A team from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and School of Dentistry, led by Yu Leo Lei, D.D.S., Ph.D., have identified a mechanism in mice for how obesity affects some oral cancers’ ability to escape from the immune system. This study, published in Cell Reports, found that obesity helps to establish a type of tumor microenvironment that promotes tumor progression. How exactly this happens lies in the relationship between the saturated fatty acids, the STING-type-I interferon pathway, and NLRC3. “We tend to think about the increased risks for gastrointestinal tumors, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and ovarian cancer when it comes to obesity,” ...

If you are a third grader, your chances of growing up to be a computer scientist is likely to heavily depend on your gender — a situation Allison Master says is just plain wrong. How can Master be certain? Because third grade girls are telling her so. “Our new research addresses a big, longstanding issue in STEM education, that women are highly under-represented in fields like computer science. It’s actually one of the most challenging fields for women’s representation. Only about 20% of people who major in computer science are women,” said Master, assistant professor ...

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and the School of Dentistry identified a new metric to articulate the relationship between nerve density and oral cancer. The study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, investigated normalized nerve density to translate previous mechanistic studies into a context that could be used in the clinic. “We are recognizing more and more that there's a very dynamic interaction between nerves and cancer cells in the tumor microenvironment,” said Nisha D’Silva, B.D.S., M.S.D, Ph.D., Donald Kerr Endowed Collegiate ...

SEATTLE – (May 16, 2023) – Patients with cancer whose immune systems are being supported or rebuilt by bone marrow transplantation should begin receiving vaccines for protection against SARS-CoV-2 three months post-transplant, according to a large, prospective, observational study led collaboratively by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, the Blood & Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. The research, involving 22 cancer centers and research institutions in the United States and focusing on mRNA-based vaccines, published in The Lancet journal ...

Online workflow systems for off-site radiologists are one reason for health care delays that cost hospitals money and test the patience of patients, according to West Virginia University research. Bernardo Quiroga, associate professor of supply chain management at the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics, and his coauthors analyzed a radiology workflow platform, used by thousands of U.S. hospitals, which allows radiologists working from home to log in, view a pool of tasks such as X-rays or CT and MRI scans that are available for processing, and choose which of those radiological studies to read and report on. The radiologists’ ...

Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-327-8012 Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedi WACO, Texas (May 15, 2023) – For most of U.S. history, tattoos have been associated with sailors and bikers, but not church-going people. As tattoos have become more popular, with nearly one-third of U.S. adults sporting at least one tattoo, religious-themed tattoos have also increased. A recent study examined the behaviors of college students with tattoos, including religious tattoos. Jerome R. Koch, Ph.D., professor of sociology at Texas Tech University, and Kevin D. Dougherty, Ph.D., professor of sociology at ...

An old antibiotic may provide much-needed protection against multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, according to a new study publishing May 16th in the open access journal PLOS Biology by James Kirby of Harvard Medical School, US, and colleagues. The finding may offer a new way to fight difficult-to-treat and potentially lethal infections. Nourseothricin is a natural product made by a soil fungus, which contains multiple forms of a complex molecule called streptothricin. Its discovery in the 1940s generated high hopes ...

“The end of modern medicine as we know it.” That’s how the then-director general of the World Health Organization characterized the creeping problem of antimicrobial resistance in 2012. Antimicrobial resistance is the tendency of bacteria, fungus and other disease-causing microbes to evolve strategies to evade the medications humans have discovered and developed to fight them. The evolution of these so-called “super bugs” is an inevitable natural phenomenon, accelerated by misuse of existing drugs and intensified by the lack of new ones in the development ...

Students at the University of Warwick are leading social prescribing research for dementia, highlighting the benefits of this innovative approach during Dementia Action Week.   The ground-breaking dementia café project, led by students from Warwick Medical School, is a shining example of the power of social prescribing in dementia care. By regularly connecting people with dementia to community activities, groups, and services, the project aims to meet practical, social, and emotional needs of people living with dementia while improving their overall health and well-being.   Social prescribing ...

About The Article: This Viewpoint from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discusses the prevalence of dengue infection in U.S. territories and opportunities to combat it, such as vaccines and novel vector control methods. Authors: Alfonso C. Hernandez-Romieu, M.D., M.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 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/jama.2023.8567) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict ...

Question: In your book you argue the suicidal are oppressed by structural suicidism, a hidden oppression. Alexandre Baril: “I coined the term suicidism to refer to an oppressive system in which suicidal people experience multiple forms of injustice and violence. Our society is replete with horrific stories of suicidal individuals facing inhumane treatment after expressing their suicidal ideations. The intention is to save their lives at all costs and interventions range from being hospitalized and drugged ...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2023 – For gummy candies, texture might be even more important than taste. Biting into a hard, stale treat is disappointing, even if it still carries a burst of sweetness. Keeping gummies in good condition depends on their formulation and storage, both of which alter how the molecules in the candies link together. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Ozyegin University and Middle East Technical University conducted a series of experiments that explore how changing key parts of the gummy-making process affects the final product, as well as how the candies ...

About The Study: According to two data sources, in 2018, the economic burden of health inequities for racial and ethnic minority populations (American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latino, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations) was $421 billion or $451 billion and the economic burden of health inequities for adults without a 4-year college degree was $940 billion or $978 billion. The economic burden of health inequities is unacceptably high and warrants investments in policies and interventions to promote health equity for racial and ethnic minorities and adults with less than a 4-year college degree.  Authors: Darrell ...

About The Study: Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 1999 through 2020, the Black population in the U.S. experienced more than 1.63 million excess deaths and more than 80 million excess years of life lost when compared with the white population. After a period of progress in reducing disparities, improvements stalled, and differences between the Black population and the white population worsened in 2020.  Authors: Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., S.M., of the Yale School of Medicine ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Inspired by sutures developed thousands of years ago, MIT engineers have designed “smart” sutures that can not only hold tissue in place, but also detect inflammation and release drugs. The new sutures are derived from animal tissue, similar to the “catgut” sutures first used by the ancient Romans. In a modern twist, the MIT team coated the sutures with hydrogels that can be embedded with sensors, drugs, or even cells that release therapeutic molecules. “What we have is a suture that ...

About The Study: The results of this diagnostic study involving 16 radiologists and 2,054 ultrasonographic images suggest that an optimized artificial intelligence (AI) strategy in thyroid nodule management may reduce diagnostic time-based costs without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy for senior radiologists, while the traditional all-AI strategy may still be more beneficial for junior radiologists.  Authors: Wei Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, is the corresponding author.   To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link ...

About The Study: The findings of this study of 5.1 million individuals suggested that supplementing COVID-19 claims records with Immunization Information Systems vaccination records substantially increased the number of individuals who were identified as vaccinated, yet potential under-recording remained. Improvements in reporting vaccination data to Immunization Information Systems infrastructures could allow frequent updates of vaccination status for all individuals and all vaccines.  Authors: Karen Schneider, Ph.D., of OptumServe Consulting in Falls ...

About The Study: In this analysis of nationally representative survey data, the incidence of chronic pain was high compared with other chronic diseases and conditions for which the incidence in the U.S. adult population is known, including diabetes, depression, and hypertension. This comparison emphasizes the high disease burden of chronic pain in the U.S. adult population and the need for both prevention and early management of pain before it can become chronic, especially for groups at higher risk.  Authors: Richard L. Nahin, M.P.H., Ph.D., of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is the corresponding author.   To access ...

Children whose families participated in a program that helped them move from distressed neighborhoods to areas with lower rates of poverty and better public resources like schools and parks experienced significant improvements in severe asthma episodes, according to a new study led by a researcher at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 123 children, ages 5 to 17, with persistent asthma whose families took part in a six-year housing mobility program in Baltimore. Before ...

A new study adds to an emerging, radically new picture of how bacterial cells continually repair faulty sections of their DNA.  Published online May 16 in the journal Cell, the report describes the molecular mechanism behind a DNA repair pathway that counters the mistaken inclusion of a certain type of molecular building block, ribonucleotides, into genetic codes. Such mistakes are frequent in code-copying process in bacteria and other organisms. Given that ribonucleotide misincorporation can result in detrimental DNA code changes (mutations) and DNA breaks, all organisms have ...

CHICAGO — May 16, 2023 — The landscape of science is changing: People from increasingly varied backgrounds, identities, cultures, and genders are pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Support for this more diverse population of scientists needs to extend beyond “one size fits all” to better meet the needs of today’s scientists. Expanding support and strengthening the sense of community for individuals and groups who have not been historically welcomed in a discipline can foster a deeper sense of belonging and meaningfully broaden representation within that field. Researchers ...

The National Institutes of Health is now enrolling participants in a landmark initiative to advance nutrition research. Nutrition for Precision Health, powered by the All of Us Research Program, or NPH, is working with 14 sites across the United States – including Pennington Biomedical Research Center and LSU Health Sciences New Orleans in Louisiana – to engage 10,000 participants from diverse backgrounds and learn more about how our bodies respond differently to food. “Nutrition for Precision Health brings us a step closer to precision medicine. The study will generate a massive ...

How do our brains become capable of creating specific memories? In one of the first preclinical studies to examine memory development in youth, a research team at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) may have identified a molecular cause for memory changes in early childhood.  Event-based memories, also known as episodic memories, are what people traditionally think of when they hear the word memory: a recollection tied to a specific context. For young children, however, memory is more general or “gist”-like, and these general recollections are typically not tied to a specific context.   In a study published in ...

A new paper published by leading Australian AI ethicist Stefan Harrer PhD proposes for the first time a comprehensive ethical framework for the responsible use, design, and governance of Generative AI applications in healthcare and medicine.  The peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine journal details how Large Language Models (LLMs) have the potential to fundamentally transform information management, education, and communication workflows in healthcare and medicine but equally remain one of the most dangerous and misunderstood types of AI.  “LLMs used to be boring and safe. They have become exciting ...

Halyna Shcherbata, Ph.D., will lead a new research group at MDI Biological Laboratory, in the Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging. Shcherbata's work has focused on regulatory and other roles of non-coding microRNA in gene expression and maintenance, and disorders such as muscular dystrophy and developmental delay. She is already developing new facilities for Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies on campus, returning an esteemed stand-in for human physiology to the Laboratory’s roster of animal models. In her new lab on Maine's Mt. Desert ...