JMIR Medical Education is excited to announce the launch of a new theme issue, ChatGPT, Generative Language Models, and Generative AI in Medical Education. The Call for Papers is now open and submissions are due by July 31st.  Guest editors Kaushik P Venkatesh, MBA, MPH, of Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, and Maged N Kamel Boulos, MBBCh, MSc, PhD, FHEA, SMIEEE, of Sun Yat-sen University, China, are encouraging both empirical and theoretical submissions, including original research, systematic reviews, viewpoints, and tutorials.  The objective of this theme issue ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – Most people who ranked high in “joy of missing out” or JOMO also reported high levels of social anxiety in a recent Washington State University-led study. The term JOMO has been popularized as a healthy enjoyment of solitude in almost direct opposition to the negative FOMO, the “fear of missing out” people may have when seeing others having fun experiences without them. In an analysis of two samples of adults, researchers found mixed results when it comes to JOMO with evidence that there is some anxiety behind the joy. “In general, a lot of people like being connected,” said ...

Study reveals link between major discrimination and frailty Cancer and its treatment can accelerate the rate of aging because they both destabilize and damage biological systems in the body. New research published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, found that African American cancer survivors who reported high levels of discrimination exhibited greater aging and frailty than those reporting lower levels of discrimination. For the study, Jeanne Mandelblatt, MD, MPH, director of the Institute for Cancer and Aging Research at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, ...

WASHINGTON — Discrimination experienced by Black people can affect their health and increase their frailty, which can be particularly impactful for cancer survivors, according to a new study by researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and colleagues at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. The researchers assessed frailty by a number of factors, including whether a participant had several chronic diseases, poor muscle strength and difficulty performing activities of daily living. The ...

Individuals who are obese may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 because of a poorer inflammatory immune response, say Cambridge scientists. Scientists at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID) and Wellcome Sanger Institute showed that following SARS-CoV-2 infection, cells in the lining of the lungs, nasal cells, and immune cells in the blood show a blunted inflammatory response in obese patients, producing suboptimal levels of molecules needed to fight ...

Nearly half of parents say they would definitely know if their child was vaping, despite characteristics of vaping devices that make it easy to hide or disguise their use, a new national poll suggests. Four in five parents also think their adolescent or teen understands the health risks of vaping with few believing their child has tried it, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at University of Michigan Health. “Very few parents believe their ...

Society and social interaction play a key role in life for humans. The well-being of a person greatly depends upon their ability to be part of complex socio-cultural institutions. Even during infancy, humans rely on their social interactions with other humans for social and cultural learning, subsequent adaptation to different social environments, and ultimately, survival. Several studies have shown that infants do not respond automatically or reflexively to external cues, but instead adaptively modulate their social behaviors to suit their social context. Gaze-following is one such behavior that infants modulate based on their surroundings. ...

New research indicates that a small percentage of financial landlords, like private equity firms and institutional investors, own four times more of Montreal’s rental housing stock than was previously estimated. Neighbourhoods with more financial landlords are also experiencing higher housing stress levels. In the first comprehensive analysis of its kind in a North American city, researchers from the University of Waterloo and McGill University developed a new method of identifying networks of property ownership lurking behind ...

**Note: the release below is a special early release from the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen, 15-18 April). Please credit the conference if you use this story** Embargo: 2301H UK time Saturday 18 March Healthy dogs and cats could be passing on multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs; bacteria that resist treatment with more than one antibiotic) to their hospitalised owners, and likewise humans could be transmitting these dangerous microbes to their pets, according to new research being presented ...

Alexandria, VA – A symposium aiming to provide a better understanding of the tumor microenvironment, immune tolerogenic niches at cancer initiation, and novel immunotherapeutic strategies in head and neck cancer patients was featured at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the CADR. The AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition took place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 15-18, 2023. Cancer ...

Alexandria, VA – In alignment with AADOCR’s Diversity and Inclusion Statement, several symposia exploring the ongoing challenges in addressing the oral health care needs of equity-deserving populations were featured at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the CADR. The AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition took place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 15-18, 2023. The symposium, “Assessing Oral Health ...

Alexandria, VA – A study exploring the development of “Dental Tough Adhesive (DenTAI)”, a novel bioinspired adhesive patch with robust mechanical properties, capable of strong adhesion, and able to carry out extended release of clobetasol-17-propionate, the first-line drug for treating oral lichen planus (OLP) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 47th Annual ...

Alexandria, VA – A symposium exploring the significance, interactions, and evolutionary mechanisms of salivary mucins was featured at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the CADR. The AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition took place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 15-18, 2023. Mucin proteins in saliva are responsible for the unique physicochemical properties of saliva that include lubrication, viscosity, and barrier function. A dense array of O-glycans attached to the mucin protein backbone provide mucins with their typical functions.  Recently, ...

A study in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute Cancer Spectrum looked at chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI), as they become popular resources for cancer information. They found these resources give accurate information when asked about common cancer myths and misconceptions. In the first study of its kind, Skyler Johnson, MD, physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and assistant professor in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Utah (the U), evaluated the reliability and accuracy of ChatGPT’s ...

University of Utah Health scientists have corrected abnormal heart rhythms in mice by restoring healthy levels of a protein that heart cells need to establish connections with one another. That protein, GJA1-20k, is underproduced in people with a genetic condition called arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac arrest in athletes under the age of 35. The finding, reported in the journal Circulation Research, suggests a new strategy for treating the abnormal heart rhythms caused by arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. The results may also have implications for treating dangerous arrhythmias associated with more common ...

Recently incarcerated people with opioid use disorder have trust in working with peer support specialists who recovered from addiction and faced similar life experiences, according to a Rutgers study.   The study, published in the journal Psychiatric Services, found that peer support specialists were most valued for providing emotional and community-based addiction recovery support as well as housing and employment information — crucial when going back into the community.   More than ...

House hunting on Mars could soon become a thing, and researchers at the University of Arizona are already in the business of scouting real estate that future astronauts could use as habitats. Researchers in the UArizona College of Engineering have developed technology that would allow a flock of robots to explore subsurface environments on other worlds. "Lava tubes and caves would make perfect habitats for astronauts because you don't have to build a structure; you are shielded from harmful cosmic radiation, so all you need to do is ...

A detailed "body scan" of Malaspina Glacier, one of Alaska's most iconic glaciers, revealed that its bulk lies below sea level and is undercut by channels that may allow ocean water to gain access, should its coastal barrier erode. This makes the glacier more vulnerable to seawater intrusion than previously thought and may cause it to retreat faster than predicted.  The findings, published by University of Arizona researchers in the Journal of Geophysical Research, underscore ...

As one of the major blue carbon ecosystems, mangroves provide critical ecosystem services in mitigating global climate change. However, the future complex and variable climate conditions may lead to the uncertainty in trajectories of blue carbon capacity. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2) is projected to become a prominent driver to mangrove blue carbon in the future. A group of scientists working on blue carbon reviewed studies on “changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2” to identify the pathways for how eCO2 might influence mangrove ecosystem carbon cycling. The research is published as a review article in Ecosystem health and sustainability, ...

Alexandria, VA – A study examining the mental health-oral health association cross-sectionally and longitudinally was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the CADR. The AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition took place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 15-18, 2023. The study, led by Alex Kalaigian of the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, acquired self-reported data from the Population ...

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have found that gold nanoparticles supported on a zirconium oxide surface help turn waste materials like biomass and polyester into organosilane compounds, valuable chemicals used in a wide range of applications. The new protocol leverages the cooperation between gold nanoparticles and the amphoteric (both acid and base) nature of the zirconium oxide support. The result is a reaction that requires less demanding conditions, a greener method for upcycling waste.   Recycling is a big part of humanity’s solution to the global issue of plastic waste. Much ...

The Center for Bioenergy Innovation has been renewed by the Department of Energy as one of four bioenergy research centers across the nation to advance robust, economical production of plant-based fuels and chemicals. CBI, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is focused on the development of nonfood biomass crops and specialty processes for the production of sustainable jet fuel to help decarbonize the aviation sector. The DOE announcement provides $590 million to the centers over the next five years. Initial funding for the four ...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has committed another round of funding to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to lead the second phase of its Bioenergy Research Center — one of four large-scale DOE-funded research centers focused on innovation in biofuels, bioproducts, and a clean energy future for the country. Earlier today the DOE announced a five-year extension of funding for the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), to a total of $237.9 million for the period from 2017 to 2027. CABBI ...

Alexandria, VA – A study aiming to identify biomarker species associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the AADOCR, held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the CADR. The AADOCR/CADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition took place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 15-18, 2023. The study, led by Tanveer Vasdev of the University of Iowa, analyzed 208 saliva and subgingival samples from periodontally, healthy, frequency-matched patients belonging to adult and pediatric obesity and MetS. Bacterial ...

“This shows that SA-EXOs can serve as potent SASP mediators that activate invasive characteristics in neighboring cells.” BUFFALO, NY- March 17, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 5, entitled, “Senescence-associated exosomes transfer miRNA-induced fibrosis to neighboring cells.” Radiation-induced fibrosis is a common side effect of radiotherapy, which is the most common ...