Sleep and sleep disturbances have consequences for the development of adolescents and young adults. In a new article, researchers examine sleep during these periods, focusing on the effects of ethnic and racial discrimination. They conclude that improving sleep may boost health for all youth, but especially for those affected by racism. The article, by researchers at Fordham University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, appears in Child Development Perspectives, a journal of the Society for Research in Child Development. “Discrimination ...

Why do some young children struggle to sit through a story one day but not the next? Why do they rush impulsively into one activity but not another? Parents and teachers often focus on individual differences as they prepare children for formal schooling, but traditional measurement approaches make it difficult to study fluctuations in children’s behavior. In a new study, researchers sought to understand children’s impulsive and inattentive behaviors in early education classrooms by having students use wearable devices called accelerometers to collect an intensive time series of their movement at school. The study found that children modulated their ...

Nature-based climate solutions can help mitigate climate change, especially in forested regions capable of storing and sequestering vast amounts of carbon. New research published in Global Change Biology indicates that a single hurricane in New England, one of the most heavily forested regions in the United States, can down 4.6–9.4% of the total aboveground forest carbon, an amount much greater than the carbon sequestered annually by New England’s forests. The work revealed that emissions from hurricanes are not instantaneous—it takes approximately 19 years for downed carbon to become a net emission, and 100 years for 90% of the downed carbon ...

Essential tremor, a nervous system disorder that causes rhythmic shaking, is one of the most common movement disorders. A new study published in the Annals of Neurology reveals details on the increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia that individuals with essential tremor may face. The research represents the longest available longitudinal prospective study of rates of MCI and dementia in people with essential tremor. The study enrolled 222 patients, 177 of whom participated in periodic evaluations over an average follow-up of 5 years. Investigators observed ...

A new study has found that Black women with poor cardiovascular health may face an elevated risk of early signs of cognitive decline in midlife. The study, which is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, included 363 Black and 402 white women who enrolled in the Chicago site of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation when they were 42–52 years old. Cognition (measured as processing speed and working memory) was assessed annually or biennially over a maximum of 20 years, with an average follow-up of 9.8 years. A composite index of cardiovascular health (Life’s Essential 8) was calculated ...

The beginning of life is shrouded in mystery. While the intricate dynamics of mitosis is well-studied in the so-called somatic cells – the cells that have a specialized function, like skin and muscle cells – they remain elusive in the first cells of our bodies, the embryonic cells. Embryonic mitosis is notoriously difficult to study in vertebrates, as live functional analyses and -imaging of experimental embryos are technically limited, which makes it hard to track cells during embryogenesis. However, researchers from the Cell Division Dynamics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology ...

COLUMBUS, OHIO – A new national survey conducted by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds a broad majority of parents experience isolation, loneliness and burnout from the demands of parenthood, with many feeling a lack of support in fulfilling that role. The survey of parents conducted this month found: About two-thirds (66%) felt the demands of parenthood sometimes or frequently feel isolating and lonely.      About 62% feel burned out by their responsibilities ...

Traditional non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, but their safety is compromised due to the flammable organic electrolytes they utilize. Aqueous batteries use water as the solvent for electrolytes, significantly enhancing the safety of the batteries. However, due to the limited solubility of the electrolyte and low battery voltage, aqueous batteries typically have a lower energy density. This means that the amount of electricity stored per unit volume of aqueous battery is relatively low. In a new study published in Nature Energy, a research group led by Prof. LI Xianfeng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) ...

Contemporary food systems were originally developed to tackle challenges of the mid-20th century, aiming to supply abundant, efficient, non-perishable starchy calories to accommodate the expanding global population. Although substantial progress has been made in global food security over the past several decades, there still exist large populations experiencing hunger worldwide. Currently, global hunger primarily refers to insufficient calorie intake. Hidden hunger is the presence of multiple micronutrient in the absence of an energy-deficit diet. Hidden hunger, particularly the inadequate consumption of high-quality protein, ...

An international team of researchers, led by Danielle DeLeo from the Smithsonian Institution, has identified eight organisms with previously unknown luminosity. Using genetic findings from these organisms and previous studies, they estimated that coral bioluminescence originated about 540 million years ago in the Cambrian period, making them the earliest bioluminescent organisms. During this period, they shared the oceans with invertebrates with light-sensitive eyes, hinting that interspecies interactions occurred involving light. They published their findings in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.  While shallow-water ...

SRI announced today that it has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to deliver advanced technology for its recently launched Multiobjective Engineering and Testing of ALloy Structures (METALS) program. DARPA METALS aims to break today’s one-material-per-part paradigm, which can lead to vulnerabilities and reduced life when highly engineered components experience austere environments. The goal of the four-year program is to develop technologies that treat material selection – particularly metallic alloys – as a continuous ...

Vaccines remain the gold standard of protection against dangerous pathogens, but take considerable time and vast resources to develop. Rapidly mutating viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 can blunt their effectiveness and even render them obsolete. To address these gaps, a multi-university team led by New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Vivek Kumar is developing a hydrogel therapy that acts as a first line of defense against viruses and other biological threats. The peptides that make up this gel prevent viruses ...

WASHINGTON –Perinatal transmission of HIV to newborns is associated with serious cognitive deficits as children grow older, according to a detailed analysis of 35 studies conducted by Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists. The finding helps pinpoint the geographic regions and factors that may be important for brain development outcomes related to perinatal HIV infection: mother-to-child HIV transmission during pregnancy, labor and delivery, or breastfeeding. The findings appeared in eClinicalMedicine on April 23, 2024. Mostly because of advances in antiretroviral therapies, AIDS, which is caused by HIV infection, has ...

In Europe and North America, 30 to 60% of dietary energy intake in adults comes from ultra-processed foods. An increasing number of epidemiological studies suggest a link between higher consumption levels of ultra-processed foods with higher risks of diabetes and other metabolic disorders. Emulsifiers are among the most commonly used additives. They are often added to processed and packaged foods such as certain industrial cakes, biscuits and desserts, as well as yoghurts, ice creams, chocolate bars, industrial breads, margarines and ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat meals, in order to improve their appearance, taste and texture and lengthen ...

Imagine being able to look inside a single cancer cell and see how it communicates with its neighbours.  Scientists are celebrating a new technique that lets them study the fatty contents of cancer cells, one by one.   A study led by the University of Surrey has sampled single live cancer cells and measured the fatty lipid compounds inside them. Working with partners at GSK and UCL, and developing new equipment with Yokogawa, the team saw how those cells transformed in response to changes in their environment.   Dr ...

Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study from scientists with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The results, published today, April 23, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, push back the previous record for the luminous trait’s oldest dated emergence in animals by nearly 300 million years, and could one day help scientists decode why the ability to produce light evolved in the first place.  Bioluminescence—the ability of living things to produce light via chemical reactions—has independently ...

The day a male spear squid hatches determines which mating tactic he will use throughout his life, according to new research. Spear squid (Heterololigo bleekeri) that hatch earlier in the season become “consorts” which fight for mating opportunities. Those which hatch later become “sneakers,” which use more clandestine mating tactics. Researchers found that the mating tactic determined by the birth date was fixed for the squid’s whole life. Understanding how mating tactics are influenced by birth date, and the environmental conditions at that time, can help researchers consider ...

Embargoed until 00:01am BST on Wednesday 24 April 2024/19.01pm ET on Tuesday 23 April 2024 -With pictures- The Universe’s early galaxies were less chaotic and developed much faster than previously thought, according to new research looking back more than ten billion years in time. An international team of astronomers led by Durham University, UK, used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to find evidence of bar formation when the Universe was only a few billion years old. Bars are elongated strips of stars found in disc or ...

RICHLAND, Wash.—There’s some irony in the fact that devices that seem indispensable to modern life—mobile phones, personal computers, and anything battery-powered—depend entirely on minerals extracted from mining, one of the most ancient of human industries. Once their usefulness is spent, we typically return these objects to the Earth in landfills, by the millions. But what if we could “mine” electronic waste (e-waste), recovering the useful minerals contained within them, instead of throwing them away? A clever method of recovering valuable minerals from e-waste, developed by a research team at the Department ...

How do algorithms determine the way we interact with our memories? It’s a uniquely 21st-century kind of question, and it is far from settled. In a new paper in the journal Memory, Mind & Media, Concordia PhD candidate Chrys Vilvang argues that the way tech companies store, package and share personal content back to users is opaque. And, given one recent controversy, it’s open to important questions about selection and representation. Vilvang’s paper looks at the discussion stemming from an April 2022 article on 9to5Mac, a tech news site dedicated to all things Apple. Its journalists were given access to the iOS 15.5 beta update, and they discovered ...

Image  University of Michigan researchers have developed a new tool to better understand how chemicals like dopamine and epinephrine interact with neurons.   These chemicals are among a wide variety of signals that get processed in the brain through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), proteins that sit on the surface of neurons to receive messages—in the forms of proteins, sugars, fats, even light—that inform cellular behavior.    GPCRs are involved in an enormous number of biological functions, making them a prime ...

Asian monsoon lofts ozone-depleting substances to stratosphere Airborne observations discover new link between pollution and climate Powerful monsoon winds, strengthened by a warming climate, are lofting unexpectedly large quantities of ozone-depleting substances high into the atmosphere over East Asia, new research shows.  The study, led by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) and NASA, found that the East Asian Monsoon delivers more than twice the concentration of very short-lived ozone-depleting substances into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere than previously reported. The research team ...

A Brigham and Women’s Hospital study of 30 people found that, in patients with MS, advanced brain imaging could identify hidden inflammation not picked up on traditional MRIs The new technique could lead to more advanced treatments for multiple sclerosis A new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, suggests positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans could reveal hidden inflammation in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are being treated with highly-effective treatments. The findings were published ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – April 23, 2024) Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, for which a risk factor is their greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes, with a disproportionate impact on those of non-European heritage. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have identified four previously unknown genetic variants associated with diabetes risk in all survivors. Published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, their work also found an association between a previously ...

In today's digital age, social media platforms like TikTok have become integral parts of our lives, offering not just entertainment and catchy dances but also a wealth of information on topics ranging from home improvement to world news. According to some reports, many young people even prefer to use social media in place of traditional search engines like Google when looking for answers. Health information is no exception. Hashtags like #celiactok, #diabetestok and #sinustok have millions of views, with each tag leading to countless videos about each health issue. “Every type of ‘Tok’ exists – that’s just ...