During a typical year, over a million people visit Yellowstone National Park, where the Old Faithful geyser regularly blasts a jet of boiling water high in the air. Now, an international team of astronomers has discovered a cosmic equivalent, a distant galaxy that erupts roughly every 114 days. Using data from facilities including NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the scientists have studied 20 repeated outbursts of an event called ASASSN-14ko. These various telescopes and instruments are sensitive to different wavelengths of light. By using them collaboratively, scientists obtained more detailed pictures of the outbursts. "These are the most predictable and frequent recurring multiwavelength ...

WASHINGTON, January 12, 2021 -- A highly sensitive wearable sensor for cardiorespiratory monitoring could potentially be worn continuously by cardiac patients or others who require constant monitoring. The small and inexpensive sensor, announced in Applied Physics Letters, by AIP Publishing, is based on an electrochemical system involving two ionic forms of iodine, I- and I3-. A solution containing these electrolyte substances is placed into a small circular cavity that is capped with a thin flexible diaphragm, allowing detection of subtle movements when placed on a patient's chest. Small motions that arise from the heartbeat and breathing cause the flexible diaphragm ...

Stiffness in our tissues causes tension in our cells. Research from the Buck Institute, the University Health Network (University of Toronto), Stanford University, and the University of Alberta shows that stiffness impacts the innate immune system by upping its metabolism. The findings suggest the cellular tension likely sets off an inflammatory loop that contributes to the development of chronic diseases of aging. Publishing in Cell Reports, Buck Associate Professor Dan Winer, MD, and colleagues present an emerging way of looking at how the immune system functions, possibilities for new immunotherapeutics, and a call for scientists to reconsider the way they do research. While stiffness ...

WASHINGTON, January 12, 2021 -- The risk of infection of COVID-19 is high for medical specialists who come in contact with symptomatic or asymptomatic patients. Dentists and otolaryngologists are at particular risk, since they need direct access to the mouth, nose, and throat of patients. The current solutions, which include wearing N95 masks and face shields, clinic room evacuation, negative pressure rooms, and special air filtration systems, are expensive, not highly effective, and not very accessible. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers at Cornell University discuss their design of an open-faced helmet for patient use ...

WASHINGTON, January 12, 2021 -- Sodium-ion batteries are a potential replacement for lithium batteries, but the anodes -- positively charged electrodes -- that work well for lithium-ion batteries don't provide the same level of performance for sodium-ion batteries. Amorphous carbon, which lacks a crystalline structure, is known to be a useful anode, because it has defects and voids that can be used to store sodium ions. Nitrogen/phosphorus-doped carbon also offers appealing electrical properties. In Applied Physics Reviews, from AIP Publishing, researchers in China from Zhejiang University, Ningbo University, and Dongguan University of Technology ...

What The Study Did: Variations and changes in national and state rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome and maternal opioid-related diagnoses were examined in this observational study. Authors: Ashley H. Hirai, Ph.D., of the Health Resources and Services Administration in Rockville, Maryland, 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/jama.2020.24991) 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 of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: ...

WASHINGTON, January 12, 2021 -- Singing may be the next-generation, noninvasive approach to determining the health of a patient's thyroid. Typically, a fine needle is used to detect the presence of a tumor in the thyroid, which most commonly affects children and younger women. However, this method can only detect about 5% of thyroid cancers. Researchers from Université de Tours, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Dijon-Bourgogne, and Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté suggest a simpler approach: singing. They demonstrate the technique in the journal Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing. "Developing noninvasive methods would reduce the stress of patients during their medical exams," said Steve Beuve, one of the authors. "Having to sing during a medical ...

What The Study Did: National register data from Denmark were used to examine if people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of suicide attempts and suicide compared to those without ASD and to identify potential risk factors. Author: Kairi Kõlves, Ph.D., of Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, 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.2020.33565) Editor's Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict ...

BOSTON -- For women hoping to achieve a pregnancy using freshly retrieved donor eggs, a new retrospective study led by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital may provide important insight. Brigham senior author Janis H. Fox, MD, had observed that when freshly retrieved donor eggs were used, pregnancy rates were higher for fresh compared to frozen embryo transfers. Fox and her colleagues were intrigued by this observation. The team set out to scientifically determine if this observation would be replicated in a larger sample of recipients. Leveraging national data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the Brigham researchers found that, in cycles using freshly retrieved donor eggs, fresh embryo transfers were indeed ...

A detailed analysis of the burden of osteoporosis in eight Eurasian countries has found that osteoporosis is a significant and growing health problem in the region that will escalate in the future due to expected demographic changes. The authors of the Audit report [1] carried out a review of the available literature and a survey of the representatives of the national osteoporosis societies in eight Eurasian countries. The Audit reviews both the burden and the differences between Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and Uzbekistan with regard to the prevalence of osteoporosis and incidence of osteoporotic fractures, future demographic changes, diagnostic resources, and treatment availability. The findings ...

WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a new laser-based process for 3D printing intricate parts made of glass. With further development, the new method could be useful for making complex optics for vision, imaging, illumination or laser-based applications. "Most 3D printing processes build up an object layer by layer," said research team leader Laurent Gallais from The Fresnel Institute and Ecole Centrale Marseille in France. "Our new process avoids the limitations of these processes by using a laser beam to transform -- or polymerize -- a liquid precursor into solid glass." In The Optical Society (OSA) journal Optics Letters, Gallais and research team members Thomas Doualle and Jean-Claude Andre demonstrate how they used the new technique to create detailed objects in ...

The abundant presence of an enzyme known as low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMWPTP) in tumor cells has long been considered an indicator of cancer aggressiveness and metastatic potential. It is also known to perform important functions in cells under normal conditions, participating in both the proliferation process and the regulation of intracellular systems. Research continues on its role in cancer progression. In Brazil, a group of researchers at the University of Campinas’s In Vitro Bioassay and Signal Transduction Laboratory led by Professor Carmen Veríssima Ferreira-Halder are studying the possibility of inhibiting this protein phosphatase ...

Scientists have determined the optimal conditions following a stem cell transplant that could control HIV without the need of an everyday pill, according to a study published today in eLife. Finding the right balance of stem cell dose, cell type and timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) could potentially lead to a spontaneous cure of HIV. There are only two cases of HIV cure to date: the Berlin Patient and the London Patient, who both received stem cell transplants with stem cells from donors that lack a molecule called CCR5, which HIV is attracted to. "The major obstacle to HIV eradication is a latent reservoir of long-lived infected cells, and cure strategies aim to eliminate all infected cells or permanently prevent viral reactivation ...

Understanding the immune systems of oysters and clams is important in monitoring the effects of pollution and climate change on the health of molluscan species and the potential impacts on the aquaculture industry. Their immune responses also can serve as indicators of changes in ocean environments. A new study involving the University of Maine assessed immune responses in four economically important marine mollusc species -- the blue mussel, soft-shell clam, Eastern oyster, and Atlantic jackknife clam -- and identified new biomarkers relating to changes ...

BOSTON -- Reprogramming the rich connective tissue microenvironment of a liver cancer known as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) inhibits its progression and resistance to standard chemotherapy in animal models, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found. This new treatment for a disease with extremely poor outcomes uses antibodies to block placental growth factor (PlGF), a member of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, which has been widely studied for its role in new vessel formation in cancers. PlGF is highly expressed ...

ORLANDO, Jan. 12, 2021 -Vehicles have evolved to become more efficient and sophisticated, but their fuel hasn't necessarily evolved along with them. The Department of Energy is determined to identify cleaner burning and renewable alternatives to gasoline, and through the work of two UCF researchers, the DOE is one step closer to that goal. Research engineer Anthony C. Terracciano and Associate Professor Subith Vasu have developed a model that will help engine designers, fuel chemists and federal agencies determine whether certain biofuels should be implemented as an alternative fuel ...

January 12, 2021 - A change in evidence-based guidelines for vasectomy may have led to a reduction in the number of follow-up tests to confirm the procedure was successful, reports a study in Urology Practice®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. Originally published in 2012, and then updated in 2015, the AUA clinical guideline could significantly reduce the number of men undergoing multiple postvasectomy semen analyses (PVSAs) to confirm it's safe to stop using other methods of birth control, according to new research by Tony Chen, MD, of University of Washington, ...

One-third of the fertilizer applied to grow corn in the U.S. each year simply compensates for the ongoing loss of soil fertility, leading to more than a half-billion dollars in extra costs to U.S. farmers every year, finds new research from the University of Colorado Boulder published last month in Earth's Future. Long-term soil fertility is on the decline in agricultural lands around the world due to salinization, acidification, erosion and the loss of important nutrients in the soil such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Corn farmers in the U.S. offset these losses with nitrogen and ...

Every field has its underlying principles. For economics it's the rational actor; biology has the theory of evolution; modern geology rests on the bedrock of plate tectonics. Physics has conservation laws and symmetries. For instance, the law of conservation of energy - which holds that energy can neither be created nor destroyed -- has guided research in physics since antiquity, becoming more formalized as time went on. Likewise, parity symmetry suggests that switching an event for its mirror image shouldn't affect the outcome. As physicists have worked to understand the truly bizarre rules ...

Most flowering plants depend on pollinators such as bees to transfer pollen from the male anthers of one flower to the female stigma of another flower, enabling fertilization and the production of fruits and seeds. Bee pollination, however, involves an inherent conflict of interest, because bees are only interested in pollen as a food source. "The bee and the plant have different goals, so plants have evolved ways to optimize the behavior of bees to maximize the transfer of pollen between flowers," explained Kathleen Kay, associate professor of ecology ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - For those trying to live a healthy lifestyle, the choice between sugar and artificial sweeteners such as saccharin can be confusing. A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio State University College of Medicine found the sugar substitute saccharin doesn't lead to the development of diabetes in healthy adults as previous studies have suggested. The study findings are published in the journal Microbiome. "It's not that the findings of previous studies are wrong, they just didn't adequately control for things like ...

LA JOLLA, CALIF. - Jan 12, 2020 - Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified the sensor in human lungs that detects SARS-CoV-2 and signals that it's time to mount an antiviral response. The study, published today in Cell Reports, provides insights into the molecular basis of severe disease and may enable new strategies for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. "Our research has shown that MDA-5 is the immune cop that's tasked to keep an eye out for SARS-CoV-2 and call for back-up," says Sumit Chanda, Ph.D., director of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys and senior author of ...

Family courts are misunderstanding and misusing research around how children form close relationships with their caregivers, say an international group of experts. Seventy experts from across the globe argue that widespread misunderstandings around attachment research have hampered its accurate implementation, with potentially negative consequences for decisions in family courts. In response, they have published an international consensus statement in Attachment & Human Development that aims "to counter misinformation and help steer family court applications of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction on matters related to child protection and custody decisions". In the statement, the group sets out three principles from attachment research ...

Philadelphia, January 12, 2021 - A special issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), published by Elsevier, challenges conventional wisdom across the imaging community. This collection of articles, the "Provocative Issue," presents extreme opinions on pressing issues confronting radiologists with the deliberate aim of sparking positive dialog and debate that will lead to innovative solutions to improve patient care and imaging-related outcomes. The issue is guest-edited by: Caroline Chung, MD, MSc, Director of Advanced ...

ATLANTA - JANUARY 12, 2021 - Overall cancer death rates in the United States dropped continuously from 1991 through 2018 for a total decrease of 31%, including a 2.4% decline from 2017 to 2018. The news comes from the American Cancer Society's annual Cancer Statistics, 2021 article, appearing in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and its consumer version, Cancer Facts & Figures 2021. This year marks the American Cancer Society's 70th anniversary of reporting this data to inform the nation's fight against cancer. The report estimates that in the U.S. in 2021, almost 1.9 million (1,898,160) new cancer cases will be diagnosed and 608,570 Americans will die from cancer. ...