Several years after scientists discovered what was considered the oldest crater a meteorite made on the planet, another team found it's actually the result of normal geological processes. During fieldwork at the Archean Maniitsoq structure in Greenland, an international team of scientists led by the University of Waterloo's Chris Yakymchuk found the features of this region are inconsistent with an impact crater. In 2012, a different team identified it as the remnant of a three-billion-year-old meteorite crater. "Zircon crystals in the rock are like little ...

WASHINGTON -- As growing vaccine demand signals a potential turning point in the global COVID-19 pandemic, the nation's health crisis is far from over. One year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, many adults report undesired changes to their weight, increased drinking and other negative behavior changes that may be related to an inability to cope with prolonged stress, according to the American Psychological Association's latest Stress in America™ poll. APA's survey of U.S. adults, conducted in late February 2021 by The Harris Poll, shows that a majority of adults (61%) experienced undesired weight changes - weight gain ...

The U.S. Congress and Biden-Harris administration have a clear opportunity to supercharge global health research and development (R&D) in the wake of a pandemic that has revealed both the sector's chronic neglect and amazing potential, according to a detailed agency-by-agency action plan released today by the nonprofit Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC). "The same core capabilities instrumental to defeating COVID-19 can also defeat diseases that have plagued humanity for generations--such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and Ebola--while targeting emerging pathogens of pandemic potential," said GHTC Director Jamie Bay Nishi. "Developing vaccines in ...

Reforestation could help to combat climate change, but whether and where to plant trees is a complex choice with many conflicting factors. To combat this problem, researchers reporting in the journal One Earth on December 18 have created the Reforestation Hub, an interactive map of reforestation opportunity in the United States. The tool will help foresters, legislators, and natural resource agency staff weigh the options while developing strategies to restore lost forests. "Often the information we need to make informed decisions about where to deploy reforestation already exists, it's just scattered across a lot of different locations," says author Susan Cook-Patton, a Senior Forest Restoration Scientist at the Nature Conservancy. "Not everybody has the ...

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health is staggering; more than one hundred million cases and two million deaths worldwide. In response, most countries and local governments have taken substantial measures -- such as travel restrictions and physical distancing -- to keep their citizens safe. Both the pandemic and related protective measures pose challenges for ongoing clinical research studies seeking to treat and prevent the world's greatest public health emergencies including COVID-19, but also Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. In a new paper from the World-Wide FINGERS network in Alzheimer's ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- As integral members of stroke treatment teams, nurses coordinate patient assessment and collaborate care among multiple health care professionals to facilitate the best possible outcomes for patients with acute ischemic stroke. Nurses also advocate for patients and their caregivers to ensure they receive appropriate information and education to successfully navigate phases of treatment in the hospital and after discharge. A series of three new Scientific Statements, "Care of the Patient With Acute Ischemic Stroke," from the American Heart Association, published today in Stroke, a journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, provide the latest evidence-based guidance ...

Results published today show it is possible to identify Parkinson's based on compounds found on the surface of skin. The findings offer hope that a pioneering new test could be developed to diagnose the degenerative condition through a simple and painless skin swab. Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a technique which works by analysing compounds found in sebum - the oily substance that coats and protects the skin - and identifying changes in people with Parkinson's Disease. Sebum is rich in lipid-like molecules and is one of the lesser studied biological fluids in the diagnosis of the ...

An interdisciplinary research team at Lehigh University has unraveled how functional biomaterials rely upon an interfacial protein layer to transmit signals to living cells concerning their adhesion, proliferation and overall development. According to an article published today in Scientific Reports, the nanoscale features and properties of an underlying substrate do not impact the biological response of cells directly. However, these properties indirectly influence cell behavior through their control over adsorbed proteins. In the article, "Nanostructure ...

Firefly beetles rank among the world's most charismatic creatures, with luminous courtship displays that have now turned them into a popular attraction for wildlife tourists. In the first comprehensive review of firefly tourism, published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, an international team of biologists led by a Tufts University researcher, reveal that an estimated 1 million people now travel each year to witness bioluminescent performances starring some two dozen firefly species around the world. But the authors also point out that while this unique, insect-based tourism ...

An eight-week programme of mindfulness meditation improves quality of life and reduces fear of activity in heart attack patients, according to research presented today at ESC Acute CardioVascular Care 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 "A heart attack is a serious life-threatening event and survivors can suffer from low quality of life," said study author Dr. Canan Karadas of Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. "One reason is a fear of movement, called kinesiophobia, which limits daily activity due to concerns of another heart attack." "Mindfulness refers to the mental state achieved by focusing awareness on the present moment, ...

The research was published on the journal Nature Catalysis on December 14, 2020. A strong bias towards linear and disc-shaped molecules has long been observed in drug molecules. In contrast, spherical molecules have been utilized on far fewer occasions, due to the lack of efficient access to the latter chemical space. Specifically, efficient strategies to synthesize tetraarylmethanes, a unique family of spherical molecules, have remained scarce. Chiral tetraarylmethanes (CTAMs), a unique family of spherical molecules which bear four different aryl groups with defined stereochemistry, remain as a mystery due to the lack of efficient asymmetric synthesis. The challenge in asymmetric synthesis of CTAMs lies in not only the high barrier in making ...

Giving at scale by the super-wealthy has done little to redistribute wealth from rich to poor, helping perpetuate social inequalities rather than remedying them, while paying considerable dividends to donors in the form of privilege and influence in society and politics, new research shows. In the research paper 'Elite philanthropy in the United States and the United Kingdom in the new age of inequalities' researchers at the University of Bath School of Management and Newcastle University Business School also conclude that giving by the super-wealthy has failed significantly to benefit poor countries in the developing ...

Pregnant women remain at increased risk of severe COVID-19, and their risk of being admitted to intensive care or needing invasive ventilation is higher than non-pregnant reproductive aged women with the virus, an ongoing global study has found. Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk of severe COVID-19, particularly if they are from ethnic minority backgrounds, or if they have pre-existing conditions like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, concludes the research led by the University of Birmingham and World Health Organization (WHO). Their research, ...

New research indicates that lockdowns to help tackle the spread of COVID-19 could be linked to an increase in symptoms associated with eating disorders. The longitudinal study, carried out by academics from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge, England, and published in the journal Psychiatry Research, examined the behaviour and attitudes of 319 health club members during the summer of 2020. The researchers followed up initial research into addictive or unhealthy behaviours, conducted in 2019, to investigate the effects of the first COVID-19 restrictions introduced in the spring of 2020. Participants, with an average age of 37, completed the eating attitudes test, called EAT-26, which involved answering questions related to statements ...

Osteosarcoma is a painful and aggressive bone tumour in dogs that is known to be more common in certain breeds than others. New research has now confirmed that larger breeds, such as Rottweiler, Great Dane and Rhodesian Ridgeback, have a greater risk of osteosarcoma than smaller breeds, as well as showing that breeds with shorter skulls and legs have lower osteosarcoma risk. The findings could inform future breed health reforms as well as studies into the way tumours develop from normal bone. The study led by the University of Bristol Veterinary School in collaboration with Cardiff University and Royal Veterinary College (RVC) London, and using data from VetCompass™ and Veterinary Pathology Group (VPG) histology, looked at the epidemiology surrounding which dog breeds ...

Women of the ruling class may have played an important role in the governance of El Argar, a society which flourished in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula between 2200 and 1550 BCE, and which in the last two centuries of its existence, developed into the first state organisation of the western Mediterranean. These are the conclusions reached by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) who led a study analysing the contents of a princely tomb (Grave 38), containing two individuals and a large amount of valuable items. The tomb was discovered in 2014 at the archaeological site of La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia, beneath what was later identified to be the governing hall of a palatial building. "La Almoloya ...

Almost 60% of frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) experienced a mental health disorder during the first COVID-19 lockdown, with many suffering "very high rates of distress", suggests a new study led by researchers at UCL and the University of Haifa, Israel. Given the significantly high levels of mental health disorders across all HSCWs, the researchers (part of the UCL-led COVID Trauma Response Working Group*), are now calling for long-term planning to meet the needs of staff from across health and social care, including specialist trauma services to be set up for healthcare workers, similar to the specialist commissioned NHS psychological trauma services for military veterans. The 'Frontline-COVID study', published ...

Stormier weather will increasingly force fishers to choose between their safety and income, researchers say. Climate change is causing more extreme weather in many locations. Storms will likely increase around the UK in the future, while many fishers in the UK also face economic insecurity. The new study - led by the University of Exeter - worked with fishers in Cornwall to understand how they balance the risks and rewards of fishing in varying conditions. Factors that made skippers more likely to risk fishing in high wind or waves included: being the main earner in their household, poor recent fishing success, and having a crew to support. "Climate ...

Parents of children with food allergies face significant worry, severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress - according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Between six and eight per cent of children suffer a food allergy - with eggs, milk, and peanuts being the most common causes. They can cause vomiting, cramps, hives, swelling, eczema, breathing problems and in severe cases anaphylactic shock, which can lead to hospitalisation or death. A new study published today finds that more than 80 per cent of parents face 'significant worry' about their child's food allergy, while ...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Harm reduction treatment helped people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder reduce their drinking and improve their health-even if they didn't quit drinking alcohol. In a randomized clinical trial, a research team led by Washington State University psychology professor Susan Collins studied more than 300 people from three Seattle homeless shelters and programs. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups receiving different services: the first group received behavioral harm reduction treatment, which is a form of collaborative counseling ...

There were no significant differences in health outcomes for pregnant women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes or their babies using two different clinically recommended screening methods, according to results from a large-scale clinical trial conducted by Kaiser Permanente researchers and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Although there is evidence that treating pregnant women for gestational diabetes leads to improved health outcomes for mothers and their infants, there is no scientific consensus on how best to screen ...

Boston, MA - People who eat diets with higher amounts of healthy plant-based foods and lower amounts of less-healthy plant-based foods may reduce their risk of stroke compared to people with lower-quality diets, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They found that healthy plant-based diets--defined as rich in foods such as leafy greens, whole grains, and beans, and including lower levels of foods like refined grains, potatoes, and added sugars--may lower overall stroke risk by up to 10%. "Our findings have important public health implications, suggesting that future nutrition policies to lower stroke risk should ...

University of Texas at Dallas chemist Dr. Jie Zheng has spent much of his career investigating gold nanoparticles for their potential impact in the field of nanomedicine. In new research, he and his colleagues show how these nanoparticles could play a key role in a simple blood test to detect acute liver damage earlier than current methods. The study, published online Feb. 19 in the journal Science Advances, expands on corresponding author Zheng's work, which has previously demonstrated the use of nanoparticles for targeted delivery of cancer drugs and better understanding of kidney disease. "Our goal is to make it simple for family ...

One of the most classic algorithmic problems deals with calculating the shortest path between two points. A more complicated variant of the problem is when the route traverses a changing network--whether this be a road network or the internet. For 40 years, an algorithm has been sought to provide an optimal solution to this problem. Now, computer scientist Christian Wulff-Nilsen of the University of Copenhagen and two research colleagues have come up with a recipe. When heading somewhere new, most of us leave it to computer algorithms to help us find the best route, whether by using a car's GPS, or public transport and map apps on their phone. Still, there are times when a proposed route doesn't quite align with reality. This is because road networks, ...

A team of pediatricians at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) was the first in the nation to enroll patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare but life-threatening complication of COVID-19, in a trial of remestemcel-L. This investigational cell therapy, developed and manufactured by Mesoblast, New York, New York, had previously been shown safe and effective for other inflammatory conditions. The MUSC team reports in Pediatrics that the two children enrolled thus far showed significant improvement within 24 hours of remestemcel-L administration. "While it appears to many people that COVID is no big deal ...