Children learn to understand language and to speak largely independently of cognitive functions like spatial awareness, working (short-term) memory and perception (interpreting and organizing sensory impressions), according to established theory and tradition within linguistics. Professor Mila Vulchanova at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) heads the university's language laboratory and studies language learning. Her findings over several years have challenged this linguistic assumption and demonstrated ...

TORONTO - In a study published in Nature Communications, a team led by Krembil Brain Institute Senior Scientists, Drs. Lorraine Kalia and Suneil Kalia, and University of Toronto (U of T) Professor, Dr. Philip M. Kim, identified a protein-protein interaction that contributes to Parkinson’s disease. In the disease, a protein called α-synuclein (a-syn) accumulates in the brain and leads to cell death. Much research is currently focused on clearing a-syn with antibodies or using small molecules to prevent a-syn from aggregating. In this study, the researchers took an alternate approach by looking for protein-protein interactions that may be promoting ...

Dr. Natalya Chernichenko, a leading otolaryngologist who specializes in tumors of the head and neck, has been named site chief of otolaryngology at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, effective May 1. Dr. Chernichenko was also recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine as an assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology and vice chair in the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. In her new role, Dr. Chernichenko will lead a skilled team of specialists and surgeons providing comprehensive otolaryngology care, also known as ear, nose and throat, or ENT care, and further develop the hospital’s head and neck surgical oncology ...

Youth mental and emotional health is a matter of high priority in Florida. A 2019 Florida Department of Health survey showed that 12.7 percent of Florida high schoolers (grades 9 to 12) had carried a weapon; 21.2 percent were involved in a physical altercation; 24.2 percent reported having been teased about their size, weight or physical appearance; and 11.3 percent and 14.9 percent were bullied electronically or on school property, respectively. In this same survey, 15.6 percent of Florida high school students reported they had seriously considered attempting suicide, and 33.7 percent acknowledged feeling sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row. Alarmingly, the 2019 survey ...

New research out of the University of Cincinnati examines the impact that maternal stress during pregnancy has on the neurodevelopment of babies. The study was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Prenatal maternal stress life events are associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. Biological mechanisms underlying these associations are largely unknown, but a chemical reaction in the body in which a small molecule known as a methyl group gets added to DNA, called DNA methylation, likely plays a role, according to researchers. These findings could provide new insights into how the fetal environment potentially influences ...

(LOS ANGELES) – April 20, 2023 - Dr. Ali Khademhosseini has been awarded the 2023 Technology Innovation and Development Award from the Society of Biomaterials (SFB). The award honors those whose research, scientific innovations, and leadership are used to develop novel products or technologies to benefit patients. Dr. Khademhosseini is the founding Director and CEO of the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), which incorporates a variety of interdisciplinary research platforms and uses patient-derived cells for micro- and ...

Aggressive periodontitis is a severe type of gum infection that causes the destruction of ligament and bone and can lead to tooth loss in otherwise healthy individuals. Traditional treatment typically involves deep cleaning and antibiotics.  Lehigh University researcher Angela Brown and her team were recently awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to pursue a novel treatment alternative.  Brown, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in Lehigh’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, received an Exploratory/Development Research ...

The earliest artificial neural network, the Perceptron, was introduced approximately 65 years ago and consisted of just one layer.  However, to address solutions for more complex classification tasks, more advanced neural network architectures consisting of numerous feedforward (consecutive) layers were later introduced. This is the essential component of the current implementation of deep learning algorithms. It improves the performance of analytical and physical tasks without human intervention, and lies behind everyday automation products such as the emerging technologies for self-driving cars and autonomous chat bots. The key question driving new research published today in Scientific ...

Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified a genetic variant that increases people’s risk of developing perianal Crohn’s disease, the most debilitating manifestation of Crohn’s disease. The variant generates changes to DNA that lead to a loss of protein function, which in turn, alters how the body recognizes and handles bacteria, making it less effective at fighting infections. The discovery is published in the peer-reviewed journal GUT. “Fistulizing perianal Crohn’s disease ...

Gut bacteria that break down a sugar called fucose could be dampening our immune response to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, according to a study led by researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST).  The scientists report that increased fucose digestion by bacteria in the gut before vaccination was associated with lower numbers of T-cells activated by vaccination. T-cells are an important type of blood immune cell that are activated by a specific strain of bacteria or virus, and then multiply to fight the infection.  The findings, published ...

There are high expectations that quantum computers may deliver revolutionary new possibilities for simulating chemical processes. This could have a major impact on everything from the development of new pharmaceuticals to new materials. Researchers at Chalmers University have now, for the first time in Sweden, used a quantum computer to undertake calculations within a real-life case in chemistry. “Quantum computers could in theory be used to handle cases where electrons and atomic nuclei move in more complicated ways. If we can learn to utilise their full potential, we should be able to advance the boundaries of what is possible to calculate and understand,” says Martin Rahm, ...

The seven worst years for polar ice sheets melting and losing ice have occurred during the past decade, according to new research, with 2019 being the worst year on record. The melting ice sheets now account for a quarter of all sea level rise – a fivefold increase since the 1990’s – according to IMBIE, an international team of researchers who have combined 50 satellite surveys of Antarctica and Greenland taken between 1992 and 2020. Their findings are published today in the journal Earth System Science Data. Global heating is melting ...

Cattle-rearing is the biggest cause of tropical deforestation in the Amazon - and the world. A study has found that some of the world’s largest slaughterhouses reduced cattle-driven deforestation in the Amazon by 15% - equivalent to sparing 7,000km2 of forest from clearance (4.5 times the size of London) - through their commitment to zero-deforestation policies between 2010 and 2018. If these policies were fully implemented and adopted across all cattle companies operating in the Amazon, 24,000km2 of forest (an area larger than Wales) could have been spared over this time, effectively halving cattle-driven deforestation in Brazil. Deforestation ...

During pregnancy, women are more susceptible to severe respiratory infections from multiple viruses, including influenza A virus (IAV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Additionally, pregnant women are disproportionately affected by influenza, resulting in a more than 10-fold increase in hospitalization risk. A new study led by Dr. Natalie Johnson, associate professor in the Texas A&M University School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, shows that exposure to ultrafine particles (UFPs) during pregnancy enhances respiratory ...

LA JOLLA, CA— A new HIV vaccine from Scripps Research has shown a significantly improved ability to neutralize the virus in preclinical tests, and it will soon be studied in healthy people who volunteer to participate in clinical trials. The new and unique vaccine design, described in a paper in Nature Communications on April 9, 2023, uses tiny protein “nanoparticles” to display multiple copies of HIV’s surface protein Env, thus presenting itself to the immune system much as real HIV particles would ...

Over the past two hundred years, the ocean and atmosphere have been accumulating massive amounts of carbon dioxide as factories, automobiles, airplanes, and more churn out the powerful greenhouse gas. Two articles published recently in Nature by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa oceanographers provide a reality check on the limitations of carbon dioxide removal and a warning­ that marine heatwaves need clear definitions so communities can adapt. Carbon dioxide removal is not the golden ticket In all the scenarios assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nations around the world must dramatically and rapidly reduce their dependence ...

Paul Hessburg received the International Association for Landscape Ecology-North America Chapter’s 2023 Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award. The annual award recognizes major scientific contributions to landscape ecology, honors scientists who have played a pivotal role in shaping the field, and is the organization’s highest honor. Hessburg is a senior research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station based at the Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Laboratory. He was honored for a highly diverse career that has "greatly enhanced the capacity of landscape practitioners to develop strategies and ...

Homeowners should be rewarded to garden sustainably, new research by Professor of Environmental Horticulture at University of Sheffield, recommends Rewards for sustainable gardening could include reductions to council tax, water bills or assistance with resources Ensuring urban gardeners have the ability to have planted gardens will have numerous benefits for the environment and communities Banning environmentally damaging materials, such as pesticides; or practices such as installing astroturf, could also benefit the environment Research shows that some cities may have lost as much as 50 per cent of their green garden space over the last ...

Researchers at UNSW Sydney and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) have developed and evaluated a tool for assessing dementia risk, with promising initial results. Currently, over 55 million people are living with dementia around the world, with that number set to increase to 78 million by 2030, and the focus on dementia research increasingly shifting towards prevention. The online tool takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and provides a personalised dementia risk report that patients can discuss with their doctor. Since developing the risk tool – known as CogDRisk – in 2022, the team has been evaluating the success of the tool, by trialling it on four existing datasets, ...

Drinking cranberry juice has long been a mythical prevention strategy for women who develop a urinary tract infection – and new medical evidence shows consuming cranberry products is an effective way to prevent a UTI before it gets started. A global study looking at the benefits of cranberry products published in Cochrane Reviews has determined cranberry juice, and its supplements, reduce the risk of repeat symptomatic UTIs in women by more than a quarter, in children by more than half, and in people susceptible to UTI following medical interventions by about ...

A four-year field experiment conducted on the shores of restored Lake Mustijärv in Viljandi, Estonia, has revealed that recycling phosphorus-rich lake sediments back to agriculture could have positive impacts on crop production. The study was conducted by doctoral researcher Mina Kiani and the AgriChar research group, and it is globally the first of its kind to cover the environmental aspects of recycling lake sediments to agriculture over several years. Kiani defends her thesis on 21 April at the University of Helsinki Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The study aimed to find a sustainable solution for closing the leaking agricultural phosphorus (P) cycle by recycling P-rich ...

Conclusive evidence of chicken breeding in the Yayoi period of Japan has been discovered from the Karako-Kagi site. The chicken is one of the most common domesticated animals, with a current estimated population of over 33 billion individuals. They are reared for their meat and eggs, and may be kept as pets. The chicken is believed to have been domesticated in Southeast Asia about 3500 years ago, following which they were carried to all corners of the world. The exact date of introduction of chicken breeding to Japan is under debate, as there are no historical records and archeological evidence ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. (April 20, 2023) – In the spiraling cycle that can lead to vision loss in premature newborns, Medical College of Georgia scientists have found a new target and drug that together appear to stop the destruction in its tracks. In babies, the development of the blood vessels of the retina should be complete by birth. But with preterm birth, the still-immature retina can develop a potentially blinding eye disorder known as retinopathy of prematurity. When premature babies transition from inside the womb, where ...

Imagine the view from the western coastline of southern Africa during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) over twenty thousand years ago: in the distance you would see at least fifteen large islands – the largest 300 square kilometres in area – swarming with hundreds of millions of marine birds and penguin colonies. Now imagine sea levels rising up to a hundred metres between fifteen to seven thousand years ago, gradually covering these large islands until only small hill tops and outcrops remained above water. Over the past 22 000 years this resulted in a tenfold ...

Like many neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a thief that hacks into human operating systems and corrupts their cognitive hard drives until they can no longer control their movements or perform activities of daily living.  Often, in its later stages, Parkinson’s disease steals data too, leading to memory loss, confusion and dementia. Both the cause and cure of Parkinson’s disease remain elusive, but research has helped afflicted individuals manage their symptoms and lead healthier post-diagnosis lives. Individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s ...