Interest in Earth-like planets orbiting within the habitable zone of their host stars has surged, driven by the quest to discover life beyond our solar system. But the habitability of such planets, known as exoplanets, is influenced by more than just their distance from the star. A new study by Rice University’s David Alexander and Anthony Atkinson extends the definition of a habitable zone for planets to include their star’s magnetic field. This factor, well studied in our solar system, can have significant implications for life on other planets, according ...

In the past few years, we’ve seen a push toward renewable energy. One focus is wind, which is harvested via turbines–you may have seen them in mountainous areas, turning in the wind. But the United States’s most abundant wind potential lies offshore; wind speeds are highest off both coasts. This means offshore wind turbines promise high energy yields, akin to the offshore wind production in the North Sea near northern Europe. But constructing wind turbine platforms in water deeper than ~60 meters presents problems. Turbines in shallow waters, like those in the North Sea, can be mounted on fixed-bottom platforms, held ...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — There is a potential connection between a diagnosis of certain gastrointestinal (GI) syndromes and the formation and rupture of intracranial (brain) aneurysms, according to research presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 21st Annual Meeting.   An intracranial aneurysm (IA) occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bulges, putting pressure on the vessel wall. IAs that rupture cause brain bleeding and lead to a hemorrhagic stroke, a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate medical attention ...

Everyone knows that air pollution is bad for health, but how bad depends a lot on who you are. People of different races and ethnicities, education levels, locations and socioeconomic situations tend to be exposed to different degrees of air pollution. Even at the same exposure levels, people’s ability to cope with its effects — by accessing timely health care, for example — varies. A new study by Stanford Medicine researchers and collaborators, which takes into account both exposure to air pollution and susceptibility to its harms, found that Black Americans are significantly more likely to die from causes related to air pollution, compared ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL 2 p.m. Monday, July 22, 2024 Contact: Jillian McKoy ,jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu Jarka Meleszkiewicz, jarka.meleszkiewicz@bristol.ac.uk ## New Study Identifies Two Proteins That May Contribute to Stroke Recurrence The study discovered genetic markers in inflammation that may be related to a second stroke or other major cardiovascular event following a stroke. These findings could help identify drug targets to mitigate stroke-related disability and mortality. People who experience an arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) or transient ischemic stroke (TIA) are at an increased risk of suffering a second stroke or other major adverse cardiovascular ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — During a checkup with her obstetrician, Marilyn Hayes tells him about overwhelming exhaustion and possible symptoms of postpartum depression, such as feeling unsafe. Hayes, a Black woman, grows increasingly frustrated as her white, male physician, Dr. Richard Flynn, dismisses her symptoms and ignores her wishes when she refuses medication. Hayes becomes visibly uncomfortable when Flynn touches her without permission and makes comments steeped in Black stereotypes, such as assuming that ...

A new study finds that science and social studies classes may also help young students learn English, even when those classes include difficult and technical vocabulary. The study, which observed first- and second-grade students in 30 elementary schools in North Carolina, encouraged teachers to keep their English-learning students in class during science and social studies lessons. Science and social studies textbooks in those grades are often relatively technical and difficult for students, so traditional teaching methods in North Carolina encourage teachers to remove English-learning students from those content classes ...

Duminda Wijesekera, Professor, Cybersecurity Engineering; Professor, Computer Science, received funding for the project: “FHWA Driving Simulator Support Research: Hands-on support for CDA/CARMA - ARCHER Integration Phase I.” He will evaluate and test the Nvidia Drive Sim to understand functionality, behaviors, limitations, and interfaces that would be required in full integration.  Nvidia Drive Sim is a simulation platform for autonomous vehicles. He will also work to discern the ...

Center for Retail Transformation (CRT) and Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship (CREE) jointly received funding to study retail viability led by Mehmet Altug, Associate Professor, Information Systems and Operations Management and Director of CRT, Costello College of Business. Led by Mehmet Altug, the two centers CRT and CREE at Costello College of Business have teamed up to determine market-specific retail opportunities within Fairfax City, specifically within five Small Area Plans. The project will specifically consider ...

The struggle to cut emissions is real.  Last year, the world emitted more than 37 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, setting a new record high. As a result, sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere has become an increasingly popular idea. Governments worldwide are banking on this technology, called direct air capture, to help them achieve climate goals and avoid the worst consequences of climate change.  But despite more than a dozen direct air capture facilities being up and running around the globe already, the technology ...

Newly published research from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy identifies key mechanisms of skeletal muscle regeneration and growth of muscles following resistance exercise. It’s a finding that opens the door to the development of targeted therapies for various muscle disorders, like Muscular Dystrophy, which affect millions of people worldwide.  When it comes to muscles and muscle disorders, the importance of a discovery like this cannot be overstated.    The muscle of muscles  The ...

From your car’s navigation display to the screen you are reading this on, luminescent polymers — a class of flexible materials that contain light-emitting molecules — are used in a variety of today’s electronics. Luminescent polymers stand out for their light-emitting capability, coupled with their remarkable flexibility and stretchability, showcasing vast potential across diverse fields of application.   However, once these electronics reach their end use, they are discarded, piling up in landfills or buried underground. Recycling this electronic waste is complex, requiring expensive ...

USC scientists have discovered a way to turn the body’s B cells into tiny surveillance machines and antibody factories that can pump out specially designed antibodies to destroy cancer cells or HIV, two of medicine’s most formidable foes. The research, published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering, describes a technique for editing the genes of immune cells called B cells, turbocharging them to fight even the sneakiest invaders. The work is an important advance in harnessing the power of antibodies to treat conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s ...

Methane is the second-largest contributor to climate warming after carbon dioxide, and so scientists have put a lot of attention toward addressing one of the top sources: methane emissions from livestock. In other words, cow burps are bad for the planet. Farmers add various seaweeds to cow diets as a source of protein, unsaturated fats, and other health-promoting ingredients that provide immediate energy, says Dipti Pitta of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and a 2016 study in Australia found that feeding sheep a species ...

Native trees adapt to the climate and environmental conditions of their area to survive. Researchers in the College of Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the American Chestnut Foundation confirmed this by examining the genome of American chestnut trees sampled throughout the Appalachian Mountain range and grouping the samples according to their specific environmental region. The research, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, has the potential to help the ...

“Future development for sEphB4-HSA in HNSCC is likely to focus on patients with HPV-negative disease where there is greatest need to improve on the outcomes with pembrolizumab monotherapy.” BUFFALO, NY- July 22, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 15 on July 10, 2024, entitled, “Improved efficacy of pembrolizumab combined with soluble EphB4-albumin in HPV-negative EphrinB2 positive head neck squamous cell carcinoma.” Patients with relapsed or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) after primary local ...

Toronto, ON - The US Surgeon General recently recommended a warning label for social media platforms due to concerns about their impact on youth mental health. The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health highlighted potential links between social media use and poor sleep quality in youth. Considering these concerns, what specific actions can adolescents and parents take to improve sleep? A new national study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, offers insights into screen habits linked with better sleep. “Ensuring adolescents get enough sleep is vital, as it supports ...

About The Study: In this randomized study, individuals who received a cash benefit had significantly fewer emergency department visits, including those related to behavioral health and substance use, fewer admissions to the hospital from the emergency department, and increased use of outpatient subspecialty care. Study results suggest that policies that seek to alleviate poverty by providing income support may have important benefits for health and access to care.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Sumit D. Agarwal, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., email sagarwal14@bwh.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

Traditional epidemiological studies have identified numerous potential risk factors, but observational studies have struggled to establish causal links due to confounding factors and reverse causation. Theoretically avoiding confounding and reverse causation, Mendelian randomization (MR) infers causality, offering novel research perspectives and methods for investigating risk factors of intestinal diseases (Figure 1). MR research on intestinal disease Based on MR methodology, researchers have identified lifestyle factors, circulating nutrients, and obesity as being associated with the risk of ...

Among the vastly different ways of tackling a disease, controlling the genetic expression of cells is undoubtedly one of the most powerful. Over the past few decades, scientists have come up with dozens of innovative strategies that involve using messenger RNA (mRNA) to ‘force’ cells to build specific proteins. These mRNA-based therapies have recently gained prominence as vaccines against infectious diseases like COVID-19. Additionally, they hold significant potential for treating cancer and genetic disorders. Since mRNA itself is ...

When people are having a conversation, they rapidly take turns speaking and sometimes even interrupt. Now, researchers who have collected the largest ever dataset of chimpanzee “conversations” have found that they communicate back and forth using gestures following the same rapid-fire pattern. The findings are reported on July 22 in the journal Current Biology. “While human languages are incredibly diverse, a hallmark we all share is that our conversations are structured with fast-paced turns of just 200 milliseconds on average,” ...

An international team of researchers, including a Northwestern University chemist, has discovered that metallic minerals on the deep-ocean floor produce oxygen — 13,000 feet below the surface. The surprising discovery challenges long-held assumptions that only photosynthetic organisms, such as plants and algae, generate Earth’s oxygen. But the new finding shows there might be another way. It appears oxygen also can be produced at the seafloor — where no light can penetrate — to support the oxygen-breathing (aerobic) sea life living in complete darkness. The ...

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that prenatal cannabis use was associated with several adverse maternal health outcomes during pregnancy. Continued research is needed to understand whether characteristics of prenatal cannabis use (e.g., dose, mode, and timing) moderate these associations.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kelly C. Young-Wolff, Ph.D., M.P.H., email kelly.c.young-wolff@kp.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that sexual and gender minority adults in the U.S. have a disproportionate prevalence of epilepsy. The reasons for this disparity are likely complex and may be associated with biological and psychosocial determinants of health unique to this population; as such, these individuals are in need of protected access to medical care. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Emily L. Johnson, M.D., M.P.H., email ejohns92@jhmi.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.2243) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this randomized clinical trial, overground robot-assisted gait training using a wearable robot significantly improved gross motor function and gait pattern. This new torque-assisted wearable exoskeletal robot, based on assist-as-needed control, may complement standard rehabilitation by providing adequate assistance and therapeutic support to children with cerebral palsy. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Min-Keun Song, M.D., Ph.D., email drsongmk@chonnam.ac.kr. To access the embargoed study: Visit our ...