Eye care specialists could see artificial intelligence help in diagnosing infectious keratitis (IK), a leading cause of corneal blindness worldwide, as a new study finds that deep learning models showed similar levels of accuracy in identifying infection.   In a meta-analysis study published in eClinicalMedicine, Dr Darren Ting from the University of Birmingham conducted a review with a global team of researchers analysing 35 studies that utilised Deep Learning (DL) models to diagnose infectious keratitis.   AI models ...

The Mediterranean Sea is a paradise. Pristine waters and an incredible coastline spanning multiple continents that are renowned the world over. Below those picturesque, and sometimes crowded, waters swim a legendary creature facing a treacherous and uncertain future: the white shark. Francesco Ferretti, an assistant professor in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, is working to save one of the most endangered white shark populations on the planet. The research team located signs of the remaining white sharks ...

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has an enzyme that can counteract a cell’s innate defense mechanism against viruses, explaining why it is more infectious than the previous SARS and MERS-causing viruses. The Kobe University discovery may point the way to the development of more effective drugs against this and possibly similar, future diseases. When a virus attacks, the body’s immune response has two basic layers of defense: the innate and the adaptive immune systems. While the adaptive immune system grows stronger against a specific pathogen as the body ...

WASHINGTON — More than 7 in 10 adults said the future of the nation (77%) is a significant source of stress in their lives, with the economy (73%) and the 2024 U.S. presidential election (69%) following closely behind, according to the latest Stress in America™ survey released today by the American Psychological Association.  At the same time, the poll found many common stressors among people with different political party affiliations. The survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of APA among more ...

The bulk photovoltaic (BPV) effect is an uncommon phenomenon that may enable certain materials to outperform the conventional p–n junctions used in solar cells. In a recent study, researchers from Japan have experimentally demonstrated the BPV effect in alpha-phase indium selenide (α-In2Se3) for the first time along the out-of-plane direction, validating previous theoretical predictions. The remarkable conversion efficiency recorded in their α-In2Se3 device signals a promising advancement for future solar cell technologies and photosensors. A firm understanding ...

The KERI's research on anode materials for solid-state batteries (SSBs), conducted in collaboration with Kumoh National Institute of Technology and Inha University, has been selected as the cover article of a world-leading journal in the energy field. The SSBs have replaced the combustible liquid electrolyte that transfers ions between the anode and cathode with a solid electrolyte, significantly reducing the risk of fire or explosion. However, SSBs, due to their 'solid' nature, require much advanced technology, such as ensuring electro-chemo-mechanical stability during the charging and discharging processes. In particular, since the anode has a ...

A Visit from the Stork Brings Genomic Hope for this Endangered Species A new genomic study of the endangered Oriental Stork reveals that the population's genetic health is still surprisingly strong, with high genetic diversity and low levels of inbreeding. This is an uncommon finding in most endangered species populations, which makes it more difficult to rescue those species from extinction. Thus, despite the human-caused decline in the Oriental stork numbers, the findings in this study provide hope for the species' long-term ...

Peer reviewed | Observational study | People  Rapid urbanisation and population growth in sub-Saharan Africa has increased the incidence of asthma in young people, but the lack of diagnosis and care means that many young people are suffering from untreated symptoms of asthma, according to research from Queen Mary University of London.       The team who led the study, whose pioneering research on the impact of pollution on lung health was instrumental in introducing the Ultra Low-Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, are calling for better access to asthma diagnosis and care in areas of ...

OCTOBER 21, 2024, NEW YORK – Ludwig Cancer Research scientists have devised new types of chimeric antigen-receptor (CAR) T cells—a type of cancer immunotherapy—that can be switched on to varying degrees of intensity and then switched off on demand with existing drugs. The design and preclinical evaluation of the CAR-T cells, led by Melita Irving and Greta Maria Paola Giordano Attianese of the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, is detailed in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “CAR-T cells are already used today to treat a number of blood cancers, but ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A changing climate triggers a sudden shift in ocean circulation, creating weather havoc and plunging Earth into an abrupt new Ice Age. It sounds like the basis for a Hollywood blockbuster - the 2004 science fiction disaster film “The Day After Tomorrow,” has similar plot lines – but it’s actually a scenario that played out multiple times during the last Ice Age, which ended more than 11,000 years ago. Just published research from multiple ice cores collected across Greenland with data spanning up to 120,000 years provides new understanding of these abrupt events, how they unfold and what that might ...

The extent to which “civilization” heightens or lessens the likelihood of violent conflict throughout human history has remained one of the most enduring questions among anthropologists. But a new collaborative study of archaeological groups from the Andes region of South America suggests that being part of a centrally organized state society is only part of the equation. “Our findings suggest that being in a ‘civilization’ may reduce violence, but only for women, and only slightly then,” ...

SAN FRANCISCO—Neuroscientist Rusty Gage, PhD, will be the recipient of the 2024 Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize, awarded by Gladstone Institutes. He was selected for pioneering stem cell biology of the central nervous system and the use of reprogrammed cells to study age-related neurodegenerative disease and psychiatric disorders. Gage is a professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he also serves as the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease. He was president of the Salk Institute from 2018 to 2023. Over the course of his scientific career, Gage has made several paradigm-shifting ...

Researchers in the Stanford Radio Glaciology lab use radio waves to understand rapidly changing ice sheets and their contributions to global sea-level rise. This technique has revealed groundwater beneath Greenland, the long-term impacts of extreme melt, a process that could accelerate ice sheet mass loss in Antarctica, the potential instability of an ice sheet that could raise sea levels by 10 feet, and more.  Now, PhD students within the group have created an open-source tool that others can use to make ice-penetrating radar systems, core instruments ...

Stories written by the latest version of ChatGPT were nearly as good as those written by human authors, according to new research on the narrative skills of artificial intelligence. But when people were told a story was written by AI — whether the true author was an algorithm or a person — they rated the story poorly, a sign that people distrust and dislike AI-generated art.  “People don’t like when they think a story is written by AI, whether it was or not,” said Haoran “Chris” Chu, Ph.D., a professor of public relations at the University of Florida and co-author of the new study. “AI is good at writing something that is consistent, ...

​​​​HOUSTON, Oct. 21, 2024 – The University of Houston and Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University have awarded seed grants to six innovative energy projects as part of their transatlantic research collaboration. The projects, which bring together researchers from both universities, focus on cutting-edge solutions ranging from advanced hydrogen sensing technology to converting waste into sustainable products. “This partnership is rooted in a shared commitment to advancing research that supports a just energy ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 21 October 2024     @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, ...

The updated national colorectal cancer screening guidelines that recommend screening begin at age 45 — rather than 50 — can benefit younger adults, a new Kaiser Permanente study found. The study, published October 22 in Annals of Internal Medicine, included more than 267,000 Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California, Washington, and Colorado ages 45 to 50 who received their first invitation for colorectal cancer screening along with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit between January and September 2022. “The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force lowered the age to start screening  in response to studies showing an increased rate of colorectal cancer in ...

SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 21, 2024 – Patrick Sung, DPhil, director of the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute and associate dean for research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) is the latest recipient of the 2024 Basser Global Prize. A leading researcher in the field of DNA damage repair and cancer biology, Sung has been awarded the prestigious prize for his groundbreaking contributions in elucidating the DNA repair functions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The award recognizes Sung’s contributions in advancing the knowledge of these critical genes and their implications for hereditary ...

NYU Tandon School of Engineering and KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology ) College of Business will introduce the MOT NYU-KAIST dual degree master's program in technology management, offering students a global perspective on tech leadership and the opportunity to study in both Brooklyn, New York and Daejeon, South Korea.   This program expands the historic partnership between NYU and KAIST that drives advances in research and education, and forges new industrial collaborations and investments by leveraging the distinct strengths of both universities.  While dual-degree master’s ...

Two faculty members at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), an independent organization of leading professionals from multiple scientific fields including health, medicine and the natural, social and behavioral sciences. NAM serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering to provide objective advice for the nation and international scientific communities. An announcement of 100 new members was made Oct. 21. Being ...

Eight cities in the United States have implemented taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, which contribute to health issues including obesity and Type 2 diabetes. New research from the University of Washington investigated responses to sweetened beverage taxes using the purchasing behavior of approximately 400 households in Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Philadelphia – all of which recently introduced beverage taxes. The study was published online Sept. 30 in Health Economics. Researchers found that after the tax was introduced, lower-income households decreased their purchases of sweetened beverages by nearly 50%, while higher-income households reduced purchases by 18%. Since ...

PHILADELPHIA — Despite advances in cardiovascular medicine, Black patients are 22% more likely than white patients to die in the hospital after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, according to a study of more than 1 million patients presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2024 annual meeting. “Our large study shows that disparities in cardiovascular health care delivery in the U.S. are ongoing, especially in Black patients,” said Vinicius Moreira, M.D., lead author of the study and chief anesthesiology resident at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago. “We found Black patients who have ...

A new study has found that after watching a docudrama about the efforts to free a wrongly convicted prisoner on death row, people were more empathetic toward formerly incarcerated people and supportive of criminal justice reform. The research, led by a team of Stanford psychologists, published Oct. 21 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “One of the hardest things for groups of people who face stigma, including previously incarcerated people, is that other Americans don’t perceive ...

Billions of years ago, long before anything resembling life as we know it existed, meteorites frequently pummeled the planet. One such space rock crashed down about 3.26 billion years ago, and even today, it’s revealing secrets about Earth’s past.     Nadja Drabon, an early-Earth geologist and assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, is insatiably curious about what our planet was like during ancient eons rife with meteoritic bombardment, when only single-celled bacteria and archaea reigned – and when it all started to change. When ...

DURHAM, N.C. – The El Niño event, a huge blob of warm ocean water in the tropical Pacific Ocean that can change rainfall patterns around the globe, isn't just a modern phenomenon. A new modeling study from a pair of Duke University researchers and their colleagues shows that the oscillation between El Niño and its cold counterpart, La Niña, was present at least 250 million years in the past, and was often of greater magnitude than the oscillations we see today. These temperature swings were more intense in the past, and the oscillation occurred even when the continents were in different places than they are now, according to the study, which appears the week ...