People with low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in their blood have a lower risk of dementia, including lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease related dementia, shows a study published online today in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.  Use of statins conveyed an additional protective effect for people with low LDL-C, specifically those with blood levels less than 1.8 mmol/L (<70 mg/dL), reducing their risk of dementia even further. However, reducing LDL-C ...

Thickening of the macular layer of the eye’s retina is associated with a greater risk of postoperative delirium for older patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthetic, reveals a study published online in the open access journal General Psychiatry. Postoperative delirium is one of the most common complications for older patients after surgery and can have profound implications for long-term health and wellbeing.  Patients with postoperative delirium require longer hospital stays and are more likely to require support at home to help with daily tasks such as washing, dressing, and eating or be discharged ...

Almost one in ten people in Great Britain experienced healthcare-related harm due to care or treatment they received from the National Health Service (NHS) or difficulties accessing care in the last three years, show the findings of a large population survey published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety. In more than eight out of ten cases, the harm had a moderate or severe impact on the respondent. Disadvantaged groups, including people with disabilities, long term conditions and those in lower socioeconomic groups, were ...

NEW YORK, April 1, 2025 — Researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) and at Florida International University report in the journal Science their insights on the emerging field of complex frequencies excitations, a recently introduced scheme to control light, sound and other wave phenomena beyond conventional limits. Based on this approach, they outline opportunities that advance fundamental understanding of wave-matter interactions and usher wave-based technologies into a new era. In conventional light wave- and sound wave- based systems such as wireless cell phone technologies, microscopes, speakers ...

A team of scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) has identified a promising new drug target for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a deadly blood cancer with a five-year survival rate of just 30%, according to the National Cancer Institute. Their study, published in Cell Stem Cell  in February, highlights the crucial role of a protein called paraspeckle component 1 (PSPC1) in the progression of AML. An aggressive blood cancer, AML originates ...

The pathogens Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium are common causes of sometimes-fatal intestinal diseases in humans, other mammals and birds worldwide. Now, findings from researchers at Texas A&M University provide new, evidence-based insight into minimizing the risk of these diseases at canine facilities. “In adult, healthy humans and animals, these diseases usually cause diarrhea and occasionally other minor ailments, but for infants, puppies and the immunocompromised, infection could be deadly,” said Loni Taylor, PhD, DVM, an epidemiologist with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, who led ...

More than 150 million metric tons of propylene are produced annually, making it one of the most widespread chemicals used in the chemical industry. Propylene is the basis for polypropylene, a polymer used in everything from medical devices to packaging to household goods. But most propylene is produced through steam cracking, a high-energy process that uses heat to break down crude oil into smaller hydrocarbons.  Now, Northwestern University chemists have found a way to create propylene using light. Their findings show that a nanoengineered photoactive ...

Mountain snowpacks accumulate snow throughout the winter, building up stores of water that will supply communities across the American West throughout the long dry season. Now, a new study shows that as storms carry snow to the Rocky Mountains, they are also bringing mercury and other contaminants from mines in the region. The research helps scientists understand how contaminants are spread by atmospheric circulation and has implications for snowpack preservation and illuminating the lasting environmental impact of mining activities.  The study, published in the May issue of the journal Environmental Pollution, examined contamination levels for ...

It can happen in an instant – a mother experiences a medical emergency during delivery that requires intensive care.  Meanwhile, her newborn infant is sent to the neonatal intensive care unit.  This early separation can greatly disrupt the establishment of adequate milk supply for those who want to breastfeed.  Recent research from the University of Michigan reveals that simple awareness on the part of the care team can help protect the breastfeeding relationship for patients in the ICU. The work was spearheaded by Kayla Kolbe, M.D., clinical assistant ...

Jennifer L. West, Dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Saunders Family Professor of Engineering, has been awarded the 2025 Pierre Galletti Award, the highest honor from the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). West is recognized for her “innovative research in biomaterials and nanomedicine, her leadership in the field, and her dedication to mentoring the next generation of biomedical engineers.” The Galletti Award is named after AIMBE’s founding member and past president and recognizes a career-long commitment to advancing the field ...

Almost a decade ago, Harvard engineers unveiled the world’s first visible-spectrum metasurfaces – ultra-thin, flat devices patterned with nanoscale structures that could precisely control the behavior of light. A powerful alternative to traditional, bulky optical components, metasurfaces today enable compact, lightweight, multifunctional applications ranging from imaging systems and augmented reality to spectroscopy and communications. Now, researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are doubling down, literally, on metasurface technology ...

A new study from Cedars-Sinai examined whether a specialized diet could improve symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders linked to an imbalance in gut microbiota. The research tested the elemental diet’s effectiveness and explored whether improving its unappealing taste— a major barrier—could help patients adhere to the diet’s stringent protocol. The investigators’ findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The elemental diet is a special low-fat liquid formulation ...

Researchers tracked 89 Northern Saw Whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) along a migration corridor in Western Montana, underscoring the efficacy of telemetry studies for detailed investigations into the movements of birds. Their paper, “Migration and Roosting Behavior of Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) During Fall Migration in Western Montana,” was published in the Journal of Raptor Research. The research team was surprised to discover that owls demonstrated stopover behavior, meaning pauses along migration for resting and refueling, as well as notable individual ...

Peking University, March 31, 2025: A simulation on the origin and evolution of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has been conducted by a PKU research team led by Nie Ji, Associate Professor of School of Physics, and Hu Yongyun, Dean of Institute of Ocean Research, along with a research team from National Natural Science Foundation of China. Their study, recently published in Nature Communications, reveals the coherent relationship between NAO and the evolution of continents, mountains and oceans. Why It Matters: NAO plays a critical role in shaping climate patterns, affecting temperature, precipitation, and storms across regions like Europe, China, ...

Peking University, March 31, 2025: Professor Zeng Zexian’s team from the Center for Quantitative Biology at the Peking University Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, in collaboration with the Peking University-Tsinghua University Joint Center for Life Sciences, has developed ICRAFT, an innovative computational platform for identifying cancer immunotherapy targets. Their study has been published in Immunity, an immunology research journal. Why It Matters: ·There is an urgent need for precision immunotherapy strategies that simultaneously target both ...

BOSTON - April 1, 2025 - Most people donning virtual reality (VR) goggles are seeking the thrill of being immersed in a fictitious video game world. But some are donning them for an entirely different experience: to help researchers identify those most at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.  “We know that early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can have a significant impact on the quality of life of the affected persons, through deployment of lifestyle changes and medications ...

A group of diatom species belonging to the Nitzschia genus, gave up on photosynthesis and now get their carbon straight from their environment, thanks to a bacterial gene picked up by an ancestor. Gregory Jedd of Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Singapore, and colleagues report these findings in a new study published April 1st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. Unlike most diatoms, which perform photosynthesis to generate carbon compounds, some members of the genus Nitzschia have no chlorophyll and instead ...

In mice, autism symptoms arise when a certain pair of competing nerve proteins falls out of equilibrium, according to a study published April 1st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dongdong Zhao of Wenzhou Medical University, China, Yun-wu Zhang of Xiamen University, China, and colleagues. Approximately 1% of the world population is considered to have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), exhibiting a series of social and cognitive symptoms. Previous research has linked certain genetic factors to ASD, including many associated ...

Genomic changes in the infectious yeast Candida tropicalis may play a role in its resistance to antifungals, according to a study published on April 1st in the open-access journal, PLOS Biology by Guanghua Huang at Fudan University, China, and colleagues. These genomic changes can be brought on by a common antifungal, TBZ. The study demonstrates that the use of TBZ in agriculture may contribute to the increasing problem of antifungal resistance. C. tropicalis is one of the most common fungi to infect humans, ...

PHILADELPHIA – Public awareness of the link between drinking alcohol and an elevated risk of cancer has grown since last fall, with more than half of Americans now saying that regularly consuming alcohol increases your chances of later developing cancer, according to a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. In the survey, conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 10, 2025, with over 1,700 U.S. adults, 56% say the regular consumption of alcohol increases your chances of later developing cancer, up from 40% in an Annenberg survey in September 2024. The percentage of those who say alcohol ...

Medical imaging experts are adept at solving common optical illusions, according to research from four UK universities, including the University of East Anglia. The correct analysis of medical images from scans, such as MRI, is critical for diagnosing cancer and many other conditions. A new study published today shows that people who do this professionally are also more accurate at judging the size of objects in common optical illusions. In other words, medical imaging experts also literally see better in everyday life! The research is also the ...

Pregnancy may offer some protection from developing Long COVID, found a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Utah Health and Louisiana Public Health Institute. Previous research has mostly focused on non-pregnant adults affected by Long COVID— a condition lasting for months after a person recovers from SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study, published April 1 in Nature Communications, helps fill a critical gap about Long COVID in women infected with SARS-CoV-2 ...

Wheat is grown over more land area than any other food crop. Among pathogen-driven threats to wheat, fungi top the list, causing billions of dollars of losses each year and posing a serious challenge to food security worldwide. In an effort to combat this problem, a research team led by Prof. LIU Zhiyong from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators, has uncovered a novel immune mechanism by which tandem kinase proteins (TKPs) combat pathogen invasion in wheat. TKPs are a recently discovered class of disease resistance proteins in wheat and barley. Characterized by two or more tandemly arranged ...

Faculty representing three disciplines in the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science — computer science, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and civil and environmental engineering — have been elected to the rank of fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The AAAS is one of the world’s largest general scientific societies and publisher of the Science family of journals. UVA Engineering’s faculty are among 471 scientists and engineers named in the class of 2024, according to the AAAS.  Fellows are selected ...

A recent study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health reveals significant racial and sex disparities in drug overdose mortality rates. The research found that both Black men and Black women have been disproportionately impacted by overdose deaths, with their mortality rates rising sharply compared to their White counterparts. This study expands scientific understanding of how race, sex, and regional factors intersect to affect overdose outcomes. The study's findings are published ...