Participation in recreational activities — including golfing, gardening or yard work, woodworking and hunting — may be associated with an increase in a person’s risk for developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a Michigan Medicine study finds.  While many activities were associated with increased ALS risk, several were sex specific. The results are published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.  “We know that occupational risk factors, like working in manufacturing and trade industries, are linked to an increased risk for ALS, and this adds to a growing literature that recreational activities may also represent ...

Is there a way to stick hard and soft materials together without any tape, glue or epoxy? A new study published in ACS Central Science shows that applying a small voltage to certain objects forms chemical bonds that securely link the objects together. Reversing the direction of electron flow easily separates the two materials. This electroadhesion effect could help create biohybrid robots, improve biomedical implants and enable new battery technologies. When an adhesive is used to attach two things, it binds the surfaces either through mechanical or electrostatic forces. But sometimes those attractions or bonds are difficult, if not ...

A new study reveals that many people living in extreme poverty in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have conditions that lead to heart disease, the world’s #1 cause of death — overturning ‘conventional wisdom’. In the largest analysis of its kind exploring the relationship between poverty and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, experts discovered a high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and dyslipidemia in LMICs regardless of income —yet most adults living in extreme poverty were not treated for these CVD-related conditions.   An international group of researchers note that their findings, ...

A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), has consistently estimated daily ambient concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and O3 across a large ensemble of European regions between 2003 and 2019 based on machine learning techniques. The aim was to assess the occurrence of days exceeding the 2021 guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) for one or multiple pollutants, referred to as “unclean air days”. The ...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Exposure to several combinations of toxic atmospheric pollutants may be triggering asthma symptoms among children, a recent analysis suggests. The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, showed that 25 different combinations of air pollutants were associated with asthma symptoms among 269 elementary school children diagnosed with asthma in Spokane, Washington. In line with previous research, the Washington State University-led study revealed a socioeconomic disparity—with one group of children from a lower-income neighborhood exposed to more toxic combinations, a total of 13 of the 25 ...

LA JOLLA, CA—Hitting targets embedded within the cell membrane has long been difficult for drug developers due to the membrane’s challenging biochemical properties. Now, Scripps Research chemists have demonstrated new custom-designed proteins that can efficiently reach these “intramembrane” targets. In their study, published March 13, 2024, in Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers used a unique computer-based approach to design novel proteins targeting the membrane-spanning region of the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor, which controls red blood cell production and can go awry in cancers. In addition ...

A largescale new study has found that some people whose genetics are linked to the common iron overload condition haemochromatosis have substantially greater levels of liver, musculoskeletal and brain disease than previously reported, especially at older ages. Haemochromatosis causes a build-up of iron in the body which can cause harm to joints and organs – although the extent of this harm is unclear, especially in older ages. The new research, led by a team at the University of Exeter and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care ...

One of the primary goals in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is the development of artificial scaffolds that can serve as substitutes for damaged tissue. These materials must ideally resemble natural tissue and must have the ability to support cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. When considering scaffold materials, researchers account for the scaffold’s properties, such as its surface roughness, its water content (hydration state), and its flexibility or stiffness (elastic modulus), since these properties are known to affect cell ...

Critical limb ischemia is a condition in which the main blood vessels supplying blood to the legs are blocked, causing blood flow to gradually decrease as atherosclerosis progresses in the peripheral arteries. It is a severe form of peripheral artery disease that causes progressive closure of arteries in the lower extremity, leading to the necrosis of the leg tissue and eventual amputation. Current treatments include angioplasty procedures such as stent implantation and anti-thrombotic drugs, but there is a risk of blood vessel damage and recurrence of blood clots, which is why there is a strong interest ...

Philadelphia, March 13, 2024 – A new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, published by Elsevier, challenges the prevailing view on the maternal death rate in the United States. The findings show that the rates of maternal death were stable between 1999-2002 and 2018-2021, instead of the dramatic upward trends previously reported by the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, the study indicates that direct obstetric causes of death declined over the last 20 years. To determine whether the reported maternal death rates are accurate, a team of researchers took a deep dive into ...

Maternal death rates in the United States may be sharply overstated as a result of faulty surveillance techniques, according to an analysis by researchers at Rutgers Health and other universities. The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that maternal death rates have more than tripled over the last two decades to 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021 – substantially more than in any other wealthy nation. The new study that looked at all deaths in the United States from 1999 to 2021 published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports consistent death rates of slightly ...

What: Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have discovered that symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are tied to atypical interactions between the brain’s frontal cortex and information processing centers deep in the brain. The researchers examined more than 10,000 functional brain images of youth with ADHD and published their results in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The study was led by researchers at NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Human Genome Research Institute. Luke Norman, Ph.D., a staff scientist in the NIMH Office of the Clinical Director, and colleagues ...

Laser direct writing (LDW) current researches mostly generate single type of materials for sensing layers or electrodes, while the sensor with different types of materials by LDW method is lacked. Researchers led by Prof. Gao Yang from East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), China, are interested in expanded the application of LDW method, where can utilize the photo-thermal conversion, to synthesize materials and then engrave them with the desired morphologies and structures. Focusing on the functionality of materials, the researchers use all-LDW method to generate laser induced silver (LIS) as electrodes and laser induced graphene ...

More than 80% of patients with tuberculosis, the world’s most deadly infection, do not have a persistent cough, despite this being seen as a key symptom of the disease. The infection is predominantly transmitted by coughing, but probably also through simply breathing. Research, led by Amsterdam UMC and the Amsterdam Institute for Global Heath and Development, analysed data on more than 600,000 individuals in Africa and Asia and found that 82.8% of those with tuberculosis had no persistent cough and 62.5% had no cough at all. These results ...

Women with a short cervix around 20 weeks of pregnancy have an increased risk of preterm birth. Preventing preterm birth in pregnant women with a short cervix is a crucial step in protecting the health of the child. Research from Amsterdam UMC now shows that, in pregnant women with a short cervix around 20 weeks, Progesterone (a hormone) is better than a cervical pessary at reducing the risk of severe preterm birth. This study was published today in the BMJ. "This is an important improvement that can contribute to the reduction of preterm births and the associated complications, such as an increased risk of infant mortality and long-term health problems for the child," says ...

Girls with obesity are more likely to experience pain in their bones, joints, muscles, ligaments or tendons compared with children with a healthy weight, according to research by Queen Mary University of London. The same did not apply to boys. Queen Mary researchers hope their findings will raise awareness that obesity may contribute to musculoskeletal problems in children. In the study, published today in Archives of Disease in Childhood, researchers analysed anonymised information on 120,000 children, linking data from the National Child Measurement Programme with GP records. They found that girls with obesity were 1.7 times more likely than those ...

A new analysis led by researchers at the University of Oxford and funded by the Nuffield Foundation has found that virtually all care homes forced to close in England by the Care Quality Commission are run on a for-profit basis. The results, published today in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, raise questions about the role of the private sector in exacerbating the care sector’s ongoing crisis. The study assessed the number of care homes which had been forced to close by the independent regulator of health and social care in England, the Care Quality Commission ...

Cancer patients who received specialized mental health support as part of their treatment plan are more likely to see improvements in their quality of life and reductions in pain, depression and fatigue, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In addition to lasting improvements in patients’ quality of life, researchers observed lower risk of cardiovascular disease in family caregivers, as well as substantial cost savings to the healthcare system. The findings from a Phase III clinical trial were published today in The Lancet. “The ...

There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.   The findings from this 4-year study, the Severe Typhoid ...

HOUSTON – (March 13, 2024) – Rice University’s Naomi Halas has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the C.E.K. Mees Medal by Optica for “her design, fabrication, and demonstration of nanoparticles with specific optical and physical properties, the widespread application of which enables advances in fields including cancer therapy, water security, and light-driven chemistry.” Halas’ groundbreaking work in nanotechnology has enabled the creation of metal nanoparticles possessing structural ...

UCL Press Release Under embargo until Wednesday 13 March 2024, 00:01 UK Time   Imported giant sequoia trees are well adapted to the UK, growing at rates close to their native ranges and capturing large amounts of carbon during their long lives, finds a new study led by UCL researchers with colleagues at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The new research, published in Royal Society Open Science, found that the most massive species of redwood trees, Sequoiadendron giganteum, known as the giant sequoia, can potentially pull an average of 85 kilograms of carbon out ...

We all know that the early bird gets the worm, but new research shows they turn to something far more nutritious for their breakfast. Poo – either their own, or from other birds – provides them with essential nutrients, energy, and helps them adapt to new environments and seasonal variations, especially when they are developing. New research led by the University of South Australia and published in Biological Reviews explains how eating faeces (known as coprophagy) shapes wild birds’ digestive tracts (gut biota), enabling them to absorb lost or deficient nutrients and adjust to seasonal variations in food sources. This ...

The fertility of both female and male tsetse flies is affected by a single burst of hot weather, researchers at the University of Bristol and Stellenbosch University in South Africa  have found. The effects of a single heatwave were even felt in the offspring of heat exposed parents, with more daughters being born than sons. The study, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, helps explain why tsetse are declining in some parts of their range in Africa and has important implications for the disease they spread, particularly sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. Lead author ...

University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists are developing a new light detection and ranging instrument to help gain a better understanding of space weather enveloping Earth. The new laser radar, or lidar, will be the third for the UAF Geophysical Institute. It will measure temperature and neutrally charged iron in the upper atmosphere at altitudes of 75 to 125 miles, where the mesosphere and thermosphere meet. Understanding the processes and influences at that altitude has become increasingly important as the proliferation of low-Earth orbit satellites continues and more nations send probes through ...

Image A protein engineering method using simple, cost-effective experiments and machine learning models can predict which proteins will be effective for a given purpose, according to a new study by University of Michigan researchers. The method has far-reaching potential to assemble proteins and peptides for applications from industry tools to therapeutics. For instance, this technique can help speed up the development of stabilized peptides for treating diseases in ways that current medicines can't, including improving how exclusively antibodies bind to their targets in immunotherapy. "The rules that govern how proteins work, from sequence to structure to function, are ...