In a study of Medicare beneficiaries, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that one year after hospitalization for heart failure, 6 percent of patients had progressed to dialysis. KEY TAKEAWAYS Study led by Brigham researchers found that among older adults hospitalized for heart failure, nearly 3 in 4 were discharged with reduced kidney function. Lower kidney function was associated with substantially higher risk of kidney complications and other adverse clinical outcomes among older adults, with more than 1 in 20 progressing to dialysis within one year after heart failure hospitalization. These findings emphasize the need ...

Joint research led by Yutaro Shuto, Ryoya Nakagawa, and Osamu Nureki of the University of Tokyo determined the spatial structure of various processes of a novel gene-editing tool called “prime editor.” Functional analysis based on these structures also revealed how a “prime editor” could achieve reverse transcription, synthesizing DNA from RNA, without “cutting” both strands of the double helix. Clarifying these molecular mechanisms contributes greatly to designing gene-editing tools accurate enough for gene therapy treatments. The findings were published in the journal Nature. The ...

Research led by Weill Cornell Medicine provides new evidence that most colorectal cancers begin with the loss of intestinal stem cells, even before cancer-causing genetic alterations appear. The results, published on May 29 in Developmental Cell, overturn the prevailing theory for colorectal tumor initiation and suggest new ways to diagnose the disease before it has a chance to become established. “Colorectal cancer is very, very heterogeneous, which has made it difficult for many years to classify these tumors in order to inform therapy,” said senior author Dr. ...

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions have discovered that a protein called hnRNPM helps protect the integrity of the process cells use to make proteins. hnRNPM works by preventing the cell from making mistakes while it is putting together the different components leading to newly produced proteins. In cancer cells, loss of hnRNPM triggers an interferon immune response, suggesting that this protein may hold clinical promise. The findings appeared in Molecular Cell. “Synthesizing a protein is like putting together the different parts of a machine. If during the assembly process parts that do not belong are incorporated ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – When a child peruses YouTube, the content recommended to them is not always age appropriate, a new study suggests. Researchers mimicked search behaviors of children using popular search terms, such as memes, Minecraft and Fortnite, and captured video thumbnails recommended at the end of each video. Among the 2,880 thumbnails analyzed, many contained problematic click bait, such as violence or frightening images, according to the Michigan Medicine led research in JAMA Network Open. “Children spend a significant amount of time on free video sharing platforms that ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Quantum computers hold the promise of being able to quickly solve extremely complex problems that might take the world’s most powerful supercomputer decades to crack. But achieving that performance involves building a system with millions of interconnected building blocks called qubits. Making and controlling so many qubits in a hardware architecture is an enormous challenge that scientists around the world are striving to meet. Toward this goal, researchers at MIT and MITRE have demonstrated a scalable, modular hardware platform that ...

Researchers from Lancaster University and Radboud University Nijmegen have managed to generate propagating spin waves at the nanoscale and discovered a novel pathway to modulate and amplify them. Their discovery, published in Nature, could pave the way for the development of dissipation free quantum information technologies. As the spin waves do not involve electric currents these chips will be free from associated losses of energy. The rapidly growing popularity of artificial intelligence comes with an increasing desire for fast and energy efficient computing devices and calls for novel ...

Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) find that donor keratinocytes injected into mouse embryos form sheets of epidermis that can be used as autologous skin grafts Tokyo, Japan – Skin grafting is an essential procedure used to treat severe skin wounds. In the case of extensive wounds, however, it can be challenging to harvest enough donor skin, and generating artificial skin substitutes that include hair follicles and sweat glands and can engraft on deep wounds has not been successful. Now, researchers from Japan report a new way to “grow your own” donor skin that could help improve the success of skin graft generation. In a study published last ...

BEER-SHEVA, Israel, May 29, 2024 – A recent collaborative research endeavor, published in the prestigious Cell Press journal Cell Reports Medicine, highlights a promising therapeutic avenue for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Led by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in conjunction with counterparts from Germany, the USA, and Canada, the study delves into the potential of augmenting macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) protein levels as a novel approach to tackling ALS. ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive loss of motor neurons, leading to muscle ...

Women’s participation in politics is essential to advancing women’s rights and contributes to countries’ overall stability and economic prosperity. According to a 2023 report by UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, one-fourth of parliamentary positions worldwide are held by women. Although current representation is still far from equal, it represents a significant increase over the last 20 years. However, a new paper from Washington University in St. Louis — published ...

East Hanover, NJ, May 29, 2024 — A consensus has been achieved by an international team of rehabilitation researchers and clinicians on the standardized labeling of spatial neglect, a common disorder following neurological injury, which is characterized by a lack of awareness or response to objects or stimuli on the side opposite a brain lesion. The panel reached a 75% consensus to adopt "spatial neglect" as the standard term for the disorder. The consensus paper, titled “An International and ...

(WASHINGTON, May 29, 2024) – Individuals living with sickle cell disease (SCD) who experience a delay of more than six months in transitioning from pediatric to adult care are twice as likely to be hospitalized compared to those who transition in less than two months, according to a study published in Blood Advances. SCD is the most common inherited red blood cell disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 100,000 people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SCD affects one out of every 365 Black or African American births and one out of every 16,300 ...

SAN ANTONIO — May 29, 2024 —The Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) Demo pilot plant has generated electricity for the first time using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycles. The $169 million, 10-megawatt sCO2 facility at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio is demonstrating next-generation power production technology in a project led by GTI Energy in collaboration with SwRI, GE Vernova, the U.S. Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory (U.S. DOE/NETL), and several industry participants. “The impact of demonstrating that the sCO2 technology works cannot be overstated,” said SwRI Project Manager Dr. Jeff ...

The Swedish capital Stockholm aims to capture more carbon dioxide than is emitted by 2030. Therefore, the city is investing in new technology at a combined heat and power plant. But it is a strategy that has been adopted without sufficient discussion of the risks, says researchers at Linköping university, Sweden.  “Stockholm has a very ambitious climate policy. But there’s also been a kind of resignation. This new technology has appeared to offer the promise of a solution. And that’s perhaps why there’s been no critical discussion at all,” says researcher Alexander Olsson at the Department of Thematic ...

In February 2023, 38 cars from a 151-car, 9,300-foot-long freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, leading to the release of hazardous materials that required the evacuation of more than 2,000 residents. In recent years, such longer and heavier freight trains have become more common, primarily driven by fuel efficiency, cost-savings, and emissions reduction measures in the railroad industry. New research in the journal Risk Analysis has confirmed that longer freight trains bring with them a higher risk of derailment. The study found that a 100-car train is more than twice as likely to experience a derailment than ...

Washington DC, May 29, 2024: In the face of growing challenges posed by unhealthy diets, all forms of malnutrition, and environmental constraints, the 2024 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) — released today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) — underscores the importance of transforming complex global food systems to ensure sustainable healthy diets for all. Progress in reducing undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies has slowed in low- and middle-income countries, while overweight and obesity has rapidly increased worldwide. Many countries ...

Advances in electrochromic coatings may bring us closer to environmentally friendly ways to keep inside spaces cool. Like eyeglasses that darken to provide sun protection, the optical properties of these transparent films can be tuned with electricity to block out solar heat and light. Now, researchers in ACS Energy Letters report demonstrating a new electrochromic film design based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that quickly and reliably switch from transparent to glare-diminishing green to thermal-insulating red. Hongbo Xu and colleagues used MOFs in their electrochromic film because of the crystalline substances’ abilities to form thin ...

What makes chocolate taste and smell so delicious? Chemistry, of course! A variety of molecules work together to create that unmistakable aroma, but those same molecules might carry some unwanted health effects if there are too many around. According to research published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, while many of the compounds appeared in chocolate in low enough concentrations to be safe, higher amounts were found in some baked sweet treats. When making chocolate, cocoa beans are roasted to help their chocolatey flavors shine. During this process, new molecules ...

New York, NY, May 29, 2024 — The New York Academy of Sciences and the Leon Levy Foundation announced today the 2024 cohort of Leon Levy Scholars in Neuroscience, continuing a program initiated by the Foundation in 2009 that has supported 170 fellows in neuroscience. This highly regarded postdoctoral program supports exceptional young researchers across the five boroughs of New York City as they pursue innovative neuroscience research and advance their careers toward becoming independent principal investigators. Nine scholars were competitively selected for a three-year term from a broad pool of applications from more than a dozen ...

The number of refugees has sharply increased in recent decades, reaching 37.8 million in 2022. Amidst this surge, host communities—locals residing in areas where refugee camps are situated—are also positively and negatively impacted by the refugee influxes. The negative impacts include competition over scarce resources and in the unskilled labor market. While the international media and aid organizations put the spotlight on assisting refugees, the challenges faced by host communities are frequently sidelined.   In 2017, over ...

If we want cleaner air, fewer forest fires, and less severe climate change, a new UC Riverside study shows we must reduce aerosol pollution and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide at the same time.  The study found that boreal forests in the northern hemisphere are particularly vulnerable to negative effects of cleaning up aerosol pollution. This includes forests in Canada, Alaska, northern Europe, and northern Russia.  Aerosols are small particles like dust and sea salt as well as airborne chemicals produced by fossil fuel combustion. They are responsible for poor air quality. The UCR study, published in the journal ...

A small interfering RNA (siRNA) investigational therapy that inhibits a gene involved in lipoprotein metabolism has been shown in a clinical trial led by Mount Sinai researchers to significantly reduce levels of different types of cholesterol and triglycerides in individuals with mixed hyperlipidemia, a condition in which fats build up in the blood. In addition to seeing promising preliminary results related to safety and efficacy in clinical trials, the Mount Sinai researchers found the RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapy zodasiran to be a potentially promising option for substantially reducing a number of atherogenic lipoproteins while requiring less frequent ...

Spend any time scrolling through social media or news sites and it feels like America is a nation in constant argument. Off-hand remarks often spark fierce screaming matches. Partisanship is up, Gallup tells us, while trust in institutions is down. However, a new study co-authored by Berkeley Haas Assistant Professor Erica R. Bailey suggests this perception may not accurately reflect the nature and frequency of political debates among everyday Americans. In three studies involving nearly 3,000 participants, researchers found most debates ...

By Dylan Walsh Some of human history’s greatest atrocities—genocide, slavery, ethnic cleanings—are rooted in our ability to dehumanize people from other social, political, or cultural groups. Whereas prior research has traced dehumanization to the belief that others think or feel less than we do, new research co-authored by Haas professor Sameer Srivastava shows that our tendency to dehumanize can also be influenced by how we think others view important facets of the world. The greater ...

Research Highlights: The benefits gained from better heart health may be related to a process involved in the aging of the body and its cells, researchers found in a study of more than 5,000 adults with a mean age of 56 years. People with rapid cell aging may offset the increased risk of heart disease, stroke and death by managing their heart disease risk factors and adopting more heart-healthy behaviors, researchers said. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wednesday, May 29, 2024 DALLAS, May 29, 2024 — The benefit of better heart health may be associated with the positive impact of heart healthy lifestyle factors on biological aging (the age of the body and its ...