Obesity rates are set to skyrocket, with one in six children and adolescents worldwide forecast to be obese by 2050, according to a new study. But with significant increases predicted within the next five years, the researchers stress urgent action now could turn the tide on the public health crisis. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in The Lancet, found a third of children and adolescents will be overweight (385 million) or obese (360 million) within the next 25 years. The forecast equates ...

The use of tocolytic drugs in cases of threatened premature birth after 30 weeks of pregnancy does not improve the baby’s health. This is shown by the largest study concerning the effectiveness of tocolytic drugs on the health of babies, led by Amsterdam UMC, the results of which were published today in The Lancet.     Worldwide, 1 in 10 pregnancies result in premature birth. Children born prematurely face a higher risk of mortality and serious health problems, both in the short and long term. As a results, tocolytic drugs have been used a standard treatment for many ...

Nearly 1 in 5 college athletes reports some form of abusive supervision—defined as sustained hostile verbal and non-verbal behaviours—by their coaches, reveals an analysis of survey responses, involving National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes, and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   While there is no evidence of vulnerability according to race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender, athletes with disabilities and those participating in team sports seem to be most at risk, the findings indicate. Athletes view their coaches as role models, which makes their interactions susceptible ...

**Study includes country-level data for 204 countries and territories worldwide. A link to summary tables for rates in selected countries as well as country-level data is included at the end of the press release**  Most comprehensive global analysis to date estimates that overweight and obesity rates in adults (aged 25 or older) and children and adolescents (aged 5-24 years) more than doubled over the past three decades (1990-2021), affecting 2.11 billion adults and 493 million young people worldwide in 2021.   Weight gain varies widely across the globe with more than half ...

AMES, Iowa – The amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed to maximize the profitability of corn production in the Midwest has been increasing by about 1.2% per year for the past three decades, according to new Iowa State University research. The study, published last month in Nature Communications, analyzed data from prior long- and short-term studies by Iowa State and the University of Illinois to calculate the Corn Belt’s steadily rising optimum nitrogen rates, which researchers had thought were static ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 3 March 2025    Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, threads, and LinkedIn       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 on behalf of the organization they ...

March 3, 2025 Contact: Jim Lynch, 313-727-5045, lynchja@umich.edu, Katherine McAlpine, 734-647-7087, kmca@umich.edu    Images   ANN ARBOR—Hydrogen has the potential to power internal combustion engines, including on-road and off-road vehicles and equipment, and large marine engines. Despite its promise to reduce climate change emissions such as carbon dioxide and harmful pollutants, hydrogen has largely remained underutilized in the United States. Officials at the University of Michigan and University of California, Riverside, along with several industry partners, are working to change that with the launch of the Hydrogen Engine Alliance of North America, or H2EA-NA. ...

A recent study published in Engineering delves into the power response characteristics of networks when excited by voltage with time-varying amplitude and frequency (TVAF). This research, led by Yingbiao Li and colleagues from various institutions, addresses a crucial gap in understanding the behavior of power systems in the era of increasing power electronic equipment integration. With the growing prominence of renewable energy power generation and grid-connected electronic equipment, the traditional assumptions in power system analysis ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2025 Media Contacts: Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137 Natalie Conrad, nconrad@aan.com, (612) 928-6164 Simple algorithm helps improve treatment, reduce disparities in MS MINNEAPOLIS – A simple treatment algorithm may help reduce treatment disparities for Hispanic and Black people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a preliminary study released today, March 3, 2025, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 77th Annual Meeting taking place April 5–9, 2025, in San Diego and online. “Studies show Hispanic and ...

Black immigrant adults in the United States are more likely to be uninsured than their U.S.-born and non-Black immigrant counterparts, despite having the highest employment rates among the groups studied, according to new research from the Equity Research Institute (ERI) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Published in Health Affairs, the study highlights critical health care access gaps for this rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, suggesting possible links to wage penalties and systemic ...

WASHINGTON – A new Georgetown University Medical Center study in collaboration with MedStar Health and the National Institutes of Health exploring a new brain imaging technique is bringing stroke experts a step closer to better tailoring rehabilitation. Neurologists often use MRI images of the brain’s white matter to glean information about a person’s ability to recover, but a new imaging technique added to MRI allows clinicians to better see the condition of white matter tracts leading to the limbs, an observation usually only seen after death during an autopsy. “A white matter tract called the corticospinal ...

Learning to think more about specific events in the future appears to reduce impulsivity,  improve decision-making, and shows potential as a therapy for alcohol use disorder, a new Virginia Tech study found.  The study, which involved 24 participants whose brains were scanned during both resting-state and task-based fMRI, showed brain connections were altered by future thinking. The research, published recently in the journal Brain Connectivity, was among the last led by the late Warren Bickel, professor and director of the Addiction Recovery Research Center at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute ...

A recent study published in Engineering presents an innovative strategy for converting plastic waste into useful products. The research, led by a team of scientists from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and other institutions, focuses on polystyrene (PS), a commonly used plastic that poses significant challenges for waste management. Plastic pollution has become a pressing environmental issue due to the increasing production and improper disposal of plastic products. PS, in particular, is difficult to degrade naturally and often ends up in landfills or the environment, contributing to the spread of microplastics. Current methods for treating ...

When sea otters were reintroduced along the coastlines of islands in Southern California and British Columbia, researchers saw kelp forests return to areas that were destroyed by sea urchins. But how slow or fast they grew back depended on the location — and until now, scientists didn’t understand why. New CU Boulder research found sea otters, an important keystone species, play a vital role in kelp forest recovery, but their level of influence depends on what other species they interact with in salty Pacific Ocean waters. The study, published ...

A new study from Tulane University suggests that repeated collapse and reopening of tiny alveoli—air sacs in the lungs essential for breathing—during mechanical ventilation may cause microscopic tissue damage, playing a key role in ventilator-related injuries that contribute to thousands of deaths annually. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study sheds light on ventilator-induced lung injury, a complication that gained increased attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a surge in patients requiring ...

Osaka, Japan – The human body is full of checks and balances that ensure correct growth, development, and function of all our different systems. Now, researchers from Japan have reported a newly discovered protein interaction that regulates sperm development. In a study to be published soon in PNAS, a multi-institutional research team led by Osaka University has revealed that the interaction between two specific proteins is crucial for ensuring that sperm cells develop properly. Sperm formation is a highly complex process that involves many changes ...

A Yale-led research team has uncovered how a naturally occurring biological mechanism found in mammals is able to prevent sperm cells from interacting with an egg, preventing fertilization. The discovery, identified in rodent models, offers a new path for scientific research to help people grappling with infertility issues, while also opening a new line of study for developing contraceptive therapies. The findings appear in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “This will have direct implications ...

In a recent study published in Engineering, researchers have developed an innovative analytical framework for ecological security assessment, prediction, and zoning management. Guided by the Social–Economic–Natural Complex Ecosystems (SENCE) theory, this framework aims to enhance ecological security for sustainable development. The Daqing River Basin in the North China Plain was chosen as a case study due to its ecological significance and the increasing human-land conflicts. The research team established an assessment index system based on the pressure-state-response ...

A recent study published in Engineering introduces an innovative design paradigm for reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), aiming to enhance their design efficiency and versatility. This research, led by a team of scientists from Southeast University and Guangzhou University, offers a fresh approach to address the challenges in RIS design. RISs, enabled by digital coding technology, are crucial for manipulating electromagnetic (EM) waves in real-time. They play a significant role in 5G and 6G research. However, traditional automatic RIS design methods face issues. Most involve extensive numerical simulations ...

Researchers have widely accepted that impulsivity increases the risk of drug addiction, but the evidence to support this belief is mixed. Exploring the relationship between impulsivity and cocaine use in rats, Yihong Yang and colleagues from the National Institute on Drug Abuse found evidence that contradicts the prevailing view that high impulsivity predicts cocaine use.   One classification of impulsivity is impulsive choice, which can be studied with risky choice tasks and delay-discounting tasks (DDT). During DDT, impulsive individuals prefer smaller, ...

London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is transforming children’s journeys to school by making streets safer, improving perceptions of air quality and encouraging children to live healthier lives. A new study published today in BMJ Open, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), highlights its benefits, with many families noticing cleaner air and safer roads. However, it also reveals challenges, particularly for those living in outer boroughs who are more reliant on the car and may struggle to adapt. Road traffic is a major source of air pollution in London, posing serious health risks. One in 11 children in the city has asthma, a condition ...

Tulane University researchers have developed a CRISPR-based test that diagnoses Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) — a life-threatening fungal infection primarily affecting children and immunocompromised patients — more quickly and less invasively, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The highly accurate test detects RNA from live fungi in blood samples and throat swabs, eliminating the need for invasive bronchoscopy procedures currently used for diagnosis. "Current diagnostic methods haven't evolved in ...

Customized 3D-printed medical implants are becoming more common, and a new study has taken this technology to the next level. Researchers at Naton Biotechnology have developed the world’s first laser 3D-printed total knee implant, which has received official approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration as an innovative medical device. The study focused on improving the strength and consistency of cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy implants made using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), a 3D printing process. The team discovered and corrected inconsistencies in the structure of the material ...

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals — a renowned convergence of pioneers, storytellers, and global visionaries — will take place this year from March 7-15 in Austin, Texas, bringing together a vibrant mix of ideas and innovations. Once again, UC San Diego will take center stage, showcasing cutting-edge research, transformative discussions on critical global challenges and a film premiere. “UC San Diego’s participation in the 2025 South by Southwest Conference and Festivals reinforces our institution’s passion for interdisciplinary ...

On the shores of Lake Tahoe at Emerald Bay State Park grows what some consider to be the most iconic old-growth forest in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Giant ponderosa pines — some of the last remaining in the area — share space with at least 13 other tree species.  Yet despite its high conservation value and proximity to severely burned forests, the Emerald Point stand has not been managed to reduce its risk to drought or catastrophic wildfire. The fire-adapted forest has also not experienced fire for at least 120 years. This has led to massive increases in forest density, fuels, and insect- and drought-driven mortality. A fire ...