A federal funding agency that supports high-impact research capable of driving biomedical and health breakthroughs has awarded up to $47 million for a project aimed at moving eye transplants to restore vision closer to reality. The six-year award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts (THEA) program is intended to supercharge an interdisciplinary effort to bring eye transplantation forward to clinical trial. To date, only one whole-eye transplant has ever been successfully ...

A new study reveals corals must be within only a few metres of each other to successfully reproduce, leaving them vulnerable in a warming world. The international research, led by The University of Queensland’s Professor Peter Mumby, measured the success of a natural spawning event in March this year. “In what came as a surprise, we saw that corals needed to be within 10 metres of one another, and preferably closer than that for fertilisation to take place,” Professor Mumby said. “We knew corals couldn’t be too ...

Researcher contacts: Annett Bartsch, b.geos GmbH, annett.bartsch@bgeos.com (UTC+1 hour) Rodrigue Tanguy, b.geos GmbH, rodrigue.tanguy@bgeos.com (UTC+1 hour) AGU press contact: Rebecca Dzombak, news@agu.org (UTC-5 hours) WASHINGTON — A new study has produced the first map of all coastal communities and infrastructure across the Arctic, showing the vulnerability of the built environment to threats from climate change. Erosion is currently the biggest threat to Arctic coastlines; some places are already experiencing ...

Continuing its role as a leader in leukemia research, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been awarded a five-year, $10.8 million grant to further its exceptional programs in leukemia and other blood cancers. The grant, from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), renews funding for a prestigious Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in leukemia. The NCI’s SPORE program is designed to support translational research that moves discoveries from the lab to the clinic. The WashU Medicine leukemia SPORE is one of only two SPOREs in leukemia in the country. Siteman Cancer Center, ...

Taxi drivers and ambulance drivers, whose jobs require frequent spatial and navigational processing, have the lowest levels of death due to Alzheimer’s disease compared with other occupations, finds a study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ. The findings are observational, so can’t confirm a direct link, but the researchers say they raise the possibility that memory intensive driving occupations, such as taxi and ambulance driving, might be associated with some protection against Alzheimer’s disease. The hippocampus ...

Although Disney princesses seem to live happily ever after, they face serious real world health hazards, warn experts in the Christmas issue of The BMJ. Sanne van Dijk and colleagues call on Disney to consider strategies such as mindfulness and personal protection measures to improve princesses’ wellbeing and help them start living healthily ever after.  Snow White is the “fairest princess of all” yet as a scullery maid for her wicked stepmother, opportunities for social interaction are extremely limited, putting her at risk of cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety, and early death, explain the authors. Fortunately, Snow White meets the Seven ...

Giving inexperienced clinicians a quick coaching session with an expert just before they carry out a procedure boosts their success rate and could improve patient safety, finds a study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ. Athletes and musicians often rehearse, warm up, or practice just before they are about to perform. Yet in medicine, where performing a procedure can have life-altering consequences, warm-up, or “just-in-time” training is rare to non-existent.  To fill this knowledge gap, a team of US researchers conducted a randomised clinical trial to assess whether coaching inexperienced clinicians just before intubating an infant (inserting ...

A new study raises the possibility that jobs that require frequent spatial processing—such as figuring out a taxi route or the best way to navigate to a hospital—could lead to lower rates of death from Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from Mass General Brigham investigated this possibility by using national data on the occupations of people who had died to evaluate risk of death from Alzheimer’s disease across 443 professions. They found that taxi driving and ambulance driving were associated with a lower rate of death from Alzheimer’s disease compared to other professions. Results ...

A novel nanobody-based immunosensor, designed to function stably in undiluted biological fluids and harsh conditions, has been developed, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. Their innovative design leverages BRET—bioluminescence resonance energy transfer—and exhibits great potential for point-of-care testing, therapeutic drug monitoring, and environmental applications using paper-based devices. Immunosensors have become indispensable tools in the fields of biochemistry and medical science, providing reliable methods for detecting specific biomolecules. They work by exploiting the interactions between antibodies ...

A ground-breaking new report by the UCL Institute of Health Equity (IHE) published today, Tuesday 17 December, highlights the profound impacts – both positive and negative – that housing has on health and wellbeing. Building Health Equity: The Role of the Property Sector in Improving Health lays out how poor quality and inequitable access to homes that people can afford is linked with worse mental and physical health, whereas increased availability of secure, affordable, warm homes can improve long-term health and longevity. The IHE’s report, which has been sponsored by Legal and General, proposes a new way forward to enable the property sector and national and local ...

A Groundbreaking Comparison of Meditation Techniques Researchers from Maharishi International University (MIU) and Augusta University have conducted the largest review and meta-analysis to date on meditation for PTSD treatment. Analyzing 61 studies with over 3,400 participants, the study compared four categories of meditation: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Other techniques (MBO), Other Meditations (OM), and Transcendental Meditation (TM). Effect sizes for the first three categories ...

In a world grappling with a multitude of health threats — ranging from fast-spreading viruses to chronic diseases and drug-resistant bacteria — the need for quick, reliable, and easy-to-use home diagnostic tests has never been greater. Imagine a future where these tests can be done anywhere, by anyone, using a device as small and portable as your smartwatch. To do that, you need microchips capable of detecting miniscule concentrations of viruses or bacteria in the air.  Now, new research from NYU Tandon faculty including Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Davood Shahrjerdi; Herman ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 16 December 2024     @Annalsofim          Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.     ...

A groundbreaking fossil discovery in remote South Australia sheds light on one of evolution’s greatest mysteries: the origins of Ecdysozoa, a superphylum of molting animals including insects, crustaceans, and nematodes. Ecdysozoans are the largest, most species-rich animal group on Earth. Although more than half of all animals are ecdysozoans, scientists have long grappled with the lack of evidence of ecdysozoan ancestors in the fossil record, despite molecular evidence suggesting they should exist in the Precambrian. Now, in a new study published in Current ...

LAWRENCE, KANSAS — While culture is intertwined with values surrounding food and body image, cultural differences have historically been overlooked by researchers and clinicians seeking to identify and treat eating disorders.  The lack of culturally relevant approaches has been huge barrier for Hispanic, or Latine, women in accessing care, said Sarah Johnson-Munguia, a sixth-year University of Kansas graduate student working in Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE) Lab at the KU Life Span Institute.  Johnson-Munguia is the lead author of a paper published in ...

The findings showed that CBD did not significantly change scan-related anxiety when compared to a placebo, but researchers did find that CBD was safe and resulted in significantly lower overall anxiety levels Anxiety is extremely common among adults receiving cancer care, with as many as one out of every four patients meeting the clinical criteria for anxiety. Many patients with cancer also experience scan-related anxiety (scanxiety), a condition in which individuals develop anxiety related to getting imaging ...

More than a hundred years ago, astronomer Percival Lowell made the case for the existence of canals on Mars designed to redistribute water from the Martian ice caps to its lower, drier latitudes. This necessarily meant the existence of Martians to build the canals. While Lowell was proven wrong by better telescopes, the question of whether there’s liquid water on Mars continues to tantalize researchers. Liquid water is a critical precondition for a habitable planet. Yet the combination of low temperature, atmospheric pressure and water vapor pressure on Mars means any liquid water found there would ...

Despite the population being almost four times larger than it was in 1982, a new study published in the journal Ecology suggests the northern muriqui monkeys remain at risk, especially in the face of ongoing habitat disturbances. Northern muriquis, which live in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, are much more peaceful and egalitarian compared to other primates. They are also one of the most endangered species of monkey in the world. Karen Strier, a professor of anthropology at UW–Madison and lead author of the paper, has spent 40 years studying the behavior and ecology of these monkeys in a small, preserved portion ...

University Hospitals is the first health system in Northeast Ohio utilizing the Da Vinci 5 for robotic-assisted surgeries. With substantial improvements over previous models to provide a better experience for surgeons, caregivers and patients, this latest technology represents an evolution in robotic-assisted surgery. Approximately 26 trained surgeons at UH Cleveland Medical Center will be using this robot for a large variety of cases, including esophagectomies and gastric bypasses. “The adoption of the DV5 is not just about technology – it reflects UH’s strategic investment in the future of robotics,” ...

The Stanford Medicine Alumni Association (SMAA) has selected Chan Zuckerberg Biohub San Francisco President and UC San Francisco Professor Joe DeRisi as a recipient of the Arthur Kornberg and Paul Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences. The annual award honors exceptional career contributions from “the most distinguished Stanford University School of Medicine alumni in the biomedical sciences.” By the time he earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford in 1999, DeRisi was already pioneering DNA microarray technology and whole-genome expression profiling. ...

PHOENIX — Mayo Clinic announces the results of an innovative treatment approach that may offer improvement in overall survival in older patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma while maintaining quality of life. Glioblastoma is the most lethal type of primary brain cancer due to its aggressive nature and its treatment-resistant characteristics. It is the most common form of primary brain cancer. Each year an estimated 14,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease. Results of Mayo ...

BINGHAMTON, NY. -- Senior citizens are targeted by financial scams of all types, from email-based phishing attempts to callers looking to swindle their life savings. A new paper from Binghamton University Associate Professor of Psychology Ian M. McDonough sheds light on how age-related changes may affect the way we handle finances — and how we can stay sharp as we age. “Separating neurocognitive mechanisms of maintenance and compensation to support financial ability in middle-aged and older adults: The role of language and the inferior frontal gyrus,” co-authored by Macarena Suárez-Pellicioni of the University of Alabama, was recently published ...

What Question Were You Investigating with this Study? Are there sex-based differences in exposure to light? Light is an important environmental exposure, as it is the primary cue for the circadian system and has other effects on health. Yet there is limited objective evidence characterizing population-wide personal light exposure patterns. What Approach Did You Use? We analyzed real-world light exposure (using wrist-worn devices) collected from 11,314 participants in the 2011 to 2014 U.S.-based National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, with metrics reflecting the duration of and the timing of ...

R,esearchers from Swansea and Deakin Universities have found that marine animals across mammals, birds and reptiles swim at similar relative depths when travelling and not feeding to save energy. Dr Kimberley Stokes, Professor Graeme Hays and Dr Nicole Esteban from Swansea and Deakin Universities, led research across six institutes in five countries comparing the swim depths of several sea turtle, penguin and whale species. All travelled at around three body depths from the surface in order to swim in the 'sweet spot' that minimises wave formation at the surface and vertical distance travelled. Some semi-aquatic animals, such as mink, swim at the surface where wave generation ...

The first time a breathing rhythm in the human hippocampus found during sleep Breathing is the metronome that coordinates sleep oscillations  Findings are important for people with disordered breathing during sleep Breathing is a fundamental rhythm of memory consolidation CHICAGO --- Just as a conductor coordinates different instruments in an orchestra to produce a symphony, breathing coordinates hippocampal brain waves to strengthen memory while we sleep, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. This is the first time breathing rhythms during sleep have been linked to these hippocampal brain waves — called slow waves, spindles and ripples ...