Much like the windy weather patterns that affect the Earth’s surface, our planet’s oceans experience their own distinct weather patterns. These weather patterns, known as eddies, are circular currents of water that are typically about 100 kilometers wide. A new study of satellite imagery and high-resolution climate model data by scientists at the University of Rochester upends previous assumptions and provides insight about how those surface and ocean weather patterns interact. Scientists formerly believed atmospheric wind had a damping effect, ...

The ambitious project PIPEON* will develop new robotic and AI-based technologies for mapping, monitoring, and maintaining Europe’s sewer networks using autonomous “thinking” robots and AI-based modelling and analysis tools. The development and application of such new technologies would have major societal, environmental and economic impact. Instead of repairing in-sewer defects and removing blockages after streets and homes have been flooded with sewage, defects can be quickly identified and repaired and blockages removed when they are still small. Early, preventative repair and maintenance actions will limit the frequency and ...

Microsoft's Azure AI Speech platform achieved “significant improvements” in recognizing non-standard English speech thanks to recordings and transcripts from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Speech Accessibility Project participants. Its accuracy gains range from 18% to 60%, depending on the speaker’s disability. The changes are currently rolling out on Microsoft's Cloud endpoint for third-party customers. Until now, the majority of voice recognition technology trained using recordings and transcriptions from audiobooks. But an audiobook narrator and an individual with aphasia after a stroke sound different. When the Speech ...

In India, tigers haven’t just survived − they’ve made a comeback. Despite a growing population and increasing pressure on their habitats, the number of wild tigers is rising. The reason? A combination of ecological restoration, economic initiatives, and political stability. And just as important: a deeply rooted reverence for tigers that has fostered a culture where humans and predators can coexist. How do you protect an endangered species when that species is a tiger − a predator that also poses a threat to humans? India has found a way by combining protected reserves with areas where tigers and people share space. The result? A 30% increase in ...

Arthur Paul Pedersen, faculty research scientist with the CUNY Remote Sensing Earth Systems (CREST) Institute and adjunct assistant professor of computer science at The City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering, is lead author of a critical essay on measurement in scientific discourse. The essay, published in the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warns of the dangerous implications of measurement illiteracy in contemporary scientific discourse and urges broad, ...

TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 31, 2025) — A new study from Moffitt Cancer Center could help doctors predict how well patients with a specific type of lung cancer will respond to new therapies. The research, published in Clinical Cancer Research, found that measuring the interaction between two proteins, RAS and RAF, could provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of treatments for patients with KRASG12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer, a type of lung cancer known for being particularly difficult to treat. The findings revealed that tumors with higher levels ...

Red blood cell transfusions (RBCTs) are life-saving treatments for critically ill patients suffering from anemia, a condition where the body lacks enough healthy red blood cells to deliver oxygen effectively. While effective in increasing oxygen levels in the blood, transfusions can disrupt blood flow and oxygen distribution, potentially causing harm to vital organs like the brain. To address this, researchers are exploring new tools to monitor these effects more precisely. A recent study reported in Biophotonics Discovery investigated a novel technology called hybrid diffuse optics (DO), which uses near-infrared light to continuously measure changes in blood flow and oxygen ...

  Powerful legal and financial service industries are enabling kleptocracy and corrupt elites to operate with relative impunity, a new study shows. The research details how “enablers” from these industries exploit deregulation and the under-enforcement of the law to game the system. They can offshore their clients' wealth, and enhance their reputations and influence via philanthropy, political donations, and the use of the UK's punitive libel regime. Most of this “enabling” is likely ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Constructed wetlands do a good job in their early years of capturing carbon in the environment that contributes to climate change – but that ability does diminish with time as the wetlands mature, a new study suggests. Researchers examined soil core samples taken from two constructed freshwater wetlands and compared them to data from previous studies of the same wetlands over 29 years to determine how well human-made wetlands sequester — or capture and store — ...

Men undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer who experience side effects early in treatment may face a higher risk of developing more serious long-term urinary and bowel health issues, according to a new study led by investigators from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study found that patients who experienced moderate acute urinary side effects in the first three months after radiation were nearly twice as likely to develop late urinary complications years later compared to those without early symptoms. Similarly, patients with early bowel side effects had nearly double the risk of chronic bowel issues. The findings, ...

As insect populations decrease worldwide in what some have called an "insect apocalypse," biologists are desperate to determine how the six-legged creatures are responding to a warming world and to predict the long-term winners and losers. A new study of Colorado grasshoppers shows that, while the answers are complicated, biologists have much of the knowledge they need to make these predictions and prepare for the consequences. The findings, published Jan. 30 in the journal PLOS Biology, come thanks to the serendipitous ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Every cell in your body contains the same genetic sequence, yet each cell expresses only a subset of those genes. These cell-specific gene expression patterns, which ensure that a brain cell is different from a skin cell, are partly determined by the three-dimensional structure of the genetic material, which controls the accessibility of each gene. MIT chemists have now come up with a new way to determine those 3D genome structures, using generative artificial intelligence. Their technique can predict thousands of structures in just minutes, making it much speedier than existing experimental methods for analyzing the structures. Using this technique, researchers could more ...

Scientists led by the Institute of Nanotechnology in Italy, in collaboration with the ESRF, the European Synchrotron in Grenoble, France, have discovered how X-ray micro- and nano- tomography can provide clues on the processes that link the gut neurons with those in the brain and may trigger Alzheimer’s. The results are published in Science Advances. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by brain alteration including synaptic loss, chronic inflammation and neuronal cell death. In recent years, scientists have found evidence that the gut and the brain communicate through the neurons placed in ...

A clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is testing an experimental treatment designed to help people suffering the effects of dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease. The study is supported by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and will involve exposing adult volunteers to a weakened strain of dengue virus that causes a mild form of the disease and administering an investigational therapeutic at various doses to assess its safety and ability to lessen symptoms.   Dengue ...

Sound plays a significant and often poignant part of skateboarders’ relationship with their sport, a new study shows. Skateboarders develop the skill to tune into the noise of urban surfaces. They both hear and feel noise and this means images and videos alone are a poor insight into the sport. They use sound to verify the success of their manoeuvres, judge the veracity and capacity of surfaces for use and as a social cue. For some the sensory overload of skateboarding is therapeutic and it helps them connect with others skating nearby. But ...

ST. LOUIS – Research from Saint Louis University (SLU) and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine finds that some of the most-watched ads promote the worst food options for adults with chronic health conditions.  The findings published online on Jan. 30 in JAMA Network analyzed advertisements transmitted during televised NFL games in the U.S. to assess the nutritional content by serving.   The study found that store-bought foods and quick-service restaurants advertised during NFL games, the most watched sporting events in the U.S., ...

DALLAS, Jan. 31, 2025 — Academy Award-nominated actress and host Sharon Stone, alongside musical guests Sara Bareilles and Suki Waterhouse, headlined a roster of powerful players in music, entertainment, fashion and philanthropy to officially mark the start of American Heart Month at the Red Dress Collection® Concert on Thursday, January 30. The fashion-forward, musical celebration in New York City serves as the national marquee event for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women® movement, celebrating progress made while calling for a renewed commitment to the fight against cardiovascular disease, the number one killer ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL: Jan. 31, 2025, 10:15 a.m. MST  Media Contact: Karen Addis, APR, karen@addispr.com, +1 (301) 787-2394 One of the Largest Studies on Preterm Birth Finds a Maternal Biomarker Test Significantly Reduces Neonatal Morbidities and Improves Neonatal Outcomes Denver, Colo. ― Preterm birth ― defined as delivery before the 37th week of pregnancy — is one of the leading causes of infant deaths in the United States. Babies born prematurely are also at an increased risk of ...

Denver, Colo. ― Anemia during pregnancy is a common occurrence and often due to iron deficiency. It is a global public health problem, affecting an estimated 37 percent of pregnant individuals, according to the World Health Organization. Iron deficiency anemia is associated with increased rates of pregnancy-related problems, such as going into labor prematurely, hemorrhaging and, in some cases, even death. For the infant, maternal iron deficiency also can have long-term implications on their overall health and development. Current obstetric guidelines recommend ...

CLEVELAND—Psoriasis, a painful and uncomfortable inflammatory skin condition that affects millions worldwide, flares up from the activity of disease- and infection-protecting immune cells. In a new study, researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have determined that a protein called NF-kB c-Rel can intensify the condition’s symptoms when activated by signals from the body’s immune system. Understanding how “c-Rel” affects skin inflammation could lead to new treatments, they said. The study, published recently in eBioMedicine, examined how ...

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (01/31/2025) — Portable MRI (pMRI) technologies are rapidly transforming the landscape of neuroscience research, allowing neuroscientists to acquire brain data in community settings outside the hospital for the first time. But as neuroscientists increase access to MRI technology and move their research from a lab environment to broad community settings, they face novel ethical, legal, and societal issues (ELSI). To prepare neuroscientists to address these challenges, an interdisciplinary team of scientists, ethicists, and legal experts, supported by an NIH BRAIN Initiative grant, analyzed the issues. The team released the first-ever checklist ...

  Leipzig. Over the next few years, climate researchers from Germany aim to achieve a breakthrough in the radiative properties of clouds by describing the corresponding processes not just one-dimensionally, as has been the case up to now, but three-dimensionally in future. Capturing clouds and radiation in 3D is seen as an important step towards undistorted remote sensing of the atmosphere and improved modelling of climate and weather. The new research group of the German Research Foundation (DFG) brings together experts in atmospheric radiation, high-resolution ...

It is well known that consuming sugary drinks increases the risk of diabetes, but the mechanism behind this relationship is unclear. Now, in a paper publishing January 31 in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism, researchers show that metabolites produced by gut microbes might play a role. In a long-term cohort of US Hispanic/Latino adults, the researchers identified differences in the gut microbiota and blood metabolites of individuals with a high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. The altered metabolite profile ...

Researchers from the Tanenbaum group at the Hubrecht Institute have developed a new microscopy technique to observe how ribosomes function in cells. With this method, they can monitor individual ribosomes as they convert mRNA into proteins. The researchers discovered that ribosomes help each other when encountering difficulties, a process they refer to as ‘ribosome cooperativity’. This technique and the findings, published in Cell, provide insights into how proteins are made and offer other researchers a tool to better study mRNA translation. Our DNA contains genetic information essential for ...

About The Study: This cross-sectional study found that compared with trends from the early 2000s, early adult (ages 25-44) mortality in the U.S. has risen substantially in 2 stages: 2011 to 2019 and 2020 to 2023. Although mortality rates decreased after the core pandemic years, excess mortality remained higher than expected based on pre-pandemic levels. The largest portion of 2023 excess mortality was driven by drug poisoning, but many other external and natural causes exceeded what prior trends would have projected. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, PhD, email ewf@umn.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our ...