CHICAGO (Sept 13, 2024)—Menopause is a natural life transition occurring when many women are at the “top of their game.” Unsupported menopause symptoms drive up employer healthcare costs and cause roughly $1.8 billion in missed workdays. To help employers retain these valued workers and build cultures of well-being, The Menopause Society launched Making Menopause Work™ based on new science-based Consensus Recommendations. The Recommendations are published online in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause ...

One of the most promising avenues for actively reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere is recycling it into valuable chemicals via electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reactions. With a suitable electrocatalyst, this can be achieved under mild conditions and at a low energy cost. Many types of electrocatalysts are being actively investigated, but most suffer from either low electrocatalytic activity, poor selectivity, or low stability. Metal sulfides might hold the huge potential solution to this puzzle. By combining ionic and covalent characteristics, this unique family of materials offers good catalytic activity and energy efficiency. The ternary metal system is expected to be a better ...

Kumamoto University’s research team, led by Assistant Professor Kazuto Hatakeyama and Professor Shintaro Ida of Institute of Industrial Nanomaterials, has announced a groundbreaking development in hydrogen ion barrier films using graphene oxide (GO) that lacks internal pores. This innovative approach promises significant advancements in protective coatings for various applications.   In their study, the research team successfully synthesized and developed a thin film from a new form of graphene oxide that does not contain pores. Traditionally, ...

Since many kinds of wildlife have started living in urban environments, urban environments have been recognized as places of biodiversity conservation. What kind of factors facilitate or prohibit wildlife from living in urban environments? Understanding the population genetic structure of urban wildlife living would suggest the hint. In this study, we investigated the population genetic structure of Eurasian red squirrels living in urban to rural areas in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, Japan. As a result, we found that ...

Interim data from the Phase I dose escalation part of the mRNA cancer immunotherapy (mRNA-4359), show promise in patients with advanced solid cancers. The investigational mRNA cancer immunotherapy is targeted for patients with lung cancer, melanoma and other solid tumours. Nineteen patients with advanced stage cancers received between one and nine doses of the immunotherapy treatment. Scientists have found the immunotherapy created an immune response against cancer and was well tolerated, with adverse events ...

(Jackson, Wyoming – Embargoed until Thursday 12 September 2024 8:00 PM EDT) A highly accurate diagnostic blood test has been developed for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that effects neurons in the brain and spinal cord.  ALS leads to gradual paralysis, ultimately resulting in the inability to walk, speak, or, in later stages, move. Currently, diagnosis is based on a thorough clinical examination, but it can take up to 12 months to provide a definitive diagnosis, by which time many patients have significantly ...

Without immediate action, humanity will potentially face further escalation in resistance in fungal disease, a renowned group of scientists from the across the world has warned. The commentary -  published in The Lancet this week - was coordinated by scientists at The University of Manchester, the Westerdijk Institute and the University of Amsterdam. According to the scientists most fungal pathogens identified by the World Health Organisation - accounting for around 3.8 million deaths a year - are either already resistant or rapidly acquiring resistance to antifungal drugs. The authors argue that the currently narrow focus on bacteria will not fully combat antimicrobial resistance ...

Review in The Lancet finds that one in five globally are at risk of contracting cardiovascular diseases, because they carry a genetic risk of high levels of a specific lipoprotein, which can be tested for and possibly treated. 20 % of the world population carries a genetic risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, and aortic valve stenosis: Increased levels of a lipid particle called lipoprotein(a). It is the most common genetic cause of cardiovascular diseases. “Lipoprotein(a) is the direct cause of cardiovascular diseases much like cigarettes cause ...

Huge gamma-ray burst collection 'rivals 250-year-old Messier catalogue' Royal Astronomical Society press release RAS PR 24/24 Embargoed until 00:01 BST on Friday 13 September 2024   Hundreds of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been recorded as part of an enormous global effort so extensive it "rivals the catalogue of deep-sky objects created by Messier 250 years ago", astronomers say. GRBs are the most violent explosions in the Universe, releasing more energy than the Sun would in 10 billion years. They occur when either a massive star dies or two neutron stars merge. The explosions are so ...

 Sea otters are famed for their luscious pelts, but the fur almost led to their extinction. By 1938, only a tiny population of ~50 remained clinging to the central California coast. Since then, the mammals have battled back; however, the charismatic creatures are still at risk from crude oil spilled by offshore rigs. But no one knew how severely crude oil impacts the buoyancy of sea otter fur or how well it recovers after cleaning. And Kate Riordan from California Polytechnic State University San Luis ...

Semaglutide and tirzepatide treatment lead to significant weight loss and improve blood sugar control in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who are living with overweight or obesity, new research being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September) has found. The two relatively new drugs are approved to treat type 2 diabetes and for weight loss. In type 2 diabetes, they help the body produce more insulin when needed. ...

Despite high use of continuous glucose monitoring and insulin pump therapy, fear of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) remains a significant barrier to physical activity and exercise for adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to new research to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Madrid (9-13 Sept). However, the findings suggest that if exercise and diabetes management are discussed in the clinic, this fear could be reduced. “Regular exercise can help individuals with diabetes to achieve their blood glucose goals, improve their ...

A series of case reports to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Madrid (9-13 Sept), describe how a technology giving insulin doses informed by an insulin pump algorithm helped three adults with type 1 diabetes better manage their blood sugars enabling them to lead more active lives, and even run marathons. The AID system contains an advanced hybrid closed loop algorithm that automates the delivery of both basal and correction bolus insulin every 5 minutes based on sensor glucose values. “It is great to see advances in ...

By John Lovett Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Muscadines may be the folksy American of the grape world, but they have many qualities like disease resistance and unique flavors that are desired in the more popular Vitis vinifera (bunch grapes) species. Likewise, Vitis vinifera — the species that most people eat as table grapes and drink in wine — has many characteristics desirable for muscadines, like thinner skin, a crispier texture and seedlessness. Successfully combining traits from these two species of grapes is a challenge due to differing numbers ...

Workplace communications platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams are sometimes accused of reducing productivity by distracting workers with constant messages and the need to respond to them. But new research by Wen Wen, associate professor of information, risk, and operations management (IROM) at Texas McCombs, shows that companies can use them to do the opposite: to motivate workers. How? By praising successful employees in all-staff channels that everyone can see — especially when they can’t see one another face-to-face. “One important challenge faced by many companies is how to motivate remote workers and keep them productive,” ...

UT Arlington biologists, working with underserved farmers in South Texas, have harvested their first crop of climate-smart soybeans. This harvest is part of a four-and-a-half-year, $5 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test whether climate-smart agricultural practices can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) responsible for climate change—including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—while simultaneously increasing crop production. “We ...

The connections between particles and their mass, the composition of the universe out of matter and antimatter and the search for previously unknown particles such as the so-called “dark matter” are the focus of researchers at the research center CERN in Geneva, which is celebrating its 70th birthday this year with events all around the world. In four large-scale experiments, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are getting to the bottom of the secrets of the universe. This particle accelerator offers researchers ...

Associate Professor Justine Tigno-Aranjuez will use a five-year grant of more than $1 million to study how influences on the production of lipid mediators to better understand impacts on inflammation. A College of Medicine researcher has received a prestigious U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER Award to support her research into the cellular causes of inflammation, discoveries that could be pivotal for treating  conditions like Crohn’s disease and arthritis. Justine Tigno-Aranjuez’s lab has been researching lipid mediators — ...

Overdose rates in Colombia involving illegal opioids, hallucinogens, stimulants and sedative psychotropic medication increased greatly during 2018-2021, mainly caused by overdoses in young women, according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Drug overdoses increased by 356 percent from 8.5 to 40.5 percent per 100,000 individuals from 2010 to 2021. The findings are published in the American Journal of Public Health. The study is the first to describe national ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the roughly 20 years since e-cigarettes were introduced in the United States, use among young people has grown substantially. By 2022, more than one in five high school seniors reported they had vaped nicotine in the past month. Household smoking bans — rules against anybody smoking inside a home — are an effective tool for delaying or preventing teen cigarette smoking, according to Jennifer Maggs, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, and her collaborators, so they examined if the same might hold true for vaping. They assessed how many households with teenage children in the ...

Have you ever tried to convince a conspiracy theorist that the moon landing wasn’t staged? You likely didn’t succeed, but ChatGPT might have better luck, according to research by MIT Sloan School of Management professor David Rand and American University professor of psychology Thomas Costello, who conducted the research during his postdoctoral position at MIT Sloan. In a new paper “Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI” published in Science, the researchers show that large language models can effectively reduce ...

Embargoed: Not for Release Until 2:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time Thursday, 12 September 2024   ‘Even the deepest of rabbit holes may have an exit’   Pathbreaking psychology study reveals conversations with AI models can reduce conspiracy theory beliefs   (WASHINGTON, D.C.) Sept. 12, 2024 – ‘They’re so far down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that they’re lost for good’ is common thinking when it comes to conspiracy theorists. This generally accepted notion is now crumbling. In a pathbreaking research study, a team of researchers from American University, ...

Personalized conversations with a trained artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot can reduce belief in conspiracy theories – even in the most obdurate individuals – according to a new study. The findings, which challenge the idea that such beliefs are impervious to change, point to a new tool for combating misinformation. “It has become almost a truism that people ‘down the rabbit hole’ of conspiracy belief are almost impossible to reach,” write the authors. “In contrast to this pessimistic view, we [show] that a relatively brief conversation with a generative AI model can produce ...

In a Policy Forum, Mark McCabe and Frank Mueller-Langer explore how new open access (OA) mandates and agreements are changing how scientists share their work. They outline key contemporary unknowns in the open access landscape, as well as avenues for continued research. Since 2003, many national governments and international organizations have supported the Berlin Declaration on Open Access (OA) to Knowledge. More recently, some governments and organizations have introduced mandates to ensure open access ...

State-level bans on commercial organic waste disposal have largely failed to reduce landfilled waste across the U.S., with one state standing out as the lone success, according to a new study. Massachusetts alone achieved a significant reduction in landfilled waste when it implemented food waste bans. The findings underscore the importance of well-designed and enforced policies, with Massachusetts offering a potential model for effective waste management. “Our study shows that food waste bans are far from guaranteed to be successful,” ...