In spring 1495, the Italian campaign of Charles VIII of France was interrupted by an intense outbreak of an apparently unknown illness – a disease of high mortality that quickly engulfed the whole of Europe and left its survivors with life changing impairments to their bodies and minds. This documented epidemic is now interpreted to be the first historical account of syphilis. The origin of syphilis is the subject of a decades-long debate. The late 15th century outbreak occurred shortly after the return of Columbus and his crew from their early expeditions to the Americas, which led some to believe that ...

About The Study: In this cohort of 1,500 children, across demographic subgroups, the trajectory of cardiovascular health (CVH) scores began to decline at approximately age 10, associated with health behaviors rather than health factors. Statistically significant (albeit small) differences in CVH trajectory parameters by sociodemographic characteristics were also identified. This study provides insight into the trajectory of CVH early in life, which may contribute to CVH disparities in adulthood, and identified modifiable ...

About The Study: This study found that Black children and adolescents were suspected to have experienced child abuse at higher rates than children and adolescents of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. More research is necessary to understand the origins of these disparities to reduce them in child abuse identification. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Norah E. Liang, MD, email nliang@stanford.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

Key Takeaways: A new study led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute sheds light on the trajectory of cardiovascular health (CVH) early in life, which may contribute to CVH disparities in adulthood. Across demographic subgroups, CVH scores begin to decline at approximately 10 years of age and appear driven by health behaviors rather than health factors. Key health behaviors to target for improving early-life CVH include better sleep, healthier diet, and reducing smoking. Boston, MA — Cardiovascular ...

Ludwig van Beethoven began to lose his hearing at age 28 and was deaf by age 44. While the cause of his hearing loss remains a topic of scientific debate and ongoing revision, one thing is clear: Despite his hearing loss, Beethoven never ceased to compose music, likely because he was able to sense the vibrations of musical instruments and “hear” music through the sense of touch, researchers believe. Now a study by Harvard Medical School researchers could help explain what enabled Beethoven, ...

We are thrilled to announce that our esteemed academic journal, iEnergy, has been officially included in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) by Web of Science, a leading global provider of scientific and scholarly research information. All articles published by iEnergy since its establishment in 2022 will be included in ESCI. And it will receive the first impact factor in 2025. About iEnergy: iEnergy is a quarterly journal launched on March 2022. It has published 3 volumes (11 issues), in total 124 papers. Authors come from 21 countries, including ...

In the midst of the ongoing global biodiversity crisis, even the smallest habitats like ponds demand our attention. Fragmentation of these habitats—driven by human activities like urbanization, agriculture, and land-use changes—poses a significant threat to biodiversity. Often overlooked in conservation efforts, ponds serve as vital ecological hotspots, supporting diverse species and sustaining essential ecosystem processes. These waterbodies are home to various microbial communities that, despite their tiny size play an indispensable role in ecosystem functioning, acting ...

(Toronto, December 18, 2024) A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research has found that open-world video games can significantly improve relaxation and mental well-being among postgraduate students. Open-world games, known for their expansive environments and player autonomy, offer a form of cognitive escapism that helps players disconnect from daily stressors and enhance their mood. The study, a collaboration between researchers from Imperial College London, United Kingdom, and the University of Graz, Austria, used a mixed methods approach: they combined survey data from 609 players and in-depth interviews of 32 players. Popular titles like The ...

A study of more than 26,000 white dwarf stars has confirmed a long-predicted but elusive effect in these ultra-dense, dying stars: Hotter white dwarfs are slightly puffier than cooler ones, even when they have the same mass. The findings bring scientists one step closer to using these stellar objects as natural laboratories to probe the effects of extreme gravity and hunt for exotic dark matter particles. Details about the research, led by Johns Hopkins University, are published in The Astrophysical Journal. “White dwarfs are one of the best characterized stars that we can work with ...

There are over three billion specimens and cultural objects housed in natural history collections around the world—things like fossils, dried plants, and pinned insects. Close to forty million of them are at the Field Museum in Chicago, mostly behind the scenes in a vast library documenting life on Earth. These collections are used by scientists at the museum and around the world to explore what lived where and when and how living things have changed over time.  However, much of the information about these collections is hard to access, ...

Patients will be better able to benefit from innovations in medical artificial intelligence (AI) if a new set of internationally-agreed recommendations are followed.   A new set of recommendations published in The Lancet Digital Health and NEJM AI aims to help improve the way datasets are used to build Artificial intelligence (AI) health technologies and reduce the risk of potential AI bias.    Innovative medical AI technologies may improve diagnosis and treatment for patients, however some studies have shown that medical AI can be biased, meaning that it works well for some people and not for others. This means some individuals and communities may be ‘left ...

The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC), a pioneering worldwide initiative seeking to cure Alzheimer’s disease and improve brain health, today announced they will work with Janssen Research & Development, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company, and Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, two leading pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies, to advance the assay validation of blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) for Alzheimer’s disease for global use in diverse populations. DAC, via its Global Cohorts Program, has enabled ...

Dr. Jwa Eunjin and her research team at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) have achieved a significant breakthrough in clean energy technology. The team has successfully enhanced a crucial component of a bio-electrochemical cell, enabling more efficient hydrogen production from microorganisms found in waste. This advancement resolves longstanding power loss challenges in conventional processes, offering a transformative pathway toward large-scale, cost-effective hydrogen production. Biogas, a renewable ...

Asians, non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics were significantly less likely than whites to use obesity-management medications to lower their weight compared with whites, new research suggests. The differences could not be fully explained by income or education level, health insurance coverage or clinical need. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, is one of the few to compare the use of obesity-management medications across racial and ethnic groups, and the first to consider ...

A review of 3,000 studies also suggests these minute plastic air particles may be causing male and female infertility. Tires and degrading garbage shed tiny pieces of plastic into the air, creating a form of air pollution that UC San Francisco researchers suspect may be causing respiratory and other illnesses.   A review of some 3,000 studies implicates these particles in a variety of serious health problems. These include male and female infertility, colon cancer and poor lung function. The particles also may contribute to chronic pulmonary inflammation, ...

Smartwatches and fitness trackers have become ubiquitous forms of wearable tech, accompanying many people throughout their days (and nights). But they may expose the skin to so-called forever chemicals in the process. More expensive wristbands made from fluorinated synthetic rubber revealed particularly high amounts of one forever chemical, perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), according to a study published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters.   “This discovery stands out because of the very high concentrations of one type of forever chemical found in items that are in prolonged contact with ...

To guard against harmful waterborne pathogens, many consumers, including managers of health-care facilities, install antimicrobial silver-containing showerheads. But in ACS ES&T Water, researchers now report that these fixtures are no “silver bullet.” In real-world showering conditions, most microbes aren’t exposed to the silver long enough to be killed. However, the composition of rare microbes in water from these showerheads varied with each type of fixture tested. The stream of droplets and fine mist that form during a shower could be inhaled or swallowed. Installing showerheads ...

After participating in a global clinical trial, leaders at the Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado) Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and the University of Colorado Cancer Center are celebrating results so transformative, they change the standard of care for treating most kids with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. The new therapy is less toxic than traditional chemotherapy, resulting in significantly fewer side effects like severe infections, mouth sores and bone marrow suppression, ...

For roughly a century, ever since Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin in 1928, fungi have proven to be a goldmine for medicines. They’ve provided treatments for a wide range of diseases, from infections and high cholesterol to organ rejection and even cancer. However, the process by which fungi synthesize some of their most potent compounds remains opaque. This is especially true of cyclopentachromone, a key building block in fungal products whose derivatives have shown promise in fighting cancer and reducing inflammation, among other medicinal properties. Reading Nature’s Instructions While chemists have made progress in creating ...

Mill Valley, CA – December 18, 2024 – The SynGAP Research Fund 501(c)(3) dba Cure SYNGAP1 announced a $108,867 grant to Dr. Michael Courtney and Dr. Li-Li Li at the Turku Bioscience Centre, University of Turku, Finland, to advance their research on SYNGAP1 missense variants. Their project seeks to better understand the functional impact of these mutations and explore drug repurposing as a potential therapeutic approach.  Dr. Courtney’s team will use advanced phenotyping techniques to assess how SYNGAP1 missense variants impact the protein’s ...

NEW YORK, NY (Dec. 18, 2024)--Women born in the most sexist U.S. states experience faster memory decline in later years compared to women born in the least sexist states, a new study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has found.   The difference between being born in the most versus the least sexist state was equivalent to nine years of cognitive aging.  The study is one of a growing number of studies that have investigated links between structural sexism and health. Structural sexism, like structural racism, does not refer to personal incidences but to inequality in resources and power ...

To identify and follow blood vessel-related changes in the brain that contribute to cognitive impairment and dementia, researchers and clinicians typically rely on MRI to evaluate “downstream” biological markers – those at the end of a cascade of events. But a multicenter study led by UCLA researchers could lead to a cost-effective blood test to identify changes occurring near the top of the chain, potentially identifying at-risk patients at an earlier stage. “We studied a protein in the blood that is critical in the formation ...

Adding genetic testing to the evaluation of pediatric patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) resulted in more individualized care, including changes in medication, referrals to clinical trials or specialists, and surveillance for potential medical issues, according to a new UCLA Health study.   Children that present with neurodevelopmental differences, such as autism or global development delay, have high rates of co-occurring neuropsychiatric conditions, and almost half have an underlying genetic diagnosis. The current practice of relying on primary care doctors to refer patients to specialists can create delays in diagnoses and interventions for children ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – While large language models like ChatGPT can do well when choosing multiple-choice answers on financial licensing exams, they falter when dealing with more nuanced tasks. A Washington State University-led study analyzed more than 10,000 responses to financial exam questions by the artificial intelligence language models BARD, Llama and ChatGPT. The researchers asked the models to not only choose answers but also explain the reasoning behind them, then compared those text answers to those by human professionals. ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems tend to take on human biases and amplify them, causing people who use that AI to become more biased themselves, finds a new study by UCL researchers. Human and AI biases can consequently create a feedback loop, with small initial biases increasing the risk of human error, according to the findings published in Nature Human Behaviour. The researchers demonstrated that AI bias can have real-world consequences, as they found that people interacting with biased AIs became more likely to underestimate women’s ...