A new gene therapy can reverse the effects of heart failure and restore heart function in a large animal model. The therapy increases the amount of blood the heart can pump and dramatically improves survival, in what a paper describing the results calls “an unprecedented recovery of cardiac function.” Currently, heart failure is irreversible. In the absence of a heart transplant, most medical treatments aim to reduce the stress on the heart and slow the progression of the often-deadly disease. But if the gene therapy shows similar ...

A White House report earlier this year outlined how discrimination, and specifically racial discrimination, persists in the United States today, raising questions about when attitudes underlying these behaviors are formed.   Past scholarship has found discriminatory views increase as children grow older. However, new work by a team of New York University psychology researchers shows that young children in the US are less likely than adults to see discrimination as harmful, indicating these beliefs begin at an early age. Moreover, children ...

A Dartmouth-led study proposes a new method for recruiting trillions of microscopic sea creatures called zooplankton in the fight against climate change by converting carbon into food the animals would eat, digest, and send deep into the ocean as carbon-filled feces. The technique harnesses the animals' ravenous appetites to essentially accelerate the ocean's natural cycle for removing carbon from the atmosphere, which is known as the biological pump, according to the paper in Nature Scientific Reports. It begins ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the most momentous events in the history of life involved endosymbiosis — a process by which one organism engulfed another and, instead of ingesting it, incorporated its DNA and functions into itself. Scientific consensus is that this happened twice over the course of evolution, resulting in the energy-generating organelles known as mitochondria and, much later, their photosynthetic counterparts, the plastids. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications explores the origin of chloroplasts, the plastids that allow plants ...

Nanostructured two-dimensional gold monolayers offer possibilities in catalysis, electronics, and nanotechnology. Researchers have created nearly freestanding nanostructured two-dimensional (2D) gold monolayers, an impressive feat of nanomaterial engineering that could open up new avenues in catalysis, electronics, and energy conversion. Gold is an inert metal which typically forms a solid three-dimensional (3D) structure. However, in its 2D form, it can unlock extraordinary properties, such as unique electronic behaviors, enhanced surface reactivity, and immense potential for revolutionary applications in catalysis ...

Fast-growing and small-seeded tree species are dominating Brazilian forests in regions with high levels of deforestation and degradation, a new study shows. This has potential implications for the ecosystem services these forests provide, including the ability of these ‘disturbed’ forests to absorb and store carbon. This is because these “winning” species grow fast but die young, as their stems and branches are far less dense than the slow growing tree species they replace. Wildlife species adapted to consuming and dispersing the large seeds of tree species that ...

You may not be familiar with hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs, and is produced naturally from decaying matter. However, this gas is lethal to breathe in, and hydrogen sulfide present in high concentrations can cause death very rapidly. Its relative density is also greater than air, causing it to accumulate at lower altitudes and posing an enormous threat to workers at sites, such as manholes, sewage systems and mining operations. Why is hydrogen sulfide so dangerous? It binds strongly to the heme-containing cytochrome c oxidase ...

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON PRESS RELEASE Under STRICT EMBARGO until: 10 December 2024 10:00 UK TIME / 05:00 ET Peer-reviewed / Observational study / People Trial shows no significant difference in performance between visually impaired participants using new device and sighted participants using only natural vision. Participants performed significantly better using new device than with currently available vibration technology. The new device is believed to be the most advanced navigation tech of ...

Three leading climate scientists have combined insights from 10 global climate models and, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), conclude that regional warming thresholds are likely to be reached faster than previously estimated. The study, published in Environmental Research Letters by IOP Publishing, projects that most land regions as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will likely surpass the critical 1.5°C threshold by 2040 or earlier. Similarly, several regions are on track to exceed the 3.0°C threshold ...

The FRONTIERS Science Journalism in Residency Programme has selected ten science journalists to participate in its second round of residencies. The chosen candidates—Marta Abbà, Rina Caballar, Danielle Fleming, Will Grimond, Giorgia Guglielmi, Suvi Jaakkola, Tim Kalvelage, Thomas Reintjes, Senne Starckx, and Meera Subramanian—will spend three to five months in residency at European research institutions, working on their journalistic projects. The residencies, hosted by institutions in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, offer a unique opportunity ...

AUSTIN, TX, December 10, 2024 – Wildfires in California are intensifying due to warmer temperatures and dry vegetation – putting more residents at risk of experiencing costly damages or losing their homes. Marginalized populations (lower income, elderly, and the disabled) often suffer the most and, according to a new study, may receive less economic and emergency assistance compared to wealthy residents.  A detailed analysis of more than 500 California wildfire incidents from 2015 to 2022 by University at Buffalo scientists shows that disaster recovery resources in California favor people living in wealthy communities over disadvantaged ...

New insights into the behaviour of aerosols from cooking emissions and sea spray reveal that particles may take up more water than previously thought, potentially changing how long the particles remain in the atmosphere.  Research led by the University of Birmingham found pollutants that form nanostructures could absorb substantially more water than simple models have previously suggested. Taking on water means the droplets become heavier and will eventually be removed from the atmosphere when they fall as rain.  The team, also involving researchers ...

A newly developed approach can precisely produce four-stranded β-sheets through metal–peptide coordination, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. Their innovative methodology overcomes long-standing challenges in controlled β-sheet formation, including fibril aggregation and uncontrolled isomeric variation in the final product. This breakthrough could advance the study and application of β-sheets in biotechnology and nanotechnology. In addition to the natural sequence of amino acids that makes up a protein, their three-dimensional arrangement in space is also critical to their function. For ...

A new paper in the Journal of Public Health, published by Oxford University Press, finds that household income in early childhood is a stronger and more consistent predictor for several major health-related problems for 17-year-olds than growing up in a poor neighborhood. The neighborhood was a slightly stronger predictor for obesity only. The Index of Multiple Deprivation, which assesses neighborhoods in the United Kingdom according to factors including unemployment, low levels of education, crime, and barriers ...

LEIDEN, Netherlands, 10 December 2024 – In a wide-ranging Genomic Press Interview, eminent neuroscientist Dr. Edo Ronald (Ron) de Kloet reveals crucial insights into how stress hormones can shift from protecting to potentially damaging the brain, a discovery that has transformed our understanding of stress-related mental disorders and opened new therapeutic pathways. Dr. de Kloet, Professor Emeritus at Leiden University Medical Centre and an Academy Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy ...

Quitline coaching over the phone helped almost half of young people who vape ditch the habit, potentially improving their health and decreasing the chances they’ll transition to cigarettes, according to a new study. The finding is promising and provides critical evidence about vaping cessation, an area with limited research to date, said Liz Klein, a researcher at The Ohio State University College of Public Health and co-author of the study, which appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine today (Dec. 10, 2024). “This study provides hope that young adult ...

A majority of U.S. adults hope to avoid political discussions during the holidays and, in some cases, family members they disagree with, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association. More than 7 in 10 adults (72%) said they hope to avoid discussing politics with family over the holidays. And while 65% of adults said they were not worried that political discussions would hurt their relationships with their family members during the holidays, nearly 2 in 5 adults (39%) said they were stressed ...

Despite a modest 5% improvement since 2023, food insecurity in L.A. County remains alarmingly high — well above the national average and L.A.’s pre-pandemic level. A USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences study found that as of October 2024, 25% of L.A. County households — about 832,000 — struggle with food insecurity. By comparison, the national average is just 14%. Among low-income households in L.A. County, 41% experienced food insecurity in 2024, compared to 27% pre-pandemic. “The ...

A positive attitude, what researchers call a "growth mindset" or belief in growth, is associated with both higher willpower and passion, according to a new large study. People who believe they will succeed are far more passionate and have greater willpower than those who do not have the belief, says Hermundur Sigmundsson, a professor  at the Department of Psychology at NTNU. Sigmundsson has worked for many years to find out what makes people succeed in their goals. Now he and Professor Monika Haga at NTNU'S Department of Teacher ...

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center experts will present abstracts at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition Dec. 7-10 in San Diego. Trial finds AML drug is safe in healthy volunteers A randomized Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers found a new drug targeting treatment-resistant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is safe and attains drug levels that would predict response in this disease. Up to 30% of patients with AML have a specific mutation called FLT-3, and a standard FLT-3 treatment called gilteritinib was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2018. But as the cancer has evolved, patients ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL DEC. 9, 2024, AT 9 PM EST) – Patients with multiple myeloma are living longer, healthier lives thanks to a host of new immunotherapies and targeted drugs. But there is still no cure for the disease, the second most common blood cancer. Physician-scientists at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, are working to change that. They will present research findings at the 2024 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), which will be held Dec. 7-10 in San Diego. “We’d like to develop a curative ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL DEC. 9, 2024, AT 9 PM EST) – Smokers with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or a precursor condition had elevated levels of genetic mutations linked to the disease, a new study shows. The study also found that heavier smokers accumulated more mutations, and long-term smokers were more likely to show disease progression. Led by Sangeetha Venugopal, M.D., M.S., a physician-scientist at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the study further suggests that quitting smoking ...

Helical structures are ubiquitous across biology, from the double-stranded helix of DNA to how heart muscle cells spiral in a band. Inspired by this twisty ladder, researchers from Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering have developed an artificial polymer that organizes itself into a controlled helix.  They published their results on Oct. 24 in Angewandte Chemie. “Motivated by elegant biological helical structures, considerable effort has been devoted to developing artificial helical organizations with defined handedness ...

As the school year winds up, thousands of Aussie kids are looking forward to the summer holidays. But hand-in hand with this freedom comes an abundance of screentime, unhealthy snacks, and a lack of routine, and it has the potential to affect children’s physical and mental health.   In a new review of nearly 1500 participants University of South Australia researchers found that summer holiday programs, as offered through OHSC or sporting clubs, can help children stay engaged and active, helping offset the hours they spend in front of a screen.   UniSA PhD researcher and Fulbright Scholarship recipient Emily Eglitis says that summer programs ...

With rising greenhouse gas emissions, the urgency of addressing global warming and climate change has intensified, prompting a global shift towards renewable energy.  The development of rechargeable batteries is essential for this effort. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are one of the most widely used rechargeable batteries today, being used in cars, smartphones, and even for power storage. However, one major issue with LIBs is the risk of ignition. Commercial LIBs have a carbon-negative electrode with a low working potential. Since carbon operates near lithium metal deposition potential, there is a risk of internal short circuits, especially when the battery is quickly charged. Alternative ...