A new study by Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine has uncovered a disturbing trend in drug-related infant deaths in the United States from 2018 to 2022. Infant deaths are those that occur between the time a child is born and age 1. Drug-involved deaths are those in which drugs are either the primary cause of death or a contributing factor and may occur due to maternal drug use, inadvertent or accidental intake of specific prescriptions, illicit or non-medical use of drugs and other incidents where drugs were linked to death. Results of the study, published in the Journal of Perinatal Medicine, show that in the U.S. from 2018 to 2022, drug-involved ...

Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School have identified how the first domino falls after a person encounters an allergen, such as peanuts, shellfish, pollen or dust mites. Their discovery, published in the April issue of Nature Immunology, could herald the development of drugs to prevent these severe reactions. It is well established that when mast cells, a type of immune cell, mistake a harmless substance, such as peanuts or dust mites, as a threat, they release an immediate first wave of bioactive chemicals against the perceived threat. When mast cells, which reside under the skin, around blood vessels and in the linings of the airways and the gastrointestinal tract, simultaneously release ...

As sad as it is, child maltreatment continues to be a prevalent global social issue. Recent studies have revealed that up to one billion children aged two to 17 experience some form of abuse or neglect every year. While it is possible that some children may eventually overcome these experiences, abundant evidence indicates that child abuse can continue to have a lasting negative impact on brain and mental development, even as these children age. Therefore, prioritizing the prevention of this menacing behavior is crucial. One way to pursue this goal is to focus on the underlying causes that lead to the perpetuation of abuse, ...

SAN FRANCISCO—June 4, 2024—In recent years, technologies that allow scientists to study a person’s DNA at single-molecule resolution have vastly expanded our knowledge of the human genome, the microbiome, and the genetic basis of disease. With such a detailed view of DNA, it’s possible to see genetic variants and structural details that were simply undetectable with earlier sequencing technologies. However, today’s gold-standard methods for single-molecule analysis typically require at least 150,000 human cells—containing millions of individual DNA molecules. That means researchers can’t apply these tools when just ...

DALLAS, June 4, 2024 — Significant barriers prevent or slow treatment for many patients with stroke, including long travel times to stroke center hospitals and the lack of availability of stroke specialists who can evaluate the patient and determine if they are a candidate for treatment.[1] Telehealth stroke care, also known as telestroke, can expand access to rural areas and other communities that face barriers to stroke care. A new American Heart Association certification for health care professionals is designed to help standardize training and increase skills and competencies for health care providers ...

By Jake Siegel Seattle, WASH.—June 4, 2024—The Allen Institute for Cell Science unveiled a set of tools to accelerate research into hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common genetic heart condition in the world: six new cell line collections, each carrying a different mutation associated with HCM. HCM is primarily caused by mutations that thicken heart muscle and, in rare cases, lead to heart failure and cardiac arrest. The new cell line collections will help scientists investigate ...

Electron transfer (ET) is a process in which an electron is transferred from one atom or molecule to another. ET is fundamental to electrochemical reactions with applications in many fields. Nanoscale ET, which involves the transfer of electrons in the range of 1–100 nanometers in solids is fundamental to the design of multifunctional materials. However, this process is not yet clearly understood. Nanotubes, nanomaterials with unique cylindrical nanostructures, offer a variety of ET properties that can be realized through electron and hole (vacant spaces left by electrons) injections into the nanotubes, making them a suitable candidate for studying nanoscale ET. Although ...

While mentally stimulating activities and life experiences can improve cognition in memory clinic patients, stress undermines this beneficial relationship. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Researchers in the late 1980s found that some individuals who showed no apparent symptoms of dementia during their lifetime had brain changes consistent with an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease. It has since been postulated that so-called ...

OAKLAND, CA – New research finds that even people with an average sense of smell could be living with a natural gas leak and not know it. The peer-reviewed study, published in Environmental Research Letters, finds that small gas leaks can impact indoor air quality by introducing a number of hazardous air pollutants, including the carcinogen benzene, which researchers found in 97% of natural gas samples across North America.  “While these smaller leaks are not large enough to cause gas explosions, hard-to-smell leaks are common,” ...

The production of antibodies, essential for protecting our body against infections, is very well regulated through the action of a specific subtype of immune system cells, follicular helper lymphocytes. Now, a team led by Luís Graça, group leader at the Instituto de MedicinaMolecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM) and Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, has dedicated itself to the detailed characterization of the functioning of these cells, in an article published today in the prestigious ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that drowsy driving by teenagers is a common threat to public safety on U.S. roadways. Results of the National Sleep Foundation study show that approximately one in six adolescent drivers reported having driven drowsy. Based on these responses, the authors project that 1.7 million teenage drivers have driven drowsy, and more than 400,000 teens drive drowsy at least once per week. The majority of teens pointed to work or ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting is the first to find that episodic hypoxemia and hypoxic burden related to obstructive sleep apnea are associated with the risk of accelerated lung cancer reoccurrence. Results show that a 4% oxygen desaturation index of more than 15 and time spent in desaturation events were risk factors for cancer reappearance in less than two years. Measures of hypoxic burden such as time spent below 89% oxygen saturation, average oxygen saturation value below 89%, and single nadir oxygen levels, showed a similar association. After adjustment for potential confounders, average oxygen saturation below 89% and single minimum ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that healthy sleep has a positive impact on gratitude, resilience and flourishing in adults. Results show that subjective sleepiness and mood disturbances improved with earlier bedtimes that extended sleep by an average of 46 minutes per night and worsened with later bedtimes that reduced nightly sleep by an average of 37 minutes. Measures of flourishing, resilience and gratitude significantly improved across the week with sleep extension and significantly worsened with sleep restriction. Sleep-extended ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting offers a framework for an objective, non-invasive and zero-effort sleep monitoring system utilizing smart thermostats equipped with motion sensors. Results show that smart thermostats identified three distinct sleep quality clusters, with clear variations in sleep duration, disturbances and efficiency. Comparative analysis underscored the heterogeneity in sleep quality, highlighting the potential of smart devices and NextGen IoT data sources in identifying sleep patterns and contributing to sleep research ...

Ever wondered how your brain decides when to act? Initiating actions with a specific goal in mind is a complex process. Previous research has identified certain parts of the brain and chemical signals involved. However, it remains unclear what information these signals convey and how they spark initiative. Recent research reported in Neurophotonics dives into this mystery by investigating how mice time their actions in pursuit of rewards, exploring the role of a specific brain pathway called the mesocortical pathway, in the context of self-initiated ...

PRESS RELEASE UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL JUNE 4, 2024 at 5 a.m. US EASTERN TIME  CONTACT: Julio Poletti, Public Relations Manager, Julio.poletti@dmns.org, 917.783.6760      DENVER (May 28, 2024) — The Denver Museum of Nature & Science announces the discovery and display of a teenage Tyrannosaurus rex fossil— affectionately named “Teen Rex” — in its temporary experience, "Discovering Teen Rex" opening to the public on June 21, at 1:30 p.m. The fossil was discovered in the badlands of North Dakota by ...

May 30, 2024, Leiden, The Netherlands - A 3D model of imitation blood vessels will make it possible to see exactly how snake venom attacks blood vessels, without having to use laboratory animals. This new research model, called an organ-on-a-chip, was developed by a research team from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, MIMETAS and Naturalis Biodiversity Center.   Roughly one hundred thousand people die annually from the effects of a snake bite and four times as many sustain chronic injuries. Research into how snake venom ...

Floating solar photovoltaic panels could supply all the electricity needs of some countries, new research has shown. The study, by researchers from Bangor and Lancaster Universities and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, aimed to calculate the global potential for deploying low-carbon floating solar arrays. The researchers calculated the daily electrical output for floating photovoltaics (FPV) on nearly 68,000 lakes and reservoirs around the world, using available climate data for each location. The researchers’ ...

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Tuesday, June 4, 2024 DALLAS, June 4, 2024 — Driven by an older, more diverse population, along with a significant increase in risk factors including high blood pressure and obesity, total costs related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) conditions are likely to triple by 2050, according to projections from the American Heart Association, observing 100 years of lifesaving service as the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain ...

June 4, 2024—(BRONX, NY)—The underdiagnosis of dementia, especially among Black and Hispanic patients, is a long-standing challenge in medicine. A new study, published today in Nature Medicine, finds that an easy, five-minute assessment paired with recommendations built into the electronic medical record system led to a three-fold improvement in diagnosis and treatment for patients in a primary care setting compared to a control group. The “5-Cog paradigm,” which was developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, dramatically enhances ...

New research has given the clearest ever picture of young children’s developing brains, using a wearable brain scanner to map electrical brain activity. The work opens up new possibilities for tracking how critical developmental milestones, like walking and talking, are underpinned by changing brain function, and how neurodevelopmental conditions like autism emerge.   The research team, led by scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Physics and Astronomy, used a novel design of magnetoencephalography ...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by elevated levels of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity that can impair academic and social functioning. ADHD is also associated with increased levels of parenting stress, less effective parenting practices, and can disrupt the parent-child relationship.  The importance of support for parents of children with ADHD is widely acknowledged in Japan, but specialized parent training programs targeting ADHD have not been available.   However, a new program developed at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) aims to reduce the strain on families ...

San Antonio, Texas, June 4, 2024 – In an era of hospital budget cuts and staffing freezes, a Florida hospital more than doubled staff positions for infection prevention and control (IPC) over a four-year period, reducing infections and creating opportunities for non-clinical team members to enter the field and excel. By presenting a business case showing costs of excess healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), infection preventionist (IP) Luz Caicedo, MPH, CPH, CIC, CRCST, VA-BC at AdventHealth in Celebration, Florida was able to increase IPC staff from 2 to 4.8 ...

San Antonio, Texas, June 4, 2024 – Mortality, length of stay, readmissions, and surgical site infections (SSI) all declined after a six-state hospital system implemented a comprehensive surgical site infection (SSI) prevention bundle, according to a report presented today at the 2024 APIC Annual Conference. Banner Health, which operates facilities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming, reported on the impact of a surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) bundle on more than 57,000 surgical cases from January 2019 to December 2023. Four publicly reportable procedures ...

The COVID-19 pandemic made videoconferencing software commonplace in businesses and even schools, but this communication tool has the potential to offer benefits beyond the office or classroom. An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team has been exploring how videoconferencing can improve the health of older adults living in the countryside. OMU Associate Professor Kazuki Uemura of the Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science and colleagues devised a 12-week health education program conducted using the videoconferencing software Zoom, with the aim of having participants engage in active learning. A control group was provided a similar 12-week ...