About The Study: The findings of this study provide evidence that fertility rates in states with abortion bans were higher than would have been expected in the absence of these policies, with the largest estimated differences among subpopulations experiencing the greatest structural disadvantages and in states with among the worst maternal and child health and well-being outcomes.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Suzanne O. Bell, PhD, email suzannebell@jhu.edu. To ...

About The Study: U.S. states that adopted abortion bans had higher than expected infant mortality after the bans took effect. The estimated relative increases in infant mortality were larger for deaths with congenital causes and among groups that had higher than average infant mortality rates at baseline, including Black infants and those in southern states.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Alison Gemmill, PhD, email agemmill@jhu.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.28517) Editor’s ...

A recent study led by Associate Professor Takuya Yamamoto and Researcher May Nakajima-Koyama has revealed that maintaining a delicate balance between interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling is essential for preserving the intestinal stem cell population during aging. By comparing young and aged mouse intestinal tissues, the researchers uncovered critical insights into the interplay between these signaling pathways in supporting stem cell maintenance over time. The intestinal epithelium exhibits the highest cell ...

For fruit flies, finding the right mate is all about the right song. Now, research shows that male flies don’t just try to impress their valentine by serenading her with song—they also go to great lengths to drown out the competition. By jamming their rivals’ love songs with high-frequency wing flicks, male fruit flies boost the chances that they’ll win the female over. The new study, published in Cell, explains how the fruit fly brain coordinates courtship and aggressive competition—a framework which could ultimately help scientists understand how humans flexibly ...

With the promotion of the "the Belt and Road" initiative, the economy and society of BRI countries have developed rapidly, but they are also facing severe challenges of rising carbon emissions. Many countries rely on fossil fuels, and the process of energy transition is slow. Coupled with insufficient financial and technological support, especially low-income countries that have limited access to global climate funds, they face greater difficulties in the low-carbon transformation process.   To identify the carbon emission drivers at different development stages of BRI countries ...

Geoglossomycetes is a class within the phylum Ascomycota that accommodates a single order and a single family, comprising nine genera. Geoglossomycetes is traditionally referred to as “earth tongues”. The class is characterized by tongue-shaped to clavate, stipitate, black ascomata covered with or without black setae, a swollen ascigerous portion, a cylindric stipe, filiform, septate paraphyses, cylindrical-clavate, 4–8-spored asci, and filiform or falciform, multi-septate, dark brown to hyaline ascospores. In collaboration with ...

This study is led by Dr. Zhu L. Yang (Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences). Specimens were collected by Song-Yan Zhou and Fei-Fei Liu; microscopic and phylogenetic analyses of Thaxterogaster species were conducted by Zi-Rui Wang at Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.   The team used 514 (236 newly generated + 278 downloaded) sequences from 243 collections representing 112 species building a five-locus phylogenetic tree which includes most currently known lineages and newly described ...

In a significant endeavour to fortify international collaboration and drive innovation within the safety and emergency domain, Safety Emergency Science, a pioneering international academic journal, has been officially launched on the SciOpen platform. Jointly established by the China Association of Work Safety and Tsinghua University, this journal ushers in a new era in the global pursuit of excellence in safety and emergency research.   The journal made its debut at the 2nd Safety Technology Innovation Conference of the China Association of Work Safety, ...

Zirconia-based ceramics, particularly 3Y-TZP, have transformed dental restorations, enabling the development of durable all-ceramic crowns and fixed prostheses. However, their inherent opacity necessitates the application of a porcelain layer, which is prone to chipping and debonding. To address this, translucent glass ceramics (GCs) have been developed and commercialized, including mica-based, leucite-based, and lithium disilicate GCs. These materials offer excellent aesthetics and bondability due to their controlled crystallization process, ...

New postpartum depression research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medicine could lead to a blood test to identify women at risk and possibly even to a preventive treatment. The research suggests that pregnant women may have characteristic levels of certain molecules in their blood that can warn that they are at risk of developing postpartum depression (PPD). These molecules, called neuroactive steroids, are derived from progesterone, a hormone that plays critical roles in pregnancy and menstruation. Measuring those molecules ...

The leading nonprofit Colorectal Cancer Alliance (Alliance) is making bold strides in its mission to put an end to the disease. Its Project Cure CRC research initiative awarded new grants, convened top scientists to spark breakthrough advancements at its Cure CRC Summit, and unveiled K-SPY, a groundbreaking multi-center platform trial for high-risk colorectal cancer cases. Since its launch, Project Cure CRC has received 275 proposals, of which 22 have been approved totaling $10.5 million in awards. The latest awards reflect $2.8 million ...

New York, New York, and Memphis, Tennessee, February 13, 2025 The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have announced their newest class of pediatric cancer research fellows, each of whom will receive funding for four years ($300,000 total) to support an innovative research project with the potential to significantly impact the diagnosis or treatment of one or more pediatric cancers. Launched in 2024, the Damon Runyon-St. Jude Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship aims to address a funding gap that drives top talent to seek more prevalent opportunities in adult cancer research or the pharmaceutical sector. Fellows are selected by a distinguished ...

In a large, nationwide study led by the American Cancer Society (ACS), researchers found mortality risks for smoking menthol cigarettes were higher than non-menthol cigarettes for death from any cause and cardiovascular diseases, especially heart diseases. Higher risks were evident in individuals who had quit smoking and at high smoking intensities. Black participants currently smoking menthol brands had high increases for some heart diseases with an 88% elevated mortality risk compared to non-menthol cigarettes. ...

A clear endorsement from their healthcare provider and being supplied information about recommended vaccines before their clinic visit spurred more older Americans to get vaccinated, a new University of Virginia School of Medicine study found. Because immune systems age like the rest of the body, older adults are at higher risk for poor outcomes from infections. But only 15% of Americans ages 50 and older and 25% of Americans ages 65 and older are up to date on all recommended vaccines, including flu, RSV, tetanus and pneumococcal disease. In the study, six primary care clinics across America piloted a new approach to boosting vaccination rates. This included ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — College students who spent a little bit of free time each week interacting with therapy dogs on campus during their first semester experienced fewer signs of stress and depression than those who did not. That’s according to the PAWs4US study, a new paper published in Pets that examined how regular, long-term access to an animal-assisted drop-in program at Washington State University influenced first-year students’ mental health. The study found that students who engaged with therapy dogs in repeated, unstructured sessions over several months not only ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – How do you tell if someone has a particular accent?  It might seem obvious: You hear someone pronounce words in a way that is different from “normal” and connect it to other people from a specific place.   But a new study suggests that might not be the case.   “People probably don’t learn who has an accent from hearing someone talk and thinking, ‘huh, they sound funny’ – even though sometimes it feels like that’s how we do it,” said Kathryn Campbell-Kibler, author of the study and associate professor of linguistics at The Ohio State University.   Accents may be ...

When speaking of motors, most people think of those powering vehicles and human machinery. However, biological motors have existed for millions of years in microorganisms. Among these, many bacterial species have tail-like structures—called flagella—that spin around to propel themselves in fluids. These movements employ protein complexes known as the “flagellar motor.” This flagellar motor consists of two main components: the rotor and the stators. The rotor is a large rotating structure, anchored to the cell membrane, that turns the flagellum. On the other hand, the stators are smaller ...

Broca’s aphasia is caused by damage to the frontal lobe, leaves patients unable to say what they intend to say  First study to identify regions outside the frontal lobe that encode the intent to speak  Critical for technology to avoid decoding a patient’s thoughts that are not intended to be spoken aloud CHICAGO --- Imagine seeing a furry, four-legged animal that meows. Mentally, you know what it is, but the word “cat” is stuck on the tip of your tongue.  This phenomenon, known as Broca’s aphasia or expressive aphasia, is a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to speak or ...

In the past two years, the Food and Drug Administration has approved two novel Alzheimer’s therapies, based on data from clinical trials showing that both drugs slowed the progression of the disease. But while the approvals of lecanemab and donanemab, both antibody therapies that clear plaque-causing amyloid proteins from the brain, were greeted with enthusiasm by some Alzheimer’s researchers, the response of patients has been muted. According to physicians who care for people with Alzheimer’s, many patients found it difficult to understand what the clinical trials results — presented as “percent decrease in ...

Jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they are likely to endure during lengthy missions to Mars and the Moon, a new Johns Hopkins University study suggests. The research adds to ongoing efforts by space agencies to protect astronauts against deconditioning/getting out of shape due to low gravity, a crucial aspect of their ability to perform spacewalks, handle equipment and repairs, and carry out other physically demanding tasks. The study, which shows knee cartilage in mice grew healthier following jumping exercises, appears ...

A guardian molecule ensures that liver cells do not lose their identity. This has been discovered by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Hector Institute für Translational Brain Research (HITBR), and from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). The discovery is of great interest for cancer medicine because a change of identity of cells has come into focus as a fundamental principle of carcinogenesis for several years. The Heidelberg researchers were able to show ...

Researchers have developed a reactor that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel, using sunlight as the power source. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, say their solar-powered reactor could be used to make fuel to power cars and planes, or the many chemicals and pharmaceuticals products we rely on. It could also be used to generate fuel in remote or off-grid locations. Unlike most carbon capture technologies, the reactor developed by the Cambridge researchers does not require fossil-fuel-based power, or the transport and storage of carbon dioxide, but instead converts atmospheric CO2 into something useful using sunlight. ...

Darwin’s theory of natural selection provides an explanation for why organisms develop traits that help them survive and reproduce.    Because of this, death is often seen as a failure rather than a process shaped by evolution.    When organisms die, their molecules need to be broken down for reuse by other living things.    Such recycling of nutrients is necessary for new life to grow.    Now a study led by Professor Martin Cann of ...

Conversations about parental duties continue to be led by mothers, even if both parents earn the same amount of money, finds a new study by a UCL researcher. A new study by Dr Clare Stovell (IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education & Society), published in the Journal of Family Studies, highlights how a lack of discussion between parents about important choices such as parental leave, work and childcare is perpetuating traditional gender roles. The study found that women usually lead the conversations and there is little discussion about the man’s work schedule, even in cases where the woman earns as much or more than her partner. Dr Stovell said: “These interviews ...

Covalent bonding is a widely understood phenomenon that joins the atoms of a molecule by a shared electron pair. But in nature, patterns of molecules can also be connected through weaker, more dynamic forces that give rise to supramolecular networks. These can self-assemble from an initial molecular cluster, or crystal, and grow into large, stable architectures. Supramolecular networks are essential for maintaining the structure and function of biological systems. For example, to ‘eat’, cells rely ...