Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a rapid, noninvasive tool to track the neurons and biomolecules activated in the brain by psychedelic drugs. The protein-based tool, which is called Ca2+-activated Split-TurboID, or CaST, is described in research published in Nature Methods.  There has been mounting interest in the value of psychedelic-inspired compounds as treatments for brain disorders including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. Psychedelic ...

August 4, 2024-- Drug-involved overdose deaths increased by over 500 percent in 2022 according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with trends attributed to synthetic opioids. National data shows that fentanyl and heroin in particular attributed substantially to the rise particularly since 2014. However, the study also reports that income protection policies, can have a supportive role in preventing fatal drug overdoses. The findings are reported in the International ...

Could This New Drug Turn Back the Clock on Multiple Sclerosis? Ten years of work, and a little help from the green mamba snake, has resulted in a promising new drug that is already being tested in clinical trials. Multiple sclerosis (MS) degrades the protective insulation around nerve cells, leaving their axons, which carry electrical impulses, exposed like bare wires. This can cause devastating problems with movement, balance and vision; and without treatment, it can lead to paralysis, loss of independence and a shortened lifespan. Now, scientists at UC San Francisco and Contineum Therapeutics have developed a drug that spurs the body to replace the lost insulation, ...

The story of Greenland keeps getting greener—and scarier. A new study provides the first direct evidence that the center—not just the edges—of Greenland’s ice sheet melted away in the recent geological past and the now-ice-covered island was then home to a green, tundra landscape. A team of scientists re-examined a few inches of sediment from the bottom of a two-mile-deep ice core extracted at the very center of Greenland in 1993—and held for 30 years in a Colorado storage facility. They were amazed to discover ...

Northwestern University scientists have developed a new bioactive material that successfully regenerated high-quality cartilage in the knee joints of a large-animal model. Although it looks like a rubbery goo, the material is actually a complex network of molecular components, which work together to mimic cartilage’s natural environment in the body.  In the new study, the researchers applied the material to damaged cartilage in the animals’ knee joints. Within just six months, the researchers observed evidence of enhanced repair, including ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – A study of horses – which share many important similarities with humans in their chromosomes and pregnancies – revealed that 42% of miscarriages and spontaneous abortions in the first two months of pregnancy were due to complications from an extra set of chromosomes, a condition called triploidy. “Over that embryonic period  [up to eight weeks from conception], triploidy had rarely been reported in mammals outside of women,” said Mandi de Mestre, professor of equine medicine at Cornell University. “The study tells us that over the first six weeks ...

The Pyramid of Djoser, the oldest of Egypt’s iconic pyramids, may have been built with the help of a unique hydraulic lift system, according to a study published August 5, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Xavier Landreau from CEA Paleotechnic Institute, France, and colleagues. The new study suggests that water may have been able to flow into two shafts located inside the pyramid itself, where that water could have been used to help raise and lower a float used to carry the building stones. The Pyramid of Djoser, also known as the Step Pyramid, is believed ...

URBANA, Ill. – If you enjoy a bowl of plain yogurt in the morning, adding a spoonful of honey is a delicious way to sweeten your favorite breakfast food. It also supports the probiotic cultures in the popular fermented dairy product, according to two new studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “We were interested in the culinary pairing of yogurt and honey, which is common in the Mediterranean diet, and how it impacts the gastrointestinal microbiome,” said Hannah Holscher, associate professor in the Department of Food ...

Few communities reveal both the challenges and opportunities presented by cultural globalism more than Maasai communities in northern Tanzania. Traditionally pastoralists, the Maasai ethnic group’s social structure is historically patriarchal, with a man’s prestige measured by the size of his family and by the livestock he owns. The shrinking world has brought change: Urban centers and the promise of jobs are luring young Maasai from communities, and new technologies such as mobile phones are shifting social patterns and structures that ...

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Ochsner Health proudly announces that 21 Ochsner nurses have been named to the 2024 Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana list by the Great 100 Nurses Foundation. This recognition highlights the contributions and commitment to excellence demonstrated by Ochsner’s nursing staff.  The Great 100 Nurses Foundation was established to honor nurses in Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. Each year, the foundation selects 100 nurses throughout Louisiana based on their concern for humanity, ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – August 5, 2024) Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T–cell immunotherapy re-engineers a patient’s immune cells to target cancer cells. While successful in some types of leukemia, the approach has yet to realize its potential against pediatric solid tumors. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified a way to improve CAR T–cell homing – a T cell’s ability to navigate effectively to a tumor – for osteosarcoma. Improved homing is a necessary step in designing more successful CAR T–cell therapies. The results were published today in Clinical Cancer ...

In Brazil, climate and other human-made environmental changes threaten decades-long efforts to fight a widespread and debilitating parasitic disease. Now, a partnership between researchers from Stanford and Brazil is helping to proactively predict these impacts.  Schistosomiasis, spread by freshwater snails, affects more than 200 million people in many tropical regions of the world. It can cause stomach pain and irreversible consequences such as enlarged liver and cancer. Public health officials worry that deforestation, rapid urban sprawl, and changing rainfall patterns – such as ...

Since the first immunotherapy drug to boost the body’s immune response against advanced lung cancer was introduced in the United States in 2015, survival rates of patients with the disease have improved significantly. That’s the conclusion of a recent real-world study published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. For the research, a team led by Dipesh Uprety, MD, FACP, of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Wayne State University School of Medicine, analyzed data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, which compiles cancer-related data ...

The failure to co-ordinate legal, policy and scientific thinking risks “a squandering of opportunity” to improve air quality, concludes new environmental law research, co-led by a UCL academic.  In their Science paper, ‘Harnessing science, policy and law to deliver clean air’, Professors Eloise Scotford (UCL Faculty of Laws), Alastair Lewis (University of York) and Delphine Misonne  (UCLouvain Saint-Louis, Brussels) review recent research and highlight significant risks to achieving clean air globally. Despite significant achievements in air quality law and policy in some parts of the world ...

AMES, Iowa – Researchers have been studying the industrial production of ammonia for a century. But they’ve struggled to find ways to improve the low-yield, low-efficiency process.   Atmospheric nitrogen, with the aid of an iron catalyst, reacts with hydrogen to produce ammonia. That reaction produces lots of ammonia – worldwide production is 160 million tons every year. Most is used in agriculture, especially as nitrogen fertilizer. It’s also used in many industries, including refrigeration ...

Improving outcomes for students with disabilities as they transition from high school to postsecondary education and employment starts with effective training and development opportunities for the secondary educators who support them. Portland State University (PSU) has received a $1.9 million grant to redesign, implement and test a professional development model that aims to provide essential training for secondary educators. The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education’s prestigious Institute of Education Sciences, will fund a four-year project titled "Transition Coalition Self-Study Plus (TCSS+): A ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study is the first to shed light on the high prevalence of head injuries, and related mental health symptoms, in a previously overlooked population when it comes to concussion surveillance: law enforcement officers. The survey of Ohio law enforcement officers found that 74% reported a lifetime history of one or more head injuries, and 30% had a head injury that happened on the job. Many more of these injuries went unreported than were treated by a health care professional. And further analysis showed post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms were higher in those who had experienced one or more head injuries. “This ...

A new national multicenter study offers hope for women who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). The results of the study, recently published in the renowned journal Blood, show that successful pregnancies are possible under certain conditions, especially in younger women, patients with non-malignant diseases, and those who received no or only low doses of total body irradiation (TBI). For many benign hematologic disorders, allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) is the only ...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 2, 2024) – The University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has introduced a groundbreaking initiative, Brain Health Activities, aimed at supporting individuals with dementia and their caregivers. The program was developed with extensive collaboration across the UK campus, offering a variety of resources designed to enhance brain health and quality of life for those affected by dementia and their caregivers.  The idea for ...

New findings on how sharks achieve drag reduction could inspire the design of riblets for more efficient aircraft and boats. In their investigation of great white shark denticles, researchers from Tokyo Tech found that ridge height and spacing play crucial roles in drag reduction at different swimming speeds. Higher middle ridges aid sharks in efficient cruising at slower speeds, while the lower side ridges become more critical for drag reduction during high-speed hunting bursts. The analysis also suggests that the speeds of an extinct giant ...

A first-of-its kind study conducted in Canada’s two largest cities by McGill-led researchers has linked about 1,100 premature deaths per year to an unregulated air pollutant. Ultrafine particles (UFPs) primarily come from vehicle emissions and industrial activities. Canada’s federal and provincial governments have not set concentration limits for UFPs, as they have for larger fine particles known as PM2.5. “Ultrafine particles are incredibly small, allowing them to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Increasing evidence suggests these pollutants may contribute to heart and lung diseases, as well as certain forms of cancer,” ...

Four researchers from the Institute of Photonics at Leibniz University Hannover have developed a new transmitter-receiver concept for transmitting entangled photons over an optical fiber. This breakthrough could enable the next generation of telecommunications technology, the quantum Internet, to be routed via optical fibers. The quantum Internet promises eavesdropping-proof encryption methods that even future quantum computers cannot decrypt, ensuring the security of critical infrastructure. "To make the quantum Internet a reality, we need to transmit entangled photons via fiber optic networks,” says Prof. Dr. Michael Kues, Head of the Institute ...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2024 — A lot of people on the internet have been telling our host Alex to drink raw milk. This is a bad idea — a particularly bad one actually. So she wanted to make a video about why it’s such a bad idea to consume raw milk, then she realized she’s been eating raw milk without even knowing it via cheese. That’s when things got complicated. Reactions is a video series produced by the American Chemical Society and PBS Digital Studios. Subscribe to Reactions and follow us on X, formerly Twitter @ACSReactions. The American Chemical Society ...

DALLAS (SMU) – It’s a relevant question for business owners with few repeat customers, such as contract workers or real estate agents: Does being transparent about past business transactions change the odds of making a sale that benefits both buyer and seller?    The answer matters because mutually beneficial sales ensure that these kinds of transactions will continue, keeping the economy strong. A new study published in the journal American Economic Review suggests the answer depends on a variety of factors.  A mutually beneficial sale is defined from two points of view: The seller values the money they receive more than ...

(Denver, Colo.—August 5, 2024) – Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Detecting this disease in its early stages significantly improves survival rates, making low-dose CT screening an essential component in the fight against lung cancer. Recent studies, particularly from Asia, have sparked a debate on whether these screening benefits extend to non-smokers and those with minimal smoking histories. However, according to an article published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, there is currently insufficient evidence to support ...