Glenview, IL– Effective January 1, John Howington, MD, MBA, FCCP, is the new President of the American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST). Neil S. Freedman, MD, FCCP, steps into the role of President-Elect; Lisa Moores, MD, FCCP, is the new President-Designate; and Jack D. Buckley, MD, MPH, FCCP, completes his term as President to become Immediate Past President of CHEST. John Howington, MD, MBA, FCCP, is a practicing thoracic surgeon currently at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, St. Michael Medical Center, in Silverdale, Washington. Dr. Howington ...

The hormone estrogen regulates binge drinking in females, causing them to “pregame” – consume large quantities of alcohol in the first 30 minutes after it’s offered, according to a preclinical study led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The study establishes–for what is thought to be the first time–that circulating estrogen increases binge alcohol consumption in females and contributes to known sex differences in this behavior. The findings, published Dec. 30 in the journal Nature Communications, could lead to novel approaches for treating alcohol use disorder. “We know a lot less about what drives alcohol ...

The near future could see AI assistants that forecast and influence our decision-making at an early stage, and sell these developing “intentions” in real-time to companies that can meet the need – before we even realise we have made up our minds. This is according to AI ethicists from the University of Cambridge, who say we are at the dawn of a “lucrative yet troubling new marketplace for digital signals of intent”, from buying movie tickets to voting for candidates. They call this the "Intention Economy". Researchers from Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence ...

Operations teams have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024. Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved. A beacon tone received late on Dec. 26 confirmed the spacecraft had made it through the encounter safely and is operating normally. This pass, the ...

Fukuoka, Japan―Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-enabled robots are becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. Real-time, flexible interactions between humans and robots are no longer just science fiction. As robots become smarter and more human-like in both behavior and appearance, they are transforming from mere tools to potential partners and social entities.  This rapid evolution presents significant challenges to our legal and ethical frameworks, including concerns about privacy, safety, and regulation in the context of AI and robots. The Cambridge Handbook of the Law, Policy, ...

Exploiting an ingenious combination of photochemical (i.e., light-induced) reactions and self-assembly processes, a team led by Prof. Alberto Credi of the University of Bologna has succeeded in inserting a filiform molecule into the cavity of a ring-shaped molecule, according to a high-energy geometry that is not possible at thermodynamic equilibrium. In other words, light makes it possible to create a molecular “fit” that would otherwise be inaccessible. “We have shown that by administering ...

About The Study: The findings from this case-control study suggest that children should receive influenza vaccination to protect against all levels of severe influenza illness. Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Kelsey M. Sumner, PhD, MSPH (rhq3@cdc.gov) and Samantha M. Olson, MPH (ylz8@cdc.gov). To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.52512) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, in situ breast cancer decreased since 2009, consistent with decreasing use of screening mammography since the 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guideline changes, but this decrease did not appear to have translated to more advanced breast cancer stages at diagnosis or decreases in the proportion of cases treated with partial mastectomy. Further research is needed to understand the long-standing increase in localized invasive breast cancer and the decrease in regional invasive breast cancer observed during the past 20 years in the context of decreased breast ...

The creation of more fox-free safe havens and greater collaboration between government and landowners is needed to ensure the survival of a species of wallaby, an expert from The Australian National University (ANU) argues.  The Parma wallaby, also known as the white-throated wallaby, is listed as a vulnerable species in Australia, while the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies it as Near Threatened. The marsupial is found along the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales.  According to ANU Professor George Wilson, who is a co-author of a new ...

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have collaborated with international partners to explore if societal inequality affects our brain. Their research paper is published in Nature Aging today, [Friday, December 27th] by an international team of researchers from the Multipartner Consortium to expand dementia research in Latin America (ReDLat), the Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), the GIobal Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at Trinity College Dublin, and other centres across the globe. The study reveals a direct link between structural inequality—such as socioeconomic disparities measured by a country-level index ...

Although being married or in a long-term relationship is often seen as the norm, more people are staying single for life. But singlehood can bring economic and medical disadvantages, especially as people get older and may become more reliant on others.   New research in Psychological Science reveals that lifelong singles have lower scores on life satisfaction measures and different personality traits compared to partnered people, findings that point to the need for both helpful networks and ways to create such networks that are better catered to single people.  “When there are ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 26, 2024 — President Biden earlier this week signed into law the bipartisan Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act, which will help ensure students and staff in schools nationwide are prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency. The bipartisan legislation unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September and the U.S. Senate earlier this month. The American Heart Association, which is celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service as the world’s leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health, strongly supports this legislation as part of its goal to double the survival ...

Why it matters: In the era of big data, global mass data flow has presented data storage systems with a looming challenge. As DNA has incredibly high storage density – a single gram of DNA can store 215,000 terabytes, the same size as 10 million hours of high-definition video (Imburgia & Nivala, 2024)– and long-term stability, it is an attractive medium for data storage. However, conventional DNA storage relies on de novo synthesis, where nucleotides are added one by one in a fixed order, ...

Peking University, November 7, 2024: Imagine the deep frustration of countless men who long to become fathers, only to face infertility due to a genetic condition they can't control. For those with Klinefelter syndrome, this painful reality is a constant struggle. How does an extra X chromosome lead to infertility in men? Professor Qiao Jie and her team at Peking University Third Hospital revealed why Klinefelter syndrome, a common genetic condition affecting one in every 600 men, often leads to infertility—and they’ve ...

Peking University, November 15, 2024: Addressing the challenge of controlling electronic states in materials, the scientific community has been exploring innovative methods. Recently, researchers from Peking University, led by Professor Nanlin Wang, in collaboration with Professor Qiaomei Liu and Associate Research Scientist Dong Wu, uncovered how ultrafast lasers can manipulate non-volatile, reversible control over the electronic polar states in the charge-density-wave material EuTe4 at room temperature. ...

Peking University, November 15, 2024: A research team led by Prof. Li Mingsong at Peking University has provided new insights into the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and its effects on ocean chemistry. This study, entitled “Coupled decline in ocean pH and carbonate saturation during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum” published in Nature Geoscience reconstructs ocean acidification during this ancient climate event, offering parallels with current trends linked to human-driven CO2 emissions. Why It Matters: The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 56 million years ago, was a major carbon release event that resulted in rapid global warming ...

Peking University, November 20, 2024: In a groundbreaking achievement, researchers from Peking University's School of Materials Science and Engineering, led by Professor Jin-Hu Dou, have synthesized a novel non-van-der-Waals two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymer with intrinsic superconducting properties. The findings, published in Nature Communications (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53786-1) on October 29, 2024, introduce the first precise crystal structure of the Cu₃BHT coordination polymer, marking a significant leap in the ...

Peking University, December 3rd, 2024: Prof Zhang Zhiyong’s team developed a heterojunction-gated field-effect transistor (HGFET) that achieves high sensitivity in short-wave infrared detection, with a recorded specific detectivity above 1014 Jones at 1300 nm, making it capable of starlight detection. Their research was recently published in the journal Advanced Materials, titled “Opto-Electrical Decoupled Phototransistor for Starlight Detection”. Why it matters: Highly sensitive shortwave infrared (SWIR) detectors are essential for detecting weak radiation (typically below 10−8 W·Sr−1·cm−2·µm−1) with high-end ...

Peking University, December 11, 2024: A team of researchers led by Professor Piao Shilong at the Institute of Carbon Neutrality of Peking University (PKU) has made significant advances in understanding how China’s land-use changes—such as forest planting—can contribute to the country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Their study, published in Nature Communications, offers fresh insights into China’s carbon removal capacity through land-use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), a key strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. Why it matters: As part of its commitment under the Paris Agreement, China has pledged to become carbon ...

Peking University, December 19, 2024:  A collaborative study led by Piao Shilong’s team and Zhang Yao’s team from the Institute of Carbon Neutrality at Peking University reveals the distinct mechanisms by which plants and animals respond to climate change in their life-cycle phenology. This research provides comprehensive global-scale evidence on the asynchronous phenological changes between plants and animals.   Why it matters:  Climate change has altered the timing of recurring biological cycles in both plants and animals. ...

About The Study: In this meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, engaging in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per week was associated with modest reductions in body weight, waist circumference, and body fat measures among adults with overweight or obesity. However, aerobic training exceeding 150 minutes per week at moderate intensity or greater may be needed to achieve clinically important reductions. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ahmad Jayedi, PhD, email a.jayedi@imperial.ac.uk. To access the embargoed ...

About The Study: In this study, short sleep duration that persisted from pregnancy to 2 to 7 years after delivery was associated with a greater risk for adverse cardiometabolic outcomes. Future studies should explore whether sleep-targeted interventions during and after pregnancy are associated with improved cardiometabolic health outcomes, particularly among populations at increased risk. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Minjee Kim, MD, email minjee.kim@northwestern.edu. To ...

About The Study: This cohort study found an association between COVID-19 and accelerated decline in kidney function, particularly after hospitalization, compared with pneumonia. People who were hospitalized for COVID-19 should receive closer monitoring of kidney function to ensure early diagnosis and optimized management of chronic kidney disease to effectively prevent complications and further decline. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Viyaasan Mahalingasivam, MPhil, email viyaasan.mahalingasivam@nhs.net. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link ...

Medicare Advantage—the privatized form of Medicare that offers benefits beyond traditional Medicare, such as dental insurance—is gaining in popularity, but a new analysis reveals that the quality of dental coverage offered by Medicare Advantage is poor, with only 8.4 percent of plans offering a dental benefit that met the study’s quality standards. The research led by a team from Mass General Brigham is published in JAMA.   “Our study suggests that many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries may not have access to the dental care they need, even if they are enrolled in a plan that nominally ...

Trans-fatty acids (TFA) are a major cause of cardiovascular diseases. These harmful fats can accumulate along artery walls, restricting blood flow and increasing the risk of heart attacks. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), TFAs are responsible for over 278,000 annual deaths worldwide, and it recommends that TFA consumption should be limited to less than 1% of daily energy intake. Common sources of TFAs include fried (junk) foods and processed foods such as margarine, ghee, biscuits, cakes, etc. In processed foods, TFAs are produced through the hydrogenation of vegetable oil, a chemical process that saturates the oil with hydrogen. While the formation process of TFAs in ...