Australian researchers have discovered how changes in antibody levels over time can predict which children are likely to outgrow their peanut allergy. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne and published in Allergy, found two thirds of children with a peanut allergy remain allergic by the age of 10. But for those who did naturally outgrow their allergy, the majority achieved this by six years old. The study was the first to use antibodies as biomarkers to identify persistent or a resolved ...

By Tom Garlinghouse for the Princeton University Department of Physics Not all magnets are the same. When we think of magnetism, we often think of magnets that stick to a refrigerator’s door. For these types of magnets, the electronic interactions that give rise to magnetism have been understood for around a century, since the early days of quantum mechanics. But there are many different forms of magnetism in nature, and scientists are still discovering the mechanisms that drive them. Now, physicists ...

When two animals look the same, eat the same, behave the same way, and live in similar environments, one might expect that they belong to the same species. However, a tiny zooplankton skimming the ocean surfaces of microscopic food particles challenges this assumption. Researchers from Osaka University, University of Barcelona and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have analyzed the genome of Oikopleura dioica from the Seto Inland Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific Ocean around the Okinawa Islands, and in doing so, they have raised numerous questions about speciation and the role of gene location in ...

[Highlights] - Developed a new compilation method to generate optimal sequences to be executed on quantum computers - The new method is based on a probabilistic approach and reduces the time to search for the optimal sequence by several orders of magnitude. - Expected to contribute to quantum information processing at quantum nodes that support the quantum internet [Abstract] The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki, Ph.D.), RIKEN (President: GONOKAMI Makoto, Ph.D.), Tokyo University of Science (President: Dr.  ISHIKAWA Masatoshi), and the University of Tokyo (President: FUJII Teruo, Ph.D.) succeeded ...

WASHINGTON— A new analysis of the world’s largest 100 marine protected areas (MPAs) published today in Conservation Letters suggests that governments are falling short on delivering the promise of effective biodiversity protection due to slow implementation of management strategies and failure to restrict the most impactful activities. The assessment, titled “Ocean protection quality is lagging behind quantity: Applying a scientific framework to assess real marine protected area progress ...

Just a few days on a night shift schedule throws off protein rhythms related to blood glucose regulation, energy metabolism and inflammation, processes that can influence the development of chronic metabolic conditions. The finding, from a study led by scientists at Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, provides new clues as to why night shift workers are more prone to diabetes, obesity and other metabolic disorders. “There are processes tied to the master biological clock in our brain that are saying that day ...

Recently, Nano Research announced awardees of the 11th Nano Research Award. Two outstanding scientists, Professor Louis E. Brus of Columbia University and Professor Moungi Bawendi of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have been awarded this honor.   The Nano Research Award, established by the journal Nano Research together with Tsinghua University Press (TUP) and Springer Nature in 2013, aims to recognize outstanding contributions to nano research by an individual scientist. The winner is selected by the Award Committee ...

  Among New Yorkers with low incomes, the “Vision Zero” initiative to stem roadway crashes resulted in a marked, 30% reduction in traffic injuries of varying severity from early 2014 – when the city government launched the program – until 2019, according to a new study conducted at New York University. The study, scheduled for publication May 8 at 4:00 p.m. (ET) in the American Journal of Public Health, revealed this trend of improved safety by comparing Medicaid-covered injury ...

Suicidality hit new record high in U.S. in 2022 New tool was 92% effective at predicting four variables related to self-harm AI uses a small set of judgment and contextual variables as opposed to big data, and strongly supports the hypothesis of a standard model of mind  EVANSTON, Ill. --- A new assessment tool that leverages powerful artificial intelligence was able to predict whether participants exhibited suicidal thoughts and behaviors using a quick and simple combination of variables. Developed by researchers at Northwestern University, the University of Cincinnati (UC), Aristotle ...

Understanding how genes are regulated at the molecular level is a central challenge in modern biology. This complex mechanism is mainly driven by the interaction between proteins called transcription factors, DNA regulatory regions, and epigenetic modifications – chemical alterations that change chromatin structure. The set of epigenetic modifications of a cell’s genome is referred to as the epigenome. In a study just published in Nature Genetics, scientists from the Hackett Group at EMBL Rome have developed a modular epigenome editing platform – a system to program epigenetic modifications at any location in the genome. The system allows scientists to study the impact ...

Aging clocks can measure the biological age of humans with high precision. Biological age can be influenced by environmental factors such as smoking or diet, thus deviating from the chronological age that is calculated using the date of birth. The precision of these aging clocks suggests that the aging process follows a programme. Scientists David Meyer and Professor Dr Björn Schumacher at CECAD, the Cluster of Excellence Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases of the University of Cologne, have now discovered that aging clocks actually measure the increase in stochastic changes in cells. The study ‘Aging clocks based on accumulating stochastic variation’ ...

Background and objectives Wilms tumor is the most common renal malignancy in children. miR-146a, a highly conserved small noncoding RNA, plays a critical role in various human diseases. Increasing studies have suggested that rs2910164 C>G polymorphism in miR-146a is associated with susceptibility to cancers. However, miR-146a rs2910164 C>G polymorphism influence on Wilms tumor remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between miR-146a rs2910164 C>G polymorphism and Wilms ...

BETHESDA, MD. (May 9, 2024) — A simple oral rinse could provide early detection of gastric cancer, the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, according to a study scheduled for presentation at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2024. “In the cancer world, if you find patients after they've developed cancer, it's a little too late,” said Shruthi Reddy Perati, MD, author and general surgery resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine. “The ideal time to try to prevent ...

The saturated soil conditions predicted to result from increased rainfall in the UK’s upland regions could have a knock-on effect on the ambition to create more woodland in the fight against climate change, a new study has found. Researchers from the University of Plymouth have spent a number of years exploring how temperate rainforests could be an effective nature-based solution to some of the planet’s greatest challenges. They have also shown that the UK’s uplands could in future see significantly more annual rainfall than is currently being predicted in national climate models. In new research, they found that higher soil water levels within areas such ...

A new paper in Oxford Open Climate Change, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that extensive bleaching and deaths are widespread at several major coral reefs around the world. This suggests that climate change has resulted in shifting patterns in ocean circulation. Coral reefs may soon be a thing of the past. Last year, 2023, was the hottest year in recorded history on land and in the oceans, with dramatic and unexpected temperature increases. The highest excess daily air temperatures recorded in 175 countries, as well the most ...

Citizens are often deeply concerned about how the government manages public finances and taxes. However, understanding government fiscal policy can be complex, leaving citizens without a complete picture of the factors guiding budget decisions. Kyoto City, the ninth most populous city in Japan, has been facing financial difficulties due to declining tax revenues and rising government spending. This has caused citizens to hold negative views about government policies, even though they may not fully understand them. A study published in the journal International Review of Administrative Sciences ...

BETHESDA, MD. (May 9, 2024) — A new weight-loss treatment could be on the horizon with an innovative endoscopic procedure that ablates (burns) the stomach lining to reduce production of ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger, resulting in decreased appetite and significant weight loss, according to a first-in-human trial to be presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2024. The six-month trial involving 10 female patients with obesity resulted in a 7.7% loss of body weight and a reduction of more than 40% in fasting ghrelin levels. Patients reported through validated questionnaires that their hunger was diminished by more than a third. The procedure also caused a 42% reduction ...

BETHESDA, MD. (May 9, 2024) — Health care professionals attending certain smoke-producing endoscopic gastrointestinal procedures, including a procedure that uses electrical current to remove polyps, could be exposed to dangerous toxin levels equivalent to smoking a cigarette during each procedure and face “significant health risks” over their careers, according to a study scheduled for presentation at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2024. “Surgeons in the operating room have regulations and guidelines to mitigate smoke exposure, but that does not exist for gastrointestinal endoscopy,” said Trent Walradt, MD, a research fellow at Brigham and ...

BETHESDA, MD. (May 9, 2024) — Colorectal cancer incidence has steadily increased among younger people in the U.S. over the last two decades, with the youngest seeing the most dramatic jumps, according to a study scheduled for presentation at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2024. Between 1999 and 2020, the rate of colorectal cancers grew 500% among children ages 10 to 14, 333% among teens aged 15 to 19, and 185% among young adults ages 20 to 24, researchers said. “Colorectal cancer is no longer considered just ...

Higher consumption of most ultra-processed foods is linked to a slightly higher risk of death, with ready-to-eat meat, poultry, and seafood based products, sugary drinks, dairy based desserts, and highly processed breakfast foods showing the strongest associations, finds a 30-year US study in The BMJ today. The researchers say not all ultra-processed food products should be universally restricted, but that their findings “provide support for limiting consumption of certain types of ultra-processed food for long term health.” Ultra-processed ...

An investigation published by The BMJ today raises concerns about financial entanglements between US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chiefs and the drug and medical device companies they are responsible for regulating. Regulations prohibit FDA employees from holding financial interests in any FDA “significantly regulated organisation” and the FDA says it takes conflicts of interest seriously, but Peter Doshi, senior editor at The BMJ, finds that financial interests with the drug industry are common among its leaders.  Doshi reports that nine of the FDA’s past 10 commissioners went ...

Last month, Dr Sarah Benn became the first doctor to be suspended from the medical register after being convicted and jailed for actions relating to climate activism. In an interview with The BMJ today, she says the activism that led to her suspension was necessary to raise the alarm over the climate crisis, and also in keeping with a doctor’s mission to promote health and save lives. “The world is facing an unprecedented crisis due to the danger of climate and ecological collapse, and I believe that my actions are a justified and proportionate effort to raise an alarm about the severity and urgency of the situation,” she tells journalist Adele Waters. Benn ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, May 8, 2024 Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## Preventive treatment for tuberculosis (TB) can stop latent TB infections from developing into deadly TB disease. Despite TB infection being fully treatable, there is no global consensus as to which subgroups of individuals exposed to TB should be prioritized for preventive treatment, nor whether the benefits of this treatment vary based on factors such as age or confirmed infection.  A new study led by a Boston University ...

A major clinical trial has found that an additional COVID 19 vaccine dose led to the majority of clinically extremely vulnerable people mounting defensive antibodies against Covid-19.   New research published in The Lancet Rheumatology from the OCTAVE DUO research trial co-led by the University of Birmingham and University of Glasgow found that vaccine boosters led to improved antibody responses among many groups of immunocompromised and immunosuppressed patients.   Co-funded by the Government and Blood Cancer UK and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), this ...

A new Cochrane review has found that taking zinc may help to reduce the duration of common cold symptoms by about two days, but the evidence is not conclusive and potential benefits must be balanced against side-effects. Since the 1980s, zinc products have been marketed as treatments for the common cold and are particularly popular in the USA. Zinc is an essential mineral naturally found in many foods and plays a role in immune function. Most people in high-income countries get enough zinc through their diets, although aging and some chronic diseases may lead to deficiency. The theory behind zinc-based lozenges, sprays and syrups is that the zinc may interfere ...