Vikings occupied Greenland from roughly 985 to 1450, farming and building communities before abandoning their settlements and mysteriously vanishing. Why they disappeared has long been a puzzle, but a new paper from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) determines that one factor – rising sea level – likely played a major role.   “There are many theories as to what exactly happened” to drive the Vikings from their settlements in Greenland, said Marisa J. Borreggine, lead author of the “Sea-Level ...

Results from the S1609 DART clinical trial, which tested an immunotherapy combination of ipilimumab plus nivolumab in 53 cohorts of patients with rare cancers, are being reported for five cohorts of patients who had rare gynecologic cancers.  In three of those five cohorts – the cohorts for clear cell ovarian cancer; small cell ovarian carcinoma, hypercalcemic type; and non-epithelial ovarian cancer – some patients have shown durable responses to the immunotherapy, including several patients whose complete remissions have now lasted more than three years. The findings will be presented in three abstracts at the 2023 ...

Blind or colorblind people can describe colors and use expressions like “green with envy” or “feeling blue.” A hearing-impaired person can also say those same vibrant hues are “loud.” But many linguists and cognitive neuroscientists have assumed that somatosensation—touch, pain, pressure, temperature, and proprioception, or the sense of where your body is oriented in space—is fundamental for understanding metaphors that have to do with tactile sensations. Understanding expressions like “she is having a tough time” or “that class was hard,” it was believed, requires previous experience with those sensations to extend ...

“Our results implicate p21 as a critical regulator of chronic bronchitis and a driver of chronic airway inflammation and lung destruction.” BUFFALO, NY- April 17, 2023 – A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 7, entitled, “p21 facilitates chronic lung inflammation via epithelial and endothelial cells.” Cellular senescence is a stable state of cell cycle arrest that regulates tissue ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Gynecologic surgeons with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) are leading an international clinical trial to determine whether minimally invasive surgery robotic surgery is better or worse than open surgery when performing a radical hysterectomy to treat cervical cancer. Although minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery techniques have become the standard approach for many surgeries, in gynecologic cancer open surgery – which involves one ...

LA JOLLA, CA—La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) Instructor Estefania Quesada Masachs, M.D., Ph.D., has won the 2023 Young Investigator of the Year Award from the Network for Pancreatic Organ donors with Diabetes (nPOD). This prestigious award recognizes Quesada Masachs' groundbreaking research in type 1 diabetes. Quesada Masachs says she was "happily surprised" to receive the award from nPOD at their 2023 conference. The organization provides pancreatic tissue samples to researchers, opening the door for in-depth research into type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease where the body's own immune ...

“[...] long-term treatment with rapamycin slows down aging, a major risk factor for cancer [...]” BUFFALO, NY- April 17, 2023 – A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on April 14, 2023, entitled, “Cancer prevention with rapamycin.” The mTOR (Target of Rapamycin) pathway is involved in both cancer and aging. Furthermore, common cancers are age-related diseases, and their incidence increases exponentially with age. In his new research perspective, Mikhail V. Blagosklonny, M.D., Ph.D., from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center discusses rapamycin and other rapalogs and their ...

It epitomizes the Great Plains in spirit and in form: a 2,000-pound tank on hooves, cloaked in shaggy winter-tested coat, capped by horns acting as warning and weapon. Even its scientific name, Bison bison bison, seems to conjure an echo worthy of its majesty. Still, the implacable profile of the Plains bison — the national mammal of the United States and largest on the continent — belies the vulnerability in its history, which saw its legions decimated from tens of millions to just a few hundred in the span of a few colonial centuries. Conservation efforts have pushed its number back to roughly 20,000, and its status from endangered ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University researchers have discovered a new class of compounds that contributes to the ashy or smokey flavors in wine made with grapes exposed to wildfire smoke. This development is significant for winemakers who have struggled to combat the impact of smoke on grapes at a time when climate change is leading to an increase in the number and severity of wildfires, the researchers said. “These findings provide new avenues for research to understand and prevent smoke taint in grapes,” said Elizabeth Tomasino, an associate professor of enology ...

The high seas have been colonized by a surprising number of coastal marine invertebrate species, which can now survive and reproduce in the open ocean, contributing strongly to the floating community composition. This finding was published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution by a team of researchers led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa.  The researchers found coastal species, representing diverse taxonomic groups and life history traits, in the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre on over 70 percent of the plastic debris ...

UCF Researchers Create Digital Map of Sympathetic Nervous System A team of UCF College of Medicine researchers has created a digital topographical map of the cardiac sympathetic neural network, the region that controls the body’s heart rate and its “fight-or-flight” response. They hope this map will eventually serve as a guide to treat cardiovascular conditions using bioelectronic devices.   The study, led by Dr. Zixi Jack Cheng, a neuro-cardiovascular scientist, was published in the Scientific Reports journal ...

Climate change may be linked to an increase in the emergence of new pandemics, according to a new book published by an internationally recognized College of Medicine microbiologist.  Dr. Salvador Almagro-Moreno has teamed with fellow molecular biologist Dr. Stefan Pukatzki of City University New York – CUNY, to author the book titled Vibro spp. Infections, recently published by Springer Nature and includes the latest scientific research articles in this field from experts worldwide. The book examines the factors associated with ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – April 17, 2023) Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious blood disorder affecting millions of people, primarily those of African descent. A mutation in the gene that encodes a subunit of the oxygen-carrying molecule, hemoglobin, causes the disease. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard showed a precise genome editing approach, prime editing, can change mutated hemoglobin genes back to their normal form in SCD patient cells, which restores ...

Reston, VA—The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) and 10 other professional societies have issued new appropriate use criteria (AUC) for lymphoscintigraphy in sentinel node mapping and lymphedema/lipedema. The criteria, summarized in the April issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM), include a list of relevant clinical scenarios, a systematic review of evidence in the literature, and a systematic analysis of available evidence, followed by grading each of the clinical scenarios. Sentinel lymph nodes ...

Renowned physicist, engineer and entrepreneur Eli Yablonovitch will visit Utah State University on April 25 for two lectures about his work in the electrical and computer engineering field. Yablonovitch, who is currently a professor emeritus at the University of California Berkeley, will present lectures on controlling carbon intake as a solution to climate change and on physics and optimization in the engineering world. The lectures will take place on April 25, at 1 pm and 3 pm respectively. An RSVP form can be found on this webpage. All are encouraged to attend. “Having Dr. Yablonovitch travel to speak to us is a great honor and a great opportunity for us ...

17 April 2023 - Galápagos, Ecuador – Scientists have discovered extensive, ancient deep-sea coral reefs within the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR) – the first of their kind ever to be documented inside the marine protected area (MPA) since it was established in 1998. The first reef observed was found at 400-600m (1,310-1,970 feet) depth at the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago and supports a breathtaking mix of deep marine life. Cresting the ridge of a submerged volcano, and stretching over several kilometers, the impressive reef structure was first recorded by Dr. Michelle ...

A new discovery by researchers at the University of Warwick could help stop bacteria being contaminated with viruses, reducing disruption and decreasing costs in industry and research. Bacteria are routinely used in biological and biomedical research. They are crucial in food production and emerging industrial biotechnologies, where bacterial ‘factories’ can be used to produce new materials, medicines and chemicals. Industrial biotechnology uses microorganisms as alternatives to traditional ...

A new study evaluated the effect of hybrid-closed loop Control-IQ technology in the pooled data from three randomized controlled trials, comparing Control-IQ to a control group using continuous glucose monitoring in people with type 1 diabetes. The study, which examined subgroup based on baseline characteristics such as race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, pre-study insulin delivery modality, and baseline glycemic control, is published in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT). Click here to read the article now. Roy W. Beck, MD, PhD, from the JAEB ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers have made huge strides in ensuring that red blood cell substitutes – or artificial blood – are able to work safely and effectively when transfused into the bloodstream.  The key is to make the artificial blood molecules big enough so they don’t leak from blood vessels into tissue and cause dangerous cardiovascular side effects, notes a new study led by researchers from The Ohio State University.  Although blood loss is typically treated by transfusing units of donated blood, in cases where transfusions aren’t readily ...

Jinwei Ye, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, received funding from the National Science Foundation for the project: "Collaborative Research: RI: Small: Motion Field Understanding for Enhanced Long-Range Imaging."  Ye is collaborating with Nianyi Li, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Clemson University, and Suren Jayasuriya, Assistant Professor, Arts Media and Engineering, and Assistant Professor, School of Electrical, Energy and Computer Engineering, at Arizona State University.   As ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and National Institutes of Health have launched a study to gain a better understanding of the chronic symptoms of Gulf War Illness. The disease affects multiple systems in the body and includes chronic symptoms such as fatigue, headache, memory and cognitive difficulties, joint and muscle pain, poor sleep, and problems with gastrointestinal and respiratory function. It affects about a third of the nearly 700,000 men and women who served in the Persian Gulf during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. “This is an important collaboration that we hope will lead to many answers to those ...

DALLAS, April 17, 2023 — Legalization of marijuana, for both medical and recreational use, is on the rise across the U.S. The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, warns that using marijuana may increase your risk of deadly cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks and strokes, according to research evidence noted in two scientific statements published by the Association. The Association’s 2020 scientific statement Medical Marijuana, Recreational Cannabis, and Cardiovascular Health, ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL 17-APR-2023 11:00 ET  Basel, April 17, 2023 Using a new approach for studying live embryonic mouse brains at single-cell resolution, researchers have identified an active multi-layer circuit that forms in the cortex during an unexpectedly early stage of development. Perturbing the circuit genetically led to changes similar to those seen in the brains of people with autism. The findings are reported today in Cell by a team based at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel. “Understanding the detailed development of cell types and circuits in the cortex can provide ...

A research model of dietary intake in 184 countries, developed by researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, estimates that poor diet contributed to over 14.1 million cases of type 2 diabetes in 2018, representing over 70% of new diagnoses globally. The analysis, which looked at data from 1990 and 2018, provides valuable insight into which dietary factors are driving type 2 diabetes burden by world region. The study was published April 17 in the journal Nature Medicine. Of the 11 dietary factors considered, three had an outsized contribution to the rising global incidence of type 2 diabetes: ...

Scientists can now use light to activate protein functions both inside and outside of living cells. The new method, called light-activated SpyLigation, can turn on proteins that are normally off to allow researchers to study and control them in more detail. This technology has potential uses in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and understanding how the body works. Proteins perform nearly every important task in biology, including processing DNA, metabolizing nutrients, and fighting off infections. When, where, and how proteins become active is important for a variety of biological processes. Increasingly, ...