PULLMAN, Wash. –  While not yet on the market, fully autonomous vehicles are promoted as a way to make road travel dramatically safer, but a recent study found that knowing more about them did not improve people’s perception of their risk. They needed to have more trust in them too. This study adds to the evidence from other research that knowledge alone is not enough to sway people’s attitudes toward complex technology and science, such as gene editing or climate change. In this case, Washington State University researchers found that trust in the autonomous vehicles’ reliability and performance played the strongest role in improving ...

The ability to recognise and respond to emotionally-charged situations is essential to a species’ evolutionary success. A new study published today [July 9th] in Nature Communications advances our understanding of how the brain responds to emotionally charged objects and scenes.  The research, led by Trinity College Dublin neuroscientist Prof. Sonia Bishop and Google researcher Samy Abdel-Ghaffar while he was a PhD student in Prof. Bishop's lab at UC Berkeley, has identified how the brain represents different categories of emotional stimuli in a way that allows for ...

New research led by UCLA Health has found a drug that treats insomnia works to prevent the addictive effects of the morphine opioids in mice while still providing effective pain relief.   The study, published in the journal Nature Mental Health, concluded that suvorexant, which blocks brain receptors for a neurotransmitter called hypocretin, prevents opioid addiction. At high doses in humans, suvorexant induces sleep and is used to treat insomnia. But sleep was not induced, and behavioral alertness was maintained, at the much lower doses effective in preventing ...

Many women treated for breast cancer using taxanes, a type of cytostatic drug, often experience side effects in the nervous system. Researchers at Linköping University have developed a tool that can predict the risk level for each individual. The tool could help doctors adapt treatment to avoid persistent side effects in those at the greatest risk. More and more people are becoming cancer survivors. But even if they have survived the disease, an increasing number still suffer from the side effects of cancer treatment. In a recent study from Linköping University, researchers studied the side effects of taxanes, ...

For those living in cities, space to play sports outside can be a scarcity. Recently, natural grass in parks or public sports courts has often been replaced with more durable artificial turf to allow heavy consecutive use. There are, however, downsides to this practice, both for people and for cities as a whole. Now, scientists in the Netherlands have set out to change that by integrating a subsurface water storage and capillary irrigation system under artificial turf sports fields. “Here we show that including a subsurface water storage and capillary ...

Plants are known to respond to seasonal changes by budding, leafing, and flowering. As climate change stands to shift these so-called phenological stages in the life cycle of plants, access to data about phenological changes – from many different locations and in different plants – can be used to draw conclusions about the actual effects of climate change. However, conducting such analyses require a large amount of data and data collection of this scale would be unthinkable without the help of citizen scientists. “The problem is that the quality of the data suffers when fewer people engage ...

In a significant advancement for agricultural biotechnology, researchers have identified a genetic mechanism that enhances the cold tolerance of tomatoes. This breakthrough is pivotal for cultivating crops in cooler climates, ensuring stable yields and bolstering global food security. The study focuses on the SlGAD2 gene, which, when overexpressed, elevates the plant's γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels, boosts antioxidant activities, and stimulates anthocyanin production, collectively improving cold resilience. Tomatoes play a vital role in global agriculture but are susceptible ...

A new approach to treating the most malignant type of brain cancer – glioblastoma – has shown strong promise in pre-clinical settings, raising hopes of increasing current average survival rates beyond 18 months. Targeted alpha therapy (TAT) is emerging as a potential additional treatment for glioblastoma (GB), a disease which has confounded oncologists for decades due to its aggressive nature and strong resistance to existing therapies. The current standard treatment for GB is surgery, followed by external beam radiotherapy and the chemotherapy drug, temozolomide. However, survival rates of less than 5-10% at five years have prompted researchers to explore ...

Tomato fruit ripening, a process initiated by key gene demethylation, is significantly influenced by postharvest handling practices. These practices, while extending shelf life, can alter ripening dynamics and affect fruit quality. This study explores the impact of various postharvest treatments on the fruit's methylome and transcriptome, shedding light on how physiological and molecular changes interplay to determine the final quality of tomatoes. Postharvest handling practices, such as refrigeration and modified atmosphere storage, are commonly used to extend the shelf life of tomatoes. However, these methods can negatively impact fruit quality, ...

If there is one medical exam that everyone in the world has taken, it’s a chest x-ray. Clinicians can use radiographs to tell if someone has tuberculosis, lung cancer, or other diseases, but they can’t use them to tell if the lungs are functioning well. Until now, that is. In findings published in The Lancet Digital Health, a research group led by Associate Professor Daiju Ueda and Professor Yukio Miki at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Medicine has developed an artificial intelligence model that can estimate lung function from chest radiographs with high accuracy. Conventionally, ...

New research led by the University of Cincinnati and Swing Therapeutics found that a self-guided smartphone-based behavioral therapy led to significant improvements for patients with fibromyalgia. The multicenter, randomized controlled trial tested Stanza, a smartphone app that delivers acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a type of cognitive behavioral therapy recommended by international clinical guidelines for fibromyalgia management, with the results of the study published July 8 in The Lancet. Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that affects an estimated 10 million Americans, a majority ...

Cardiac arrests affect around 350,000 people in Europe each year with less than 20% surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest. Research from Amsterdam UMC shows that women who survive consequently have greater rates of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, both men and women are affected by negative population-wide changes in socioeconomic status as they age. Suggesting more support is necessary for those who have suffered a cardiac arrest. These results are published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes.  "We looked at many factors to determine the five-year consequences of a cardiac arrest, here we saw, most significantly, a 50% ...

Planes flying into one of the world's busiest airports are ingesting around 10kg of dust per 1,000 flights - with most of this dust ingested while they are waiting to land, new research has revealed. Scientists used 17 years of ECMWF atmospheric data and data from the CALIPSO satellite to calculate the quantity of sand and dust swallowed by jet engines at ten major international airports located in desert regions or subject to seasonal dust storms. The global study, published today (Tuesday, 9 July) in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Coral reefs, those vibrant underwater cities, stand on the precipice of collapse. While rising ocean temperatures and coral bleaching grab headlines, a new essay in Current Biology reveals a hidden layer of complexity in this fight for survival: the often-overlooked roles of the reefs’ smallest inhabitants. Scientists have long understood the vital partnership between corals and their symbiotic algae, but work by researchers at UC Santa Barbara and University of Georgia highlights how the fate of entire reefs may hinge ...

Even as the nation’s opioid epidemic continues to ravage families and communities nationwide — with more than 100,000 Americans dying of drug overdoses each year — stigma remains a barrier for many people accessing treatment for addiction. A new study from Oregon Health & Science University suggests telehealth may be an important antidote to overcoming stigma and reducing barriers for people seeking out the treatment they need. The study, published recently in the Harm Reduction Journal, compiled in-depth interviews with 30 people treated for substance use disorder ...

A new way to store carbon captured from the atmosphere developed by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin works much faster than current methods without the harmful chemical accelerants they require. In new research published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, the team developed a technique for ultrafast formation of carbon dioxide hydrates. These unique ice-like materials can bury carbon dioxide in the ocean, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere. ​ “We’re staring at a huge challenge — finding a way ...

Novel research, presented today at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam, reveals significant social disparities in achieving live births following assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. Women with a research education (PhD) were over three times more likely to achieve a live birth compared to those with a primary school education, while women in the highest income group were twice as likely than those in the lowest income group [1]. Conducted by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet), the national, register-based study analysed data from 68,738 women aged 18-45 who underwent ...

Women in Europe are receiving more cycles of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI), according to data presented today at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam [1]. Preliminary data from the ESHRE European IVF Monitoring (EIM) Consortium [2] reveals a steady and progressive rise in the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). In 2021, a total of 1 103,633 ART treatment cycles were reported by 1,382 clinics across 37 European countries – a 20% increase from the 919,364 cycles reported in 2020, keeping in mind that this was the year COVID affected the number ...

Innovative research, presented today at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam, has introduced a novel 3D imaging model designed to identify features of blastocysts – the early stage of development for an implanted embryo – associated with successful pregnancies. This new approach could transform current blastocyst selection methods, and open avenues for increased pregnancy rates [1]. The shape and structure of blastocysts can predict the success of a pregnancy, aiding blastocyst selection for in vitro fertilisation (IVF). However, selecting ...

MINNEAPOLIS – The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has named a new editor-in-chief of Brain & Life®, its free patient and caregiver magazine, website and podcast. Sarah Song, MD, MPH, FAAN, an associate professor in the department of neurological sciences at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, will succeed Editor-in-Chief Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN, who will complete her 10-year term on December 31, 2024. Song, a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, will be the third editor-in-chief of Brain & Life since the publication began in ...

University of Cincinnati researchers have pioneered an animal model that sheds light on the role an understudied organ in the brain has in repairing damage caused by stroke. The research was published July 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and sought to learn more about how the adult brain generates new neurons to repair damaged tissue. The research team focused on the choroid plexus, a small organ within brain ventricles that produces the brain’s cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CSF circulates throughout ...

Vaccines provide a front-line defense against dangerous viruses, training adaptive immune cells to identify and fight specific pathogens. But innate immune cells — the first responders to any bodily invader — have no such specific long-term memory. Still, scientists have found that they can reprogram these cells to be even better at their jobs, potentially fighting off seasonal scourges like the common cold or even new viral diseases for which vaccines have not yet been developed. A University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) team has found several small molecule candidates that induce this trained immunity without the ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Common treatments for Parkinson’s disease can address short-term symptoms but can also cause extensive problems for patients in the long run. Namely, treatments can cause dyskinesia, a form of uncontrollable movements and postures. In a recent study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham took a different approach to dyskinesia and treated it like a “bad motor memory.” They found that blocking a protein called Activin A could halt dyskinesia symptoms ...

In the campaign to restore Chesapeake Bay, oyster sanctuaries rank among the most hotly contested strategies. But new research suggests these no-harvest areas are working, and not only for the oysters. In a new study published July 4 in Marine Ecology Progress Series, Smithsonian biologists discovered oyster sanctuaries contain more abundant populations of oysters and other animal life—and the presence of two common parasites is not preventing that. Oysters form the backbone of Chesapeake Bay. Besides injecting millions of dollars into the regional economy each year, they also act as vital habitat and filter feeders that clean the water. But their populations ...

Ronen Rozenblum, PhD, MPH, director of the Unit for Innovative Healthcare Practice & Technology and director of Business Development of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, is the principal investigator and senior author of a new study published in JMIR Medical Informatics, “A Machine Learning Application to Classify Patients at Differing Levels of Risk of Opioid Use Disorder: Clinician Based ...