WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $6 million in funding for 12 awards across eight efforts to advance research in isotope enrichment, targetry, and separations. This funding is part of a key federal program that produces critical isotopes otherwise unavailable or in short supply in the U.S. Isotopes, or variations of the same elements that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, have unique properties that make them powerful in medical diagnostic and treatment applications. They are also essential for applications in quantum information science, nuclear power, national security, and more. “These ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 19:00 BST / 14:00 ET MONDAY 20 MAY 2024. World leaders still need to wake up to AI risks, say leading experts ahead of AI Safety Summit More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science press package at https://www.eurekalert.org/press/scipak/, or can be requested from scipak@aaas.org Leading AI scientists are calling for stronger action on AI risks from world leaders, warning that progress has been insufficient since the first AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park six months ago.  Then, the world’s leaders pledged to govern AI responsibly. However, as the second AI Safety Summit in Seoul ...

Although researchers have warned of the extreme risks posed by rapidly developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, there is a lack of consensus about how to manage them. In a Policy Forum, Yoshua Bengio and colleagues examine the risks of advancing AI technologies – from the social and economic impacts, malicious uses, and the possible loss of human control over autonomous AI systems – and recommend directions for proactive and adaptive governance to mitigate them. They call on major technology companies and public funders to invest more – at least one-third of their budgets – into assessing and ...

The new Tandem Dual-Antenna Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)  Interferometry (TDA-InSAR) system, addresses the limitations of current spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems by providing a more reliable and efficient method for 3D surface mapping. The system's innovative design allows for single-pass acquisitions, significantly reducing the time required for data collection and enhancing the precision of 3D reconstructions in various terrains, including built-up areas and vegetation canopies. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry (InSAR) is a powerful tool for producing high-resolution topographic maps. However, traditional InSAR techniques face ...

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced the launch of its new Center for Healthcare Readiness, bringing together a diverse team of academic and operational experts to strengthen the Mount Sinai Health System’s strategies and the U.S. health care sector’s capacity to prepare for and respond to any large-scale public health emergency. The Center will work with both Mount Sinai’s own resources, and public and private partners at the local, regional, and federal levels, to pursue strategies in research, advocacy, innovation, and collaboration to plan ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that multiple species of Gardnerella, bacteria sometimes associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) and pre-term birth, can coexist in the same vaginal microbiome. The findings add to the emerging picture of Gardnerella’s effects on human health.  Gardnerella is a group of anaerobic bacteria that are commonly found in the vaginal microbiome. Higher levels of the bacteria are a signature of BV and associated with higher risk of pre-term birth, ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers have developed a new theory of how changing market conditions can lead large numbers of otherwise cautious consumers to buy risky products such as subprime mortgages, cryptocurrency or even cosmetic surgery procedures. These changes can occur in categories of products that are generally low risk when they enter the market. As demand increases, more companies may enter the market and try to attract consumers with lower priced versions of the product that carry more risk. If the negative effects of that risk are not immediately noticeable, the market can evolve to keep consumers ignorant of the risks, said Michelle Barnhart, an associate professor ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL:  9:15 a.m. PT, May 20, 2024 Session:  B20 – Lung Screening: One Size Does Not Fit All Association of Electronic Cigarette Use After Conventional Smoking Cessation with Lung Cancer Risk: A Nationwide Cohort Study Date and Time: Monday, May 20, 2024, 9:15 a.m. PT Location:  San Diego Convention Center, Room 30A-B (Upper Level)   ATS 2024, San Diego – Former cigarette smokers who use e-cigarettes or vaping devices may be at higher risk for lung cancer than those who don’t ...

A new peer-reviewed study from researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington; the University of Nevada, Reno; and Virginia Tech shows that climate change has led to decreased pollen production from plants and less pollen more diversity than previously thought, which could have a significant impact on food production. “This research is crucial as it examines the long-term impacts of climate change on plant-pollinator interactions,” said Behnaz Balmaki, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of research in biology at UTA. “This study investigates how shifts in flowering times and extreme weather events affect the availability of critical food ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – The dramatic decline in childhood mortality during the 20th century has added a full year to women’s lives, according to a new study. “The picture I was building in my mind was to think about what the population of mothers in the U.S. looked like in 1900,” said Matthew Zipple, a Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University and author of “Reducing Childhood Mortality Extends Mothers’ Lives,” which published May 9 in Scientific Reports. “It was a population made up of two approximately equal-sized ...

A new study conducted by the Wilhelm Lab at the University of Oklahoma examines a promising development in biomedical nanoengineering. Published in Advanced Materials, the study explores new findings on the transportation of cancer nanomedicines into solid tumors.  A frequent misconception about many malignant solid tumors is that they are comprised only of cancerous cells. However, solid tumors also include healthy cells, such as immune cells and blood vessels. These blood vessels are nutrient transportation ...

Jyothi Nagajyothi, Ph.D. and her laboratory at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) have identified what may be the main mechanism for how chronic Chagas Disease, a parasitic infection affecting millions of people worldwide, can cause irreversible and potentially fatal heart damage. The culprit is in the adipose (fat tissue) which the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi destroys in the course of infection, releasing smaller particles which induce the dysfunction of heart tissue, conclude the scientists in the journal iScience, a Cell Press open-access journal. “We are attempting to understand this ...

TUCSON, Ariz, May 20, 2024 – Critical Path Institute’s (C-Path) Translational Therapeutics Accelerator (TRxA) today announced its inaugural biologics-focused Request for Proposals (RFP) in its Bridging Research and Innovation in Drug Development Grants program (BioBRIDGe). BioBRIDGe awards are designed to help academic researchers traverse the drug development valley of death by providing funding and defining optimal strategies for advancing new, cutting-edge protein-based therapeutics (PBT) from the lab to patients.   For this funding cycle, ...

Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance when they are cooled below a certain critical temperature. They have applications in several fields, including magnetic resonance imaging, particle accelerators, electric power, and quantum computing. However, their widespread use is limited by the need for extremely low temperatures. Graphene-based materials are promising for superconductors due to their unique properties such as optical transparency, mechanical strength, and flexibility. Graphene is a single layer of carbon (C) atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb structure. Among these materials, ...

About The Study: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought about one enforcement action and three merger actions per year against pharmaceutical manufacturers from 2000-2022, pursuing a small fraction of the estimated misconduct and consolidation in the pharmaceutical marketplace. Although the FTC faces substantial legal and practical limitations, important tools remain untested, including a rule defining “unfair methods of competition,” that may allow it to more effectively prevent repetitive patterns of anticompetitive behavior.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Aaron S. Kesselheim, ...

Nearly three-quarters of the United States population receives drinking water that contains fluoride, a practice that began in 1945 to help prevent tooth decay. But recent studies suggest that fluoride exposure can cause harm to a fetus if consumed during pregnancy, a critical period for brain development. A new study, led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, analyzed more than 220 mother-child pairs, collecting data on fluoride levels during pregnancy and child behavior at age three. The researchers found that a 0.68 milligram per ...

When migrating through Ukraine in 2022, Greater Spotted Eagles were exposed to multiple conflict events that altered their migratory course, according to a study reported on May 20 in the journal Current Biology. Greater Spotted Eagles are large raptors that are classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  “Armed conflicts can have wide-ranging impacts on the environment, including changes in animal behavior,” says Charlie Russell (@CJG_Russell) of the University of East Anglia, UK. “Our ...

A new study reveals for the first time the impact of ongoing conflicts on the migration of an endangered bird species. Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Estonian University of Life Sciences compared the movement and migration of the Greater Spotted Eagle through Ukraine, before and shortly after it was invaded by Russia in February 2022. They were already studying the species when the war started, with the dangers faced by migratory birds usually related to disruptive weather or drought, changes in land use affecting traditional stopping-off ...

Higher fluoride levels in pregnant women are linked to increased odds of their children exhibiting neurobehavioral problems at age 3, according to a new study led by a University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions researcher. The findings, based on an analysis involving 229 mother-child pairs living in a U.S. community with typical fluoride exposure levels for pregnant women in fluoridated regions in North America, appear May 20 in the journal JAMA Network Open. It is believed to be the first U.S.-based study to examine associations of prenatal fluoride exposure ...

Columbia Engineers use nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to examine lithium metal batteries through a new lens -- their findings may help them design new electrolytes and anode surfaces for high-performance batteries New York, NY—May 20, 2024—A Columbia Engineering team has published a paper in the journal Joule today that details how nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques can be leveraged to design the anode surface in lithium metal batteries. The researchers also present new data and interpretations for how this method can be used to gain unique insight into the structure of these surfaces to share with the field.  “We ...

In the age of smartwatches, monitoring step counts has never been easier, but current physical activity guidelines do not explicitly recommend specific step counts for health. A new study from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of Mass General Brigham, suggests that both step and time-based exercise targets are equivalently associated with lower risks of early death and cardiovascular disease. Thus, whether one chooses a time or step goal may not be as important as choosing a goal aligned with personal preferences. Results are published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Physical activity reduces the risk of acquiring chronic illness and ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of patients with cancer and SARS-CoV-2, racial and ethnic inequities existed in treatment delays and discontinuations throughout the pandemic; however, the disproportionate burden among racially and ethnically minoritized patients with cancer varied across SARS-CoV-2 waves. These inequities may lead to downstream adverse impacts on cancer mortality among minoritized adults in the United States. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jessica Y. Islam, Ph.D., M.P.H., email jessica.islam@moffitt.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.12050) Editor’s ...

About The Study: Adolescents with overweight or obesity may be more vulnerable to negative cognitive effects following sleep restriction. Improved sleep hygiene and duration in this group may positively impact their cognitive health.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Aaron D. Fobian, Ph.D., email afobian@uabmc.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.1332) Editor’s ...

A surprisingly low amount of methane and a super-sized core hide within the cotton candy–like planet WASP-107 b. The revelations, based on data obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope, mark the first measurements of an exoplanet’s core mass and will likely underpin future studies of planetary atmospheres and interiors, a key aspect in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system. “Looking into the interior of a planet hundreds of light-years away sounds almost impossible, but when you know the mass, radius, atmospheric composition, and hotness of its interior, you’ve got ...

Micelles assemble in water from amphiphilic molecules, composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic frameworks. They can be found all around us, for example in soaps, detergents, and shampoos. Their main application is the water-solubilization of insoluble molecules through encapsulation into hydrophobic cavities. These cavities are conventionally composed of linear alkyl-chains, providing good interactions with alkyl-based guests, yet poor interactions with aromatic compounds. In addition, the rather weak intermolecular alkyl-alkyl type ...