While the moon lacks any breathable air, it does host a barely-there atmosphere. Since the 1980s, astronomers have observed a very thin layer of atoms bouncing over the moon’s surface. This delicate atmosphere — technically known as an “exosphere” — is likely a product of some kind of space weathering. But exactly what those processes might be has been difficult to pin down with any certainty. Now, scientists at MIT and the University of Chicago say they have identified the main process that formed the moon’s atmosphere and continues to sustain ...

More than 1 in 5 Californians who are impacted by climate events report negative effects on their mental health, with young, white women and those who’ve experienced property damage being especially affected.  #### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000387 Article Title: Exposure to climate events and mental health: Risk and protective factors from the California Health Interview Survey Author Countries: United States Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a novel compound that effectively clears bacterial infections in mice, including those that can result in rare but potentially fatal “flesh-eating” illnesses. The compound could be the first of an entirely new class of antibiotics, and a gift to clinicians seeking more effective treatments against bacteria that can’t be tamed easily with current antibiotics. The research is published Aug. 2 in Science Advances. The compound targets gram-positive bacteria, which can cause drug-resistant staph infections, toxic shock syndrome and ...

We should think twice before calling 911 for people experiencing a mental health crisis, advocated Harvard-trained psychiatrist Dr. Rupinder Legha, who describes the potential risks of relying on emergency services in the US for mental health crisis management. ### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000084 Article Title: Reconsidering calling 911: Is it time to set a new standard for mental health crisis response? Author Countries: United States Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

The process by which phages—viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria—enter cells has been studied for over 50 years. In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Texas A&M University have used cutting-edge techniques to look at this process at the level of a single cell. “The field of phage biology has seen an explosion over the last decade because more researchers are realizing the significance of phages in ecology, evolution, and biotechnology,” said Ido Golding (CAIM/IGOH), a professor of physics. “This work is unique ...

In the months that followed NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which sent a spacecraft to intentionally collide with an asteroid moonlet, the science team verified that kinetic impact was a viable deflection technique, proving one effective method of preventing future asteroid strikes on Earth. Since then, researchers have continued studying data collected from the successful experiment, focusing specifically on surface features of the binary asteroid system, composed of moonlet Dimorphos and parent asteroid Didymos. In recently published papers in Nature Communications, the team explored the geology of the asteroid system encountered in 2022 to characterize its ...

When an individual visits their doctor, they aren’t supposed to keep secrets. Unless patients are forthcoming about their symptoms, behaviors, and health-related beliefs, it’s hard for healthcare professionals to effectively diagnose and treat illnesses—or to advise and educate patients about how to take better care of themselves in the future.  There’s only one problem: new research from Stevens Institute of Technology shows that many people believe they may be judged if they share mistaken beliefs with their care team—and that doctors really do take strongly negative views of patients who disclose incorrect ...

East Hanover, NJ – August 2, 2024 – Following significant gains since the post-pandemic lockdown, employment rates for people with disabilities have plateaued, remaining near historic high levels over the past year despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy, according to today’s National Trends in Disability Employment – semi-monthly update (nTIDE) issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). Year-to-Year nTIDE Numbers (comparing July 2023 to July 2024) Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ...

□ DGIST (President Lee Kunwoo) Department of Brain Sciences Professor Lee Kwang and his team have discovered a new correlation between neural signaling in the brain and dopamine signaling in the striatum. The human brain requires fast neural signal processing in a short period of less than a second. Dopamine is known to have the strongest effect on brain neural signals, but the research team’s newly developed “optical neural chip-based multiple brain signal monitoring technology” shows that changes in dopamine signals within the physiological range do not affect brain neural signal ...

□ A team led by Professor Seo Dae-ha of the Department of Physics and Chemistry at DGIST (President Lee Kun-woo) has developed new real-time microscopy technology and successfully observed the behavior of “motor proteins”[1], which may hold the key to unraveling the efficient material transport strategy of cells. The research team used nanoparticle probe, high-resolution microscopy, and Fourier transform algorithm technologies to develop “Fourier transform-based plasmonic dark-field microscopy” (FT-pdf microscopy) with positional and angular accuracy comparable to electron microscopy, achieving the highest level of existing ...

□ A team led by Professor Lee Joo-hyuk of the Department of Energy Engineering at DGIST (President Lee Kunwoo) has developed an ionic polyurethane-based triboelectric generator[1]with self-healing, biodegradable[2], and high electro-positive properties. The device has been designed as a green energy device that can minimize the impact on the environment by facilitating self-healing and biodegradability, while significantly enhancing power output performance through the use of ionic liquid. Based on these properties, it is expected to be used as a sustainable power source in next-generation soft electronic devices and wearable devices.  - ...

Injuries, infection and inflammatory diseases that damage the spinal cord can lead to intractable pain and disability. Some degree of recovery may be possible. The question is, how best to stimulate the regrowth and healing of damaged nerves. At the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS), scientists are focusing on a previously understudied part of the brain and spinal cord — white matter. Their discoveries could lead to treatments that restore nerve activity through the targeted delivery of electromagnetic stimuli or drugs. As in the brain, the spinal cord is made up nerve cell bodies (gray matter), which process sensation and control voluntary movement, and ...

August 1, 2024 - by Ashley Vargo - In a study published in Life Science Alliance, Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists found that decreasing folate intake can support healthier metabolisms in aging animal models, challenging the conventional belief that high folate consumption universally benefits health. The study was led by Michael Polymenis, Ph.D., professor and associate head of graduate programs in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.   Michael Polymenis, Ph.D., principal investigator, ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New crime laws, police funding and similar efforts may have some effect on homicide rates in the United States – but the biggest impact will come from the actions of our political and economic elites.   That’s the conclusion of historian Randolph Roth, author of the 2009 book American Homicide, in a new report he wrote for the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.   Roth, who is a professor of history at The Ohio State University, provides evidence that homicide rates are linked to how citizens feel about the legitimacy of government and their sense of connectedness ...

The National Science Foundation is awarding a new grant to support the Virginia Assuring Controls Compliance of Research Data project, known as ACCORD, a program that has helped students and faculty at universities across Virginia gain access to critical research computing resources. The ACCORD program has provided a platform for researchers to securely share and store data as well as take on projects that require the protection of sensitive data. Participants have included minority-serving institutions, those that do not grant Ph.D. degrees, and others that lack this computing infrastructure. Neal Magee, an associate professor with the University of Virginia’s ...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval for the immunotherapy afamitresgene autoleuecel (Tecelra®, also known as afami-cel) for the treatment of adults with a rare soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma. Afami-cel is the first engineered T cell therapy to receive FDA approval for a solid tumor cancer.  The clinical trial that resulted in the drug’s approval was led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) sarcoma specialist and immunotherapy expert Sandra D’Angelo, MD.  “This treatment offers an important new option for people with this rare cancer,” Dr. D’Angelo ...

Emory researcher David Weiss has spent years studying a baffling phenomenon called heteroresistance, in which a tiny fraction of bacteria remain resistant to antibiotics, while the remainder succumb. Recently, he brought his scientific acumen to the equally deadly threat of fungal bloodstream infections in patients receiving bone marrow transplants. Bloodstream infections can be lethal in these patients, including infections from Candida parapsilosis, a species of fungi that can live in the digestive tract and occasionally make it into the bloodstream. Weiss partnered ...

When two people interact, their brain activity becomes synchronized, but it was unclear until now to what extent this “brain-to-brain coupling” is due to linguistic information or other factors, such as body language or tone of voice. Researchers report August 2 in the journal Neuron that brain-to-brain coupling during conversation can be modeled by considering the words used during that conversation, and the context in which they are used. “We can see linguistic content emerge word-by-word ...

About The Study: The number of prescriptions filled for semaglutide has increased substantially, reaching 2.6 million prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies by December 2023. While Ozempic persistently accounted for most semaglutide fills, increases were considerably greater for Wegovy since its approval for weight loss in June 2021. These increases, which primarily occurred following increased awareness of weight-loss benefits in late 2022, are likely contributing to the FDA-reported shortage of Ozempic and Wegovy first issued in March 2022. Despite the disproportionate burden of obesity in Medicaid and Medicare Part D populations, and recent increases in public spending ...

About The Study: This qualitative study found that semaglutide products are actively being sold without prescription by illegal online pharmacies, with vendors shipping unregistered and falsified products. Two websites evaluated were sent FDA warning letters for unlawful sale of unapproved and misbranded semaglutide. U.S. poison centers have reported a 1500% increase in calls related to semaglutide, highlighting the need for enhanced pharmacovigilance including for online sourcing harms. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Tim K. Mackey, MAS, PhD, email tkmackey@ucsd.edu. To ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that for older adults with diabetes, maintaining hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) stability in individualized target ranges over time is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Lower HbA1c time in range may identify patients at increased risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Paul R. Conlin, MD, email paul.conlin@va.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

Inflammation is the body's response to harmful stimuli, characterized by heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of tissue function. When balanced, inflammation protects the body by clearing harmful agents and initiating tissue repair. However, excessive inflammation can cause tissue destruction and disease. Key players in this process are various immune cells, which work together during inflammation. The type of immune cells involved often varies depending on the harmful stimulus, influencing the outcome of the inflammatory response. Immune cell trapping during allergic responses Mast cells, residing in tissues and critical for initiating ...

A new USC study suggests that publicly insured individuals who are most likely to benefit from new drugs for diabetes and obesity are less likely to get them than those with private insurance. Prescription fills for the drug best known as Ozempic or Wegovy — semaglutide — increased by more than 400% between January 2021 and December 2023, according to research out today in  JAMA Health Forum. Approved first for type 2 diabetes, then for weight loss, studies show that semaglutide also improves blood pressure and reduces cardiovascular disease — problems that plague millions of Americans. Yet the lion’s share of prescriptions ...

A new study reveals the bioactivity of microplastics in Lake Ontario using cutting-edge nanomembrane filtering technology. Researchers found all samples contained microplastics ranging between 8 and 20 µm. The study highlights varying bioactivity levels, such as aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity and IL-6 levels, indicating potential health risks. These findings underscore the urgent need for further research to comprehend the impact of microplastics on human health and the environment. This pioneering approach offers fresh insights into tackling the challenges posed by microplastic pollution. Microplastics ...

The origins of life remain a major mystery. How were complex molecules able to form and remain intact for prolonged periods without disintegrating? A team at ORIGINS, a Munich-based Cluster of Excellence, has demonstrated a mechanism that could have enabled the first RNA molecules to stabilize in the primordial soup. When two RNA strands combine, their stability and lifespan increase significantly. In all likelihood, life on Earth began in water, perhaps in a tide pool that was cut off from seawater at low tide but flooded by waves at high tide. Over billions of years, complex molecules like DNA, RNA and proteins ...