The genetics of human eye colour is much more complex than previously thought, according to a new study published today. An international team of researchers led by King's College London and Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam have identified 50 new genes for eye colour in the largest genetic study of its kind to date. The study, published today in Science Advances, involved the genetic analysis of almost 195,000 people across Europe and Asia. These findings will help to improve the understanding of eye diseases such as pigmentary glaucoma and ocular albinism, where eye pigment levels play a role. In addition, the team found ...

Extremely preterm infants can suffer from a life-threatening inflammation of the gut. A new clinical study has shown that supplements of a lactic acid bacterium may have positive effects by increasing the diversity of intestinal bacteria in these infants. The study has been led by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, and published in the scientific journal Cell Reports Medicine. A litre of milk weighs a kilogram. Most infants who are born extremely prematurely weigh less than that. An infant who should have developed and grown for three more months in the protective environment of the mother's womb is, of course, extremely vulnerable. As a consequence of advances in neonatal care, many premature infants survive, although one out of four of the extremely ...

Robots solving computer games, recognizing human voices, or helping in finding optimal medical treatments: those are only a few astonishing examples of what the field of artificial intelligence has produced in the past years. The ongoing race for better machines has led to the question of how and with what means improvements can be achieved. In parallel, huge recent progress in quantum technologies have confirmed the power of quantum physics, not only for its often peculiar and puzzling theories, but also for real-life applications. Hence, the idea of merging the two fields: on one hand, artificial intelligence ...

Scientists have discovered a route of introduction for High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) H5N8 into Japan and, in parallel, have investigated the potential of two human anti-influenza drugs for the control of HPAI in birds. Since October 30, 2020, there have been over 30 recorded outbreaks of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in domestic poultry and wild fowl in Japan. This outbreak was caused by the influenza A virus H5N8, a known High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV). In such a scenario, identification of the source of the virus and its transmission route is important to control its spread. A team of scientists led by Professor Yoshihiro Sakoda of Hokkaido University have recently found the probable route of introduction of ...

WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a noninvasive technique that can capture images of rod and cone photoreceptors with unprecedented detail. The advance could lead to new treatments and earlier detection for retinal diseases such as macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss. "We are hopeful that this technique will better reveal subtle changes in the size, shape and distribution of rod and cone photoreceptors in diseases that affect the retina," said research team leader Johnny Tam from the National Eye Institute. "Figuring out what happens to these cells before they are lost is an important step toward developing earlier interventions to treat and prevent blindness." In Optica, The Optical Society's (OSA) journal for high impact research, the researchers show that ...

A team led by scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI) has noninvasively visualized the light-sensing cells in the back of the eye, known as photoreceptors, in greater detail than ever before. Published in Optica, the researchers report how they improved imaging resolution by a third by selectively blocking the light used to image the eye. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health. The achievement is the latest in an evolving strategy to monitor cell changes in retinal tissue that, in turn, will help identify new ways to treat and prevent vision loss from diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people age ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Non-O blood type may increase the risk of stroke among women who smoke and take oral contraceptives, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. According to the most recent comprehensive data (January 2020) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and a major contributor to long-term disability. Some risk factors ...

Rainbows are some of the most spectacular optical phenomena in the natural world and Hawai'i has an amazing abundance of them. In a new publication, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa makes an impassioned case for Hawaii being the best place on Earth to experience the wonder of rainbows. He begins by highlighting the Hawaiian cultural significance of rainbows, he reviews the science of rainbows and the special combination of circumstances that makes Hawai'i a haven for rainbows. "The cultural importance of rainbows is reflected in the Hawaiian language, which has many words and phrases to describe the variety of manifestations in Hawai'i," said author Steven Businger, professor in the UH ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Stroke patients were nearly 50% more likely than heart attack patients to develop depression, and female stroke patients had a higher risk of depression than their male counterparts, according to two preliminary studies by the same research group to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. In what researchers described as one of the largest ...

Researchers in Japan have used a novel, ultra-fast technique to explore the fine structure of a potential alternative material to lead titanate, a ferroelectric material widely used for sensors in many everyday devices. Understanding this structure takes us a step closer to eliminating these remaining sources of lead pollution. The study appeared in the materials science journal Acta Materialia on 21 January. Ferroelectric materials are used in a wide range of practical applications, from capacitors to memory cells, medical ultrasound to data storage and displays. These materials have a spontaneous polarization, or direction, of their electrons that can be switched back and forth via the application of an electric field, called ferroelectricity. Worldwide, society is increasingly ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- When NA1, a neuroprotectant, was delivered to the brain in nanoparticles, it reduced stroke severity and improved survival in a mouse model of stroke, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. In an earlier human trial (the ESCAPE-NA1 trial), NA1, a small peptide designed to save brain cells from death after stroke, showed mixed results when NA1 was administered to patients undergoing clot removal for severe ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021-- Stroke survivors may be more likely to attempt or die by suicide than people who have not had a stroke, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. This study will be simultaneously published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke. Rates of depression among stroke survivors range from 28% to 35%, and stroke is considered an independent risk factor for depression. Since depression after a stroke has been associated with increased suicidal ...

Contains updated information not available in the abstract. DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Having an ischemic stroke increases dementia risk, and that risk escalates with the number and severity of strokes, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Ischemic stroke is the most common stroke type, accounting for 87% of all strokes. It occurs when a vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed. Stroke is the leading preventable cause ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 — For every 10-minute delay between arrival at the emergency room (ER) and starting stroke treatment, patients with severe strokes may lose eight weeks of healthy life, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Delays between the onset of stroke symptoms and arrival at the hospital have long been known to cost lives and brain cells. “Our study showed that delays in treatment at the hospital ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 — Pictures of the retina may someday provide early warning signs that a person is at an increased risk of stroke and dementia, making it possible to take preventive measures, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Studies have shown that people with severe retinopathy, damage to the light-sensing ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Discriminatory housing policies that restricted the sale or purchase of homes by race in certain neighborhoods across the U.S., called 'redlining,' which were established nearly a century ago and outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, were associated with higher rates of stroke in the same neighborhoods in 2017, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. "Differences in stroke rates, whether we are studying ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- African American women have a significantly increased risk of stroke and death during pregnancy and childbirth or in the period right after birth, compared to the risk of stroke among white women, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. "Each year, thousands of American women have a stroke or die from a stroke during pregnancy. The risk of stroke is also high following childbirth," said lead study author Mohamed ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 — Taking the triglyceride-lowering medication icosapent ethyl cut the risk of stroke by an additional 36% in people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease who already have their bad cholesterol levels under control using statin medications, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. “Icosapent ethyl is a new ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 — A long-term look at Medicare patients shows that Black patients who have an ischemic stroke (blocked blood flow to the brain) die at a higher rate than white patients, even after accounting for preexisting health conditions, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. “So much of what we know is limited to the early or acute phase — the first two weeks after a stroke,” said lead study author Judith H. Lichtman, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at the Yale ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Ambulances with specialized staff and equipment to provide rapid stroke treatment report financial difficulties due to limited reimbursement from health care insurers, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. According to the most recent comprehensive data from the Centers for Disease Control ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 — The ongoing U.S. opioid epidemic may have led to an increase in the number of strokes due to more bacterial infections of the heart, or infective endocarditis, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. According to the most recent comprehensive data (January 2020) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and a major contributor to ...

Pregnant women in Japan who responded to an online survey early in the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated higher levels of anxiety compared to women undergoing fertility treatments and to pregnant women in Iran. The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. "The pandemic has changed the social environments of pregnant women and fertility patients," says Tohoku University clinical psychologist Koubon Wakashima. For example, restrictions in Japan meant that pregnant women have been unable to participate in group parenting classes or travel to their parents' homes to receive traditional childbirth assistance. Medical institutions in the country reported fewer women accessing infertility ...

March 10, 2021 - Kawasaki, Japan: The research group of Deputy Principal Research Scientist Dr. Satoshi Uchida (Associate Professor, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine) at the Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (Director General: Prof. Kazunori Kataoka, Location: Kawasaki-Japan, Abbreviation: iCONM) reported that optimized nano-micelles can induce efficient genome editing in the mouse brain. The 2020 Chemistry Nobel Prize-winning technology CRISPR/Cas9 holds great promise for treating various diseases such as congenital disorders and viral infections, by correcting the disease-specific genomic ...

WASHINGTON--Biological differences between females and males affect virtually every aspect of medicine and biomedical research. In a new Scientific Statement released today, the Endocrine Society called for sex differences to be studied thoroughly to improve public health. "When we understand the ways sex differences operate at baseline in health, which can either worsen the course of a disease to amplify differences in health outcomes, or protect against it, we can more effectively prevent and treat medical conditions," said Aditi Bhargava, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco in San Francisco, Calif., and the chair of the writing group that authored the Society's Scientific Statement. For instance, SARS CoV-2 infection, cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - March 11, 2021- For people who are overweight or obese and have type 2 diabetes, the first line of treatment is usually lifestyle intervention, including weight loss and increased physical activity. While this approach has cardiovascular benefit for many, it can be detrimental for people who have poor blood sugar control, according to a study conducted by researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine. In the study, published in the current issue of the journal Diabetes Care, the researchers re-evaluated the National Institutes of Health Action ...