Women are more likely to receive good care during pregnancy where AI and other clinical software tools are used, a large review of research has found. In a paper published in eClinicalMedicine researchers have conducted a review of over 12,000 papers and 87 articles for different AI and related software tools, investigating the impact of their use in maternity settings. A meta-analysis of 35 included studies found the odds of improved outcomes was 1.69 times higher in women cared for using CDSS, with data from over 5.2 million pregnancies in both High-Income and ...

The British Sleep Society has released a position statement in the Journal of Sleep Research advocating for the abolition of the twice-yearly clock changes in the UK and the restoration of permanent Standard Time (Greenwich Mean Time). This recommendation is based on scientific evidence highlighting the adverse effects of the clock change and Daylight Saving Time (DST) on sleep and circadian health. The British Sleep Society emphasizes that sleep is central to health and well-being and the enforced changes of clock time to DST can interfere negatively with sleep regulation. “What we often don’t realize is that DST changes our schedules, moving them ...

Animal tracking studies for ecology and conservation all face technological limitations such as high costs or the need for tags to remain in close proximity to detectors. In research published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution, investigators describe a solution that can overcome many current limitations by employing the massive global network of personal mobile phones as gateways for tracking animals using Bluetooth low energy beacons. In areas with medium to high density of people, these simple, lightweight, and inexpensive beacons can provide regular updates of position with a battery life of 1–3 years. Through field testing ...

In research published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, investigators examined the relationship between countries’ parental leave policies and young adults’ perceptions of social norms for the division of childcare duties between mothers and fathers. In the study of 19,259 university students (11,924 women) from 48 countries, the degree to which participants believed childcare is equally divided among mothers and fathers and the degree to which they believed childcare should be equally divided were both stronger when parental leave was available in their particular country. Analyses of time since policy change suggested ...

Woodland caribou populations in Canada are declining because of habitat changes that benefit common prey species of wolves (such as moose and deer), leading to increasing numbers of wolves that kill caribou. To protect caribou, wildlife managers have reduced wolf numbers in some caribou ranges, but this may cause moose populations to grow, resulting in a wolf rebound. New research in The Journal of Wildlife Management has found that reducing moose populations to historical levels through hunting could be helpful for caribou conservation. The analysis included regions in British Columbia and Alberta with high moose populations where lethal wolf removals were annually conducted ...

Planning policies to restrict the number of new fast-food outlets leads to fewer overweight and obese children according to research led by Lancaster University. Researchers examined the impact of policy in the North East of England where Gateshead Council prevented any existing non-fast-food commercial property from being converted into a hot fast-food takeaway. The lead authors of the study, published in the journal Obesity, are Dr Huasheng Xiang from Lancaster University Management School and Professor of Health Inequalities Heather Brown from the Faculty of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University. The researchers used Government collected data that ...

A team of leading sleep researchers from the British Sleep Society have called for the government to abolish the twice-yearly clock changes in the UK due to the adverse effects on sleep and circadian health. After considering the available scientific evidence that circadian and sleep health are positively affected by the availability of natural daylight during the morning and negatively affected by the twice-yearly changes of clock time, especially when the clocks move forward in spring, the British Sleep Society recommends the abolition of the twice-yearly clock changes in the UK. With sleep being central to health and wellbeing, the Society has issued a statement ...

Long term exposure to arsenic in water may increase cardiovascular disease and especially heart disease risk even at exposure levels below the federal regulatory limit (10µg/L) according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. This is the first study to describe exposure-response relationships at concentrations below the current regulatory limit and substantiates that prolonged exposure to arsenic in water contributes to the development of ischemic heart disease. The researchers ...

Researchers Takuma Nakamura, Kazuki Hashimoto, and Takuro Ideguchi of the Institute for Photon Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo have increased by a 100-fold the measurement rate of Raman spectroscopy, a common technique for measuring the “vibrational fingerprint” of molecules in order to identify them. As the measurement rate has been a major limiting factor, this improvement contributes to advancements in many fields that rely on identifying molecules and cells, such as biomedical diagnostics and material analytics. The findings were published in the journal Ultrafast ...

Gardens offer a steady and reliable source of nectar all year round, helping to keep pollinators fed when farmland sources are limited, researchers have discovered. This consistency means that even small patches of gardens in rural areas can sustain pollinators, particularly in early spring and late summer when nectar is scarce. In the findings, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists at the University of Bristol discovered that gardens can provide between 50% and 95% of the total nectar during these critical ...

Treating opioid use disorder significantly lowers the very high rate (8 times the general population) of suicide among people with opioid dependence.  A Scottish study led by Glasgow Caledonian University of over 45,000 patients receiving methadone or buprenorphine for opioid use disorder reported this important result today in the scientific journal Addiction. There were 575 suicides among the group of 46,453 people with opioid use disorder, accounting for 1.2% of the group.  Although every member of the group received an OAT prescription at some point between 2011 and 2020, some ...

Abundant green space in urban areas is linked to lower rates of heat related illness and death as well as better mental health and wellbeing, finds a systematic review of the available research, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. Green space may help offset the adverse health effects of high temperatures, conclude the researchers. In recognition of the detrimental heat related effects of increasing urbanisation and climate change, one of the UN Sustainable Development Goal targets stipulates the ...

The lifetime risk of an unexpected and sudden death from a cardiovascular cause in the absence of pre-existing heart disease—known as sudden cardiac death—is more than 4 times higher for people with schizophrenia than it is for the general population, indicates Danish research published online in the journal Heart. The risk is still around twice as high for those with other types of mental ill health, such as depression, whatever their age, indicate the findings, which suggest that an 18 year old can expect to live around 10 fewer years than someone of the same age without mental health issues. The research to date indicates ...

The scourge of scurvy, which is caused by vitamin C deficiency, may be re-emerging amid the cost of living crisis and the rise in weight loss (bariatric) surgery, suggest doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports after treating a middle-aged man with the condition. Scurvy is eminently treatable, but because it’s a disease of the past, first associated with sailors during the Renaissance era, it may be mistaken for other conditions, especially inflamed blood vessels (vasculitis), potentially risking fatal bleeding if left untreated, highlight the authors.  Signs can appear as early as a month after a daily intake ...

WASHINGTON — As interest grows in geoengineering as a strategy for tackling global warming, the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists today launched an ethical framework as a guide to responsible decision-making and inclusive dialogue.   The report, facilitated by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and advised by a global panel of experts, says any research into large-scale interventions in Earth’s climate system must be grounded in sound ethical principles so society can make informed choices about whether to deploy them. It warns that the unintended consequences ...

A new advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tool, developed by renal doctors internationally, represents a significant step forward in predicting and potentially improving outcomes for UK kidney transplant patients.  For patients with late-stage renal failure, a kidney transplant can be life-changing, offering the promise of improved survival and a better quality of life compared to other treatment options. But in the UK alone, around 5,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, ...

Vanderbilt University Medical Center will name the new expansion tower for Vanderbilt University Hospital the Jim Ayers Tower in recognition of Janet and Jim Ayers’ philanthropic legacy and abiding interest in improving the health care and quality of life for Tennesseans.   The naming of the 15-level, 470,000-square-foot tower, currently under construction between 21st Avenue South and Medical Center Drive on the Main Campus in Nashville, honors the couple’s steadfast community leadership and longtime connection to VUMC. The tower is scheduled to ...

Barcelona, Spain: A new drug called WNTinib can delay the growth of tumours and improve survival in hepatoblastoma, a type of liver cancer that occurs in young children. This effect was seen in cancer cells taken from patients and implanted into mice.   The researchers are now working on strategies to identify children who may benefit from the treatment, according to Ms Ugne Balaseviciute, a pre-doctoral researcher in the Translational Research in the Hepatic Oncology Group led by Professor Josep M, Llovet at Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques ...

TUCSON, Arizona — A study published in Clinical Cancer Research confirmed that tissue stiffening in the most common types of breast cancer, HER2-negative, can directly cause disease progression and metastasis, leading to detrimental outcomes for patients. The work was a collaboration between researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and clinicians in Spain.  Researchers led by Miguel Quintela-Fandino, MD, at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center evaluated the MeCo Score™, a diagnostic test invented at ...

Right now across the country, tens of millions of older adults and people with serious disabilities have a choice to make: whether to stick with their current Medicare option, or change during Open Enrollment. One of the biggest decisions they face is whether to go with a Medicare Advantage plan offered by an insurance company, or traditional Medicare coverage offered directly by the federal government. If they change from one to the other, a new University of Michigan study finds, they may be entering a revolving door and find themselves changing again in the future. On average, the study shows, 3% of people with traditional Medicare switch over to ...

COVID-19 is here to stay. As restrictions and human testing have waned, new research is tackling the challenge of how we can monitor, predict, and prevent cases and outbreaks of COVID-19, especially among vulnerable groups like hospitalized patients. One approach is environmental surveillance. The most well-known incarnation is wastewater surveillance, which rose in prominence following the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Coronavirus in the Urban Built Environment research team, also known as CUBE, is exploring an alternative—swabbing the floors. In a recent study at two hospitals in Ontario, CUBE researchers swabbed the floors ...

Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet, apparently due to changing sea ice conditions in a warming Arctic. While surveying the health of two polar bear populations, researchers found lacerations, hair loss, ice buildup and skin ulcerations primarily affecting the feet of adult bears as well as other parts of the body. Two bears had ice blocks up to 1 foot (30 centimeters) in diameter stuck to their foot pads, which caused deep, bleeding cuts and made it difficult for them to walk. The study led by the University of Washington was published Oct. 22 in the journal Ecology. It’s ...

DURHAM, N.H.—(October 22, 2024)—Political affiliation may not make a difference on everyday purchases for individuals, but it can play a role when buying for friends, family and co-workers, new research from the University of New Hampshire has found. This may have implications for gift buying this holiday season and beyond. “We performed five different studies, each looking at buying different products, and asked people to make a choice for themselves and then a gift for someone they knew really well and found that politics played a bigger role when people were purchasing gifts, because that's a case where people are making a decision based ...

Note to Editors: Video clips available at: https://duke.box.com/s/wtq3ofu3kf84ayw3qr6jajxdizt0rwxc DURHAM, N.C. – Imagine sitting in a dark movie theater wondering just how much soda is left in your oversized cup. Rather than prying off the cap and looking, you pick up and shake the cup a bit to hear how much ice is inside rattling around, giving you a decent indication of if you’ll need to get a free refill. Setting the drink back down, you wonder absent-mindedly if the armrest is made of real wood. After ...

A world-renowned West Virginia University physician and researcher has received one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. Dr. Sally Hodder, director of the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute, associate vice president for clinical and translational science at WVU and Chancellor’s Preeminent Scholar Chair, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her accomplishments as an infectious diseases physician and researcher. Hodder, the first person from WVU to be chosen for the National Academy of Medicine, is one of only 100 new members from around the world announced at the Oct. 21 NAM ...