Approximately one billion people are infected with influenza around the world each year, with more than half a million deaths estimated to result from the disease. Despite the disease’s potential severity, especially among older populations and those with cardiometabolic risk factors, approximately 30 percent of U.S. adults over age 65 were not vaccinated during the 2019-2020 flu season. To evaluate best strategies for increasing vaccination rates, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare ...

Genetic variations, such as mutations, recombinations, or transpositions occur naturally in cultured microorganisms and are often considered nonneutral mutations. Neutral mutations are neither beneficial nor harmful to an organism and only affect a small proportion of the total population. On the other hand, nonneutral mutations can affect a larger proportion of the population by potentially changing the gene pool, depending upon the advantages or disadvantages provided by the genetic variant. These ...

The recent public health emergency declarations in New York and London due to polio infections and detection of the virus in these cities’ wastewater strongly indicate that polio is no longer close to being eradicated. Now, four members of the Global Virus Network (GVN) proposed changes in global polio eradication strategy to get the world back on track to one day eliminating polio’s threat. Authors of the recommendations included University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute of Human Virology’s ...

SAN ANTONIO — March 6, 2023 —A Southwest Research Institute team has developed a mechanical testing device to analyze fluids and lubricants formulated for electric vehicles. The team modified a commercial tribology testing device to give it the capability to evaluate the impact of electric currents in fluids, measuring the wear and friction on the automobile parts in the presence of an applied voltage. “The electrification of the automotive industry has accelerated over recent years, ...

Fetal alcohol exposure at any stage of pregnancy can lead to congenital malformations, as well as cognitive, behavioral, and emotional impairments in offspring. New research conducted in mice and published in The FASEB Journal indicates that even very early embryos exposed to alcohol can experience growth restriction, brain abnormalities, and skeletal delays, but feeding pregnant mothers certain nutrients prior to conception and throughout pregnancy can reduce the incidence and severity of the alcohol-induced defects. The beneficial effects were seen with a combination of four nutrients—folic acid, choline, betaine, and vitamin B12. The authors stress that the ...

What explains persistent racial disparities in policing, despite police departments’ repeated investments in bias-training programs? A wide range of data indicate that police in the United States tend to stop, arrest, injure, or kill more Black people than White people. Calvin K. Lai (Washington University in St. Louis) and Jaclyn A. Lisnek (University of Virginia) analyzed the effectiveness of a day-long implicit-bias-oriented diversity training session designed to increase U.S. police officers’ knowledge of bias, concerns about bias, and use of evidence-based strategies to mitigate bias. Their ...

March 6, 2023-- The adoption of laws around naloxone use is not associated with changes in adolescent lifetime heroin or injection drug use (IDU), finds a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. According to latest results, naloxone access and pharmacy naloxone distribution were more consistently associated with decreases rather than increases in lifetime heroin and IDU among adolescents. While some critics contend that naloxone expansion may inadvertently promote high-risk substance use behaviors among adolescents, until now this question had not been directly investigated. The ...

DALLAS, March 6, 2023 — What people eat and drink affects heart and brain health and is essential for managing health conditions like blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Hispanic adults are at higher risk for Type 2 diabetes and have some of the highest prevalence of poorly controlled blood pressure,[1] two major risk factors for heart disease.[2] As a champion for health equity, today the American Heart Association, the leading global voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke for all, launched ‘Together at the Table/ Juntos En La Mesa.’ The campaign is designed to inspire ...

NEW YORK, March 6, 2023—With the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting the critical importance of biomedical research and new questions being raised about society’s capacity to generate world-changing scientific breakthroughs,1, Roy and Diana Vagelos have made a $175 million gift to Columbia University to address this need. The Vagelos Institute for Biomedical Research Education created with this gift will be home to PhD students pursuing the most creative, potentially disruptive ideas in biomedical science, and will spur the training of more physician-scientists able ...

DALLAS, March 6, 2023 — Scientific researchers have noticed a marked increase in heart attacks and strokes in the days following the change to daylight saving time each spring. However, the American Heart Association, the leading global health organization dedications to fighting heart disease and stroke, says losing sleep anytime can be a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. “Getting a good night’s sleep every night is vital to cardiovascular health. Adults should aim for an average of 7-9 hours, and babies and kids ...

In the fight against pollution, several regions in the U.S. have banned the use of plastic straws. Alternative materials exist, but most options are either too expensive to scale up, go limp in drinks or taste bad. But now, a team reporting in ACS Omega has developed a new type of bioplastic film from all-natural, degradable materials that can be rolled into a straw that doesn’t get soggy and is stronger than plastic. As efforts to reduce plastic waste take hold, many researchers and companies have turned to plastic alternatives to fabricate straws that comply with new laws and regulations. But so far, most options either end up breaking ...

PARAMUS, N.J. (March 6, 2023) – Octapharma USA presented research at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting evaluating the efficacy and safety of cutaquig® (Immune Globulin Subcutaneous [Human]-hipp, 16.5% solution) infusions at higher infusion parameters, potentially offering greater dosing flexibility for patients. Subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIG) has been an accepted mode of infusion for over 30 years and, with its increased utilization, improvements in methodology now drive replacement therapy in patients with primary immune deficiency. To further explore dosing flexibility with potential reductions ...

Research Highlights: A new study found that the link between excess weight and higher blood pressure in adolescents was stronger among those who also had irregular sleep patterns. Irregular sleep patterns contributed to elevated blood pressure in teens who had more visceral fat (excess weight in the belly/abdominal area). The researchers suggest that school schedules and extracurricular responsibilities often clash with teens’ natural tendency to go to bed later and sleep later, which may lead to irregular timing of sleep and a cascade of consequences for heart health later in life. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Monday, March 6, 2023 DALLAS, March ...

WHAT:  A clinical trial testing a freeze-dried, temperature-stable experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine in healthy adults found that it was safe and stimulated both antibodies and responses from the cellular arm of the immune system. The Phase 1 trial was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. A non-temperature stable form of the candidate previously had been tested in several clinical trials. However, this was the first clinical trial of any subunit TB vaccine candidate in a temperature-stable (thermostable) form. Results are published in Nature Communications. The ...

The Access to Advanced Health Institute (AAHI) published results of a Phase 1 clinical trial demonstrating the safety and immune responses in a new vaccine against tuberculosis (TB), the world’s second deadliest infectious disease (NCT03722472). AAHI’s TB vaccine combines several proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium that causes TB, into a fusion protein (“ID93”) with a proprietary immune-stimulating adjuvant (“GLA-SE”) in a freeze-dried formulation that can be stored at elevated temperatures ...

A global team of researchers has created an algorithmic tool that can identify existing drugs in order to combat future pandemics. The work, reported in the Cell Press journal Heliyon, offers the possibility of responding more quickly to public-health crises. “There is no silver bullet to defeat the Covid pandemic as it takes us over a public-health roller-coaster of deaths and devastation,” explains Naomi Maria, an immunologist, a visiting scientist at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and the paper’s lead author. “However, using this AI tool, coupled with in vitro data and other resources, we’ve ...

Study’s findings may lead to more personalized follow-up care for patients. New research indicates that for patients with breast cancer, the cancer’s stage and receptor status can help clinicians predict whether and when cancer might recur after initial treatment. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. For the study, Heather Neuman, MD, MS, of the University of Wisconsin, and her colleagues analyzed data on 8,007 patients with stage I–III breast cancer who participated in nine clinical trials from 1997–2013 ...

In the earliest days of human flight, before the invention of the first radio beacons and ground-based electronic systems, and modern GPS, pilots commonly navigated by following roads and railways – striking linear landscape elements at ground level that guide towards a destination of interest. Enter the honeybee. A century of research has shown that honeybees are navigators par excellence. They can navigate by their sense of smell, the sun, the sky’s pattern of polarized light, vertical landmarks that stand out from the panorama, and possibly the Earth’s magnetic field. They are also clever learners, able to recognize associations between disparate ...

PITTSBURGH, March 6, 2023 — The monthly opioid overdose death (ODD) rate fell by 30% in Pennsylvania counties that implemented a novel community-focused strategy developed by University of Pittsburgh researchers, according to a new study published today in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. By analyzing counties that did or didn’t implement the Pennsylvania Opioid Overdose Reduction Technical Assistance Center (ORTAC) strategy over time, the researchers estimate that this cost-effective, community-led approach prevented 1,818 opioid-related deaths over two years. “I ...

Conifers are generally better than broadleaved trees at purifying air from pollutants. But deciduous tree may be better at capturing particle-bound pollution. A new study led by the University of Gothenburg shows that the best trees for air purification depend on the type of pollutant involved. Trees and other greenery in cities provide many benefits that are important for the well-being of residents. Leaves and needles on trees filter air pollutants and reduce exposure to hazardous substances in the air. But which trees purify the air most effectively? Researchers from the University ...

Scientists in Japan have revealed a chemical compound that could be used for the treatment of various autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. These diseases occur when the body’s immune response goes wiry. The immune system, which normally attacks pathogens and infections, instead attacks healthy cells and tissues. For the millions of people who suffer from autoimmune diseases worldwide, the result can be debilitating—rheumatoid arthritis causes excessive joint pain, while multiple sclerosis can disable one’s brain and spinal cord function. “The key to the development of autoimmune ...

Promoting physical activity and other behavioural support can help people wanting to reduce their smoking to quit in the short-term. However, after nine months, physical activity delivers no noticeable benefits – compared with offering no additional support – in the rates of people stopping smoking, according to the findings of a major national study. The Trial of physical Activity and Reduction of Smoking (TARS) study, led by the University of Plymouth with funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research, took place across four cities – Plymouth, Nottingham, Oxford and ...

A total of 1,261,990 people will die from cancer in 2023 in the EU (EU-27). A further 172,314 people will die from the disease in the UK, according to new research published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] today (Monday).   Researchers led by Carlo La Vecchia (MD), a professor at the University of Milan (Italy), estimate there will be a 6.5% fall in cancer death rates in men and a 3.7% fall in women between 2018 and 2023.   They predict that death rates from the ten most common cancers will continue to fall in most European countries in 2023, although the numbers of people dying will go up ...

Globally, activated sludge treats the majority of urban wastewaters; yet it is one of the most complex biological processes used. It is a sophisticated microbial process fraught with operational problems leading to occasional failures in achieving required effluent quality standards. With the increasing problem of partially treated and raw sewage entering rivers and estuaries, the pressure on the process to cope with ever increasing volumes of wastewater has never been so great. With increasing volumes of dilute wastewater entering treatment plants the high variability in hydraulic and organic ...

Cell membranes are barriers that maintain cellular homeostasis, and the intracellular delivery of biologically functional molecules, including peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids to manipulate cellular functions. Conventional intracellular uptake processes require high concentrations of biofunctional molecules with low permeability to pass through the cell membrane. This results in low drug activity because the probability of the biofunctional molecules entering target cells and their organelles is low. In addition, many drugs damage healthy cells as well as the cells that are supposed to target due to poor selectivity, making ...