The first time a breathing rhythm in the human hippocampus found during sleep Breathing is the metronome that coordinates sleep oscillations  Findings are important for people with disordered breathing during sleep Breathing is a fundamental rhythm of memory consolidation CHICAGO --- Just as a conductor coordinates different instruments in an orchestra to produce a symphony, breathing coordinates hippocampal brain waves to strengthen memory while we sleep, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. This is the first time breathing rhythms during sleep have been linked to these hippocampal brain waves — called slow waves, spindles and ripples ...

Bedbugs. Just mentioning the tiny, biting insects that live on human blood and infest mattresses, couches, and bedding strikes fear into most people. In addition to the anxiety, itching, and rashes an outbreak can cause, bedbugs can be difficult to identify and expensive to treat. Thanks to a new University of Texas at Arlington study published in the Journal of Heredity, scientists now have a better genetic understanding of the insect. The research offers an updated genome analysis of the common bedbug Cimex lectularius, providing new insight for those working to prevent bedbug infestation, develop remediation ...

Antibiotics are important clinical tools for treating bacterial infections, yet we recognize that an important side effect of antibiotic use is disruption of the microbial community living in the human gut. Antibiotics targeted against bacterial pathogens generally have the secondary effects of decreasing certain groups of bacteria and lowering gut microbiota diversity. Antibiotics are also associated with harms such as antibiotic associated diarrhea and C. difficile colitis. Probiotics have been shown to mitigate these clinical scenarios, but can probiotics help restore the microbiota? In ...

Research from the University of California, Davis, is shedding light on when and where to plant tree seedlings to help restore forests after high-severity wildfires, and it has a lot to do with shrubs.  In hotter, drier areas where natural regeneration is weaker, well-timed tree planting can boost recovery by up to 200%, but the outcome also depends on competition with shrubs, a paper in the journal Forest Ecology and Management concludes. “Generally, where there are more shrubs, the climate and soil are more hospitable for plant growth,” ...

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science (SC) will support nearly 85 educators who either teach at schools and community colleges with large populations of students historically underserved and/or underrepresented in STEM or are educators who are from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM through awards for seven Pathway Summer Institutes for Educators at seven national laboratories.  The funding comes from SC’s Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative (see details at  https://science.osti.gov/initiatives/RENEW).  Sponsored by the Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), ...

Images Michigan is a contender for a $50 million center aiming to build a quantum technology robust enough for the real world and demonstrate its utility. With a $1 million grant to explore options over the next year, the Michigan-led team is one of 11 funded in the first phase of the National Science Foundation's Quantum Science and Technology Demonstrations. The team, whose project is called Quantum Photonic Integration and Deployment, or QuPID, aims to build the first chips that harness the incredible precision of light for real-world measurements in the field with quantum semiconductors. Working with leading industrial ...

View this album for photos of the event.   Hesthaven, a 58-year-old Dane, noted in his inaugural speech that KIT had a duty to be of service to society and that it faced major changes and challenges. “Increased internationalization will play a key role. We need to ensure that KIT attracts talent not only from Germany but also from around the world,” he said. The President named three challenges confronting society: new health technologies for an aging population, the spread of artificial ...

A recent study led by Dr. Li from Zhejiang Normal University, in collaboration with international researchers, reveals the potential of plant DNA metabarcoding for monitoring plant compositions on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The study, published in Science China Earth Sciences, highlights the advantages of sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) extracted from lake sediments over traditional pollen analysis, providing a more detailed and localized perspective on vegetation monitoring and reconstruction. The study involved the surface sediments from 59 small lakes and ponds located in the southwestern Tibetan Plateau. Using plant DNA metabarcoding, ...

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request. EAST LANSING, Mich. – The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted K-12 education and its effects have been well documented. However, there has been less focus on how the pandemic affected the special education system and, specifically, that system here in Michigan. To provide more insight and data, researchers at Michigan State University’s College of Education published a new study exploring learning gaps for students with disabilities and especially for those ...

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has been awarded a five-year, $9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to establish a pioneering Cancer Control Equity Research Center. This initiative aims to enhance the dissemination and implementation of health promotion and cancer prevention services for individuals and families residing in Virginia's Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-administered income-based housing communities in the Greater Richmond region and Hampton Roads. Adults in under-resourced communities are placed at disproportionate risk for cancer, facing a higher incidence of the disease ...

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists are working on a new research project to fight plant diseases transmitted by psyllid insects — particularly the zebra chip disease, which has impacted potato production for decades. Funded by a $682,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, this three-year project will investigate the mechanisms through which the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum affects plant and insect immune systems, leading to agricultural losses. The findings by researchers in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences could ...

A novel drug holds promise for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder that causes severe muscle degeneration. McGill University researchers have discovered that an experimental compound called K884 can boost the natural repair abilities of muscle stem cells. Current treatments can slow muscle damage, but don’t address the root problem. DMD affects about one in 5,000 boys worldwide, often leading to wheelchair dependence by the teenage years and life-threatening complications ...

To fight the virus that causes influenza, one of the avenues being explored by scientists is the development of drugs capable of destabilising its genome, made up of eight RNA1 molecules. But the challenge is daunting: each RNA molecule is tightly bound to an assembly of proteins which creates a double helix, forming a protective coat that is difficult to manipulate. For the first time, however, the structure of this protective mantle and its interactions with the virus' RNA have been described on an atomic scale by scientists from the CNRS2 ...

DARIEN, IL — The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has issued a new position statement advocating for permanent telehealth coverage, emphasizing its essential role in providing high-quality, patient-centered care for individuals with sleep disorders. The position statement, published as an accepted paper in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, comes at a crucial turning point as current telehealth flexibilities implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency are set to expire this month. The AASM emphasizes that permanent coverage with adequate reimbursement is vital for the ...

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections that can sometimes lead to sepsis and toxic shock syndrome. The microbe poses a significant threat to public health, made worse by the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) in recent years. According to The Lancet, S. aureus was associated with more than one million deaths around the globe in 2019. “It is a pathogen in dire need of control because it causes significant morbidity and mortality not just in the United States, but worldwide,” ...

Wedel Studying How Transnational Networks Shape Non-Western Offshore Spaces Janine Wedel, Distinguished University Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, received money for a project on the growing non-Western offshore system used by transnational networks emanating from autocratic regimes such as Russia to skirt international checks and balances. Wedel and her colleagues are investigating these informal networks and how they enable “weaponized corruption” — the use of corruption for geopolitical ends — and the evasion of Western sanctions. They are ...

Paulo Costa, Director, C5I Center; Dept. Chair Cyber Security Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), and Shou Matsumoto, Research Assistant Professor, C5I Center, CEC, received funding for the project: “HERA: Hypothesis Evaluation and Reasoning Assistant.” Costa and Matsumoto are developing an explainable artificial intelligence (AI) methodology for hypothesis management and an architecture for the proposed solution. They are also supporting Interactive Aptitude, LLC, in defining use cases in one or more domains and identifying data requirements to support hypothesis management. The Mason/Interactive Aptitude team's solution ...

FORT COLLINS, Colo., December 11, 2024 — People around the world are dealing with drought, so it’s not shocking that it affects wildlife, too: lack of moisture contributes to habitat loss, affects how animals compete for resources, and leads to dehydration and heat stress. The surprising part? The extreme degree to which many animals may need to adapt. New research predicts that many wildlife species in the continental United States will experience year-long droughts nearly five times as often in the coming decades (2050-2080) than they did historically (1950-2005). In an even more dramatic turn of events, three-year droughts ...

Tsukuba, Japan—Under stress, animals change their behavior, such as through "fight or flight" or "freezing" response. Simultaneously, physiological responses essential for stress adaptation are triggered in the body. Cardiovascular regulation, including changes in blood pressure and heart rate, is a critical stress response. Researchers have focused on the lateral habenula, a brain region where neurons are activated in response to stress. They investigated the neural mechanisms underlying cardiovascular responses by activating ...

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital and collaborating institutions have gained new insights into the molecular changes leading to Rett syndrome, a severe neurological disorder caused by mutations in the MeCP2 gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2). The team reports in the journal Neuron that loss of MeCP2 in adulthood causes immediate progressive dysregulation of hundreds of genes – some are activated while others are suppressed – and these changes occur well before any measurable deficiencies in neurological function. The MeCP2 protein is most highly expressed ...

LAWRENCE — Are human spacecraft, landers, rovers and other space-exploration debris little more than trash littering the surface of Mars, or the modern equivalent of Clovis points — treasured artifacts marking Homo sapiens’ lust for new frontiers? New scholarship by University of Kansas anthropologist Justin Holcomb argues physical artifacts of human Martian exploration deserve cataloging, preservation and care in order to chronicle humanity’s first attempts at interplanetary exploration. The ...

About The Study: In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 33 observational studies involving 96,000 adults, higher daily step counts were associated with fewer depressive symptoms in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in the general adult population. Further prospective cohort studies are needed to clarify the potential protective role of daily steps in mitigating the risk of depression during adulthood. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Estela Jimenez-Lopez, PhD, MPH, email estela.jimenezlopez@uclm.es. To ...

About The Study: The findings of this randomized clinical trial show that cannabidiol (CBD) can be used safely in women with advanced breast cancer and clinical anxiety. Although the study did not meet its primary end point comparing pre-ingestion vs post-ingestion anxiety change scores between study arms, anxiety levels in the CBD arm were significantly lower 2 to 4 hours after ingestion, suggesting a possible anxiolytic effect and warranting further investigation. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ilana ...

About The Study: The results of this randomized clinical trial suggest that transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation would be safe and effective in treating chronic insomnia. Future multicenter clinical trials with large sample sizes are needed to validate its effectiveness across diverse populations. Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Yu Wang, MD, PhD, (wy8166@126.com) and Peijing Rong, MD, PhD, (drrongpj@163.com). To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

EMBARGOED by the Journal of the American Medical Association until 11 a.m. ET, Dec.16, 2024 (Boston)—In the U.S., atrial fibrillation (AF), a heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat in the upper chambers of the heart, affects up to one in three people in their lifetime. Significant complications associated with this condition include ischemic stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, chronic kidney disease, dementia and mortality. In a new review article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center summarize ...