Neuroscientists have discovered how the brain bidirectionally controls sensitivity to threats to initiate and complete escape behaviour in mice. These findings could help unlock new directions for discovering therapies for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, published today in Current Biology, outlines how researchers at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at UCL studied a region of the brain called the periaqueductal gray (PAG), which is known to be hyperactive in people with anxiety and PTSD. Their ...

Transgender women are still at risk for prostate cancer. A new study led by Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association, concludes that current screening guidelines could miss early-stage prostate cancer in transgender women on hormone therapy. The prostate, a small gland that helps make semen, also produces a protein called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. Blood levels of PSA tend to be elevated in people who have prostate cancer, and the PSA test, which measures those levels, is a common prostate ...

What: A large analysis of data from nearly 400,000 healthy U.S. adults followed for more than 20 years has found no association between regular multivitamin use and lower risk of death. The study, led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, was published June 26, 2024, in JAMA Network Open. Many adults in the United States take multivitamins with the hope of improving their health. However, the benefits and harms of regular multivitamin use remain unclear. ...

Work is underway on a wiring diagram of the motor circuits in the central nervous system that control muscles in fruit flies. This connectome, as the wiring diagram is called, is already providing detailed information on how the nerve coordination of leg movements differs from that controlling the wings. Although fruit flies seem like simple creatures, the researchers said that their motor system contains “an unexpected level of complexity.” “A typical fly motor neuron receives thousands of synapses from hundreds ...

As lasers go, those made of Titanium-sapphire (Ti:sapphire) are considered to have “unmatched” performance. They are indispensable in many fields, including cutting-edge quantum optics, spectroscopy, and neuroscience. But that performance comes at a steep price. Ti:sapphire lasers are big, on the order of cubic feet in volume. They are expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each. And they require other high-powered lasers, themselves costing $30,000 each, to supply them with enough energy to function. As a result, Ti:sapphire lasers ...

Across Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and the Americas, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) brings variations in winds, weather, and ocean temperature that can cause droughts, floods, crop failures, and food shortages. Recently, the world has experienced a major El Niño event in 2023-2024, dramatically impacting weather, climate, ecosystems, and economies globally. By developing an innovative modeling approach, researchers from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University ...

A genetic “off switch” that shuts down the process in which legume plants convert atmospheric nitrogen into nutrients has been identified for the first time by a team of international scientists. Legumes like beans, peas and lentils are unique among crops for their ability to interact with soil bacteria to convert or “fix” nitrogen into a usable form of nutrients. However, this energy-intensive biological process is reduced when nitrogen is already abundant in the soil either through natural processes or through the application of synthetic ...

The Frontiers Planet Prize today (26 June) announced its 2024 International Champions. The Prize recognizes and rewards scientists whose groundbreaking research accelerates solutions to help humanity remain safely within the nine planetary boundaries. The three winning scientists, Dr Pedro Jaureguiberry, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (Argentina), Prof Dr Peter Haase, Senckenberg Society for Nature Research (Germany), and Prof Jason Rohr, University of Notre Dame (USA), were each awarded 1.1 million (USD) / 1 million (CHF) to support their research.  The International Champions award-winning research ...

Dark energy — a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate — was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Pushing the boundaries of this search, University of California, Berkeley physicists have now built the most precise experiment yet to look for minor deviations from the accepted theory of gravity that could be evidence for such a particle, which theorists have dubbed a chameleon or symmetron. The experiment, which combines an atom interferometer for precise gravity ...

Key Takeaways  Spanish-speaking patients who suffer traumatic injuries face gaps in their care once they leave the hospital, many with a high need for mental health services.  More than half of the patients studied reported food insecurity, transportation challenges, and needing help with utilities.   A novel care pathway developed by researchers can help connect these patients with needed services.  CHICAGO – Many trauma patients face a myriad of challenges when recovering from a traumatic injury, ...

Promoting active and healthy ageing of citizens through a new mobile application that shows walking routes through green areas in Barcelona with data on geolocation, obstacles, pollution and weather in real time: this is the aim of the citizen science project Every Walk You Take, promoted by a team from the University of Barcelona. This initiative aims to promote physical activity and health among the over-fifty-five population through a new mobile-assisted health intervention (mHealth).   This innovative app, presented in an article published in Sustainability ...

A significant new study published in the Cyborg Bionic Systems journal by Fanli Kong and colleagues sheds light on the intricate relationship between depression and brain activity, particularly focusing on the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in rats. This research offers compelling insights into how depression can alter neural circuits and could pave the way for new treatments. Depression is a debilitating mental health issue affecting millions worldwide and is known for symptoms like persistent sadness, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, and fatigue. While traditional treatments have focused on neurotransmitters in the brain, this study dives deeper into the brain’s structural ...

The recent study by Datao Xu and his team at Ningbo University has unveiled important strategies that can be applied in athletic training and rehabilitation to curb the high rates of lower limb injuries. Their research meticulously analyzes the mechanics of single-leg landings—a common move in various sports—to propose enhanced landing techniques that not only aim to protect athletes but also improve their performance by enabling quicker recovery and continuation in sports activities. One of the study’s most significant contributions is its detailed exploration of the role of ankle dynamics in absorbing landing impacts. ...

In a groundbreaking advancement that could reshape the landscape of precise medicine, researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology and Rutgers University have unveiled a series of innovative electrospinning techniques capable of significantly enhancing the functionality and effectiveness of medical devices. This pioneering study, recently published in the Cyborg Bionic Systems journal, promises to revolutionize the creation and implementation of nano/microrobots, wearable/implantable biosensors, and organ-on-chip systems. Precise medicine, aimed at tailoring healthcare to individual patients ...

SAN FRANCISCO —The Public Library of Science (PLOS) is pleased to announce a consortium agreement with Consorcio Colombia / Consortia facilitated by Accucoms, that allows joining member institutions to participate in PLOS’ three innovative publishing models across all 14 PLOS titles. The agreement provides researchers from affiliated institutions unlimited publishing privileges in PLOS journals without incurring fees. Eight Colombian institutions have joined the agreement in 2024 [1], and more institutions are expected to join in the following years. “Consorcio ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [June 26, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a nonprofit alliance of leading cancer centers—is publishing new results for its latest survey on cancer drug shortages in the United States. This follows data published one year ago, and six months ago, illustrating how up to 93% of centers surveyed were experiencing shortages of the crucial chemotherapy carboplatin at its peak. In June 2023, 70% of centers surveyed were also lacking adequate supply for cisplatin. In the latest survey, only 11% of surveyed centers reported a shortage of carboplatin and 7% for cisplatin; but new concerns have emerged. “Critical ...

Highlights: Bovine mastitis is a potentially fatal condition with myriad known causes, including bacteria. Biting flies may help cause mastitis, but the mechanisms are not well elucidated. Researchers characterized microbial diversity in biting flies and manure to look for connections. The flies carried relevant bacterial strains, also found in the manure, associated with mastitis. The research may point to new strategies for protecting cows from disease-causing pathogens.   Washington, D.C.—Bovine mastitis, which affects cows, leads to reduced milk production and can be fatal if left untreated. The USDA National Animal Health Monitoring ...

Balance can be impacted by various factors, including diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, acute and chronic injuries to the nervous system, and the natural aging process. Accurately assessing balance in patients is important to identify and manage conditions that affect coordination and stability. Balance assessments also play a key role in preventing falls, understanding movement disorders, and designing appropriate therapeutic interventions across age groups and medical conditions. However, traditional methods used to assess balance often suffer from subjectivity, are not comprehensive enough and cannot be administered remotely. Moreover, these assessments rely on expensive, ...

Stars blinking code in Netflix’s “3 Body Problem” might be science fiction, but by deciphering neutron stars’ erratic flickers, a new study has revealed the twisted origin of these dead stars’ mysterious “heartbeats.” When neutron stars—ultra-dense remnants of massive stars that exploded in supernovae—were first discovered in 1967, astronomers thought their strange periodic pulses could be signals from an alien civilization. Although we now know these “heartbeats” ...

Many municipal landfills “burp” gas from decomposing organic matter rather than letting it build up. And burps from buried waste containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can release these “forever chemicals” into the air, say researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Their study reports unexpectedly high levels of airborne PFAS at three landfills and demonstrates that vented gases and liquid by-products called leachates could transport similar amounts of these contaminants to the environment. Some consumer products and commercial waste, such as children’s clothing, cosmetics and wastewater treatment sludge solids, contain ...

Clean, safe water is a limited resource and access to it depends on local bodies of water. But even dry regions have some water vapor in the air. To harvest small amounts of humidity, researchers in ACS Energy Letters have developed a compact device with absorbent-coated fins that first trap moisture and then generate potable water when heated. They say the prototype could help meet growing demands for water, especially in arid locations. Earth’s atmosphere holds trillions of liters of fresh water as vapor, but it’s challenging to collect this colorless, transparent and dilute gas. Previously, researchers developed systems that trap ...

Comprising the base of the food web, plankton are extremely important to marine ecosystems. However, there is still much to be discovered about these organisms, and that’s especially true for mixoplankton. Plankton are typically divided into two groups. Similar to plants, phytoplankton contain chlorophyll and derive energy from photosynthesis. Zooplankton, on the other hand, consume other organisms for their energy. However, there is also a third group, mixoplankton, that is a combination of the two. And, despite accounting for, at times, more than half of all plankton in the ocean, they remain ...

River plants provide ecological and environmental benefits, but they raise flood risk by blocking the flow during heavy rain. Removing woody riparian vegetation patches is a primary flood prevention method, but it threatens stream's biodiversity. The research team at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Kim, Byung-Suk) has developed a technology for quantifying the effect of river vegetation patches on flood level changes to aid in better decision-making of river management for balancing ecological benefits and flood mitigation. Rivers ...

Marine organisms produce many organic compounds with diverse chemical structures and biological activities. These natural marine products are regarded as potential starting points for the discovery and development of new drugs. Among these are norcembranolide diterpenes isolated from the soft corals of the genus Sinularia. These compounds exhibit diverse biological activities, and many of them have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Consequently, many studies have investigated the properties of norcembranolide diterpenes and their synthesis methods. Given their potential in drug discovery, developing a synthetic ...

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — The blood-brain barrier — a network of blood vessels and tissues that nurtures and protects the brain from harmful substances circulating in the blood — is disrupted in Alzheimer's disease. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic and collaborators have uncovered unique molecular signatures of blood-brain barrier dysfunction that could point to new ways to diagnose and treat the disease. Their findings are published in Nature Communications. "These signatures have high potential to become novel biomarkers that capture brain changes in Alzheimer's ...