In research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, investigators developed and validated models that can predict the risk of fall-related injuries in nursing home residents based on routinely collected clinical data. The prediction models achieved good discrimination and excellent calibration for accurately estimating individuals’ six-month and two-year risk of fall-related injuries. One short model that performed well included only five predictors: Activities of Daily Living Score, recent fall, hospitalization in the previous year, ability to walk in room, and history of non-hip fractures. “These models ...

A study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research has identified a bone matrix protein called Secreted phosphoprotein 24 kD (Spp24) that may help to treat osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer. In experiments conducted in cells and mice, investigators found that Spp24 inhibits the proliferation and invasiveness of osteosarcoma tumor cells and promotes their apoptosis, or death. Mechanistically, Spp24 binds to and neutralizes a protein called bone morphogenetic protein 2, which has tumor enhancing properties. “Spp24 and ...

Peer-reviewed / Observational study / People Study of 3,589 people over 73 years suggests that children who had a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), such as bronchitis or pneumonia, by the age of two were almost twice as likely to die prematurely in adulthood from respiratory diseases, independent of socioeconomic factors and smoking status. After adjusting for cofounders, analysis suggests a 2.1% rate of premature adult death from respiratory disease among those who had a LRTI in early childhood, compared to 1.1% among those who did not report a LRTI before the age of ...

Contracting a lower respiratory tract infection in early childhood is associated with a higher risk of dying from respiratory disease as an adult, according to new research. A study, led by researchers from Imperial College London and published in The Lancet, has found that children who had a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), such as bronchitis or pneumonia, by the age of two were almost twice as likely to die prematurely in adulthood from respiratory diseases. The research showed the rate ...

Short-distance migration, which accounts for the vast majority of migratory movements in the world, is crucial for climate change adaptation, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).  Contrary to common assumptions, most migratory movements are people moving short distances, largely due to economic, social and environmental factors, such as climate change.    A study of people living in the drylands of India and parts of Africa was carried out by UEA researchers in the School of International Development.   The paper, ‘Everyday mobility and changing livelihood trajectories: implications for vulnerability ...

Cameras that can scan an entire body in a fraction of a second can give spinal surgeons an accurate assessment of how much range of motion youth with scoliosis have in their torso – a critical piece of information for guiding management of people with the condition, researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City have found. Spine specialists at HSS have been using a 30-camera array, called 3dMD, in the lab for several years, but the new study shows that the system produces clinically meaningful information. Because 3dMD does not rely on ionizing radiation, the technology may help adolescents with scoliosis avoid many of ...

From birth, animals can use their spontaneous preferences (predispositions that are not learned) to decide which stimuli to attend and approach. Previous research has shown how infants and newborn chicks, with no previous experience with animals, are spontaneously attracted by the movement of living organisms. These new findings demonstrate how the movement against gravity can be particularly good in attracting our attention, since only living beings can consistently move upward against gravity. This research is an important contribution to our understanding of inner cognitive models of behaviour and activity in early stages of life.   Dr ...

The benefits of skin-to-skin contact for both parents and infants are already recognised, but other behaviours common in hunter-gatherer societies may also benefit families in economically developed countries Parents and children may benefit from a larger network of people being involved in care-giving, as seen in hunter-gatherer societies Increasing staff-to-child ratios in nurseries to bring them closer to highly attentive hunter-gatherer ratios could support learning and wellbeing More peer-to-peer, ...

Peer reviewed – experimental study – human cells and mice Researchers at the University of East Anglia have developed a new drug that works against all of the main types of primary bone cancer. Cancer that starts in the bones, rather than cancer that has spread to the bones, predominantly affects children. Current treatment is gruelling, with outdated chemotherapy cocktails and limb amputation. Despite all of this, the five-year survival rate is poor at just 42 per cent – largely because of how rapidly bone cancer spreads to the lungs. But a new study published today shows how a new drug called ‘CADD522’ blocks ...

Sophia Antipolis, 8 March 2023:  Treatments for peripheral artery disease (PAD) were largely developed in men and are less effective in women, according to a review published today in European Heart Journal – Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 The paper highlights the biological, clinical and societal reasons why the condition may be missed in women, who respond less well to treatment and have worse clinical outcomes.   “Greater understanding is needed about why we are failing to address the health outcome gap between genders,” said author Mary Kavurma, an associate professor at the Heart Research Institute, ...

Poor sleep could lead to between two and seven years worth of heightened heart disease risk and even premature death, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Sydney in collaboration with Southern Denmark University. The study analysed data from over 300,000 middle-aged adults from the UK Biobank and found that different disturbances to sleep are associated with different durations of compromised  cardiovascular health later in life compared to healthy sleepers. In particular, men with clinical ...

Gender diversity experts at the University of South Australia are urging governments to rethink their approach to gender targets as new research shows that they do not lead to expected improvements in gender equity for women in leadership.   Examining the effects of gender targets in the Australian public service, researchers found that when gender targets were imposed, they didn’t always achieve their intended outcomes.   In Australia, women make up only 19 per cent of CEOs, and less than a third of key management positions (32 per cent). In the Australian public sector, women represent 60 per cent of the workforce, yet ...

Philadelphia, March 8, 2023 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found opioids were responsible for more than half of all fatal poisonings in children ages 5 and younger, more than double the proportion of fatal poisonings caused by opioids in 2005. Additionally, over-the-counter drugs still contribute to fatal poisonings in this age group despite increased regulation. The findings, published today in the journal Pediatrics, underscore the need for improved intervention to prevent further fatal poisonings. More than half of all reported poisonings affect children ages 5 and younger and have the ...

A new study has shown that bumblebees pick up new “trends” in their behaviour by watching and learning from other bees, and that one form of a behaviour can spread rapidly through a colony even when a different version gets discovered. The research, led by Queen Mary University of London and published in PLOS Biology, provides strong evidence that social learning drives the spread of bumblebee behaviour – in this case, precisely how they forage for food. A variety of experiments were set up to establish this. The researchers designed a two-option puzzle box that could be opened either by pushing a red tab ...

A study published in Immunity by physician-scientist Read Pukkila-Worley, MD, and MD/PhD students Nicholas D. Peterson and Samantha Y. Tse describes a new manner of detecting microbial infection that intercepts pathogen-derived signals of growth to assess the relative threat of virulent bacteria. A nuclear hormone receptor in the nematode C. elegans senses a toxic metabolite produced by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to activate innate immunity. These data reveal an ancient strategy that informs the origins ...

Blood test identifies acute myeloid leukemia patients at greater risk for relapse after bone marrow transplant  A small portion of adults in remission from a deadly blood cancer had persisting mutations that were detected, which predicted their risk of death from having the cancer return    Researchers at the National Institutes of Health show the benefits of screening adult patients in remission from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for residual disease before receiving a bone marrow transplant. The findings, published in JAMA, support ongoing research aimed ...

The whistleblowers who once trusted journalism are losing faith in the institution. A new study from the University of Georgia found that many whistleblowers who reached out to journalists in the past no longer believe media has the same ability to motivate change, and they feel let down by a system they once trusted. “If you don’t believe that an outlet or journalist can carry you across the finish line—meaning can affect change, attract enough attention and attract the attention of the right people—then you’re losing faith,” said Karin Assmann, study lead and assistant professor in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism ...

SAN ANTONIO — March 7, 2023 —The Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) Demo pilot plant, a $155 million, 10-megawatt supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) test facility at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, developed in partnership with GTI Energy and GE Research and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, has successfully achieved its first operation with CO2 at supercritical fluid conditions in its compressor section. This accomplishment represents significant progress toward ...

Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia or pAML is a childhood blood cancer, one that has proved confounding to clinicians and researchers, with a high relapse rate and relatively few identified genetic mutations (compared to the adult version) that might explain its cause.   In a new study, published in the March 7, 2023 issue of Cell Reports, an international team led by scientists and physicians at University of California San Diego School of Medicine deployed an array of analytical and gene-splicing tools to parse more deeply the mysteries of mutation in pAML.  “Compared to adult AML, pediatric AML is associated with relatively ...

How well you synchronize to a simple beat predicts how well you synchronize with another mind, according to a new Dartmouth study published in Scientific Reports. Previous work has demonstrated that the pupil dilation patterns of speakers and listeners synchronize spontaneously, illustrating shared attention. The team set out to understand how the tendency to synchronize in this way may vary at the individual level and generalize across contexts, as it has been widely debated whether one form of synchrony bears any relationship to another. “We were ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—March 7, 2023—Compared to those of us who live at sea level, the 2 million people worldwide who live above 4,500 meters (or 14,764 feet) of elevation—about the height of Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, and many Colorado and Alaska peaks—have lower rates of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity. Now, researchers at Gladstone Institutes have shed light on this phenomenon. They showed how chronically low oxygen levels, such as those experienced at high elevation, rewire how mice burn sugars ...

Endocrine Society members elected John Newell-Price, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P., as its 2024-2025 President. He will serve as President-Elect for a year beginning in June 2023 before becoming President in June 2024. Newell-Price is Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, United Kingdom. He also is head of the endocrinology service at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and of the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society at the hospital. Newell-Price’s clinical expertise ...

BOSTON – New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham (MGB), indicates that socioeconomic and genetic factors likely interact in an additive way to affect people’s risks of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes. The findings, which are published in Diabetes Care, suggest that interventions to improve socioeconomic deprivation may decrease metabolic diseases at the individual and community levels, especially among people with concomitant high genetic risk. Genetic and socioeconomic factors—one intrinsic and unmodifiable and ...

Note: Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers Deok-Ho Kim and Devin Mair will participate in a NASA teleconference for journalists on Tuesday, March 14, at 11 a.m. ET. Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers are collaborating with NASA to send human heart “tissue-on-a-chip” specimens into space as early as March. The project is designed to monitor the tissue for changes in heart muscle cells’ mitochondria (their power supply) and ability to contract in low-gravity conditions. The tissue samples will ...

Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona have discovered a mechanism involving ribosomes which helps the heart toggle between a ‘regular maintenance mode’ for day-to-day function and an ‘energy-boost mode’ which aids recovery for high-demand situations including heart attacks. The findings are published in a ‘Breakthrough Article’ in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, a distinction awarded to studies that answer long-standing questions in the field.  Ribosomes are the molecular factories that manufacture proteins in all living cells. Historically, they have been ...