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Physics19 Apr 2021

Investigating epidural labor pain relief, offspring risk of autism spectrum disorders

What The Study Did: This population-based study of multiple databases from Canada found no association between epidural labor pain relief and risk of autism spectrum disorders in children. Authors: Elizabeth Wall-Wieler, Ph.D., of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, 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/jamapediatrics.2021.0376) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media ...

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Physics19 Apr 2021

Association between hearing loss, physical activity

What The Study Did: The association between hearing loss and level of physical activity among U.S. adults ages 60 to 69 was analyzed in this study. Authors: Frank R. Lin, M.D., Ph.D., 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/jamanetworkopen.2021.5484) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

Paternal drinking before pregnancy, risk of birth defects

What The Study Did: This study examined the association of paternal drinking before pregnancy with the risk of birth defects in children among couples in China. Authors: Xiaotian Li, M.D., Ph.D., of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, China, 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/jamapediatrics.2021.0291) Editor's Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, ...

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Technology19 Apr 2021

3D deep neural network precisely reconstructs freely-behaving animal's movements

Animals are constantly moving and behaving in response to instructions from the brain. But while there are advanced techniques for measuring these instructions in terms of neural activity, there is a paucity of techniques for quantifying the behavior itself in freely moving animals. This inability to measure the key output of the brain limits our understanding of the nervous system and how it changes in disease. A new study by researchers at Duke University and Harvard University introduces an automated tool that can readily capture behavior of freely behaving animals and precisely ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

More than 60 years to achieve gender equity?

It will take until at least 2080 before women make up just one-third of Australia's professional astronomers, an analysis published today in the journal Nature Astronomy reveals. "Astronomers have been leaders in gender equity initiatives, but our programs are not working fast enough," says Professor Lisa Kewley, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D). Kewley is also an ARC Laureate Fellow at the Australian National University's Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics. She developed workforce forward modelling that can predict the fraction of women at all levels in astronomy from 2021 to 2060, given different initiatives ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

Researchers drill down to the core of wellbeing worldwide

Researchers at SAHMRI and Flinders University have conducted the largest ever meta-analysis of wellbeing studies from around the world to answer the question, 'What's the best way to build personal wellbeing?'. The analysis included 400+ clinical trials involving more than 50,000 participants. Researchers divided people into three main groups, those in generally good health, those with physical illness and those with mental illness. They found it is possible to build the wellbeing of all individuals, but Mr Joep Van Agteren, Co-lead at the SAHMRI Wellbeing and Resilience Centre, says there's no one-size-fits-all solution. "During stressful and uncertain periods in our lives, pro-actively working on our mental health is crucial to help mitigate ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

Deaths rising in workers using methylene chloride paint strippers

Researchers and physicians from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and UC San Francisco have found that deaths of workers using methylene chloride paint strippers are on the rise. The solvent is widely used in paint strippers, cleaners, adhesives and sealants. The study is the first comprehensive review of fatalities linked to the deadly chemical in the United States and identified more deaths than previously reported. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has acknowledged 53 fatalities connected to the chemical from 1980 to 2018. The new study identified 85 deaths over the same period, most of them ...

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Environment19 Apr 2021

Sustainable chemical synthesis with platinum

Researchers used platinum and aluminum compounds to create a catalyst which enables certain chemical reactions to occur more efficiently than ever before. The catalyst could significantly reduce energy usage in various industrial and pharmaceutical processes. It also allows for a wider range of sustainable sources to feed the processes, which could reduce the demand for fossil fuels required by them. There are many chemicals used in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, that you probably don't notice in everyday life; for example, ...

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Environment19 Apr 2021

Ocean currents modulate oxygen content at the equator

Due to global warming, not only the temperatures in the atmosphere and in the ocean are rising, but also winds and ocean currents as well as the oxygen distribution in the ocean are changing. For example, the oxygen content in the ocean has decreased globally by about 2% in the last 60 years, particularly strong in the tropical oceans. However, these regions are characterized by a complex system of ocean currents. At the equator, one of the strongest currents, the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC), transports water masses eastwards across the Atlantic. The water transport by the EUC is more than 60 ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop Micro-Fluidic Probe to isolate cancer spreading cells

Abu Dhabi, UAE, April 19: The survival rate of cancer patients can drop to ten percent or less during metastasis, the spread of cancerous cells to create secondary tumors. Therefore, it is crucial that cancer is detected and treated before metastasis occurs, or at least at its early stages. To spread the cancer, messenger cells known as Circulating Tumor Cells, or CTCs, break off of the original tumor and flow through the bloodstream to create a secondary growth. A team of researchers led by Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering and Principal Investigator at the NYU Abu Dhabi ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

Attacking aortic aneurysms before they grow

A new study investigates a genetic culprit behind abdominal aortic aneurysm, a serious condition that puts people at risk of their aorta rupturing - a potentially deadly event. Finding a viable genetic target for AAA could change the game, says senior author Katherine Gallagher, M.D., a vascular surgeon and an associate professor of surgery and microbiology and immunology at Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan. That's because there are no medications to directly treat the condition and prevent an aneurysm from growing. Current options include things like addressing blood pressure to lower the stress on the arteries and veins running through the body, and making lifestyle changes like quitting smoking. Most people monitor their aneurysm ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

DNA robots designed in minutes instead of days

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Someday, scientists believe, tiny DNA-based robots and other nanodevices will deliver medicine inside our bodies, detect the presence of deadly pathogens, and help manufacture increasingly smaller electronics. Researchers took a big step toward that future by developing a new tool that can design much more complex DNA robots and nanodevices than were ever possible before in a fraction of the time. In a paper published today (April 19, 2021) in the journal Nature Materials, researchers from The Ohio State University - led by former engineering doctoral student Chao-Min Huang - unveiled new software they call MagicDNA. The software helps researchers design ways to ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

Who is selling and trafficking Africa's wild meat?

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (April 19, 2021) - A new study classifies different types of wildlife traffickers and sellers in two of Central Africa's growing urban centers, providing new insight into the poorly understood urban illegal wildlife trade. The findings can help conservation and law enforcement authorities prioritize their efforts on professional criminals, identify patterns among repeat offenders, and determine if wildlife offenders are engaging in other types of crime. Authors from the University of Maryland and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) describe their findings ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

National report highlights benefit of collaborative care models for people with dementia

INDIANAPOLIS -- A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) details the state of dementia care and research in America and provides guidance on future research to make sure both patients and their families are having their needs met by the care they receive. Sections of the report highlight the effectiveness of the collaborative care model as well as successful implementation, citing research from Regenstrief Institute, Eskenazi Health and the Indiana University School of Medicine. There are between 3.7 million and 5.8 million people living with dementia ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

Stone Age black bears didn't just defecate in the woods - they did it in a cave too

Scientists have sequenced ancient DNA from soil for the first time and the advance will transform what is known about everything from evolution to climate change. The findings have been described as the 'moon landings' of genomics because researchers will no longer have to rely on finding and testing fossils to determine genetic ancestry, links and discoveries - and it is thanks to Stone Age black bears who defecated in a remote cave in Mexico 16,000 years ago. A team of scientists from The Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, University of Copenhagen, led by Professor Eske Willerslev, director of the foundation and a Fellow of St John's College, University of Cambridge, recreated ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

Sleep disorders and surgery: Anesthesia & Analgesia marks first decade of the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine

April 19, 2021 - An estimated 50 million people undergo surgery each year in the United States, and a significant proportion of them have undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorders (SD) or sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Issues at the intersection of anesthesiology and sleep medicine are the focus of the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine (SASM) whose 10th anniversary is commemorated in the special theme May issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia. The special issue looks back at a remarkable first decade of achievements in research and clinical practice by this young subspecialty society, while looking forward to further progress. A key ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

Two blood thinners at once: More risk with the same reward

More blood thinners aren't automatically better, another study confirms. A new publication in JAMA Internal Medicine focuses on the minimal pros and the concerning cons of combining a daily aspirin with a drug from the newer class of anticoagulants that include apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban and rivaroxaban. Patients were taking one of these direct oral anticoagulants known as DOACs to prevent strokes from non-valvular atrial fibrillation or for the treatment of venous thromboembolic disease (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism). The included patients did not have another reason to take aspirin ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

Gene therapy shows promise in initial trial for patients with childhood blindness

PHILADELPHIA - A new gene therapy for one of the most common forms of congenital blindness was safe and improved patients' vision, according to initial data from a clinical trial led by researchers at the Scheie Eye Institute in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The therapy delivers working copies of GUCY2D to the eyes of patients who have severe vision impairments caused by mutations in the gene. Each of the first three treated patients experienced improvement in some aspects of vision, without serious side effects, according to the new study, published in the journal iScience. "We found sustained improvements in both day and night vision, even with a relatively low dose of the gene therapy," said study lead author Samuel G. Jacobson, MD, ...

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Technology19 Apr 2021

Materials advances are key to development of quantum hardware

A new study outlines the need for materials advances in the hardware that goes into making quantum computers if these futuristic devices are to surpass the abilities of the computers we use today. The study, published in the journal Science by an international team, surveyed the state of research on quantum computing hardware with the goal of illustrating the challenges and opportunities facing scientists and engineers. While conventional computers encode "bits" of information as ones and zeroes, quantum computers breeze past this binary arrangement by creating "qubits," which can be complex, continuous quantities. Storing and manipulating information ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

Mayo researchers, collaborators identify 'instigator' gene associated with Alzheimer's disease

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In a new paper published in Nature Communications, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators report the protein-coding gene SERPINA5 may worsen tau protein tangles, which are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, and advance disease. By combining clinical expertise, brain tissue samples, pathology expertise and artificial intelligence, the team clarified and validated the relevance of the gene to Alzheimer's disease. The researchers used tissue samples from 385 brains donated to the Mayo Clinic Brain Bank, which houses more than 9,000 brain tissue specimens for the study of neurodegenerative disorders. The samples were from people who were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and lacked co-existing diseases found in ...

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Environment19 Apr 2021

Green hydrogen: "Rust" as a photoanode and its limits

Hydrogen will be needed in large quantities as an energy carrier and raw material in the energy system of the future. To achieve this, however, hydrogen must be produced in a climate-neutral way, for example through so-called photoelectrolysis, by using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. As photoelectrodes, semiconducting materials are needed that convert sunlight into electricity and remain stable in water. Metal oxides are among the best candidates for stable and inexpensive photoelectrodes. Some of these metal oxides also have catalytically active surfaces that accelerate the formation of hydrogen at the cathode or oxygen at the anode. Why is rust not much better? Research has long focused on haematite (α-Fe2O3), ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

Microglia, Stockholm syndrome and miraculous cures in glioblastoma patients

MINNEAPOLIS - April 19, 2021 - Despite access to some of the best possible medical care in the world, Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy both died within 18 months of their diagnosis of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. While this deadly outcome typifies the nature of this disease, some glioblastoma patients see exceptional benefits from chemotherapy and survive beyond expectations. Why this happens has been revealed by researchers at the University of Minnesota in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Deciphering the molecular underpinning of these exceptional ...

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Medicine19 Apr 2021

Delaying cardiovascular surgeries due to COVID-19 has psychological effects on patients

In March 2020, when the pandemic hit, everything slowed, including non-essential medical procedures such as elective surgeries, to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Six weeks later, Mary Byrnes, Ph.D., an assistant research scientist in the Department of Surgery at Michigan Medicine, began calling University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center patients whose surgeries had been canceled or delayed. She wanted to hear about their experiences -- what undergoing surgery meant to them, how postponing their operations had affected them, whether the existence of the coronavirus complicated how they felt about their bodies and ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

New factor in the development of psoriasis discovered

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin condition. The underlying genetic factors have not yet been sufficiently researched. The skin inflammation is usually triggered by external factors such as infections or stress. A research team at the Institute of Cancer Research of the Medical University of Vienna has now managed to identify a new factor in signal transmission of the immune system that plays a major role in the development of a psoriatic episode. The scientists have shown that symptoms can be alleviated by inhibiting the "c-Jun" protein in signal transmission. The common clinical manifestation of psoriasis is a pinkish-grey thickening of the epidermis in distinct foci of infection, ...

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Science19 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants from mink evade inhibition by antibodies

It has been known for about a year that minks can become infected with SARS-CoV-2. The virus had been transmitted from humans to farmed mink and mutated in infected animals. Mutations were acquired in the spike protein, which is crucial for the entry of the virus into host cells and represents the central point of attack for antibodies. These SARS-CoV-2 variants from mink were transmitted back to humans, raising concerns that minks could be a continuing source of infection of humans with SARS-CoV-2 variants with altered biological properties. Researchers at the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen, Germany, have now shown that an antibody used for COVID-19 ...

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