In March 2022, Microsoft published research results about the realisation of a special type of particle that might be used to make particularly robust quantum bits. Researchers at the University of Basel are now calling these results about so-called Majorana particles into doubt: through calculations they have shown that the findings can also be explained differently. In 1938 a genius suddenly vanished without a trace: after buying a ferry ticket from Palermo to Naples, the young Italian physicist Ettore Majorana seemingly ...

Osaka, Japan – When creating a computer program, errors in the code can introduce bugs to the software. Similarly, errors in our body’s genetic code, DNA, which is stored in structures known as chromosomes, can bring about mutations in the body. These mutations are the cause of many deadly diseases – including cancer. Now, researchers in Japan have shed new light on a particular type of genetic mutation: gross chromosomal rearrangement (GCR). In a new study published in Communications Biology, a multi-institutional team led by researchers from Osaka University analyzed fission yeast to identify two key genes involved in the process of GCR. The researchers ...

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and collaborators have succeeded in creating a “superlattice” of semiconductor quantum dots that can behave like a metal, potentially imparting exciting new properties to this popular class of materials. Semiconducting colloidal quantum dots have garnered tremendous research interest due to their special optical properties, which arise from the quantum confinement effect. They are used in solar cells, where they can improve the efficiency of energy conversion, biological imaging, where they can be used as fluorescent probes, electronic displays, and even quantum computing, where their ability to ...

A research team at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) led by Professor Roberto Morandotti reported the first realization of a single-shot ultrafast terahertz (THz) photography system. This important achievement published in Nature Communications will be able to provide both the spatial and temporal evolution of ultrashort dynamics with sub-picosecond resolution. In other terms, researchers will be now able to uncover the hidden laws of nature that govern the dynamics, which require imaging ...

Among the approximately 2,000 known species of termites, some are ecosystem engineers. The mounds built by some genera, for example Amitermes, Macrotermes, Nasutitermes, and Odontotermes, reach up to eight meters high, making them some of the world’s largest biological structures. Natural selection has been at work improving the ‘design’ of their mounds over tens of millions of years. What might human architects and engineers learn if they go to the termites and consider their ways? In a new study in Frontiers in Materials, researchers showed how termite mounds can teach us to create comfortable interior climates for our buildings that don’t ...

Health is wealth as the saying goes and new research now shows that it is possible to have a healthy, less stressed society through familiar and inexpensive foods. One such food might be the Japanese natto which is made from softened soybeans that have been boiled or steamed and fermented with a bacteria called Bacillus subtilis var. natto. Bacillus subtilis var. natto is found in soil, plants, animals, and the human stomach and intestines. Most of the natto consumed in Japan is made from the Miyagino strain. A research group led by Professor Eriko Kage-Nakadai at the Graduate School of Human Life ...

Did you know that until the early twentieth century, artificial light sources only served the purpose of illuminating our surroundings? Since then, significant changes have taken place. Light is now utilized in various ways beyond just space illumination. From semiconductor chip manufacturing to high-speed data communications, the increasing number of applications has led to the development of different kinds of light-producing devices. Some light sources even generate light through radioactive decays! If you have wondered how we managed to progress from a simple lightbulb to energy-efficient LEDs, put your doubts to rest now. Delve into From Edison to LEDs: The Science and ...

A ground-breaking study has revealed that plants can efficiently remove toxic gasoline fumes, including cancer causing compounds such as benzene, from indoor air. The study was led by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) bioremediation researcher Associate Professor Fraser Torpy, in partnership with leading Australian plantscaping solutions company Ambius. The researchers found that the Ambius small green wall, containing a mix of indoor plants, was highly effective at removing harmful, cancer-causing pollutants, with 97 per cent of the most toxic compounds removed from the surrounding air in just eight hours. Poor indoor air quality is responsible ...

 Toronto – Anita M. McGahan, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, is this year’s recipient of the William D. Guth Distinguished Service Award from the Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management, the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars. In announcing the award, Division-Chair Elect Louise Mors, a professor at Copenhagen Business School, wrote that Prof. McGahan “has been dedicated to all aspects of the field of strategy” and cited ...

Boston – Women with obesity when they are diagnosed with early breast cancer have a higher risk of recurrence or a second cancer compared to women whose weight is in the normal range and it can be hard to lose weight after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, a clinical trial has shown that a telephone-based weight loss program can help patients with breast cancer whose body mass index is in the overweight or obese range lower their weight by a meaningful degree. The findings, to be reported by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, set the ...

Striking differences in the way high school students socialise may be one of the reasons behind a dramatic drop in youth drinking over the last 20 years, a study from the University of Otago, New Zealand, has found. Public health researcher Dr Jude Ball has compared attitudes to drinking among high school students in 1999-2001 to those in 2022. Dr Ball and colleagues Dr Michaela Pettie and Loleseti Poasa interviewed 64 students aged between 14 and 17 at a co-ed school in Wellington in 2022, and compared their views to 41 Christchurch ...

Black adults who live in the United States have a 59% higher risk of premature death than White adults. A new study from Tulane University published in Lancet Public Health has found that this gap can be entirely explained by disparities in eight areas of life critical to health and well-being: employment, income, food security, education level, access to healthcare, quality health insurance, home ownership and marital status. These eight factors are called social determinants of health. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition ...

A new analysis of ancient faeces taken from two Jerusalem latrines dating back to the biblical Kingdom of Judah has uncovered traces of a single-celled microorganism Giardia duodenalis – a common cause of debilitating diarrhoea in humans. A research team led by the University of Cambridge say it is the oldest example we have of this diarrhoea-causing parasite infecting humans anywhere on the planet. The study is published in the journal Parasitology.   “The fact that these parasites were present in sediment from two Iron Age Jerusalem cesspits suggests that dysentery was endemic in the Kingdom of Judah,” ...

Emergency departments (EDs) are currently unsafe places for both professionals and patients, according to the results of an international survey carried out for the European Society of Emergency Medicine (EUSEM) and published today (26th  May) in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine1. The main reasons for this are staff shortages and overcrowding due to the non-availability of beds in wards necessitating the provision of care in corridors. Respondents to the survey also felt that they had insufficient support from hospital management.   Around 90% of professionals surveyed felt that at times the number of patients ...

Chronic kidney disease is a growing problem worldwide and in the aging U.S. population. But could the groundwork for this progressive disease have been laid while its victims were still in utero? Newly launched research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health seeks to determine if pregnant mothers’ environmental exposure to toxic metals impacts kidney development in their babies, setting the stage for a problem that doesn’t become apparent until the baby is an adult. The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a three-year, $2.2 million “high risk, high reward” grant to Dr. Alison ...

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers will present abstracts at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting 2023, held in Chicago June 2-6. New trial tests immunotherapy before liver transplant  Liver transplant is the best treatment for early stage liver cancer in patients with liver cirrhosis, but 25% to 35% of patients fail to reach the transplant stage due to the cancer’s progression while waiting for a transplant.  UC’s Davendra Sohal, MD, will present information ...

WASHINGTON --- Researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center studied the microbiome of people with colorectal cancer and found the make-up of the bacteria, fungi and viruses in a person’s tumor varied significantly depending on whether they were diagnosed with early-onset disease (age 45 or younger) or late-onset disease (age 65 or older). These results may help answer the riddle of why more young people are developing colorectal cancer, particularly those who ...

ABSTRACT: 7003 Treatment with luspatercept improved red blood cell counts and erythroid responses compared to treatment with epoetin alfa in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), allowing the majority to no longer require regular blood transfusions. Results from the Phase III COMMANDS trial, led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, were reported at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. The study evaluated the efficacy and safety of first-line treatment with luspatercept, which enhances red blood cell maturation, compared with epoetin alfa, a therapy commonly used for low blood cell count, ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (Strictly EMBARGOED Until May 25, 2023, at 5 P.M. EDT) – Breast cancer treatments that can save a woman’s life can seriously harm her sexual health, says Dr. Kristin E. Rojas, a breast cancer surgeon at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Although doctors have not historically been prepared to help patients manage these toxic side effects, Rojas is leading efforts to turn the tide. Rojas, both a fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist and a gynecologic surgeon, is a national leader in treating sexual dysfunction in female ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL MAY 25, 2023, AT 5 P.M. ET) – An early-phase study led by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine along with other Cancer Centers, suggests that an experimental therapy may have promising results in treating cancers with BRAF gene alterations – including certain mutations not previously targeted by BRAF inhibitors. The Phase 1/2a study looking at safety and dosing enrolled 113 patients and targeted a wide range of cancers, including high-grade glioma, low-grade glioma, colorectal cancer, papillary thyroid cancer, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell ...

CHICAGO ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. This special edition features presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. In addition to these studies, forthcoming press releases will highlight groundbreaking clinical research, including Phase III trial results evaluating ...

CHICAGO –  Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will present data on the latest advances in clinical cancer research at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting from June 2-6 in Chicago, Illinois. Follow us on Twitter @PennMDForum and @PennCancer for updates. Expert Interviews Experts from the Perelman School of Medicine are available to comment on a wide range of topics in cancer science and medicine during the meeting on site and by video call, telephone, or email. To arrange interviews, please contact Meagan Raeke at Meagan.Raeke@pennmedicine.upenn.edu ...

AUSTIN, Texas – Internal job candidates have an advantage over external candidates, because they tend to work harder shortly before a hiring decision, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin. This is true even when an internal candidate’s skills are inferior. Eric Chan, assistant professor of accounting at the McCombs School of Business, found that when a new job is on the line, employees will exert more effort to increase their chances of promotion — especially right before the decision. And managers are more likely ...

A new study published in the peer-reviewed OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology identified genes for virulence and antimicrobial resistance in two bacteria that co-occur with C. difficile, suggesting these pathogens as emerging potential threats in planetary health. Click here to read the article now. Thokur Sreepathy Murali, PhD, Ankit Singh Tanwar, Padival Shruptha and colleagues from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, and co-author Angela Brand, MD, PhD, MPH from Maastricht University, The Netherlands, performed comparative genome analyses of three Clostridia species, ...

On a sunny springtime stroll through a park, it’s easy to ignore the parts of plants that are hidden from view. Plant biologists see things differently. They look below the surface where plant roots are organized in elaborate systems that are critical to the organism’s development. Intricately organized tree root systems, for example, can span as far underground as the tree grows high above the soil. Applying an advanced imaging technology to plant roots, researchers at the University of California San Diego and Stanford University ...