Building more homes and buildings with wood has been on the radar for years as a way to offset carbon emissions, though construction companies have been hesitant to take the material in broader use. A study at Aalto University in Finland is now the first to show that building with wood can be a sound investment. The team analysed statistical data from real estate sales in the Finnish capital of Helsinki and two suburbs, from 1999 to 2018. Of these, timber-built homes made up 2.23% of cases. The findings show that multi-storied buildings made out of wood sold for an average of 8.85% more than those made from other materials. Previous research has pointed to perceptions of higher costs in wood construction, ...

Biologist Sasha Mendjan at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna and his team have used human pluripotent stem cells to grow sesame-seed-sized heart models, called cardioids, that spontaneously self-organize to develop a hollow chamber without the need of experimental scaffolds. This advance, which allows for the creation of some of the most realistic heart organoids to date, appears on May 20th in the journal Cell. Previously, scientists have built 3D cardiac organoids via tissue engineering, an approach that generally involves assembling cells and scaffolds like building a house out of brick and mortar. But these engineered organoids do not have the same physiological responses to damages as human ...

Swifts aren't called "swifts" for nothing. They're known for being among the fastest migrating small birds around. When they aren't breeding, common swifts stay in the air most of the time--up to 10 months of the year. Scientists had thought they travel about 500 kilometers per day on average. Now, new evidence reported in the journal iScience on May 20 shows that's a conservative estimate. According to new tracking data, common swifts travel 570 kilometers (more than 350 miles) on an average day--but they are capable of going much farther and faster. The maximum recorded distance in the study was more than 830 kilometers (more than 500 miles) per day over nine days. "We have discovered that common swifts breeding in the most northern part of the European ...

A common factor called "decision acuity" underpins diverse decision-making abilities in adolescents and young adults, suggests a study appearing May 20th in the journal Neuron. A large set of behavioral and neuroimaging data revealed that decision acuity is stable over time, distinct from IQ, and reduced in individuals with low general social functioning. "We describe a new cognitive construct that captures global decision-making ability across multiple domains," says senior study author Raymond Dolan of University College London. "This construct may be important for understanding mental health, particularly regarding poor social function and aberrant thought patterns." Decision-making is ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — While death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) nationwide have steadily declined over the past few decades, the overall trend masks significant disparities between high- and low-mortality counties, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21, and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. The researchers examined mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics collected from 1980 to 2014 from all 3,133 ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — Women who are menopausal by the age of 40 had a 40% increased risk of developing coronary heart disease over their lifetime compared to women who did not go through early menopause, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21 and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. Coronary heart disease is a very common type of heart disease in which arteries around the heart become blocked due to a buildup of plaque, which develops over time. Left undetected and untreated, women can suffer ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — Taking more steps per day, either all at once or in shorter spurts, may help you live longer, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21, and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. Walking is one of the safest and easiest ways to improve fitness and health including heart health. The American Heart Association’s fitness guidelines for adults recommend at least 150 minutes per week of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or a combination of both. Popular fitness ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — Black adults in the U.S. who consumed significant amounts of ultra-processed foods were at 55% increased risk for high blood pressure compared to white adults who ate a similar amount of ultra-processed foods, according to according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21 and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are ready-to-eat formulations of industrially formulated products, ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — Adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors can lower dementia risk among people who are at higher risk due to a family history of dementia, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21, and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. Familial dementia is a strong risk factor for dementia. Having a first-degree relative such as a parent or sibling with the disease ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — Social isolation and loneliness were each associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21 and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. Social isolation is the quantifiable measure of social interactions in relationships. Loneliness is ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — The prevalence of physical inactivity and obesity in adults were linked to violent crime rates in Chicago’s urban Black and Hispanic communities, according to research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21 and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. In the U.S., violence is a major threat to public health in communities with people from diverse racial and ethnic groups in large urban areas. These communities also have disproportionately higher rates of murder, armed robbery, aggravated ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — Transgender adolescents are more likely to have at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor compared to cisgender (same gender as at birth) adolescents, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21 and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. The United States has a growing population of transgender adolescents ages 12-21 who seek medical transition gender-affirming hormone therapy. Gender-affirming hormone therapy involves taking estrogen or testosterone ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 — Spending moderate to high amounts of time watching television throughout midlife was linked to greater cognitive decline and lower gray matter volumes in the brain later in life, according to preliminary research from three studies (P149, MP24 and MP67) to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021 (EPI). The meeting is virtual, May 20-21, and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle. “While studies have shown the benefits of exercise to support brain health, less is known about the potential consequences of prolonged sedentary behavior such as television viewing ...

DALLAS, May 20, 2021 -- Notable for high levels of stress and anger, the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and election may have increased the risk of potentially life-threatening heart rhythms and worsened high blood pressure in people with underlying cardiovascular disease who already had a history of these conditions, according to a new study published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association and in a separate preliminary study to be presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021. The meeting is virtual, May 20-21, and offers the latest science on population-based health and wellness and implications ...

The discovery of the oldest known North American species of side-necked turtle -- turtles that withdraw their necks sideways into their shells when threatened -- is reported in Scientific Reports this week. The findings suggest that side-necked turtles may have migrated to North America during the Cenomanian age (100 to 94 million years ago). Brent Adrian and colleagues have named the species Pleurochayah appalachius from the Greek word Pleuro (side), the Caddo word Cha'yah (turtle) and the North American Appalachian region. The fossilised remains of P. appalachius, which were discovered at the Arlington Archosaur Site of the Woodbine Group in Texas, USA, date back to the lower middle Cenomanian. They predate remains of Paiutemys tibert, a side-necked turtle species from Utah that ...

How the brain deals with trauma is complex, and it's intuitive to say that we, as humans, get over trauma differently depending on if it happened a long time ago or if it was recent. But what scientific evidence do we have about the way the brain deals with short-term versus long-term traumatic memories? EPFL scientists have identified the specific regions in the brains of mice responsible for reprograming traumatic experiences towards safety, and the brain regions are indeed different and depend on whether the trauma happened recently or a long time ago. They found that they could facilitate the extinction of long-lasting traumatic memories by enhancing the activity of a primitive region of the brain called the nucleus reuniens. The results are published today in Nature ...

Montréal, May 20, 2021--Researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) and Yale University have succeeded in reducing the size of the HIV reservoir in humanized mice by using a "molecular can opener" and a combination of antibodies found in the blood of infected individuals. In their study published in Cell Host & Microbe, the team of scientists, in collaboration with their colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School, show that they were also able to significantly delay the return of the virus after stopping antiretroviral therapy in this animal model. Humanized mice are generated from immunodeficient mice that don't have their own ...

Realizing the potential of self-driving cars hinges on technology that can quickly sense and react to obstacles and other vehicles in real time. Engineers from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia created a new first-of-its-kind light detecting device that can more accurately amplify weak signals bouncing off of faraway objects than current technology allows, giving autonomous vehicles a fuller picture of what's happening on the road. The new device is more sensitive than other light detectors in that it also eliminates inconsistency, or noise, associated with the detection process. Such noise can cause systems to miss signals and put autonomous vehicle passengers at risk. "Autonomous ...

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London and Rothamsted Research have used radar technology to track male honeybees, called drones, and reveal the secrets of their mating behaviours. The study suggests that male bees swarm together in specific aerial locations to find and attempt to mate with queens. The researchers found that drones also move between different congregation areas during a single flight. Drones have one main purpose in life, to mate with queens in mid-air. Beekeepers and some scientists have long believed that drones gather in huge numbers of up to 10,000 in locations known as 'drone congregation areas'. Previous research has used pheromone lures to attract drones, raising concerns ...

What The Study Did: These preliminary findings using U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System data in the early phase of societal COVID-19 vaccination using two messenger RNA vaccines suggest that no association exists between inoculation with a SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA vaccine and incident sudden hearing loss. Authors: Eric J. Formeister, M.D., M.S., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2021.0869) Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

What The Study Did: Researchers assessed associations between prenatal, early postnatal or current exposure to secondhand smoke and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among school-age children in China. Authors: Li-Wen Hu, M.D., Ph.D., and Guang-Hui Dong, M.D., Ph.D., of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, are the corresponding authors. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10931) Editor's Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

BOSTON - Screening for colorectal cancer - the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States - can save lives by detecting both pre-cancerous lesions that can be removed during the screening procedure, and colorectal cancer in its early stages, when it is highly curable. Screening is most commonly performed with endoscopy: visualization of the entire colon and rectum using a long flexible optical tube (colonoscopy), or of the lower part of the colon and rectum with a shorter flexible tube (sigmoidoscopy). This week, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lowered the recommended beginning age for screening from 50 to 45 for persons without a family history of colorectal ...

The discovery of a new species of ancient turtle is shedding light on hard-to-track reptile migrations about 100 million years ago. Pleurochayah appalachius, a bothremydid turtle adapted for coastal life, is described in a new paper published by a multi-institution research group in the journal Scientific Reports. P. appalachius was discovered at the Arlington Archosaur Site (AAS) of Texas, which preserves the remnants of an ancient Late Cretaceous river delta that once existed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is also known for discoveries of fossil crocodyliformes and dinosaurs. P. appalachius belonged to an extinct lineage of pleurodiran (side-necked) ...

For many engineers and scientists, nature is the world's greatest muse. They seek to better understand natural processes that have evolved over millions of years, mimic them in ways that can benefit society and sometimes even improve on them. An international, interdisciplinary team of researchers that includes engineers from The University of Austin has found a way to replicate a natural process that moves water between cells, with a goal of improving how we filter out salt and other elements and molecules to create clean water while consuming less energy. In a new paper published today in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers created a molecule-sized water transport channel that can carry water between cells while excluding protons ...

Self-organizing heart organoids developed at IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences - are also effective injury- and in vitro congenital disease models. These "cardioids" may revolutionize research into cardiovascular disorders and malformations of the heart. The results are published in the journal Cell. About 18 million people die each year from cardiovascular diseases, making them the leading cause of fatalities globally. Moreover, the most prevalent birth defects in children pertain to the heart. Currently, a major bottleneck in understanding human heart malformations and developing regenerative therapies are missing human physiological models of the heart. The research group of Sasha Mendjan established cardioids ...