WASHINGTON, July 13, 2021 -- The rhythm in a working heart is regulated by electrical impulses. Disturbances of this bioelectrical process can result in cardiac arrhythmias, or irregularities in heartbeat -- a common ailment that can lead to illness and death. In Biophysics Reviews, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Harvard Medical School provide a state-of-the-art update on how electrical impulses in the heart travel from cell to cell. A functioning heart contracts to pump blood to the body and the lungs. Within the heart, a pacemaker acts as an electrical clock, sending out a signal that tells the heart when to contract. The whole muscle moves together, because ...

No longer science fiction, farm robots are already here--and they have created two possible extremes for the future of agriculture and its impacts on the environment, argues agricultural economist Thomas Daum in a Science & Society article published July 13 in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution. One is a utopia, where fleets of small, intelligent robots farm in harmony with nature to produce diverse, organic crops. The other is a dystopia in which large, tractor-like robots subdue the landscape through heavy machinery and artificial chemicals. He describes the utopian scenario as a mosaic ...

PITTSBURGH, July 13, 2021 - Substantially more people in the U.S. with opioid use disorder are receiving evidence-based treatment for the disease, but there are still considerable gaps in care along racial lines, according to the largest analysis to date of opioid use disorder among Medicaid recipients. The results, published today in JAMA, provide insights that policymakers and medical providers can act on to improve access to quality care for opioid use disorder, one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. The analysis was possible because of a unique network that partnered academic institutes with state Medicaid programs to overcome barriers to data sharing between states. "Medicaid plays an incredibly important role in our ...

A new wearable device turns the touch of a finger into a source of power for small electronics and sensors. Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a thin, flexible strip that can be worn on a fingertip and generate small amounts of electricity when a person's finger sweats or presses on it. What's special about this sweat-fueled device is that it generates power even while the wearer is asleep or sitting still. This is potentially a big deal for the field of wearables because researchers have now figured out how to harness the energy that can be extracted from human sweat even when a person is not moving. This type of device is ...

What The Study Did: Researchers used a large data resource of U.S. COVID-19 cases and control patients who tested negative from multiple health systems across the country to evaluate COVID-19 severity and risk factors over time and assess the use of machine learning to predict clinical severity. Authors: Tellen D. Bennett, M.D., of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and Christopher G. Chute, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, are corresponding authors. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.16901) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the ...

Osaka, Japan - BRCA1, a protein that is well-known for its role in hereditary breast cancer, is an important part of the cellular system that repairs double-strand DNA breaks. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered a new way in which cells protect these broken DNA ends to make sure that they are repaired correctly. In a study published in Cell Reports, researchers from Osaka University have revealed that protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) binds to double-strand breaks early on to promote repair by a process known as nonhomologous end joining instead of by homologous ...

For their own benefit and to grow beyond control, tumours manipulate cell signals to make it appear as if the cells have the nutrients they need. That is the case in follicular lymphoma, a type of tumour that affects the B lymphocytes of the immune system. One in six follicular lymphoma patients has mutations in RagC, a gene involved in the mTOR nutrient signalling pathway. The team led by Alejo Efeyan, head of the Metabolism and Cell Signalling Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), has discovered that genetic inhibition of the RagC protein blocks the activation of B lymphocytes and delays the onset of follicular lymphomas without side effects. The study, which was carried out in animal models, was published this ...

Patients with Achilles tendinopathy, a disease of the Achilles tendon that can potentially cause significant pain, receive no benefit from being treated with platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection, a clinical trial led by the University of Warwick has found. PRP is a treatment often used for a number of orthopaedic conditions and popularised by its use by elite sportspeople. However, this new study published today (13 July) in the Journal of the American Medical Association and funded by Versus Arthritis has shown that it is ineffective for the treatment of Achilles tendinopathy ...

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, in collaboration with Glasgow University, has found that teenagers who have self-harmed five or more times in their life have a significantly higher threshold for pain compared to adolescents that have not. The study, which has been published in JAMA Network Open, is the largest study of its kind looking at the relationship between self-harm and bodily sensation, found that the threshold for sensitivity, both painful and not, increases significantly the more a participant ...

(Boston)--Proper lung function relies on the precise balance of specialized epithelial cells (cells that line the surfaces of the body) that coordinate functions to maintain homeostasis. One important lung cell type is the goblet cell, which secretes mucus that helps protect the lining of the bronchus (major air passages of the lung) and trap microorganisms. Goblet cells are often increased in lung diseases, but signals that lead to their dysregulation are not well understood. Researchers have now discovered a new set of signals that control the production of goblet cells in the lung. "By altering the proteins that control these signals we are able to either increase or decrease the production of goblet cells which offers potential new avenues for therapeutically targeting ...

The journey of the egg and the embryo through the fallopian tube or oviduct toward the uterus is not well understood, mainly because it is inaccessible for direct imaging. Looking to shed new light on the dynamics of the eggs prior to fertilization and embryo transport preceding implantation, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Stevens Institute of Technology developed a novel imaging approach that has allowed them to see eggs and embryos as they move along the fallopian tube in a live animal. Published in the journal Cell Reports, the researchers' observations revealed that eggs and embryos go through an unexpected journey that is more dynamic and complex than previously ...

In addition to chemical factors, mechanical influences play an important role in the natural growth of human organs such as kidneys, lungs and mammary glands - but also in the development of tumors. Now a research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has investigated the process in detail using organoids, three-dimensional model systems of such organs which are produced in the laboratory. Organoids are three-dimensional systems modeling various human organs. Grown in the laboratory, they exhibit properties similar to those of actual body tissue. Organoids offer science new opportunities to simulate and investigate the processes of organ growth. These processes could not be observed in the ...

The COVID-19 pandemic changed just about every aspect of normal life, including how we bought food. While grocery stores remained open as an essential business and thrived financially throughout the pandemic, this prosperity did not translate to a consistent and sufficient food supply for many customers. Researchers have found that, on average, people went to the grocery store less frequently and spent more per trip during the pandemic. Ran Xu, professor of allied health sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, was interested in seeing if this trend applied to people who are food-insecure. COVID-19 exacerbated food insecurity for many. Pandemic-related job loss and ...

A new study by a Swansea University academic has announced a new mathematical formula that will help engineers assess the point at which cellular materials, which are used a wide range of applications ranging from aerospace to the construction industry, will bend and buckle. Professor Sondipon Adhikari, of the College of Engineering has published his findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A. The study details a formula that can calculate the elastic instability of cellular material, in this case hexagonal lattice material, also known as the honeycomb which is commonly used in the production of lightweight structures such as energy absorbent foams, mechanical and acoustic metamaterials and next-generation stent technology. Professor ...

Arlington, VA (July 13, 2021) -- Hospitals and other healthcare facilities should require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a consensus statement by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and six other leading organizations representing medical professionals working in infectious diseases, infection prevention, pharmacy, pediatrics, and long-term care. The paper specifies exemption for those with medical contraindications, and some others circumstances in compliance with federal and state laws. "The COVID-19 vaccines in use in the United States have been shown to be safe and ...

Ashalcha oilfield in Tatarstan is one of the most popular locations to study the extraction of heavy oils. In particular, Kazan Federal University's In-Situ Combustion Lab has been working there for a few years. Senior Research Associate Irek Mukhamatdinov explains, "On average, there are one sulfur and one nitrogen atom and five oxygen atoms per resin molecule. In the course of transformation under the action of a catalytic agent and a hydrogen donor, the content of heteroatoms (sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen) in a much larger number of structural blocks of resin molecules decreases. Resin molecules are mainly represented by mono- and two-block structures with a predominance of aromatic rings over naphthenic ones, with long paraffin chains." His ...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is, unfortunately, a common gastrointestinal disorder. Affecting between 10 to 15% of the global population, IBS negatively impacts the lives of those who have it by frequently causing a variety of symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating, and bouts of diarrhea or constipation. Despite the high worldwide prevalence of IBS, gastroenterologists still haven't pinpointed its causes, as there seems to be no obvious structural or biochemical abnormalities associated with the disorder. In a similar vein, there is still much debate on effective diagnostic criteria and treatment options. Considering it has been hard for scientists and doctors to reach a consensus on best practices regarding IBS, it's important that all the latest information that has been gathered ...

A blood test that quantifies the protein ACE2, the cellular protein which allows entry of the coronavirus into cells, as well as ACE2 fragments, produced as a result of interaction with the virus, could be a simple and effective method for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a study led by Javier Sáez-Valero, from the UMH-CSIC Neurosciences Institute in Alicante, published in FASEB Journal. This study, carried out during the first wave of the pandemic, found that patients with COVID-19, in the acute phase of infection, have significantly reduced plasma levels of the full-length ACE2 ...

Amsterdam, July 13, 2021 - Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common developmental movement disorders in children. It is associated with complex healthcare needs and impacts development and function. In this END ...

ITHACA, N.Y. - A Cornell University-led team has calculated that by the year 2050, vehicle electrification, driverless cars and ride sharing could slash U.S. petroleum consumption by 50% and carbon dioxide emissions by 75% while simultaneously preventing 5,500 premature deaths and saving $58 billion annually. The researchers projected vehicle stocks, distance traveled, energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions in the continental U.S. through 2050 and quantified the impacts of changing emissions on concentrations of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, as well as ensuing health and economic benefits of populations in 10 major metropolitan areas. Their simulations ...

In the United States, massive volumes of individual-level data, called "big data," are used for a variety of reasons, including marketing, intelligence gathering and political campaigns. Big data are also vital to public health efforts, such as improving population health, informing personalized medicine and transforming biomedical research. However, it can be challenging to use big data for health applications due to laws and concerns about individual privacy. Federal and state data-protection laws exist to protect individual privacy, and they vary depending on the type of data, who is using it and the data's intended purpose. The complexity and differences in these data-protection laws can make it difficult for researchers to use big data ...

Researchers have conducted a global study on the effectiveness of recently established protected areas in preventing forest loss The study explores protected area performance by countries, with South Africa, Cambodia, Latvia, Guatemala, Uruguay, Brazil and New Zealand leading the way in the effectiveness of their protected areas The research team estimated that overall, protected areas established between 2000-2012 prevented 86,062 square kilometers of forest loss If all countries had protected areas that were as effective as their top-performing neighbor, then ...

A clinic to help transgender young people and their families receive quicker support has boosted mental health, family functioning and quality of life, according to a new study. The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Pediatrics, found the clinic in Melbourne led to lower levels of depression and anxiety due to transgender young people being able to access help 10 months sooner. The study involved 142 patients who completed questionnaires before and after attending the First Assessment Single Session Triage (FASST) clinic ...

A study conducted by researchers from the UPF Culture and Socio-Ecological Dynamics research group (CaSEs) and the University of Leicester (UK) has provided a highly dynamic image surrounding the use and importance of hitherto unknown wild plant resources at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük (Anatolia, Turkey). The researchers carried out their work combining the analysis of microbotanical remains and use-wear traces in various stone implements recovered from the site, which in the past hosted one of mankind's first agricultural societies. The researchers carried out their work combining the analysis of microbotanical remains and use-wear traces in various stone implements recovered from ...

Topological semimetals are one of the major discoveries in condensed-matter physics in recent years. The magnetic Weyl semimetal, in which the Weyl nodes can be generated and modulated by magnetization, provides an ideal platform for the investigation of the magnetic field-tunable link between Weyl physics and magnetism. But due to the lack of appropriate or high quality specimens, most of the theoretically expected magnetic topological semimetals have not been experimentally confirmed. Therefore, exploration of new magnetic topological semimetals is of great importance. Recently, ...