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 ...

Last year, nursing schools across the country were forced to turn away more than 90,000 qualified applicants. The reason: a lack of faculty members to teach them and clinical sites to train them.   A team of University of Texas at Arlington faculty led by Ann Eckhardt, clinical associate professor and interim chair of graduate nursing programs in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI), received a state grant to help reverse that trend and increase the pool of nursing faculty, preceptors and simulation coordinators.   “There ...

UC Davis Health researchers have dosed the second participant in their clinical trial looking to identify a potential cure for HIV utilizing CAR T-cell therapy. The novel study uses immunotherapy. It involves taking a patient's own white blood cells, called T-cells, and modifying them so they can identify and target HIV cells to control the virus without medication. The first participant was dosed with anti-HIV duoCAR T cells at UC Davis Medical Center in mid-August. The trial is the first-in-human clinical study investigating the duoCAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of HIV. “We have reached ...

A set of recent studies demonstrates for the first time that learning multiple new tasks carries benefits for cognition long after the learning has been completed. The finding affirms a long-held assertion of the lead researcher, Rachel Wu, who is an associate professor of psychology at UC Riverside. That is, older adults can learn new tasks and improve their cognition in the process, if they approach learning as a child does. “Our findings provide evidence that simultaneously learning real-world skills can lead to long-term improvements in cognition during older adulthood,” ...

Earthquakes cost the nation an estimated $14.7 billion annually in building damage and associated losses according to a new report released jointly today by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the annual Seismological Society of America meeting. The new estimate is twice that of previous annual estimates due to increased building value and the fact that the report incorporates the latest hazards as well as improvements to building inventories. Earthquake losses from the last few decades in the U.S. have ranged about $1.5-$3 billion per year depending upon the timeframe. While ...

New York (April 19, 2022) — The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the AGS Health in Aging Foundation (HiAF) today announced that the 2023 Thomas and Catherine Yoshikawa Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Clinical Investigation will be awarded to Dae Kim, MD, MPH, ScD,  Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Associate Scientist at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, and Attending Geriatrician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  The award will be presented at the AGS 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS23), May 4-6 ...

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that gestational obesity associated with infection by zika virus influences the placenta’s antiviral response, weakening the organ’s capacity to attack the pathogen and protect the fetus. The study was supported by FAPESP. Its results are reported in an article published in the journal Viruses.  According to the authors, the findings underscore the importance of adequate ...

Functional movement/conversion disorder (FMD), part of the spectrum of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), is a neuropsychiatric condition marked by a range of neurological symptoms, including tremors, muscular spasms and cognitive difficulties. Despite being the second most common cause of referrals to neurology outpatient clinics after headache, scientists have struggled to pin down the disorder’s root cause. Female sex and a history of childhood trauma are factors associated with higher risk of developing FMD, but it’s been unclear why. A new study from investigators of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, ...

How an organization reacts to a nearby competitor adopting an important innovation may be influenced by the type and difficulty of problems it handles for its customers, according to a new study published in Strategic Management Journal. The researchers found that organizations serving more difficult customer needs tend to defer investment in response to a competitor’s technology adoption, while those who address less difficult problems are likely to accelerate adoption of that same technology. The study, led by Shirish Sundaresan, an assistant professor at Georgia State University, stresses ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS – A drug called teriflunomide may delay first symptoms for people whose magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans show signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) even though they do not yet have symptoms of the disease. The preliminary study, released April 19, 2023, will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th Annual Meeting, being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023. Called radiologically isolated syndrome, the condition is diagnosed in people who do not have MS symptoms but who have abnormalities in the brain or spinal cord called lesions, similar to those seen in MS. MS ...