Researchers have finally settled a decades-long dispute about the evolutionary origins of the pygmy right whale.   The smallest of the living baleen whales, it’s tank-like skeleton is unique, and its ecology and behaviour remain virtually unknown.   Because it is so unusual, the evolutionary relationships of the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) have long been a bone of contention.   In a study that solves the debate, just published in Marine Mammal Science, an international group of researchers sequenced the complete genome of Caperea, combining ...

1. Acute kidney injury not associated with worsening kidney function in persons with CKD Findings suggest kidney disease observed after AKI often present before injury Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-3617 URL goes live when the embargo lifts A study of hospitalized persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) fournd that acute kidney injury (AKI) did not predict worsening of kidney function trajectory once difference in pre-hospitalization characteristically were fully accounted for. Instead, the authors suggest that much of determinants of faster ...

With just a few clicks of a mouse, you can purchase your very own redtail garra, a type of fish that feeds on algae. Information about the fish’s biology, however, is much less easily obtained. That’s because redtail garra, although popular in the aquarium trade since the early 2000s, has until now been unknown to science. Researchers were peripherally aware of the fish’s existence, but “discovering” a new species requires scientific description based on specimens collected in their natural ...

PHILADELPHIA (July 10, 2023) – A unique collaborative study on hospital clinician wellbeing by teams at 60 of the nation’s best hospitals, defined by Magnet Hospital Recognition, was published today in JAMA Health Forum. The study found that physicians and nurses, even at hospitals known to be good places to work, experienced adverse outcomes during the pandemic and want hospital management to make significant improvements in their work environments and in patient safety. The solutions to high hospital clinician burnout and turnover, they say, are not resilience training ...

Two drugs commonly used to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis did not shorten recovery time for patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 but did reduce the likelihood of death when compared with standard care alone, according to a national study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study was funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The study was coordinated by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health ...

In the realms of material inspection, medical diagnostics, astronomical discovery, and scientific research, the demand for high-resolution and ultrastable X-ray imaging methods has ignited a fervent pursuit of innovative X-ray-responsive materials. These sought-after materials must possess exceptional qualities such as high X-ray attenuation, efficient scintillation, rapid light decay, and robust durability. Among them, lead-halide-based perovskites have emerged as a compelling contender due to their remarkable luminescence efficiency, superior X-ray attenuation capabilities, and short ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $72 million in funding for small businesses to pursue scientific, clean energy, and climate research, development, and demonstration projects. The funding will support 296 projects across 44 states and addresses multiple topic areas, such as renewable energy, nuclear energy, cybersecurity, advanced materials and manufacturing, microelectronics, and artificial intelligence. Today’s announcement underscores the Biden-Harris Administration's deep commitment to advancing innovative climate solutions and strengthening America’s ...

About The Study: The models developed for the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Oral Cancer Survival Calculator demonstrate that survival estimates that exclude the effects of coexisting conditions can lead to underestimates or overestimates of survival.  Authors: Louise Davies, M.D., M.S., of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont, 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/jamaoto.2023.1975) Editor’s Note: Please ...

About The Article: This article describes the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Oral Cancer Survival Calculator, which is designed to provide patient-specific survival estimates based on the severity of an index cancer as well as the competing risk of death of other comorbid ailments.  Authors: Louise Davies, M.D., M.S., of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont, 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/jamaoto.2023.1977) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

MISSOULA – While humans sheltered in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, wild animals took the opportunity to roam spaces typically avoided by wildlife, according to a study published last month in Science. Photos quickly emerged of wild goats spotted on the city streets of Wales and coyotes touring downtown San Francisco, yet evidence explaining this phenomenon was sparse.   Dr. Mark Hebblewhite, professor of ungulate habitat ecology at the University of Montana, joined an international research team of 175, led by Dr. Marlee Tucker – an ecologist at Radboud University in the Netherlands – in analyzing ...

Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory discovered that atomic-level structural changes occur when the compound tin selenide heats up — changes that help it to conduct electricity but not heat. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, provides information that could lead to new technologies for applications such as refrigeration or waste heat recovery from cars or nuclear power plants. The research was published by Nature Communications. “Tin selenide is a curious compound,” ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## Massachusetts Drinking Water May Contain Unsafe Levels of Manganese A new study measured manganese levels in the residential tap water of a Holliston, Mass. community and found that the manganese concentrations occasionally exceeded the maximum safety level recommended in state and federal guidelines. Manganese is ...

Movement in the Earth’s tectonic plates indirectly triggers bursts of biodiversity in 36‑million-year cycles by forcing sea levels to rise and fall, new research has shown. Researchers including geoscientists at the University of Sydney believe these geologically driven cycles of sea level changes have a significant impact on the diversity of marine species, going back at least 250 million years. As water levels rise and fall, different habitats on the continental shelves and in shallow seas expand and contract, ...

Silence might not be deafening but it’s something that literally can be heard, concludes a team of philosophers and psychologists who used auditory illusions to reveal how moments of silence distort people’s perception of time. The findings address the debate of whether people can hear more than sounds, which has puzzled philosophers for centuries. “We typically think of our sense of hearing as being concerned with sounds. But silence, whatever it is, is not a sound — it’s the absence of sound,” said lead author Rui Zhe Goh, a Johns Hopkins University graduate student in philosophy and psychology. “Surprisingly, ...

Researchers at The University of Queensland have discovered the venom of a notorious caterpillar has a surprising ancestry and could be key to the delivery of lifesaving drugs. A team led by Dr Andrew Walker and Professor Glenn King from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience found toxins in the venom of asp caterpillars punch holes in cells the same way as toxins produced by disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella. “We were surprised to find asp caterpillar venom was completely ...

Research led by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath looking at the evolution of terrestrial orchid species has found that global cooling of the climate appears to be the major driving factor in their diversity. The results help scientists understand the role of global climate on diversity of species, and how our current changing global climate might affect biodiversity in the future. One of the largest families of plants, there are around 28,000 species of orchids growing across the world. These plants are known for their huge variety of different sized and shaped flowers, so why are there so many species Climate change driving speciation Charles ...

Human memory is fundamental to everything we do. From remembering the faces of someone you just met to finding your cell phone that you just left on a table, one's "visual working memory"— the core cognitive system that retains visual information in an active state for a short period of time, plays a vital role. Prior work has found that visual working memory capacity is well correlated with other important cognitive abilities such as academic performance, and fluid intelligence, which includes general reasoning and problem solving, so understanding its limits is integral to understanding how human cognition works. In the past, theories have proposed that an individual’s ...

The Electrochemical Society (ECS) has selected scientist Shirley Meng of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory as the recipient of the 2023 Battery Division Research Award for innovative research on interfacial science, which has led to improved battery technologies. A pioneer in discovering and designing better materials for energy storage, Meng serves as chief scientist of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS) and as a professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular ...

A team from Ames National Laboratory conducted an in-depth investigation of the magnetism of TbMn6Sn6, a Kagome layered topological magnet. They were surprised to find that the magnetic spin reorientation in TbMn6Sn6 occurs by generating increasing numbers of magnetically isotropic ions as the temperature increases. Rob McQueeney, a scientist at Ames Lab and project lead, explained that TbMn6Sn6has two different magnetic ions in the material, terbium and manganese. The direction of the manganese moments controls the topological state, “But ...

“The mechanisms underlying the observed effects of progesterone on breast cancer outcomes are unclear.” BUFFALO, NY- July 10, 2023 – A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on July 1, 2023, entitled, “Deciphering the mechanisms of action of progesterone in breast cancer.” A practice-changing, randomized, controlled clinical study established that preoperative hydroxyprogesterone administration improves disease-free and overall survival in patients with node-positive breast cancer. In this new perspective, researchers Gaurav Chakravorty, Suhail Ahmad, Mukul S. Godbole, Sudeep Gupta, Rajendra A. Badwe, ...

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy such as preeclampsia and gestational hypertension occur in up to 10% of pregnancies and are associated with a three-fold increased risk of chronic hypertension and up to two-fold increased risk of cardiovascular disease when compared with healthy pregnancies. While the year after pregnancy is a critical time to address hypertension risk with lifestyle changes (healthy diet and exercise), the effects of lifestyle interventions on postpartum blood pressures are not well documented.   A new Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine study has found that there are few relevant studies on the ...

We use plastics in almost every aspect of our lives. These materials are cheap to make and incredibly stable. The problem comes when we're done using something plastic — it can persist in the environment for years. Over time, plastic will break down into smaller fragments, called microplastics, that can pose significant environmental and health concerns. The best-case solution would be to use bio-based plastics that biodegrade instead, but many of those bioplastics are not designed to degrade in backyard composting conditions. They must be processed in commercial composting facilities, which are not accessible in all regions of the ...

URBANA, Ill. — For those whose primary experience with corn is the butter-drenched cob variety, it might come as a surprise that other forms of sweet corn are in trouble. A new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign analysis shows sweet corn production for frozen and canned products has been steadily shrinking in the U.S. over the past 27 years, particularly in rainfed portions of the Midwest.  “The processing sweet corn industry [corn grown for canned and frozen products] was thriving in the U.S. throughout the 20th century. This type of production, ...

Antiracist Structural Intervention at the Emory University Institutional Review Board Francois Rollin, Vanessa Van Doren, Jessica Alvarez, Rebecca Rousselle, Jada Bussey-Jones   Although racial and ethnic categories are social constructs without inherent biologic or genetic meaning, race and ethnicity impact health outcomes through racism. The use of racial categories in biomedical research often misattributes the cause of health inequities to genetic and inherent biological differences rather than to racism. Improving research ...

Philadelphia, July 10, 2023 – A long-standing and contentiously debated question is the extent to which US federal food assistance programs contribute to or deter healthy beverage intake. Findings of a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier, show that while beverage intake patterns rarely differed between mothers and young children who participated only in the Supplementation Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), only the Supplemental ...