Males born to obese women are more likely to be overweight at birth and develop metabolic complications in later life, including liver disease and diabetes. The way that male sex hormones activate pathways in the developing liver is partly to blame. That’s the finding from a new study led by University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers looking at the impact of maternal obesity on fetal liver androgen signalling. Male fetuses of obese pregnant women have different signals that are activated by male sex hormones in the liver, which encourages them to prioritise growth at the expense of their health. UniSA researcher Dr Ashley Meakin ...

Understanding the responses of different rhizosphere microbial lineages to soil amendments during in situ remediation of Cd-contaminated soil is of great importance in the assessment of the restoration and crop health. This study demonstrates the distinct responses of rice rhizosphere microbial communities to soil amendment applications, highlighting the interactive associations between microbiomes, which is vital for enhancing our ability to develop effective strategies for sustainable soil management. The researchers' findings appeared December 4, 2023 in Soil Ecology Letters.   A series ...

Pulmonary malignancy is one of the most frequent and fatal cancers in older patients. Studies have shown that lung cancer patients have a high incidence of lower respiratory tract infections. This is due to the fact that these patients usually have airway obstruction, sticky sputum that is not easy to cough up, destruction of mucosal surfaces, and treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. When most patients are found to have lung cancer, they have already developed distal metastasis and lost the chance of surgery, therefore, they usually choose to be treated with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted drugs. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy ...

Researchers at the University of Queensland have revealed the crucial role of saturated fatty acids in the brain’s consolidation of memories.  Dr Isaac Akefe from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute has uncovered the molecular mechanism and identified the genes underlying the memory creation process, opening the door to a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disorders.  “We’ve shown previously that levels of saturated fatty acids increase in the brain during neuronal communication, but we ...

Deep learning has led to great improvements recently on a number of difficult tasks. In CRYPTO 2019, Gohr innovatively integrated deep learning with differential cryptanalysis, specifically applied to Speck32/64, resulting in developing a neural distinguisher that outperforms the DDT-based distinguisher. Applying differential neural cryptanalysis methods to more cryptographic algorithms is an issue worth studying. To solve the problems, a research team led by Liu ZHANG published their new research on 15 Dec 2023 in Frontiers of Computer Science co-published by Higher Education Press ...

Ottawa, ON, February 5, 2024 – Twenty-seven percent of individuals who had an emergency department visit for cannabis use developed a new anxiety disorder within three years, according to new research. Led by researchers at the Bruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa Department of Family Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, and ICES, this is the largest study of the relationship between cannabis use and anxiety to date. The study published today in The Lancet’s open access journal eClinical Medicine included over 12 million individuals living in Ontario, Canada, between 2008 and 2019 who had never received a diagnosis or treatment for anxiety. The researchers ...

A Doppler ultrasound that measures the blood flow of small unborn babies can reveal whether or not the placenta is working properly. In case of repeated deviations from these Doppler measurements, additional monitoring of the unborn baby is necessary. These deviations indicate a higher risk of oxygen deficiency and other health problems for the baby. This study by Amsterdam UMC in collaboration with UMC Groningen and 17 other Dutch hospitals is published today in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.  Around 10% of unborn babies are classed as small for ...

A new species of pterosaur from specimens found on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, has been announced by scientists from the Natural History Museum, University of Bristol, University of Leicester, and University of Liverpool. The new pterosaur is part of the Darwinoptera clade of pterosaurs. Its discovery shows that the clade was considerably more diverse than previously thought, and persisted for more than 25 million years, from the late Early Jurassic to the latest Jurassic. During this period species within the clade spread worldwide. The discovery underpins a new and more complex model for the early evolution of pterosaurs. The rarity of Middle Jurassic pterosaur ...

The influence of online vote advice tools designed to help voters discover more about candidates is limited when elections are affected by authoritarianism, a new study shows. Voting advice applications offer voters nonpartisan information about political parties, candidates, and policy issues. The research shows they could be an alternative source of information for those interested in learning about politics in democracies, but their use would be limited in authoritarian settings, particularly in the longer term. In the short-term, and during highly competitive elections with tiny winning margins for candidates ...

A million years ago, the oldest known species to walk upright like a human, the Homo Erectus, had a human-like fascination with crystals. Historians can even pin down the possible reasons – crystals didn’t look like anything around at the time - trees, valleys, mountains. Crystals were a material to ponder, a fascinating diversion for the mind.   To this day, the human preoccupation with the magic of crystals continues to fill the mind’s eye of scientists who have developed ways to use crystals for everything from malaria cures to solar cells and semiconductors, catalysts and optical elements. Over the years crystals have become crucial constituents ...

A multi-disciplinary research team specializing in canine behavior and Artificial Intelligence has developed an AI algorithm that automates the high-stakes process of evaluating potential working dogs’ personalities. They hope to help dog training agencies more quickly and accurately assess which animals are likely to succeed long term in careers such as aiding law enforcement and assisting persons with disabilities. The personality test could also be used for dog-human matchmaking, helping shelters with proper placement, thus reducing the number of animals returned ...

– By Linda Vu For more than 50 years, the National Hurricane Center has used the Saffir-Simpson Windscale to communicate the risk of property damage; it labels a hurricane on a scale from Category 1 (wind speeds between 74 - 95 mph) to Category 5 (wind speeds of 158 mph or greater). But as increasing ocean temperatures contribute to ever more intense and destructive hurricanes, climate scientists Michael Wehner of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and James Kossin of the First Street Foundation wondered whether the ...

What do a synthetic chemist, a medical imaging expert, and a neurologist have in common? They’re coming together in the Biomedical Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology to develop better diagnostic tools and imaging agents to detect early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. The dream team A team led by Liviu M. Mirica along with Wawryzneic “Wawosz” Dobrucki and Dr. Daniel A. Llano received a $3 million grant from the U.S. National Institute on ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The bacteria and microorganisms that live within the human body — the microbiota — can impact human health, disease risk and even how the body absorbs medications, but the details of these processes are unclear. To help understand how complex communities of microbes impact human health, the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Science has awarded a 5-year, $1.9 million Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award to Jordan Bisanz, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science. “It is clear that the diversity of microbes in the ...

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted the first representative survey of energy insecurity and health of New York City residents. The study’s findings – including that energy insecurity is experienced by approximately 30 percent of New York City (NYC) residents – are published online and in print, in the February issue of the journal Health Affairs. The study and its results help officials understand challenges faced by residents and develop possible interventions and efforts in response. Results ...

Brigham researchers found that participation in a housing program was associated with fewer outpatient visits, improved physical and mental health, and stronger connections to their primary care clinics and care team.  Lack of safe and affordable housing is a critical issue in the United States and creates immense challenges for patients’ health, well-being, and ability to access care. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, evaluated data from a social ...

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request. EAST LANSING, Mich. – A team of Michigan State University scientists has unveiled a potential game-changer in the fight against glioblastoma, the most common and currently incurable form of brain cancer. A team of Michigan State University scientists has unveiled a potential game-changer in the fight against glioblastoma, the most common and currently incurable form of brain cancer. Their weapon of choice? ...

People with depression have higher body temperatures, suggesting there could be a mental health benefit to lowering the temperatures of those with the disorder, a new UC San Francisco-led study found. The study, publishing today in Scientific Reports, doesn’t indicate whether depression raises body temperature or a higher temperature causes depression. It’s also unknown whether the higher body temperature observed in people with depression reflects decreased ability to self-cool, increased generation of heat from metabolic processes or a combination of both.  Researchers analyzed data from more than 20,000 international ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 5 February 2024   Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet    @Annalsofim   Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also ...

U.S. adults experienced considerable psychological distress and adverse mental health effects as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Based on insurance claims, mental health care provider surveys, and electronic health records the research further revealed a decline in in-person outpatient mental health visits during the acute phase of the pandemic. Findings are reported ...

UPTON, NY—Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that adding a layer of magnesium improves the properties of tantalum, a superconducting material that shows great promise for building qubits, the basis of quantum computers. As described in a paper just published in the journal Advanced Materials, a thin layer of magnesium keeps tantalum from oxidizing, improves its purity, and raises the temperature at which it operates as a superconductor. All three may increase tantalum’s ability ...

In a recent breakthrough, DNA sequencing technology has uncovered the culprit behind cassava witches’ broom disease: the fungus genus Ceratobasidium. The cutting-edge nanopore technology used for this discovery was first developed to track the COVID-19 virus in Colombia, but is equally suited to identifying and reducing the spread of plant viruses. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, will help plant pathologists in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand protect farmers’ valued cassava harvest. “In Southeast ...

CHICAGO, Feb. 5, 2024 – Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken alone or along with acetaminophen are recommended as first-line treatments for managing short-term dental pain in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older, according to a new clinical practice guideline developed by the American Dental Association (ADA), the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. The guideline has been endorsed by the ADA and is now available in the February issue of The Journal ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – White Americans are more likely than Black and Hispanic people in the United States to experience “deaths of despair” even though they are less likely to suffer from severe psychological distress, a new study finds.   The results suggest that, for some reason, whites are more vulnerable to the damaging effects of psychological distress than Blacks or Hispanics, said Hui Zheng, lead author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University. Zheng is currently on leave at the University of Hong Kong.   “The white population has an increasing trend of despair-related mortality after 2000,” Zheng said. ...

EVANSTON, Ill. — When carbon molecules from plants enter the soil, they hit a definitive fork in the road. Either the carbon gets trapped in the soil for days or even years, where it is effectively sequestered from immediately entering the atmosphere. Or it feeds microbes, which then respire carbon dioxide (CO2) into the ever-warming environment. In a new study, Northwestern University researchers determined the factors that could tip plant-based organic matter in one direction or the other.  By combining laboratory experiments and molecular modeling, researchers ...