FINDINGS A pilot study led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators suggests that for people with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer, administrating an immunotherapy drug in combination with chemotherapy before surgery is safe and may improve long-term outcomes. The findings showed that treating patients with the combination therapy prior to surgery resulted in a higher rate of successful tumor removal, increased the period of time before the cancer worsened, and extended overall survival when compared to historical controls. The researchers also found that adding the immunotherapy component did not increase ...

SAN DIEGO ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. This special edition features presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024. In addition to ...

Boston - Numerous studies conducted by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute show promising results for patients with endometrial, lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. The results of these studies, along with dozens of others led by Dana-Farber faculty, will be presented at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting on April 5-10, 2024, in San Diego, Calif. The institute’s leading experts and researchers will present findings across a spectrum of diseases, underscoring their dedication to driving innovation, improving patient outcomes, and changing lives everywhere. Rebecca Porter, MD, PhD, ...

Boston - In a small, investigator-initiated phase 2 study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators, a novel combination of an antibody-drug conjugate and an immune checkpoint inhibitor showed notable activity in pre-treated patients with a difficult-to-treat form of endometrial cancer. In this study, tumors were reduced in six out of 16 patients treated with the combination, including one case in which the cancer disappeared. The study tested mirvetuximab soravtansine and pembrolizumab in patients with folate receptor-α ...

Woods Hole, Mass– The human gut is full of microbes. Some microbes can make people sick, while others are responsible for balancing gut health. But humans aren’t the only species who’s health depends on these microorganisms. Coral reef ecosystems rely on microorganisms to recycle organic matter and nutrients. These cells also help feed corals and other life reliant on reefs. Researchers from WHOI studied the microbes in coral reef water by examining eight reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands over a period of seven years, which included periods of hurricane and coral ...

A new study by researchers at the Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, published in Science Advances, reveals that PFAS re-emit into the air from crashing ocean waves at levels comparable to or greater than other sources, establishing a cyclical transport process for these "forever chemicals" between land and sea. “The common belief is that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, drain from the land into the oceans where they stay to be diluted into the deep oceans ...

    Images  A new "atlas" of the human ovary provides insights that could lead to treatments restoring ovarian hormone production and the ability to have biologically related children, according to University of Michigan engineers.   This deeper understanding of the ovary means researchers could potentially create artificial ovaries in the lab using tissues that were stored and frozen before exposure to toxic medical treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. Currently, surgeons can implant previously frozen ovarian tissue to temporarily restore hormone and egg production. However, this ...

HOUSTON – (April 5, 2024) – If you were to throw a message in a bottle into a black hole, all of the information in it, down to the quantum level, would become completely scrambled. Because in black holes this scrambling happens as quickly and thoroughly as quantum mechanics allows. They are generally considered nature’s ultimate information scramblers. New research from Rice University theorist Peter Wolynes and collaborators at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, however, has shown that molecules can be as formidable at scrambling quantum information ...

The expansion of fiber optics is progressing worldwide, which not only increases the bandwidth of conventional Internet connections, but also brings closer the realization of a global quantum Internet. The quantum internet can help to fully exploit the potential of certain technologies. These include much more powerful quantum computing through the linking of quantum processors and registers, more secure communication through quantum key distribution or more precise time measurements through the synchronization of atomic clocks. However, the differences between the glass fiber standard of 1550 nm and the system wavelengths of the various quantum bits ...

Sex pheromones are vital in facilitating the chemical communication that underpins insect courtship and mating behavior. Among female American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana), two key volatile sex pheromone components, periplanone-A (PA) and periplanone-B (PB), are predominantly released. Previous studies have indicated that PB is the primary component, but the precise interplay between PA and PB, alongside their regulatory mechanisms in male courtship and mating behavior has remained ambiguous. Recently, a team led by Professor Sheng Li from the Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal ...

West Virginia University is leading one of 50 projects as part of a nationwide effort to increase farmland availability to underserved populations, while also helping producers obtain working capital and means of food distribution. The WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health was awarded a five-year, $8.5 million cooperative agreement grant for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Increasing Land Access Program, funded by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Titled “Working Lands of Central Appalachia,” ...

MISSOULA – An opinion paper published by University of Montana professor Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas MD, PhD identifies air pollution risk exposures and the development of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in exposed populations. Calderón-Garcidueñas coauthors, Dr. Alberto Ayala and Dr. Partha Mukherjee discussed US citizens are not fully aware of the harmful brain impact of exposures to ubiquitous anthropogenic combustion emissions and friction-derived nanoparticles, industrial nanoplastics, wildfires and ...

Diagnosing infectious conditions can be challenging. Diagnosis is especially challenging for uncommon and emerging infectious diseases for which there’s limited clinical experience. Nevertheless, successfully identifying patients with infectious diseases, especially communicable ones, is critical, so patients can be isolated to reduce disease spread. To address this challenge, investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, recently developed and validated a computer program that can be incorporated into electronic medical record systems to help clinicians diagnose mpox (formerly known as monkeypox). The research ...

WMG at the University of Warwick has boosted the West Midlands economy by £450 million – with every £1 invested into WMG’s small and medium enterprise (SME) programmes, around £22 has returned to the local economy. Celebrating 20 years of tailored business support, WMG has delivered manufacturing expertise to 15,000 SMEs in the Midlands. It has supported the creation of more than 13,000 jobs, 350 new businesses and 355 internships over the last two decades. WMG has delivered critical projects to SMEs to help them succeed in digitalisation, business change and product design. A key ongoing project is helping SMEs mange the energy crisis with a specialised ...

The Department of Defense awarded a little more than $1.9 million to a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Arkansas and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to develop a wearable device that will assist with the early detection and monitoring of internal and external bleeding. The grant comes as part of the Department of Defense’s prestigious Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Hemorrhagic shock is currently the leading cause of preventable death in casualty care settings. Existing methods often fail to detect blood loss until the onset of shock, which can be too late for some patients. This makes early detection and management ...

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are preparing to demonstrate their expertise and foster collaborations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting. It will be held April 5-10, 2024 in San Diego, California. Each year, members of the cancer research community including scientists, clinicians, healthcare professionals, cancer survivors, patients and advocates attend AACR’s annual meeting. It provides an opportunity for St. Jude researchers to share their research findings ...

Nerve cells (neurons) are amongst the most complex cell types in our body. They achieve this complexity during development by extending ramified branches called dendrites and axons and establishing thousands of synapses to form intricate networks. The production of most neurons is confined to embryonic development, yet few brain regions are exceptionally endowed with neurogenesis throughout adulthood. It is unclear how neurons born in these regions successfully mature and remain competitive to exert their functions within a fully formed organ. However, understanding these processes holds great potential for brain repair approaches during disease. A team ...

The results of a pioneering study support the safety of the bioimplants called PeriCord, made from stem cells of the umbilical cord and pericardium from a tissue donor, which aid in the regeneration and revascularisation of the affected area. The study has monitored 7 interventions of this pioneering tissue engineering surgery over three years, noting excellent biocompatibility and no rejection in patients. The therapy has been developed by the research group ICREC (Heart Failure and Cardiac Regeneration) at Germans Trias i Pujol Research ...

About The Study: Supply chain issues associated with drug shortages increased at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic according to the results of this national cross-sectional study. Ongoing policy work is needed to protect U.S. drug supplies from future shocks and to prioritize clinically valuable drugs at greatest shortage risk.  Authors: Katie J. Suda, Pharm.D., M.S., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For ...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that altering the sequence of breast cancer treatment to administer radiation before mastectomy allowed for concurrent breast reconstruction surgery, which reduced the number of operations required, minimized treatment delays and improved patient satisfaction. The Phase II trial results, published today in JAMA Network Open, evaluated 49 patients who received radiation therapy followed by mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction. There were no complete flap ...

A research group centered at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has drilled deep into a dataset of over 3 million individuals compiled by the direct-to-consumer genetics company 23andMe, Inc., and found intriguing connections between genetic factors influencing alcohol consumption and their relationship with other disorders. The study was recently published in the Lancet eBioMedicine. Sandra Sanchez-Roige, Ph.D., corresponding author and associate professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, explained that the study used genetic data to broadly classify individuals as being European, Latin American ...

The CHEOPS space telescope, whose scientific operations centre is based at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), is providing new information on the mysterious exoplanet WASP-76b. This ultra-hot giant is characterised by an asymmetry between the amount of light observed on its eastern terminator - the fictitious line that separates its night side from its day side - and that observed on its western terminator. This peculiarity is thought to be due to a ‘‘glory’’, a luminous phenomenon similar to a rainbow, which occurs if the light from the star - the ‘‘sun’’ around which the ...

(SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS) — UTSA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), the City of San Antonio, and CPS Energy to develop and promote energy technologies that could potentially decarbonize the aviation sector. The ambitious project will pursue a range of research and development objectives, including sustainable aviation technologies, battery technologies and battery storage solutions, enhanced electric vehicle charging technologies and power-related technologies. The MOU will position San Antonio as an innovation center for these new energy solutions, accelerating their development ...

The detection of gravitational waves stands as one of the most significant achievements in modern physics. In 2017, gravitational waves from the merger of a binary neutron star were detected for the first time which uncovered crucial information about our universe, from the origin of short gamma-ray bursts to the formation of heavy elements. However, detecting gravitational waves emerging from post-merger remnants has remained elusive due to their frequency range lying outside the range of modern gravitational wave detectors (GWDs). ...

About The Study: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that integrating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in prostate cancer screening pathways is associated with a reduced number of unnecessary biopsies and overdiagnosis of insignificant prostate cancer while maintaining clinically significant prostate cancer detection as compared with prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-only screening.  Authors: Shahrokh F. Shariat, M.D., D.Dr.(hc), of Medical University Vienna in Vienna, 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/jamaoncol.2024.0734) Editor’s ...