In the last several decades, large forest fires have increasingly threatened communities across the Mediterranean. Climate change is expected to make these fires larger, hotter, and more dangerous in the future. But fire management lessons from the past could help to improve the resilience of local landscapes.  The latest research paper from environmental anthropologist and University of California, Santa Cruz Professor Andrew Mathews explores these issues in the Monte Pisano region of Central Italy. In particular, Mathews found that peasant women, who historically collected ...

Living at higher altitudes in India is linked to an increased risk of stunted growth, with children living in homes 2000 metres or more above sea level 40% more at risk than those living 1000 metres below, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.   Children living in rural areas seem to be the most vulnerable, prompting the researchers to advocate prioritising nutritional programmes in hilly and mountainous regions of the country. Despite ...

A healthy liver filters all the blood in your body, breaks down toxins and digests fats. It produces collagen to repair damaged cells when the liver is injured. However, a liver can produce too much collagen when an excess accumulation of fat causes chronic inflammation, a condition called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). In an advanced state, MASH can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related death.   The cells that produce collagen in livers are called hepatic stellate cells (HSC). In a new paper published in Cell ...

1. A collaborative research team from NIMS and Tokyo University of Science has successfully developed a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) device that executes brain-like information processing through few-molecule reservoir computing. This innovation utilizes the molecular vibrations of a select number of organic molecules. By applying this device for the blood glucose level prediction in patients with diabetes, it has significantly outperformed existing AI devices in terms of prediction accuracy. 2. With the expansion of machine learning applications in various industries, there's an escalating demand for AI devices that are not only highly ...

**ECCMID has now changed its name to ESCMID Global, please credit ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID, Barcelona, Spain, 27-30 April) in all future stories** In global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that scientists step forward to engage with the public and help deliver medical and scientific advice in a friendly, digestible and open format. While the traditional way for scientists to do this is by responding to media requests, alternatives, including collaborating with illustrators and local communities, will be discussed in a new ...

During epidemics of Ebola, COVID-19, Zika and other public health emergencies, effective communication of public health messages is crucial to control the spread of disease, maintain public trust, and encourage compliance with health measures. In a new evidence review to be given at this year’s ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April), Dr Benjamin Djoudalbaye from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (AFRICA CDC) in Ethiopia, will discuss the challenges and lessons learnt from public health communication strategies during multiple epidemics across ...

Hospital-related infections resistant to carbapenems, considered the antibiotics of last resort for treating severe infections, remain at least 35% higher than before the pandemic. Findings also reveal that during the pandemic, hospitals experiencing surges due to high volumes of severely ill COVID-19 patients had the greatest increases in hospital-acquired antimicrobial-resistant infections, as did larger hospitals with increased bed capacity. **ECCMID has now changed its name to ESCMID Global, please credit ...

Findings underscore need for rational antibiotic use especially during viral pandemics like COVID-19. *ECCMID has now changed its name to ESCMID Global, please credit ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID, Barcelona, Spain, 27-30 April) in all future stories** Antibiotic treatment of adults hospitalised with moderate COVID-19 is associated with clinical deterioration, despite the drugs being given to over 40% of patients, according to new research being presented at this year’s ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) The findings underscore the need to discourage indiscriminate prescribing ...

Targeting specific protein regions offers a new treatment approach in medulloblastoma Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital discovered a new compound that selectively targets parts of a cancer-related protein, EP300/CBP, in Group 3 medulloblastoma. (MEMPHIS, Tenn. – April 25, 2024) Medulloblastoma (the most common malignant childhood brain tumor) is separated into four molecular groups, with Group 3 bearing the worst prognosis. By studying EP300 and CBP, critical proteins in Group 3 medulloblastoma cells, scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital designed a way to enhance anti-tumor ...

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine scientists are on a mission to understand why hematopoietic stem cells, responsible for producing all types of mature blood cells, exhibit better responses in a low-oxygen environment within the bone marrow, also known as hypoxia. Their discoveries and innovative approaches could influence treatment options like bone marrow transplantation for conditions such as bone marrow failure and rare blood diseases involving gene corrected stem cells. A new four-year, ...

CV Societies Propel Plans Forward for a New American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine Planning enters next phase as ABMS announces open comment period WASHINGTON (April 25, 2024) – Efforts by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, Heart Failure Society of America, Heart Rhythm Society and The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions to create a new, independent American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine under the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) are closer to becoming a reality with the creation of a formal Board of Directors and the announcement by the ABMS Advisory Board on Specialty Board Development of an open comment ...

Hebrew SeniorLife is among the 30 US health systems nationally, and the only one in Massachusetts selected to participate in the Age-Friendly System-Wide Spread Collaborative. This first-of-its-kind Collaborative, led by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), will accelerate and spread the adoption of evidence-based, high-quality care for older adults across all of their sites and care settings. The Collaborative is the latest endeavor of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, which promotes four evidence-based elements of high-quality care known as ...

A new tool to identify infants most at risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) illness could aid pediatricians in prioritizing children under 1 to receive a preventive medication before RSV season (October-April), according to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) research published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and to be presented at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference.  Study authors considered factors including birth month, birth weight and whether an infant has siblings to determine who is most at risk of severe RSV illness ...

Several municipal, county, and Tribal governments and community groups based in the Reno-Sparks area are teaming up to map the hottest parts of Reno, Sparks, and adjacent portions of Washoe County. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is partnering with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to map urban heat islands. “Urban heat islands are when urbanized areas have higher temperatures than outlying rural areas,” said Tom Albright, Nevada State Climatologist ...

A multicenter study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy in Nashville has identified a potential new treatment for acute heart failure, a leading cause of hospitalization and death.   The drug, dapagliflozin, was initially approved for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, but it since has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and death in patients with serious health problems that include heart and chronic kidney disease and heightened cardiovascular risk.   Reporting this month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the researchers found ...

New York (April 25, 2024) — Today, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) announced that Rainier P. Soriano, MD, will be honored with the Dennis W. Jahnigen Memorial Award, recognizing his significant contributions to the education of health professionals in geriatric care. Dr. Soriano's exemplary work in teaching, curriculum development, educational leadership, research, service, and mentorship has markedly improved the knowledge, competence, and skills of those caring for older adults. This prestigious award highlights his dedication ...

As summer approaches, electricity demand surges in the U.S., as homes and businesses crank up the air conditioning. To meet the rising need, many East Coast cities are banking on offshore wind projects the country is building in the Atlantic Ocean. For electric grid operators, knowing how much wind power these offshore turbines can harvest is critical, but making accurate predictions can be difficult. A team of scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and their collaborators are working to tackle the challenge.  In a new paper published March 14 in the journal Wind Energy Science, a team led by Dave Rosencrans, a doctoral student, and Julie K. Lundquist, a ...

A University of Massachusetts Amherst sleep scientist, funded with $6.7 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has launched two unprecedented studies that will track over time the brain development of infants and preschoolers to confirm the role of napping in early life and to identify the bioregulatory mechanisms involved. Rebecca Spencer, a professor of psychological and brain sciences who is well-known for her groundbreaking research into napping, is testing her theories ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research points to an economic factor that might be overlooked when considering why drug-related deaths among Black Americans increased significantly after 2010 in U.S. regions reporting heightened fentanyl activity: job losses that followed the Great Recession. Researchers analyzed data on employment, demographics, drug seizures and causes of death for over 200 counties in the United States between 2010 and 2021. They found that overall, one more job per 100 Black workers in a county was associated with .29 fewer overdose deaths per 100,000 Black Americans – a substantial difference when considering that the latest drug mortality rate stands ...

DALLAS, April 25, 2024 — One school in each of the 32 National Football League (NFL) team hometowns has won a $1,000 grant for physical activity equipment as a part of the American Heart Association and the NFL’s NFL PLAY 60 Fitness Tracking Competition. The competition encouraged classrooms to get moving for at least 60 minutes every day and log their movement minutes through the NFL PLAY 60 app. Physical activity positively impacts overall mental and physical wellness which is essential to help children reach their full potential. The number of winning schools corresponds to the number of NFL franchise teams while Rosholt High ...

Eggs and nesting baby birds exposed to moderate levels of anthropogenic traffic noise experience large, direct, and additive adverse effects on long-term development and fitness, according to a new study. The findings underscore the disruptive properties of noise on physiology, development, and reproduction, leading to lifelong fitness reduction, and call for a reassessment of the threat posed by anthropogenic noise and the need for noise mitigation measures. Noise pollution has become a global issue of concern, even in Earth’s ...

Dietary vitamin D modulates the gut microbiome to enhance the response to cancer immunotherapies, according to a new study in mice. The findings illuminate the poorly understood connection between vitamin D and immune responses to cancer via gut bacteria and suggest that vitamin D levels could serve as a potential determinant of cancer immunity and immunotherapy success. Vitamin D plays an important role in immune modulation as well as shaping the gut microbiome. Studies have also investigated the micronutrient’s role in cancer immunity as it’s been linked to both lower incidence of tumors and decreased mortality for several types of cancers and ...

A global meta-analysis of 186 studies reveals that conservation actions – particularly those targeted at species and ecosystems – yield significant positive impacts on biodiversity, according to a new study. Each year, billions of dollars are spent globally on conservation actions designed to halt and/or reverse the loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems. Despite this, many international conservation goals, including those set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, remain unmet. While it could be concluded that current actions are insufficient or ineffective, researchers lack an understanding of how conservation actions ...

In a Policy Forum, Yann Robiou du Pont and colleagues argue that any method to derive company-level emissions targets inherently distorts competition in favor of existing companies and penalizes emerging or growing businesses. According to du Pont et al., despite their growing importance, companies’ emissions targets are not meaningful indicators to assess the ambition of their decarbonization plans and their alignment with the Paris Agreement. To meet international climate goals, it’s well understood that the ...

Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 19:00 BST Thursday 25 April 2024 Peer reviewed Experimental study Animals and people Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Aalborg University in Denmark, have found that vitamin D encourages the growth of a type of gut bacteria in mice which improves immunity to cancer. Reported today in Science, the researchers found that mice given a diet rich in vitamin D had better immune resistance to experimentally transplanted cancers and improved ...