Minuscule particles of plastic are not only bad for the environment. A study led from Umeå University, Sweden, has shown that the so-called nanoplastics which enter the body also can impair the effect of antibiotic treatment. The results also indicate that the nanoplastics may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance. Even the indoor air in our homes contains high levels of nanoplastics from, among other things, nylon, which is particularly problematic. "The results are alarming considering how common nanoplastics are and because effective antibiotics for many can be the difference between life and death," says Lukas Kenner, ...

How can scientists across climate science, medical and psychological topics foster the public’s trust in them and their science? Show that they are intellectually humble. Those are some of the findings of two intellectually humble University of Pittsburgh scientists and their co-authors, using five separate studies totaling 2,034 participants in research published Nov. 18 in Nature Human Behaviour. “Research has shown that having intellectual humility — which is an awareness that one’s knowledge or beliefs might be incomplete or wrong — is associated with engaging in more effortful and less biased information processing,” said Jonah Koetke, ...

A promising daily tablet is effective at increasing height and improving proportional limb growth in children with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, according to a new study. And the findings could spare these children from needing to have a daily injection to boost growth. The phase II study, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found the drug infigratinib, an investigational product, was safe and effective in treating children with achondroplasia aged 3-11 ...

Mediterranean Sea dropped during the Messinian Salinity Crisis – a major geological event that transformed the Mediterranean into a gigantic salt basin between 5.97 and 5.33 million years ago2. Until now, the process by which a million cubic kilometres of salt accumulated in the Mediterranean basin over such a short period of time remained unknown. Thanks to analysis of the chlorine isotopes3 contained in salt extracted from the Mediterranean seabed, scientists have been able to identify the ...

A new study, focused on a remote region of the Peruvian Andes where the waters of the Amazon originate, carries lessons for hydropower operators and farming communities worldwide: collaborating on sustainable land management is the best decision they can make for the long-term viability of their businesses and livelihoods. It also opens opportunities for restoration of degraded ecosystems. Research from the Stanford-based Natural Capital Project (NatCap) in Communications - Earth & the Environment integrates hydropower operations with ...

Researchers from the Champalimaud Foundation shed light on the puzzling relationship between dopamine and rest tremor in Parkinson’s disease, finding that preserved dopamine in certain brain regions may actually contribute to tremor symptoms, challenging common beliefs. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder known for its characteristic motor symptoms: tremor, rigidity, and slowness of movement. Among these, rest tremor—a shaking that occurs when muscles are relaxed—is one of the most recognisable yet least understood. A new study from the Champalimaud ...

New York, NY [November 18, 2024]—A study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has identified strategies for using large language models (LLMs), a type of artificial intelligence (AI), in health systems while maintaining cost efficiency and performance. The findings, published in the November 18 online issue of npj Digital Medicine [DOI: 10.1038/s41746-024-01315-1], provide insights into how health systems can leverage advanced AI tools to automate tasks efficiently, saving time and reducing operational costs while ensuring these models remain ...

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to help speed up the process of matching potential volunteers to relevant clinical research trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov. A study published in Nature Communications found that the AI algorithm, called TrialGPT, could successfully identify relevant clinical trials for which a person is eligible and provide a summary that clearly explains how that person meets the criteria for study enrollment. The researchers ...

As an undergraduate student at Zhejiang University in eastern China, Greg Liu went with some of his classmates on a university-sponsored trip to tour a host of chemical industries within the area. The tour gave students pursuing degrees in chemical engineering an opportunity to learn more about the manufacturing and production processes of chemicals within China at the time. Liu realized that day exactly what he wanted to do for a career – find ways to alleviate or stop the industry from polluting the environment. “I realized that this was not going to be the sustainable way of our future. Pollution ...

University of Birmingham News Release STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL  Monday 18th November 2024 8.00am UK/ 3.00am EST Cocoa or green tea could protect you from the negative effects of fatty foods during mental stress - study New research has found that a flavanol-rich cocoa drink can protect the body’s vasculature against stress even after eating high-fat food. Food choices made during periods of stress can influence the effect of stress on cardiovascular health. For example, recent research from the University of Birmingham found that high-fat foods can negatively affect vascular function and oxygen delivery to the brain, meanwhile flavanol  compounds found in abundance in cocoa ...

The mechanisms underlying skin renewal are still poorly understood. Interleukin-38 (IL-38), a protein involved in regulating inflammatory responses, could be a game changer. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has observed it for the first time in the form of condensates in keratinocytes, the cells of the epidermis. The presence of IL-38 in these aggregates is enhanced close to the skin’s surface exposed to atmospheric oxygen. This process could be linked to the initiation of programmed ...

A recent analysis reveals striking disparities in the cost and availability of cancer drugs across different regions of the globe, with significant gaps between high- and low-income countries. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The analysis, which drew on relevant published studies and reviews related to cancer and the availability of cancer treatments, predicts that there will be an estimated 28.4 million new cancer cases worldwide in 2040 alone. In the coming years, cancer incidence is expected to increase most significantly in low-income countries. Cancer mortality ...

While coronary heart disease and diabetes are often seen in the same patients, a diagnosis of diabetes does not necessarily mean that patients also have coronary heart disease, according to a new study from researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City. The Intermountain study found that proactively screening patients with diabetes 1 and 2 for coronary heart disease who have not shown symptoms of heart problems does not improve long-term mortality rates, nor does it lower the chance of them ...

Different species of seabirds can coexist on small, isolated islands despite eating the same kind of fish. A researcher at Uppsala University has been involved in developing a mathematical model that can be used to better understand how this ecosystem works. “Our model shows that coexistence occurs naturally when species differ in their ability to catch fish and to efficiently fly long distances to the area where they catch fish,” says Claus Rüffler, Associate Professor of Animal Ecology at Uppsala University. Seabirds can breed in very large colonies, sometimes consisting of several hundred thousand pairs. Ecologists working ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. –  Many parents are all too familiar with angry outbursts from their children, from sibling squabbles to protests over screen time limits. But some parents may find it challenging to help their kids manage intense emotions. One in seven think their child gets angrier than peers of the same age and four in 10 say their child has experienced negative consequences when angry, a new national poll suggests.   Seven in 10 parents even think they sometimes set a bad example of handling anger themselves, according to the University of Michigan Health ...

The scientific debate around the installation of a massive underwater curtain to protect Antarctic ice sheets from melting lacks its vital political perspective. A Kobe University research team argues that the serious questions around authority, sovereignty and security should be addressed proactively by the scientific community to avoid the protected seventh continent becoming the scene or object of international discord. A January 2024 article in Nature put the spotlight on a bold idea originally proposed by Finnish researchers to save the West Antarctic ...

Research into new bandaging aims to ease the agony experienced by those living with genetic skin condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), commonly referred to as 'butterfly skin'. Scientists at Maynooth University in Ireland are leading research into whether ‘spray on, wash off’ bandages will be a viable alternative to those currently used, which can cause severe pain when applied and removed. EB, which affects over 500,000 children and adults worldwide including 5,000 in the UK and 300 ...

When pain signals are passed along the nervous system, proteins called calcium channels play a key role. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have now pinpointed the exact location of a specific calcium channel fine-tuning the strength of pain signals. This knowledge can be used to develop drugs for chronic pain that are more effective and have fewer side effects. Pain sensations and other information are mainly conducted through our nervous system as electrical signals. Yet at decisive moments, this information is converted to biochemical signals, in the form of specific molecules. To develop future drugs ...

Ticks travel light, but they carry pathogens with them. When they parasitize migrating birds, these journeys can take them thousands of miles away from their usual geographic range. Historically, they haven’t been able to establish themselves, due to unsuitable climate conditions at the other end of their long journeys. But now, thanks to the climate crisis, it’s getting easier for ticks to survive and spread, potentially bringing novel tick-borne pathogens with them. “If conditions become more hospitable for tropical tick species to establish themselves in areas where they would previously have been unsuccessful, then there is a chance they could bring new diseases ...

Type 2 diabetes can lead to diabetic kidney disease, but a class of drugs that cause the kidneys to remove glucose through urine has been gaining attention. An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group has investigated how such drugs maintain kidney health. Known as SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter-2) inhibitors, the drugs are used to treat type 2 diabetes along with an exercise and diet regimen. The group led by Graduate School of Medicine Associate Professor Katsuhito Mori focused on the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin and its effects on the kidney. Using BOLD ...

SAN DIEGO, California (Nov. 18, 2024) — Since the adoption of a new model for assessing the severity of liver disease, women are more likely to be added to the waitlist for a liver transplant, more likely to receive a transplant, and less likely to drop off the waitlist — closing the gap between men and women candidates, according to a study scheduled for presentation today at The Liver Meeting held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. In July 2023, the federal Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) updated its Model for End-Stage Liver Disease to a new version, known as MELD 3.0, to better account for differences between ...

People who take an anticoagulant medicine double their risk of an internal bleed if they take a type of painkiller called a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen, diclofenac or naproxen, according to research published in the European Heart Journal [1] today (Monday).   Anticoagulants are usually prescribed to people who develop a blood clot in the legs or lungs, known as a venous thromboembolism, which affects about one in 12 people. NSAIDs are a popular type of painkiller used to manage issues like headaches, period pain, back pain and arthritis.   The new study is the largest of its kind and shows that ...

Researchers have developed a mindfulness therapy tailored specifically to appeal to teenagers to help them cope with increasing levels of depression and mental health problems. The approach teaches participants to tune into and manage negative thought patterns that can trigger or maintain depression, and allow them instead to focus on the present moment. Developed by teams at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, the ATTEND programme – Adolescents and carers using mindfulness Therapy To END depression – also includes sessions for parents and guardians, ensuring a family-centred approach ...

Using an innovative risk score assessment score, heart researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City say they can accurately predict whether patients being assessed for kidney transplant will likely have a future major cardiac event, like a heart attack or stroke, according to a new study. Intermountain Health clinicians regularly review patient data through their electronic health system to determine who may have heart disease without knowing it. Now, in a major new study, Intermountain heart researchers found that using their Intermountain ...

About The Study: In this retrospective cohort study, decline in kidney function was frequent in patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) and was consistently associated with an increased risk of mortality, even after adjusting for established markers of worsening ATTR-CM. eGFR decline represents an independent marker of ATTR-CM disease progression that could guide treatment optimization in clinical practice.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Marianna Fontana, MD, PhD, email m.fontana@ucl.ac.uk. To access the embargoed study: ...