Throughout history, volcanic eruptions have had serious consequences for human societies such as cold weather, lack of sun, and low crop yields. In the year 43 BC when a volcano in Alaska spewed large quantities of sulphur into the stratosphere, harvests failed the following years in the countries around the Mediterranean, causing famine and disease. This is well-documented in written sources from ancient Greece and Rome.  We do not have written sources from the Neolithic. But climate scientists from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have analysed ice cores from the Greenland ice sheet and can now document that around 2,900 ...

Two new studies led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a possible way to block the progression of several forms of blood cancer using a drug already in clinical trials against breast cancer. The studies — both conducted in patient samples and animal models — found that inhibiting a protein called RSK1 reduces inflammation and stops the progression of blood cancers called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) as well as an aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). With the RSK1 inhibitor already in clinical testing, the path to expanded use as a treatment for blood ...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that disproportionally affects postmenopausal women, and the millions affected can attest to the pain, reduced mobility and diminished quality of life that comes from this disease. While the hormonal changes associated with menopause have long been known to accelerate the development and progression of OA, a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie this correlation is crucial for developing effective treatments. A new study led by researchers at Spaulding Rehabilitation, a member of the Mass General Brigham ...

A new study documents the dramatic change in America’s material diet from 1900 to 2020 – ongoing shifts in US commodity consumption patterns with profound environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications. Published by Iddo K. Wernick of The Rockefeller University’s Program for the Human Environment in the Elsevier journal Resources Policy, the paper details the consumption of 100 key commodities used to build cities, power cars, produce everyday products, and connect people. It charts transformative changes since the start of the 20th century in both absolute ...

Approximately 66 million years ago, the Chicxulub asteroid, estimated to be 10-15 kilometer in diameter, struck the Yucatán Peninsula (in current-day Mexico), creating a 200-kilometer-wide impact crater. This impact triggered a chain reaction of destructive events including a rapid climate change that eventually led to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and in total about 75% of species on Earth. The main culprit is most likely the “impact winter”, which was caused by massive release of dust, soot, and sulfur into the atmosphere, leading to extreme cold, darkness, and a collapse ...

WESTMINSTER, Colorado – 16 January 2025 – Recently published research in the journal Weed Science shows promise for controlling herbicide-resistant weeds in soybean fields by using a seed impact mill at harvest. When installed on a combine, this harvest weed-seed control system (HWSC) mechanically damages weed seeds as they move through the mill to render them non-viable. Iowa State University Researchers Alexis Meadows and Ram (Ramawatar) Yadav conducted seed impact mill field experiments ...

Amid an increase in suicidal behavior among teen girls, new research links this phenomenon to the significant increase in the number of female students identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ).   “This finding suggests that the overall increase in female suicidality is not due to all female students becoming more suicidal, but rather to a larger proportion of students being part of a group that has historically experienced higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors due to social and structural pressures,” says lead author Joseph Cimpian, ...

We see color because photoreceptor cones in our eyes detect light waves corresponding to red, green, and blue, while dimness or brightness is detected by photoreceptor rods. Many non-mammalian vertebrates like fish, however, are known to detect color and brightness with the pineal gland, which is part of the brain. An Osaka Metropolitan University research group has further elucidated on how the pineal organ of fish do so. Previously, the research group led by Professor Akihisa Terakita and Professor Mitsumasa Koyanagi of the Graduate School of Science revealed that ...

Nipah virus (NiV), a zoonotic paramyxovirus with significant human health implications, has garnered considerable attention due to its high fatality rates and potential for human-to-human transmission, posing a global public health threat. Emerging in South and Southeast Asia, NiV is known for its recurrent outbreaks, with a particular focus on its genetic lineages, NiV-MY and NiV-BD, which differ in pathogenicity and transmissibility. The virus, initially isolated in Malaysia in 1998, has since caused outbreaks linked to contact with infected ...

FDA BANS RED DYE 3 IN FOOD AND INGESTED DRUGS Citing two studies linking Red Dye 3 to cancer in laboratory male rats, the FDA today revoked authorization for the use of the dye in food and ingested drugs. The move came in response to a 2022 color additive petition. “This is long overdue,” said Tracy Crane, Ph.D., RDN., director of Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention at Sylvester. “Red Dye 3 has been banned for use in cosmetics and topical drugs for more than three decades,” she said. “Yet it gives more than 9,000 foods in the United States their red coloring.  These colorful foods and drinks are particularly appealing to young children,” ...

KYOTO – An international team of researchers has taken an important step toward understanding how gene expression is controlled across the human genome. A new study has comprehensively analyzed “cis-regulatory elements” (CREs), which are the DNA sequences that regulate gene transcription. This work sheds light on how these elements contribute to cell-specific gene expression and how mutations within them may influence health and disease. CREs, including enhancers and promoters, are essential for controlling when and where genes are ...

In a study of more than 5,000 mothers and their children, exposure to air pollution during the three months before pregnancy predicted higher child body mass index (BMI) and related obesity risk factors up to two years of age. Findings from the study, which was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, were published in the journal Environmental Research. Past research has linked air pollution exposure during pregnancy to a broad range of health problems in children, including respiratory ...

Interpretability has drawn increasing attention in machine learning. Partially linear additive models provide an attractive middle ground between the simplicity of generalized linear model and the flexibility of generalized additive model, and are important models for addressing the two interpretability problems of feature selection and structure discovery. The existing partially linear additive models still have various imperfect performances in terms of fitting ability. To solve the problems, a research team lad by Han LI published their new research on 15 December 2024 in Frontiers of Computer Science co-published by Higher Education Press and Springer Nature. The ...

Researchers have used dung records to create high-resolution maps of herbivore distribution around the world. Their new study, recently published in Nature Food, reveals a strong positive relationship between dung presence and grazing pressure, meaning the amount of dung found in a particular location could help us understand approximately how many herbivores live there. Many people consider dung simply as the manure left behind by horses and cows at country shows, or something to be avoided when you visit the cousins’ farm. But dung is actually an important resource for millions of people worldwide. Dung ...

Senior midwives and researchers with experience in criminal and social justice are among those calling for improved maternity provision for pregnant women in UK prisons. In an article published by The BMJ today, Laura Abbott and colleagues highlight gaps in clinical care for pregnant women and say the systemic problems need tackling urgently to protect the health of pregnant women, new mothers, and babies while in criminal justice settings. Figures from April 2023 to March 2024 show that 229 pregnant women ...

The UK needs an overarching national strategy to tackle alcohol related harms, argue experts in The BMJ today, as deaths from alcohol in England reach their highest level on record. Julia Sinclair at the University of Southampton and colleagues warn that successive government cuts have led to reduced provision and quality of alcohol treatment, and say sustained funding is needed for screening and care, while industry must also shoulder some of the costs. Alcohol is widely available and drunk by around 80% of adults in the UK and is now well established as ...

Regular aerobic exercise could significantly reduce disease markers associated with Alzheimer’s, new research led by scientists at the University of Bristol (UK) and the Federal University of São Paulo (Brazil) has found. The findings provide new hope in the battle against this devastating disorder. Published in the journal Brain Research, the study highlights how physical activity not only protects healthy brain cells but also restores balance in the aging brain. The research focused on ...

Cambridge researchers are leading the first phase of a new research project that will lay the groundwork for future studies into the impact on children of smartphone and social media use. The work has been commissioned by the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology after a review by the UK Chief Medical Officer in 2019 found the evidence base around the links to children’s mental health were insufficient to provide strong conclusions suitable to inform policy. The project – led by a team at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with researchers at several leading UK universities ...

DARIEN, IL — The American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation is proud to announce a partnership with the Howard University Medical Alumni Association to support medical students at Howard University. Through the HUMAA scholarship program, the AASM Foundation is sponsoring five scholarships, each valued at $3,000. “By supporting medical students at Howard University, we’re empowering the next generation of medical professionals who will shape the future of health care,” said Dr. R. Nisha Aurora, president of the AASM Foundation. “We’re also hoping to inspire students to consider careers ...

As climate change drives increasingly severe hurricanes, U.S. coastal communities are bearing the brunt of mounting losses. With regulations failing to curb the damage, homeowners have become the front line of defense — but their efforts often fall short, a recent study reveals. Led by Tracy Kijewski-Correa, professor of engineering and global affairs at the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, the study, published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, explored how homeowners respond in the aftermath of hurricanes when reconstruction becomes ...

A new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances; DOI  10.29026/oea.2025.240159, discusses on-chip light control of semiconductor optoelectronic devices using integrated metasurfaces.   Since the initial demonstration of the first semiconductor laser in the early 1960s, semiconductor optoelectronic devices have achieved unparalleled commercial success and permeated every facet of human lives from communication, lighting, and entertainment to medicine. Furthermore, in response to the emergence of novel applications, such as the consumer electronics, AR/VR ...

Maytal Saar-Tsechansky was standing a few meters from Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, when he was assassinated by a right-wing extremist in Tel Aviv. “At the time, Rabin was promoting peace with the Palestinians,” says Saar-Tsechansky, professor of information, risk, and operations management and the Mary John and Ralph Spence Centennial Professor at Texas McCombs. “The assassination was the result of a lot of incitement, of some people claiming that he was the enemy of the people.” Although she typically studies artificial intelligence, the traumatic incident planted a seed for a different interest: how to ease political divisions. She began ...

A common antihistamine may offer hope for patients with a rare genetic disease that can lead to severe liver damage and ultimately require transplantation, according to new research from Rutgers Health. The study in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that chlorcyclizine, a decades-old allergy medication, could potentially treat erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), a condition that creates extreme skin light sensitivity and can produce toxic levels of protoporphyrin in the liver, bone marrow, red cells, and plasma. "There is an unmet need for these patients," said Bishr Omary, senior ...

In patients with high-risk HER2-positive breast cancer, post-surgery, or adjuvant, treatment with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) reduced the long-term risk of death or invasive disease by 46% and improved survival compared to trastuzumab alone, according to the final results of the phase 3 KATHERINE clinical trial led by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.  The findings, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), provide long-term evidence that T-DM1 is an effective adjuvant treatment for this population of breast ...

MINNEAPOLIS — People who eat more red meat, especially processed red meat like bacon, sausage and bologna, are more likely to have a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia when compared to those who eat very little red meat, according to a study published in the January 15, 2025, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Red meat is high in saturated fat and has been shown in previous studies to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which are both linked to reduced brain health,” said ...