tumor and cancer neuroscience research, an emerging field focused on integrating the role of the nervous system in cancer. Howard Elias’ son, Harrison, was diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent successful surgery in 2000. Six years earlier, Howard’s father had died of glioblastoma. These separate diagnoses sparked a giving program over the years, leading to this latest gift which represents ...

SEATTLE — July 18, 2023 — In a significant milestone for the Allen Institute for Immunology, a division of the Allen Institute, researchers and staff will collaborate with private industry researchers to aid in the detailed molecular understanding of disease, in service of developing new treatments and therapies to improve human health. Specifically, Allen Institute scientists will work with researchers from Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) to investigate and profile disease state diversity and biomarkers for drug response involving atopic dermatitis (eczema) and rheumatoid arthritis using Allen Institute-developed ...

CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI), have today announced a partnership to combine cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology with established laboratory techniques to speed up development of future vaccines against novel viral threats (also known as Disease X). HMRI will lead a consortium including experts from Argonne National Laboratory (University of Chicago), J Craig Venter Research Institute, La Jolla Institute, The University of Texas Medical Branch, and The University of Texas, ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – Without intervention, the colorful but devastating Japanese beetle could make its way across the evergreen state within two decades, according to a study of their potential dispersion. The iridescent, green-and-copper beetles damage plants by “skeletonizing” their leaves, chewing up all the soft green parts between the veins. They eat over 300 plants and pose a serious threat to Washington agriculture as some of their favorite crops include grapes, hops and cherries.  Once established, Japanese beetles are tough to eradicate, but it may be possible to keep them under control, said David Crowder, a Washington State University entomologist. “These ...

Will artificial intelligence (AI) end civilisation? Researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software and University College Cork, are seeking help determining what the public believes and knows about AI and software more generally. Psychologist Dr Sarah Robinson, a senior postdoctoral researcher with Lero, is asking members of the public to take part in a ten-minute anonymised online survey to establish what peoples’ hopes and fears are for AI and software in general. “As the experts debate, little attention is given to what the public thinks – and the debate is raging. Some ...

HOUSTON – (July 18, 2023) – Rice University bioengineer Gang Bao and his team have won a 4-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to address critical questions surrounding the safety and efficacy of using gene editing to treat sickle cell disease. Because it is caused by a mutation in a single gene, sickle cell disease is a prime candidate for gene editing treatments using tools such as CRISPR-Cas9. “Sickle cell disease affects over five million people worldwide, and ...

Despite having worse stroke symptoms and living within comparable distances to comprehensive stroke centers, women with large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke are less likely to be routed to the centers compared to men, according to a new study from UTHealth Houston. Led by corresponding author Sunil Sheth, MD, associate professor of neurology and director of the vascular neurology program with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, and senior author Youngran Kim, PhD, assistant professor of management, policy, and community health with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, the study was published today in the Journal of the American ...

IOP Publishing’s (IOPP) new environmental research journals are now open for submissions. Announced earlier this year, the two new open access (OA) journals: Environmental Research: Energy and Environmental Research: Food Systems are the latest additions to IOPP’s expanding Environmental Research Series which now includes eight open access titles.   IOPP’s Environmental Research series builds on the established reputation of the journal Environmental Research Letters (ERL) and shares the same outstanding levels of author service, inclusive editorial policies, strict quality assurance and has open science principles at its core.   IOP ...

LA JOLLA, CALIF. – July 18, 2023 –Research from Sanford Burnham Prebys and the Osaka International Cancer Institute has shed new light on the anti-cancer properties of mannose, a sugar that is crucial to many physiological processes in humans and is also known to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. The findings, published in the journal eLife, suggest that mannose could be a helpful secondary treatment for cancer. “This sugar could give cancer an extra punch alongside other treatments,” says study co-author Hudson Freeze, Ph.D., director of the Human Genetics ...

Brushing twice a day keeps the dentist away – but can we improve on the toothpaste we use to maintain clean teeth, preventing medical issues that spiral from poor dental health? Most toothpastes use fluoride, a powerful tool for oral hygiene. However, fluoride can pose health problems in some cases, especially for children who consume too much fluoride by swallowing most of their toothpaste: children normally use only a tiny dose of toothpaste to avoid these problems, but that reduces toothbrushing efficacy. In the search for alternatives, a team of international scientists and Polish clinicians have identified a hydroxyapatite toothpaste that works just as well as fluoride toothpaste ...

The Horizon 2020 BiCIKL Project is proud to announce that the Biodiversity Knowledge Hub (BKH) is now online. BKH is a one-stop portal that allows users to access FAIR and interlinked biodiversity data and services in a few clicks. BKH was designed to support a new emerging community of users over time and across the entire biodiversity research cycle providing its services to anybody, anywhere and anytime. “The Knowledge Hub is the main product from our BiCIKL consortium, and we are delighted with the result! BKH can easily be seen as the beginning of the major shift in the way we search interlinked biodiversity information,” says Prof. Lyubomir ...

Osaka, Japan – Systemic autoimmune diseases are characterized by inflammation of multiple organs and can have devastating consequences for patients. There is a dire need for treatments against these diseases. RNase treatments seem promising in some clinical trials but not all. Researchers from Japan have uncovered the reasons for this variability. In a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight (JCI Insight), researchers from Osaka University have provided new insights into the opposite effects of RNase ...

Researchers from the Center of Theoretical Physics of Complex Systems within the Institute for Basic Science (PCS-IBS) made an important discovery that describes the relationship between synchronization and thermodynamics in quantum systems. The question of how order arises from disorder has captivated humanity for centuries. One fascinating example of such emergence is synchronization, where multiple oscillators initialized randomly could end up oscillating in harmony. Synchronization exists in our everyday lives, e.g. the sound of clapping hands or the simultaneous flashing of fireflies. Remarkably, scientists have discovered ...

The study is led by Prof. Chilai Chen (Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences).   The detection of dissolved gases in the deep sea is of great significance in exploring the origin and early evolution of life, understanding the interaction between the Earth's spheres, studying the geological profile of the Earth, searching for underwater oil, gas, and mineral resources, and researching global climate change. Changes in the concentrations of dissolved oxygen and nitrogen can indirectly or directly reflect the activity patterns ...

The building sector is a significant contributor to global energy consumption, accounting for approximately 33% of the world's final energy usage. Recently, data mining technologies have showed powerful capacities for revealing energy waste and providing energy-saving tips to building owners. These technologies have the ability to save approximately 15%-30% of the energy consumed in buildings. However, the practical application of data mining technologies has been limited due to its labor-intensive nature, resulting in a scarcity of real-world use cases. In a study published in the KeAi journal Energy and Built Environment, ...

LA JOLLA, CALIF. – July 17, 2023 – By identifying genes in patients and testing their effects in fruit flies, researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys have found new genes that contribute to hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare, life-threatening heart disease that occurs in infants. The findings, published in the journal eLife, bring scientists one step closer to unraveling the biology of this complex disease. “Every case of HLHS is unique because there are many different things that can go wrong during the early development of the heart,” ...

Structural materials with useful mechanical properties have applications in a diverse range of fields. A reliable way to enhance the properties of structural materials is to make them lighter without compromising their strength. Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are perhaps the most prominent example of this approach. These plastics are made up of tiny, yet extremely strong threads of carbon atoms held together by a plastic matrix. Owing to their low weight, high durability, and exceptional mechanical performance, CFRP laminates are being incorporated into state-of-the-art ...

Though per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) make headlines daily, a new paper reveals that most studies finding links between PFAS exposure and human health harms are published without a press release and receive little or no media coverage. The peer-reviewed analysis, published today in the journal Environmental Health, found that studies without any press attention receive fewer scholarly citations as well. “It’s a shame that only a small slice of this science is reaching the public,” ...

Researchers from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University say the notion that people are choosing to stay in insecure work for the ‘perk’ of flexibility is flawed – as almost half (46%) would find another job if given the chance. However, they feel trapped due to limiting factors such as the cost and availability of childcare and transport, as well as a lack of local job opportunities. With persistent inflation, rising interest rates and the cost of food on the rise, the think-tank warns that millions of insecure workers in the UK are most vulnerable due to the volatility in their pay, working hours and a lack of core protections like sick and redundancy ...

A University of Texas at Arlington civil engineering researcher is leading a nationwide study to find and assess innovative technologies for monitoring water assets. Mohammad Najafi, associate professor of civil engineering, is using a $410,000 grant from the Water Research Foundation for the project. “We hope to streamline water asset monitoring so water utilities can make timely decisions and optimize their maintenance activities,” Najafi said. “We will investigate the utilization of existing and innovative asset-monitoring technologies—such as drones, sensors, fiber optics and more—for both horizontal and vertical assets. Considerations ...

We know less about the rainforest canopy, where most of the world’s species live than we do about the surface of Mars or the bottom of the ocean. However, that is about to change thanks to GEDI—a NASA space laser that has provided a detailed structure of the world’s rainforests for the first time ever.  “Tropical forests are mainly unstratified especially in Amazonia and regions with lower fertility or higher temperatures” reads the title of the recently published paper in Environmental Research Ecology ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- When patients undergo general anesthesia, their brain activity often slows down as they sink into unconsciousness. Higher doses of anesthetic drugs can induce an even deeper state of unconsciousness known as burst suppression, which is associated with cognitive impairments after the patient wakes up. A new study from MIT, in which the researchers analyzed the EEG patterns of patients under anesthesia, has revealed brain wave signatures that could help anesthesiologists determine when patients are transitioning into that deeper state of unconsciousness. This ...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines can clearly view non-bony parts of the body — soft tissue such as the brain, muscles and ligaments — as well as detect tumors, making it possible to diagnose many diseases and other conditions. However, the powerful magnets in conventional MRI machines make them expensive and bulky, confining them mainly to hospitals and other large facilities.  As an alternative solution, companies are developing new portable versions that have lower-strength magnetic fields. These new models can potentially expand the ways in which MRI is used. For instance, low-field MRI systems could be deployed in ambulances ...