A successful long-term experiment with live hogs indicates Nebraska scientists may be another step closer to achieving a safe, long-lasting and potentially universal vaccine against swine flu. The results are not only important to the pork industry, they hold significant implications for human health. That’s because pigs act as “mixing vessels,” where various swine and bird influenza strains can reconfigure and become transmissible to humans. In fact, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, involving ...

LOGAN, UTAH, USA -- The 1,200-mile-long Denali Fault stretches in an upward arc from southwestern Alaska and the Bering Sea eastward to western Canada’s Yukon Territory and British Columbia. The long-lived and active strike-slip fault system, which slices through Denali National Park and Preserve, is responsible for the formation of the Alaska Range. “It’s a big, sweeping fault and the source of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 2002, that ruptured more than 200 miles of the Denali Fault, along with the Totschunda Fault to the east, causing significant damage to remote villages and central Alaska’s infrastructure,” says Utah State University ...

Many neurological conditions that involve involuntary muscle contractions have long been considered as diseases of the brain. However, both the brain and the spinal cord contain many nerve cells associated with movement. The research, published in Science Translational Medicine, used state-of-the-art mouse genetics to distinguish whether the brain or spinal cord was responsible for the disorganisation of movement experienced by dystonia patients. Focusing on the most common inherited form of dystonia called DYT1, UCL scientists confined a genetic mutation to the spinal cord of the ...

Flat-faced dogs, such as French and English Bulldogs, are extremely popular despite suffering from severe innate diseases. Hungarian researchers have attempted to uncover the explanation for this paradox. In the end, they concluded that although enthusiasts of flat-faced dogs are aware of the health issues and strive to provide the best for their dogs, they are likely to normalize health problems. The French and English Bulldogs are among the most popular breeds in both the United States and Europe, but Pugs ...

Irvine, Calif., June 6, 2023 — The quality of care for nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias is best when they are in the majority, but most facilities also accommodate a heterogeneous population, where specialized staff training is limited, according to a study led by the University of California, Irvine. “Recognizing and managing the complex medical conditions and behavioral symptoms of residents with ADRD require enhanced knowledge among staff. These findings raise significant concerns regarding the level of care and quality of life for the majority of these people, highlighting ...

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – An important certificate now hangs on the wall of the Superconducting Radiofrequency Operations group at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. SRF Operations builds cryomodules and other particle accelerator parts for the lab’s very own Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), a DOE Office of Science user facility. The group also supports user facilities at other DOE labs, including SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This piece of paper represents the department’s dedication to supplying ...

Philadelphia, June 6, 2023 – Early studies of COVID-19 focused on the acute phase of the disease. However, attention has now turned to the long-term consequences of the disease, which are also significant causes of morbidity and mortality. Two studies reported in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier, seek to understand the drivers of the chronic and sometimes progressive phase of the disease and identify possible pathways for drug treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted ...

Each person's gut microbiome contains a specific community of microorganisms that normally remains stable for years. However, it can be thrown off balance by factors such as dietary changes, infections or medications. Antibiotics in particular have a strong influence on the microbiome. In response, microorganisms employ various resistance mechanisms, with individual bacterial populations evolving through selection of antibiotic-resistant variants. Yet, the extent and mechanisms of these processes and their impact on the ecology of the microbial community are ...

(Atlanta – June 6, 2023) – A new study led by Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University researcher Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, has found that women, racial and ethnic minorities and individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer are disproportionately affected by workplace mistreatment in academic medicine, and this mistreatment negatively impacts their mental health. The study, which was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked specifically at three aspects of workplace mistreatment in academic medicine – sexual harassment, cyber incivility and negative workplace climate – and whether they differ by ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine, UNC McAllister Heart Institute, and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center characterized the expression of thousands of cardiac proteins during eight critical stages of embryonic heart development. This research, published in Development Cell, will provide scientists with much-needed information to identify biological causes for congenital heart disease, or CHD. “We now have a foundational data set that shows how protein dynamics change in normal heart development,” said first ...

LAWRENCE — Over the past few decades, herbaria and museums worldwide have created digital data records documenting millions of specimens in their holdings. The benefits of digitizing the contents of natural history museums and research institutions flow to the public and researchers worldwide. Now, through a group of related grants from the National Science Foundation, researchers are systemically digitizing more than a million specimens of plants from across tropical Africa held at 20 institutions throughout the United States. The tropical African plant specimens — documenting some of ...

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists found that a small tweak created big performance improvements in a type of solid-state battery, a technology considered vital to broader electric vehicle adoption. These batteries use a solid electrolyte instead of a potentially flammable liquid. When the battery charges or operates, ions move between electrodes through the electrolyte between them. A new method for pressing the solid electrolyte practically eliminates tiny air pockets that block ion flow, so the battery charges twice as fast. ORNL lead researcher Marm Dixit said the approach involved heating the press after spreading ...

A research team co-led by researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently invented a novel, wireless, skin-interfaced olfactory feedback system that can release various odours with miniaturised odour generators (OGs). The new technology integrates odours into virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) to provide a more immersive experience, with broad applications ranging from 4D movie watching and medical treatment to online teaching. “Recent human machine interfaces highlight the importance of human sensation feedback, including vision, audio and haptics, associated with wide applications in entertainment, medical treatment and VR/AR. Olfaction also plays a significant ...

When it comes to supplying energy for space exploration and settlements, commonly available solar cells made of silicon or gallium arsenide are still too heavy to be feasibly transported by rocket. To address this challenge, a wide variety of lightweight alternatives are being explored, including solar cells made of a thin layer of molybdenum selenide, which fall into the broader category of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (2D TMDC) solar cells. Publishing June 6 in the inaugural issue of the journal Device, researchers propose a device design that can take the efficiencies of 2D TMDC ...

About The Study: In this survey of clinician-researchers who received career development grants from the National Institutes of Health, there were concerning rates of sexual harassment, cyber incivility, and negative perceptions of climate, disproportionately affecting minoritized groups and affecting mental health. Ongoing efforts to transform culture are necessary.  Authors: Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., of Emory University in Atlanta, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed ...

BOSTON—Currently there are no contraceptives capable of producing permanent sterilization in companion animals. Spaying, the surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus, is the most widely used strategy to control unwanted reproduction in female cats. For the first time, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham (MGB), and their collaborators have demonstrated that a single dose of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) gene therapy can induce long-term contraception in the domestic cat, potentially providing a safe and effective alternative to surgical spaying. The research ...

About The Study: In this network meta-analysis of 10 observational studies including 3,083 patients with breast cancer who received surgical treatment, expert panel–based and computer-based aesthetic outcome evaluation consistently scored lower than patient-perceived outcomes. Standardization and supplementation of expert panel and software aesthetic outcome tools with racially, ethnically, and culturally inclusive patient-reported outcome measures is needed to improve clinical evaluation of the journey of patients with breast cancer and to prioritize components ...

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial found that, although the peer health coaching program did not significantly decrease systolic blood pressure, participants who received the intervention reported better mental health-related quality of life compared with the control group. The results suggest that a peer-support model that is integrated into primary care can create opportunities for well-being improvements beyond blood pressure control.  Authors: Karin M. Nelson, M.D., M.S.H.S., of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, is the corresponding author.  To access ...

College Park, Md. — Air conditioning, refrigeration, and other cooling technologies account for more than 20 percent of today’s global energy consumption, while the refrigerants they use have a global warming potential thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide. In a recent study in the journal Science, a team led by Maryland Engineering Professors Ichiro Takeuchi, Reinhard Radermacher, and Yunho Hwang introduced a high-performance elastocaloric cooling system that could represent the next generation of cooling devices. Takeuchi calls ...

Patients would be more willing to enter medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder if existing stigmas were reduced and more accessible payment support was readily available, a West Virginia University study finds. Adam Baus, director of the Office of Health Services Research, and his team gained insight from patients on what helped or hindered medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, to support recovery. “Little research attention has been given to learning directly from those in medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder,” said Baus, also a research assistant professor with the WVU School of Public Health ...

Researchers at Kyoto University, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), and Photron Limited in Japan have developed the world’s fastest camera capable of detecting fluorescence from single molecules. They describe the technology and examples of its power in two articles published in the same issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. “Our work with this camera will help scientists understand how cancer spreads and help develop new drugs for treating cancer,” says bio-imaging expert Takahiro Fujiwara, who led the research at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS). Single fluorescent-molecule ...

The limited ability of microrobots to assist drugs in entering cells hinders their therapeutic efficacy. To address this, the cancer-targeting molecule folic acid (FA) was introduced to microrobots to promote drug uptake by cancer cells via receptor-ligand-mediated endocytosis. This results in a drug delivery system that can locate lesion areas with magnetic fields and deliver loaded drugs into the cytoplasm through endocytosis. The team published their findings in the Journal of Cyborg and Bionic Systems ...

Recently, BGI Genomics' COLOTECT™ 1.0 DNA Methylation Detection Kit for Human SDC2, ADHFE1, and PPP2R5C Genes (Real-Time PCR), Sample Pretreatment Kit for Methylation Detection, DNA Isolation Kit, Stool Sample Collection Kit have received market authorization from Malaysia’s Medical Device Authority (hereinafter referred to as MDA). With this certification, COLOTECT™ 1.0 is now available in over six countries/regions and markets that recognize these certificates. COLOTECT™ 1.0 is eligible for EU market entry, ...

Several animal species display brood care, a phenomenon where ‘caring’ parents provide their offspring with food and protection against predators. However, there are many others that prefer not to do this, and instead sneak in their eggs with those of other ‘caring’ species to avail free brood care. This behavior, called brood parasitism, is observed in fishes, frogs, and birds, with the most famous example being that of the cuckoo. Such brood parasitism has now also been observed in the insect world in tiny organisms called mites. Generally, brood parasitism takes a toll on the host and benefits the parasite. However, ...

Reporters and bloggers are invited to join top nutrition experts for a dynamic program at NUTRITION 2023. The annual flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition runs July 22-25 at the Sheraton Boston and features research announcements, expert discussions, and more. Explore the meeting schedule and register for a press pass to attend. Highlights from NUTRITION 2023 include: Dietary Guidelines – The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provides advice on what to eat and drink to promote healthy growth and development, help prevent diet-related chronic disease, and meet nutrient ...