Scientists have unraveled the mechanisms of the Cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) signaling pathway activated by micronuclei, as well as its significant effects on tumor immunity. This study illuminates how chromosomal instability, marked by micronuclei formation, plays a critical role in controlling the capacity of the innate immune system to regulate tumor progression. These findings deepen our understanding of the intricate relationship between ...

Under Embargo Until: April 9, 2024 11 AM ET   No Link Between Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability Says Large Sibling Study from Drexel University and Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet PHILADELPHIA -- In the largest study to date on the subject, researchers found no evidence to support a causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and increased risk of autism, ADHD and intellectual disability in children. The findings, using data from a nationwide cohort of over 2.4 million children born in Sweden, including siblings not exposed to the drug before birth, were published today in the Journal of the ...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2024 — A city’s skyline — the distinctive shapes and arrangements of its buildings — impacts the safety of its population during floods. When the streets flood, pedestrians can be swept under the current and injured or killed. With climate change and rising urbanization, the likelihood and severity of urban flooding are increasing. Not all city blocks are created equal. In Physics of Fluids, an AIP Publishing journal, researchers from Beijing Normal University, Beijing Hydrological Center, and the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research investigated how city design contributes to pedestrian ...

Interstate gun transfers are a major contributor to gun crime, injury, and death in the United States. Guns used in crimes traced to interstate purchases move routinely between states along multiple major transportation routes, a phenomenon known as the “Iron Pipeline”, which refers most commonly to the Interstate 95 corridor. According to a new study at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, other such “Iron Pipelines” exist throughout the country, playing a significant role in the interstate transfer of firearms used in crimes. The findings are published in JAMA Network Open. The researchers aimed to ...

About The Study: Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis. This suggests that associations observed in other models may have been attributable to familial confounding.  Authors: Brian K. Lee, Ph.D., of Drexel University in Philadelphia, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.3172) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

Bacteria in cancer unmasked - a closer look at our microscopic co-inhabitants Researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute have compiled a detailed catalogue of bacteria living in cancer metastases. Having analyzed over 4000 tumors, they shed light on the diversity of these co-inhabitants and how they might interact with cancer cells and their surroundings. For example, certain bacteria were linked to a worse response to immunotherapy. This study paves the way to a better understanding of how bacteria help or hinder cancer (therapy), and how we can use this for patients’ ...

About The Study: The top contributing factors for leaving health care employment were planned retirement, burnout, insufficient staffing, and family obligations in this cross-sectional study of 7,887 nurses. The leading reasons signal opportunities for employers to reattract an existing nurse workforce and retain currently employed nurses.  Authors: K. Jane Muir, Ph.D., R.N., F.N.P.-B.C., of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

About The Study: In this survey study with 12,000 participants, firearm owners were only moderately more supportive of political violence than nonowners. Recent purchasers and owners who always or nearly always carried firearms in public were more supportive of and willing to engage in political violence than other subsets of firearm owners. These findings can guide risk-based prevention efforts.  Authors: Garen J. Wintemute, M.D., M.P.H., of the UC Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento, California, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

PHILADELPHIA (EMBARGOED UNTIL APRIL 9, 2024 at 11:00 AM EST) – A new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) – published in JAMA Network Open today –  showed that, aside from retirements, poor working conditions are the leading reasons nurses leave healthcare employment.  These study findings come at a time when hospital executives cite staffing problems as their most pressing concern. “Prior studies evaluate nurses’ ...

An international research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has taken the first atomic-resolution images and demonstrated electrical control of a chiral interface state – an exotic quantum phenomenon that could help researchers advance quantum computing and energy-efficient electronics. The chiral interface state is a conducting channel that allows electrons to travel in only one direction, preventing them from being scattered backwards and causing energy-wasting electrical resistance. Researchers are working to better understand the properties of chiral interface states in real materials ...

The development of the cerebral cortex largely depends on the stem cells responsible for generating neurons, known as Radial Glial Cells. Until now, it was considered that these stem cells generated neurons following a simple process, that is, a single cell lineage. However, a study led by the Neurogenesis and cortical expansion laboratory, headed by researcher Víctor Borrell at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche, has discovered not only that there are many more types of Radial Glial Cells than previously thought, but ...

More synchrony between parents and children may not always be better, new research has revealed.  For the first time a new University of Essex study looked at behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony in 140 families with a special focus on attachment. It looked at how they feel and think about emotional bonds whilst measuring brain activity as mums and dads solved puzzles with their kids.  The study – published in Developmental Science - discovered that mums with insecure attachment traits showed more brain-to-brain synchrony with their children.  Dr Pascal Vrticka, ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A new Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU) expert consensus statement to improve endometriosis evaluation was published today in the journal Radiology. Endometriosis is a common condition with substantial diagnostic delay, leading patients to experience pain, infertility, lost wages and interrupted relationships. The consensus provides recommendations for augmenting routine pelvic ultrasounds through additional maneuvers and imaging to improve diagnosis of deep endometriosis. Endometriosis, the presence of endometrium-like tissue outside the uterus, is a prevalent and potentially debilitating ...

Researchers have discovered a blood protein that could help detect which children will experience ongoing concussion symptoms more than two weeks after an injury. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, found the protein was a potential biomarker for delayed recovery from concussion in children. For the study, blood samples were collected from children, aged five-18 years, who presented to the emergency department at The Royal Children’s Hospital less than 48 hours after a concussion. Levels ...

Kent State University’s experimental archaeologists, along with those from several other universities, joined forces with the popular hunting, outdoors, and conservation media platform, MeatEater, Inc., for a unique animal processing experiment, shedding new light on ancient stone knives and showcasing the importance of testing and looking for equifinality.  ‘Equifinality’ is when two or more distinct processes can lead to the same outcome or result. The Kent State archaeologists included Professor Metin I. Eren, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor Michelle ...

WASHINGTON—New research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism finds a high prevalence of type D personality among people with hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. Between 10-15% of people with treated hypothyroidism experience persistent symptoms despite achieving normal thyroid hormone levels, and the underlying causes are unclear. Type D personality, which is characterized by pessimism, worry, stress, negative emotions and social withdrawal, is sometimes associated with poor health status and symptom burden, but this association has not previously ...

Researchers in China and Italy have made a significant breakthrough in understanding Dubin-Johnson syndrome (DJS), a rare inherited liver disorder. The team identified specific genetic mutations responsible for DJS in a pair of dizygotic twins, offering valuable insights into the cause of the disease and potentially improving diagnosis for patients with unclear symptoms. DJS disrupts the liver's ability to eliminate waste products, leading to a buildup of bilirubin, a yellow pigment in the blood. This ...

Background and objectives Sinonasal mucosal melanoma (SNMM) is a rare aggressive malignancy that presents with dismal outcomes and a high metastatic propensity. The prognostic factors as well as therapeutic regimens remain largely unknown due to the rarity of SNMM. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of SNMM patients associated with a better prognosis.   Methods We performed an observational cross-sectional study to investigate the prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy in 12 SNNM patients who were diagnosed at our institution and treated with anti-PD-L1 ...

Rapid climate change is prompting adaptation to threats such as tropical cyclones, wildfires, and droughts—but relatively trivial adaptation actions may lull people into inaccurate perceptions of their personal risk. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine; Stanford University; and the University of California, Los Angeles surveyed 2,774 Texas and Florida residents about tropical cyclones—also known in North America as hurricanes—five times between 2017 and 2022. The survey ...

Virtue is a normative concept comprising a set of moral and social codes acceptable to society. Historically, in the West, especially in ancient Greek and Christian belief systems, virtue was viewed as "excellence" aspirational to all human beings. In contrast, the East, especially in a Confucian belief system, viewed it similarly but being aspirational to only select individuals, such as rulers. However, the rise of modern values and sociopolitical overhauls almost pushed the concept of ...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) encompasses neurodevelopmental conditions where patients display repetitive behavior and impaired sociality. Genetic factors have been shown to influence the development of ASD. Additionally, recent studies have shown that the genes involved in chromatin modification and gene transcription are involved in the pathogenesis of ASD. Among the many genes implicated in this process, the gene KMT2C (lysine methyltransferase 2c), which codes for a catalytic unit of H3K4 (histone H3 lysine 4) methyltransferase complex, has been identified to be associated with the development ...

Relapses in a common form of leukemia may be preventable following new research which has identified how the cancer develops resistance to first line treatments.   New research published in iScience by researchers from the University of Birmingham, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Newcastle University, the Princess Maxima Centre of Pediatric oncology and the University of Virginia identified changes in a mutated form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) samples from patients who relapsed after receiving FLT3 inhibitor treatment.   The team found that the resistant cancer had up-regulated multiple other signalling pathways to overcome the drug’s action, and ...

Swimming in schools makes fish surprisingly stealthy underwater, with a group able to sound like a single fish. The new findings by Johns Hopkins University engineers working with a high-tech simulation of schooling mackerel, offers new insight into why fish swim in schools and promise for the design and operation of much quieter submarines and autonomous undersea vehicles. “It’s widely known that swimming in groups provides fish with added protection from predators, but we questioned whether it also contributes to reducing their noise,” said senior author Rajat Mittal. “Our results suggest that the substantial decrease in ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – Just two emails, at the right time with the right message, can make a big difference for students who are the first in their families to go to college.      A recent Washington State University study highlighted the power of an instructors’ growth mindset -- the belief that abilities are not innate but can be improved. Researchers found that when first-generation students in an introductory science course received growth mindset emails after their initial exams, they did better in the whole course than a control group. On average the students raised their final grade by about a third of a letter grade, such as moving ...

A research group in Japan has discovered that writing down one's reaction to a negative incident on a piece of paper and then shredding it or throwing it away reduces feelings of anger.    “We expected that our method would suppress anger to some extent,” lead researcher Nobuyuki Kawai said. “However, we were amazed that anger was eliminated almost entirely.”    This research is important because controlling anger at home and in the workplace can reduce negative consequences in our jobs and personal lives. Unfortunately, ...