As you travel your usual route to work or the grocery store, your brain engages cognitive maps stored in your hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. These maps store information about paths you have taken and locations you have been to before, so you can navigate whenever you go there. New research from MIT has found that such mental maps also are created and activated when you merely think about sequences of experiences, in the absence of any physical movement or sensory input. In an animal study, the researchers found that the entorhinal cortex harbors a cognitive map of what animals experience while they use a joystick to browse through a sequence of images. ...

Immune system cells called macrophages play an unexpected role in the complicated connection between obesity and cancer, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led research team has discovered.  Obesity increases the frequency of macrophages in tumors and induces their expression of the immune checkpoint protein PD-1 — a target of cancer immunotherapies. The findings, published June 12 in the journal Nature, provide a mechanistic explanation for how obesity can contribute to both increased cancer ...

Ubiquitous wearable technologies, like smartwatches, could help researchers better understand progressive neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease and speed up the approval of new therapies, a critical need given that no drugs exist to slow progression of the world’s fastest growing brain disease. New research appearing today in the journal njp Parkinson’s Disease adds to growing evidence that widely used and user-friendly consumer devices, in this instance an Apple Watch paired with an iPhone, ...

About 2.5 billion years ago, free oxygen, or O2, first started to accumulate to meaningful levels in Earth’s atmosphere, setting the stage for the rise of complex life on our evolving planet. Scientists refers to this phenomenon as the Great Oxidation Event, or GOE for short. But the initial accumulation of O2 on Earth was not nearly as straightforward as that moniker suggests, according to new research led by a University of Utah geochemist. This “event” lasted at least 200 million years. And tracking the accumulation of O2 in the oceans has been very difficult until now, ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of World Trade Center responders who survived these unique exposures and participated in a longitudinal follow-up study of cognition from 2014 through 2022, when compared with responders with the lowest exposure levels or responders who used personalized protective equipment (PPE), more severe exposure to dust or debris was significantly associated with a higher risk of dementia before 65 years of age. This study suggests that the reliable use of PPE might help prevent the onset of dementia before age 65 years among individuals exposed to an uncontrolled building collapse. Future ...

About The Study: Neighborhood deprivation was associated with increased breast cancer mortality among non-Hispanic white women in this cohort study. Neighborhood racial composition, residential mobility, and rurality did not explain the lack of association among non-Hispanic Black women, suggesting that factors beyond those explored here may contribute to breast cancer mortality in this racial group.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Lauren E. Barber, Ph.D., email lauren.barber@emory.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.16499) Editor’s ...

It is one of the most hotly debated topics in today’s workplace: Is allowing employees to log in from home a few days a week good for their productivity, careers, and job satisfaction? Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economist and one of the foremost researchers on work-from-home policies, has uncovered compelling evidence that hybrid schedules are a boon to both employees and their bosses. In a study, newly published in the journal Nature, of an experiment on more than 1,600 workers at Trip.com — a Chinese company that is one of the world’s largest online travel agencies — Bloom finds that employees who work from home ...

hat: Researchers have identified inherited genetic variants that may predict the loss of one copy of a woman’s two X chromosomes as she ages, a phenomenon known as mosaic loss of chromosome X, or mLOX. These genetic variants may play a role in promoting abnormal blood cells (that have only a single copy of chromosome X) to multiply, which may lead to several health conditions, including cancer. The study, co-led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, was published ...

A Dartmouth study conducted on fruit flies reports the first evidence in any organism that oocytes—the cells that become eggs—regularly rejuvenate the critical protein linkages that bind chromosomes together. The findings are a potentially important step toward helping women reduce their risk of pregnancy complications as they age, the researchers report in the journal Current Biology.    Women are born with the oocytes they will have for life, and the cohesive linkages that connect chromosomes are established in those cells prenatally. When they reach childbearing age, ovulation triggers the ...

BOSTON – Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for approximately one in every three deaths, with more than 20 million deaths reported in 2021 according to a 2024 World Heart Federation report. Improvements in heart disease prevention, treatment and intervention have led to substantial declines in cardiovascular deaths in recent decades, but climate change caused by the continued combustion of fossil fuels may undermine this progress. Over the last century, NASA confirms the average global temperature has risen by more than two degrees Fahrenheit, leading to long-term shifts in average weather patterns, disturbance ...

Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) researchers harness long-read RNA sequencing to decode genetic intricacies and disease links. Tokyo, Japan – Alternative splicing, a process where a single gene can give rise to multiple different proteins via inclusion or exclusion of certain segments of the gene sequence, is known to occur in over 90% of human genes. This leads to the production of numerous transcript isoforms (splice variants of an expressed gene) crucial for protein function and cellular processes. Despite previous research on mechanisms underlying alternative splicing ...

Many modern bridges use orthotropic steel bridge decks (OSBD), the decks being the surface sections of the bridge. OSBDs were designed to be lightweight and economical. However, this design has shown increasing issues with pavement cracking and fatigue damage at the welds that connect the bridge deck to the bridge superstructure. Fatigue damage is damage that accrues over time with use.   To ameliorate these problems, a new bridge deck was designed. The composite bridge deck system (CBD) added a layer of concrete to decrease the probability of damage due to fatigue. More recently the use of high-performance materials, such as ultra-high-performance ...

In recent years, the high complexity of integrated devices has made heat accumulation increasingly critical and has resulted in higher heat dissipation requirements for substrates and packaging materials. In this study, boron nitride microribbon (BNMR)/Al2O3 composite ceramics are prepared using spark plasma sintering (SPS). This study examines the effect of varying the amount of toughened phase BNMR on the density, mechanical properties, dielectric constant, and thermal conductivity of BNMR/Al2O3 composite ceramics while also exploring the mechanisms behind the toughening and increased ...

With the escalating impacts of climate change and depletion of resources, dielectric capacitors are emerging as promising high-demanded candidates for high-performance energy storage devices. However, due to the shortcomings of various dielectric ceramics (e.g., paraelectrics, ferroelectrics, and antiferroelectrics), their low polarizability, low breakdown strength, and large hysteresis loss limit their standalone use in the advancing of energy storage ceramics. Therefore, synthesizing novel perovskite-based materials that exhibit high energy density, high energy efficiency, and low loss is crucial in achieving superior energy ...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and progressive lung disease marked by the thickening and scarring of lung tissue with unclear etiology. Affecting around five million people worldwide, IPF causes severe respiratory problems and greatly diminishes the quality of life. Despite ongoing medical research, the exact cause of IPF is still unknown, and treatment options are limited. The prognosis for IPF is grim, with only about 20% of patients surviving five years post-diagnosis, highlighting the critical need for better therapies and a deeper understanding ...

Thermoelectric technology, which enables the direct conversion of heat into electricity, has emerged as a promising alternative energy source. Notably, this technology can efficiently convert body heat into electrical energy, garnering significant attention in the field of wearable electronics. However, the dense structure of most thermoelectric materials results in ultra-low moisture permeability. In practical applications, insufficient moisture permeability can trap heat and humidity, fostering bacterial growth and potentially causing skin lesions. Hence, developing thermoelectric materials with superior moisture permeability is crucial.   A team led by ...

Artificial intelligence is poised to bring photovoltaic systems into a new era through revolutionary improvements in efficiency, reliability, and predictability of solar power generation.   In their paper published on May 8 in CAAI Artificial Intelligence Research, a research team from Chinese and Malaysian universities explored the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technology on photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems and their applications from a global perspective.   “The overall message is an optimistic outlook on how AI can lead to more sustainable and efficient energy solutions,” said Xiaoyun Tian from ...

PHILADELPHIA – Syphilis cases are on the rise around the globe, but many Americans don’t know the symptoms. In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that syphilis cases had risen 80 percent over the five years from 2018 to 2022, totaling more than 200,000 in 2022, the last year for which data are available. Yet just over half of U.S. adults (54%) know that a case of syphilis can be permanently cured and most either mistakenly think there is a vaccine to prevent it (16%) or are unsure (45%), according to the Annenberg Public Policy ...

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters today announced the 2024 Kavli Prize Laureates in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience. The 2024 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience honors McGovern Investigator and MIT neuroscientist Nancy Kanwisher, UC Berkeley neurobiologist Doris Tsao, and Rockefeller University neuroscientist Winrich Freiwald for their discovery of a highly localized and specialized system for representation of faces in human and non-human primate neocortex. The neuroscience laureates ...

Eight scientists from three countries are honored for their research that has broadened our understanding of the big, the small and the complex. June 12, 2024 (Oslo, Norway) — The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters today announced the 2024 Kavli Prize Laureates in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. Eight scientists from three countries are honored for their research that has broadened our understanding of the big, the small and the complex. The laureates in each field will share $1 million USD.  The ...

Washington, D.C—The nasal microbiota of intensive care unit (ICU) patients effectively distinguishes sepsis from non-septic cases and outperforms analyzing the gut microbiota to predict sepsis, according to a new study published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.   “These findings have implications for the development of diagnostic strategies and advancements in critical care medicine,” said corresponding study author Xiaolong He, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at the Microbiome Medicine Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine, ...

T-cell stimulating biomaterial that slowly biodegrades under the skin stimulates CAR-T cells in the body to improve therapeutic efficacy in an aggressive mouse tumor model. By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — CAR-T cell therapies are transforming the treatment of previously incurable blood cancers. Six approved CAR-T products have been administered to more than 20,000 people, and more than 500 clinical trials are underway. However, according to a recent study out of the Massachusetts General Hospital, ...

A research team in Korea Institute of Energy Research has successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of a green hydrogen system used to supplement the volatility of renewable energy. *Green hydrogen: Hydrogen obtained by electrolysis of water, in which electrical energy derived from renewable sources such as solar and wind power is applied to water to produce hydrogen and oxygen. This production method is an environmentally friendly hydrogen production process with no carbon dioxide emissions. Dr. Joungho Park and his research team at the Energy ...

Hormonally.org is a digital platform that provides free-to-access, evidence-based resources designed to empower women (and all those affected by hormones) to seek the appropriate care, treatment, and support they deserve. Hormonally’s mission is to make access to information on women’s hormonal health a more equitable experience for all. The new nonprofit organization offers accessible information and a safe place to discuss and discover everything from the first period to post-menopause. Hormonally ...

HOUSTON and MILAN ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Sibylla Biotech today announced a strategic collaboration agreement to discover and develop novel small-molecule cancer therapies known as folding interfering degraders (FIDs), which disrupt the proper folding of target proteins and lead to their degradation. Under the agreement, Sibylla and MD Anderson will jointly conduct discovery and development work from target identification through drug candidate nomination on selected proteins, with the potential ...