A unique residential study has concluded that, contrary to perceived wisdom, people with eating disorders do not lose self-control - leading to binge-eating - in response to stress. The findings of the Cambridge-led research are published today in the Journal of Neuroscience. People who experience bulimia nervosa and a subset of those affected by anorexia nervosa share certain key symptoms, namely recurrent binge-eating and compensatory behaviours, such as vomiting. The two disorders are largely differentiated by body mass index (BMI): adults affected by anorexia nervosa tend to have BMI of less than 18.5 kg/m2. More than 1.6 million people in ...

In a new study published in Cell Stem Cell, a team led by USC Stem Cell scientist Michael Bonaguidi, PhD, demonstrates that neural stem cells - the stem cells of the nervous system - age rapidly. "There is chronological aging, and there is biological aging, and they are not the same thing," said Bonaguidi, an Assistant Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Gerontology and Biomedical Engineering at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "We're interested in the biological aging of neural stem cells, which are particularly vulnerable to the ravages of time. This has implications for the normal cognitive decline that ...

Researchers have used a technique similar to MRI to follow the movement of individual atoms in real time as they cluster together to form two-dimensional materials, which are a single atomic layer thick. The results, reported in the journal Physical Review Letters, could be used to design new types of materials and quantum technology devices. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, captured the movement of the atoms at speeds that are eight orders of magnitude too fast for conventional microscopes. Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, ...

New research from McMaster University suggests the pandemic has created a paradox where mental health has become both a motivator for and a barrier to physical activity. People want to be active to improve their mental health but find it difficult to exercise due to stress and anxiety, say the researchers who surveyed more than 1,600 subjects in an effort to understand how and why mental health, physical activity and sedentary behavior have changed throughout the course of the pandemic. The results are outlined in the journal PLOS ONE. "Maintaining a regular exercise program is difficult at the best of times and the conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic ...

A new algorithm can predict which genes cause cancer, even if their DNA sequence is not changed. A team of researchers in Berlin combined a wide variety of data, analyzed it with "Artificial Intelligence" and identified numerous cancer genes. This opens up new perspectives for targeted cancer therapy in personalized medicine and for the development of biomarkers. In cancer, cells get out of control. They proliferate and push their way into tissues, destroying organs and thereby impairing essential vital functions. This unrestricted growth is usually induced by an accumulation of DNA changes in cancer ...

In the earliest stage of life, animals undergo some of their most spectacular physical transformations. Once merely blobs of dividing cells, they begin to rearrange themselves into their more characteristic forms, be they fish, birds or humans. Understanding how cells act together to build tissues has been a fundamental problem in physics and biology. Now, UC Santa Barbara professor Otger Campàs, who also holds the Mellichamp Chair in Systems Biology and Bioengineering, and Sangwoo Kim, a postdoctoral fellow in professor Campàs lab, have approached this question, with surprising findings. "When you have many cells physically interacting with each other, how does the system behave collectively? What is the physical state of the ensemble?" said ...

Evidence is growing that health care delivered by teams is superior to services delivered by a single practitioner. Published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine -- University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina, American Board of Family Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians researchers compared key elements from the practice of a pharmacist providing comprehensive medication management to the foundational components defined for primary care. Based on a common health care team framework -- the Four C's of Primary Care (first contact, continuity, comprehensiveness, and coordination) -- this team ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, many families found themselves suddenly isolated together at home. A year later, new research has linked this period with a variety of large, detrimental effects on individuals' and families' well-being and functioning. The study -- led by Penn State researchers -- found that in the first months of the pandemic, parents reported that their children were experiencing much higher levels of "internalizing" problems like depression and anxiety, and "externalizing" problems such as disruptive and aggressive behavior, than ...

Young scientists from NUST MISIS have presented multilayer antibacterial coatings with a prolonged effect and a universal spectrum of action. The coating is based on modified titanium oxide and several antiseptic components. The coatings can be used in modern implantology as a protective layer for the prevention of concomitant complications - inflammation or implant rejection. The results of the work have been published in the international scientific journal Applied Surface Science. Antibacterial coatings are currently being actively researched, as the search for alternatives to traditional antibiotics is growing. They can be applied to implants, thereby preventing inflammation caused by nosocomial infections. Nevertheless, the creation of antibacterial, but at the same time biocompatible ...

DES PLAINES, IL - At the beginning of prioritized health care personnel (HPC) immunization, there was a high rate of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and receipt, with physicians and advance practice providers having the highest overall proportion. These are the findings of a surveillance project on COVID-19 vaccination rates among emergency department staff at United States academic medical centers, which will be published in the April issue of the Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM) journal, a peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). The project report, published in a ...

BOSTON - Medical cannabis products are not always what they seem, according to a new study led by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In fact, the contents of these products can vary considerably from distributors' claims, according to the study, published in JAMA Network Open. This is particularly important when THC, the metabolite responsible for the "high" cannabis provides, is present in medical cannabis products labeled to be CBD only. As more states legalize cannabis sales, demand has increased. However, there is little consistency in product regulation or labeling, unlike the strict regulation of medicines purchased through a pharmacy. As a result, labeling is often not accurately informing patients of the content of the ...

Whether eating out or buying food from the grocery store, Americans of all ages are, for the most part, eating poorly everywhere--except at school. The information comes from a new dietary trends study, which also reveals persistent or worsening disparities in meal quality from restaurants, grocery stores, and other sources--but not school--by race, ethnicity, and income. Published today in JAMA Network Open and led by researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the study analyzed all meals (including snacks and beverages) consumed by Americans over 16 years. By 2018, ...

What The Study Did: The results of incorporating HIV screening into COVID-19 testing at an emergency department in Chicago are reported in this study. Authors: David Pitrak, M.D., of the University of Chicago Medicine, 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/jamainternmed.2021.0839) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full study is linked to this news release. Embed this link ...

What The Study Did: Changes in quality of diet from different sources of food among U.S. children and adults from 2003 to 2018 were examined in this survey study. Authors: Junxiu Liu, Ph.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, 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.2021.5262) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

What The Study Did: Researchers compared the risk of death between infants with and without prenatal opioid exposure and also the difference in risk if diagnosed with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Authors: JoAnna K. Leyenaar, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., of Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, 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/jamapediatrics.2021.6364) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including ...

What The Study Did: This study used data from a national database to compare clinical outcomes of surgical patients with and without COVID-19. Authors: Max R. Haffner, M.D., of the University of California, Davis, in Sacramento, 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.2021.5697) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full study is linked to this news release. Embed this link ...

What The Study Did: This modeling study estimates COVID-19-related changes in rates of colorectal cancer screenings and associated outcomes and estimates the degree to which expanded fecal immunochemical testing could potentially mitigate these outcomes. Authors: Rachel B. Issaka, M.D., M.A.S., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, 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.2021.6454) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and ...

Using an innovative protein-based approach, researchers at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and nearby Emory University have found genes and corresponding proteins that could point the way to new depression treatments. Using a proteome-wide association study (PWAS) that integrated genome-wide association study (GWAS) data with human brain proteomic and genetic data, researchers have identified 19 genes that may lead to depression by altering brain protein levels. They also pinpointed 25 such proteins that offer promise as potential targets for new depression treatments. The researchers detail their approach and findings in April 2021 in the journal Nature ...

Both people and tomatoes come in different shapes and sizes. That is because every individual has a unique set of genetic variations--mutations--that affect how genes act and function. Added together, millions of small genetic variations make it hard to predict how a particular mutation will impact any individual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Zach Lippman showed how genetic variations in tomatoes can influence the way a specific mutation affects the plant. He is working toward being able to predict the effects of mutations on different tomato varieties. In this study, Lippman and his team used CRISPR, a highly accurate and targeted gene-editing tool, on two tomato genes that control fruit ...

An international team today reports the findings of an independent assessment of five commercially-available assays for tumour DNA sequencing - a fast, cheap and less invasive method to diagnose and monitor cancer. The researchers revealed that all assays could reliably detect so-called circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) when it made up 0.5% of the total DNA in blood, a level of sensitivity that allows detection, genetic analysis and monitoring of late-stage and metastatic tumours. Published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the study is a major milestone for the use of ctDNA assays as cancer diagnostics, outlining best-practice guidelines ...

An amber fossil of a Cretaceous beetle has shed some light on the diet of one of the earliest pollinators of flowering plants. The animal's remains were unearthed by researchers at the University of Bristol and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) who were able to study its fossil faecal matter, which was composed solely of pollen. Besides being a visitor of angiosperms - flowering plants - researchers now have conclusive evidence that the new fossil named Pelretes vivificus also fed on their pollen. Details of this discovery have been published ...

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have identified and tested a drug combination that exploits a weakness in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), an aggressive, dangerous cancer. The scientists targeted a vulnerability in how the cancer cells reproduce, increasing already high levels of replication stress ¬¬-- a hallmark of out-of-control cell growth in many cancers that can damage DNA and force cancer cells to constantly work to repair themselves. In a small clinical trial, the drug duo shrank the tumors of SCLC patients. The team reported its findings April 12 in Cancer Cell. While many patients with small cell lung cancer initially respond to chemotherapy, they lack an effective follow-up treatment. These patients usually live a matter of weeks after their ...

A new test that measures the quantity and quality of inactive HIV viruses in the genes of people living with HIV may eventually give researchers a better idea of what drugs work best at curing the disease. Currently no cure exists for HIV and AIDS, but antiretroviral therapy drugs, or ARTs, effectively suppress the virus to undetectable levels. Published today in Cell Reports Medicine, the study discusses how a new test, developed jointly by scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, will ...

While pollinators such as bees and butterflies provide crucial ecosystem services today, little is known about the origin of the intimate association between flowering plants and insects. Now, a new amber fossil unearthed by researchers from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) and the University of Bristol sheds light on some of the earliest pollinators of flowering plants. The study was published in Nature Plants on April 12. Two hundred million years ago the world was as green as today, overgrown with dense vegetation, but it was not as colorful. Flowering plants (angiosperms) that make up over 80% of all plant species today, only began to diversify in the Cretaceous, about 125 million years ago. Some scientists have attributed ...

A new 160-million-year-old arboreal pterosaur species, dubbed 'Monkeydactyl', has the oldest true opposed thumb - a novel structure previously not known in pterosaurs. An international team of researchers from China, Brazil, UK, Denmark and Japan have described a new Jurassic pterosaur Kunpengopterus antipollicatus, which was discovered in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China. It is a small-bodied darwinopteran pterosaur, with an estimated wingspan of 85 cm. Most importantly, the specimen was preserved with an opposed pollex ("thumb") on both hands. The species name 'antipollicatus' ...