Background and objectives Recent studies have highlighted a link between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and gut microbiota. This prospective study aimed to evaluate the effects of electroacupuncture combined with Chinese herbal medicine on gut microbiota and metabolomics in ALS patients. Methods Ten ALS patients were randomly assigned to either a treatment group (electroacupuncture with Chinese herbal medicine, n = 6) or a control group (waiting treatment, n = 4). Healthy controls (age- and sex-matched, n = 10) were also included. Data were collected after 12 sessions of electroacupuncture and follow-ups at three and six months. ALS ...

A new study has uncovered how the brain seamlessly transforms sounds, speech patterns, and words into the flow of everyday conversations. Using advanced technology to analyze over 100 hours of brain activity during real-life discussions, researchers revealed the intricate pathways that allow us to effortlessly speak and understand. These insights not only deepen our understanding of human connection but also pave the way for transformative advancements in speech technology and communication tools. [Hebrew University of Jerusalem]– A new study led by Dr. Ariel Goldstein, from the Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Business School at ...

Researchers create gel that can self-heal like human skin The hydrogel has a unique structure, making it the first to combine strength and flexibility with self-healing capabilities. We all encounter gels in daily life – from the soft, sticky substances you put in your hair, to the jelly-like components in various foodstuffs. While human skin shares gel-like characteristics, it has unique qualities that are very hard to replicate. It combines high stiffness with flexibility, and it has remarkable self-healing capabilities, often healing completely within 24 hours after injury.  Until now, artificial gels ...

SAN ANTONIO, March 7, 2025 – A drug developed at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) has been shown to extend survival for patients with glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumor in adults.                             Results of a trial led by the university revealed that a unique investigational drug formulation called Rhenium Obisbemeda (186RNL) more than doubled median survival and progression-free time, compared with standard median survival and progression rates, and ...

Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, country music singer Mindy McCready, Keith Flint of The Prodigy, Electronic Dance Music (EDM) DJ Avicii, K Pop stars Goo Hara, Sulli and Moonbin, and many more. This long and heartbreakingly incomplete list of musicians that have died by suicide represents not only tragedies, but cultural reminders of a devastating apparent connection between artists, mental health challenges, and early mortality.   New data published today in Frontiers in Public ...

Hyperspectral imaging is a technology that detects slight differences in color to pinpoint the characteristics and conditions of an object. While a normal camera creates images using red, green, and blue, a hyperspectral camera can obtain over 100 images in the visible to near-infrared light range in a single shot. As a result, hyperspectral imaging can obtain information that the human eye cannot see. Specially Appointed Associate Professor Takashi Suzuki at the Osaka Metropolitan University Center for Health Science Innovation captured images of palms of human hands using a hyperspectral camera and AI-based region of interest. Hemoglobin contained in red blood cells absorbs light, ...

A collaborative research team from Toho University, the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Nihon University, the Global Environmental Forum, and the Museum Park Ibaraki Nature Museum has revealed that a newly introduced parasite is infecting native fish in the Tone River system. Their study also confirms that the golden mussel, an invasive species, acts as the infection source, while non-native fish such as bluegill and channel catfish help sustain the parasite’s life cycle. This study was published in the Journal of Helminthology on January ...

The Science White Paper for the Einstein Probe (EP) mission has been published in Science China: Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy. This mission, spearheaded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), is poised to advance the field of time-domain and X-ray astronomy significantly. EP's sophisticated observational instruments aim to probe X-ray transient sources and explosive astrophysical phenomena, thereby contributing to significant advancements in astronomical research. The ...

A new Cochrane review has found evidence that music-based therapy may benefit people living with dementia, particularly by improving symptoms of depression. Dementia is a collective term for progressive degenerative brain syndromes that affect memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. Alzheimer’s Disease International reported that there were 55 million people with dementia worldwide in 2019, a figure predicted to increase to 139 million by 2050. While some medicines are available, the therapeutic use of music is considered a relatively simple ...

Researchers say they can find no convincing evidence that physician associates add value in UK primary care or that anaesthetic associates add value in anaesthetics, and some evidence suggested that they do not. In a special paper published by The BMJ today, Professors Trisha Greenhalgh and Martin McKee say the absence of safety incidents in a handful of small studies “should not be taken as evidence that deployment of physician associates and anaesthetic associates is safe.” New research is urgently needed “to explore staff concerns, examine safety incidents, and inform a national scope of practice for these relatively new and contested ...

UCL Press Release Under embargo until Friday 07 March 2025, 00:01 UK time Peer-reviewed | Observational Study | People   At-home brain speed tests bridge cognitive data gaps Online tests of women’s reaction times offer insights into cognitive function and could help fill data gaps on early cognitive problems, potentially shedding light on dementia development later in life, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and other universities. The new paper, published in BMJ Open, finds that online tests can be an easy and effective way for women in their 40s and older to volunteer for dementia ...

NEW YORK – March 6, 2025 – The Cardiovascular Research Foundation® (CRF®) is pleased to announce the appointment of Josep Rodés-Cabau, MD, PhD, as the Editor-in-Chief of Structural Heart: The Journal of the Heart Team, the official journal of CRF®. He will succeed Anthony N. DeMaria, MD, who is retiring after having led the journal since its inception in 2017. “We are deeply grateful to Dr. Tony DeMaria for his exceptional leadership during the formative years of Structural Heart,” said Martin B. Leon, MD, Founder and Chairman ...

When El Salvador President Nayib Bukele implemented a controversial crime crackdown three years ago, he inadvertently helped answer one of the key questions in U.S. immigration policy: How much do crime and violence really drive Central American emigration to the United States? Quite a bit, according to a new study from the Bush School’s Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy. The study found that the crackdown, which significantly reduced killings in El Salvador, also reduced the number of apprehensions/expulsions at the U.S. border by 45% to 67%. ...

A growing body of research indicates that older adults in assisted living facilities can delay or even prevent cognitive decline through interventions that combine multiple activities, such as improving diet, solving puzzles and increasing social interactions. Multidomain interventions, including games and exercises delivered through smartphone-based apps, have also proven effective in slowing cognitive decline in this population. One such intervention is the Silvia Program, a free, cognitive health care lifestyle app that offers one-on-one coaching from a clinical psychologist, cognitive exercises and activities, personalized routine suggestions and a voice analysis tool that can detect ...

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student performance is well known, but four years after the pandemic, scores in college classes are not returning to their pre-pandemic levels.  A University of Mississippi study might point to an answer.   In a study published in a special issue of the Educational Sciences journal, three Ole Miss researchers found that student performance scores started a downward trend following COVID-19. Dozens of studies have documented the pandemic’s negative impact on education, but the Ole Miss team discovered evidence of a deeper problem.  “We were a little puzzled at first because if learning ...

Garett Sansom, DrPH, and Lindsay Sansom, PhD, with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, have been named principal investigator and co-principal investigator of a new, one-year effort funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program to evaluate soil conditions in two northeast Houston neighborhoods and foster community engagement by local residents. Both researchers have extensive experience with similar projects in Houston. Recent examples include a study of lead and other heavy metals in the soil in Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward and a study of the effects ...

The University of Chicago Press is honored to share that several articles in Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies have won prizes from major organizations. These three articles join a long list of recent award-winners from the journal, which is the flagship publication of the Medieval Academy of America (MAA) and a major international forum for medieval studies research. Winner of the 2025 MAA Article Prize in Critical Race Studies Borderland Anxieties: Lisān al-Dīn ibn al-Khaṭīb (d. 1374) ...

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, today named Andrew G. Barto and Richard S. Sutton as the recipients of the 2024 ACM A.M. Turing Award for developing the conceptual and algorithmic foundations of reinforcement learning. In a series of papers beginning in the 1980s, Barto and Sutton introduced the main ideas, constructed the mathematical foundations, and developed important algorithms for reinforcement learning—one of the most important approaches for creating intelligent systems. Barto is Professor Emeritus of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Sutton is a Professor of Computer Science at ...

When a wildfire approaches a prison and an evacuation warning is issued, what are the health risks that incarcerated people face when officials decide to not evacuate? What happens if the evacuation warning turns into a mandate and there are no transportation options to securely move everyone, or there are no nearby facilities to go to?  These are some of the issues raised by two University of Colorado Department of Medicine faculty members — Katherine LeMasters, PhD, and Lawrence Haber, MD — in a correspondence titled, “The Hidden Crisis of Incarcerated Individuals During Wildfires,” which was recently ...

The Ecological Society of America is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA). Students in the 2025 cohort are engaged in advocacy with an interest in science policy. Awardees will travel to Washington, D.C., for policy, communication and career training followed by meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. “Kudos to these ten outstanding graduate students and scientists in training,” said ESA President Stephanie Hampton. “Their dedication to science policy is essential for bridging research and decision-making. By engaging with policymakers, they will help ensure that ecological science ...

Research Highlights: Teenagers who slept less than 7.7 hours in a sleep lab were observed to be almost three times more likely to have elevated blood pressure than well-rested peers. Those who reported insomnia and slept less than 7.7 hours in a sleep lab were five times more likely to have stage 2 hypertension when compared with well-rested peers. The study did not find a notable link between elevated blood pressure or stage 2 hypertension risk among adolescents who reported insomnia but slept 7.7 hours or more. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at the American Heart Association’s scientific ...

Research Highlights: The prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors varies greatly among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations, according to an analysis of electronic health records for more than 700,000 adults in California and Hawaii. The 10-year predicted risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, stroke or heart failure, also varied among the different groups. These results highlight differential risks and raise awareness for the importance of identifying and managing cardiovascular disease risk factors in high-risk populations, the researchers noted. Note: The study ...

Research Highlights: Higher levels of the minerals copper and manganese in pregnant women were associated with lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of developing high blood pressure decades later, according to a long-term study of women in Massachusetts. Higher levels of vitamin B12 were also associated with lower blood pressure in midlife. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract presenting at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle and Metabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2025, and the full manuscript is simultaneously published in the American Heart Association’s peer-reviewed journal Hypertension. Embargoed ...

People who consume plant-based oil instead of butter may experience beneficial health effects and even have a lower risk of premature death, according to a new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The researchers examined diet and health data from 200,000 people followed for more than 30 years and found that higher intake of plant-based oils, especially soybean, canola, and olive oil, was associated with lower ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, higher intake of butter was associated with increased mortality, while higher plant-based oils intake was associated with lower mortality. Substituting butter with plant-based oils may confer substantial benefits for preventing premature deaths.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Dong D. Wang, MD, ScD, email dow471@mail.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.0205) Editor’s ...