A molecule created at the University of Auckland is one step closer to becoming a treatment for an extremely rare and severely debilitating neurological disorder called Phelan-McDermid syndrome. Children with the disorder showed significant improvements in a phase two clinical trial in the US, Neuren Pharmaceuticals, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, said in December. Next steps would be a phase three trial and seeking approval from the US Food & Drug Administration. The molecule, NNZ-2591, comes from work years ago ...

University of Queensland researchers have used machine learning to help predict the risk of secondary bacterial infections in hospitalised COVID-19 patients. The machine learning technique can help detect whether antibiotic use is critical for patients with these infections. Associate Professor Kirsty Short from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said secondary bacterial infections can be extremely dangerous for those hospitalised with COVID-19. “Estimates of the incidents of secondary bacterial infections in COVID-19 ...

An international team, led by researchers at Nagoya University in Japan, may have determined why the diffuse anaplasia (DA) subtype of Wilms tumor (WT) resists chemotherapy. This subtype grows even when it has a high burden of DNA damage and increases the mutation rate of tumor protein 53 (TP53), a gene that plays a critical role in the regulation of cell growth and division. The team’s findings, published in Modern Pathology, suggest new ways to treat this subtype.   WT, also known as nephroblastoma, is the most common childhood cancer originating in the kidney. Fortunately, the survival rate of adolescents ...

Disrupted function of “cleaning cells” in the body may help to explain why some people with obesity develop type 2 diabetes, while others do not. A study from the University of Gothenburg describes this newly discovered mechanism. It is well known that obesity increases the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. It is also well known that some people who gain weight suffer from the disease and others do not. The reasons for these differences are not clear, but they are related ...

USC President Carol Folt launched the university’s first new school in more than a decade: the USC School of Advanced Computing, a cornerstone of her $1 billion advanced computing initiative. The school seeks to educate all students, regardless of their major, in the ethical use of computing technology as part of the president’s Frontiers of Computing initiative. Gaurav Sukhatme — a professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering, and executive vice dean of the USC Viterbi School of ...

Kyoto, Japan -- Cell biology has possibly never jumped to the next level in the same way.   In multicellular organisms, cell migration and mechanosensing are essential for cellular development and maintenance.  These processes rely on talin, the key focal adhesion -- or FA -- protein, central in connecting adjacent cellular matrices and enabling force transmission between them. Talins are commonly considered fully extended at FAs between actin filaments -- or F-actin -- and the anchor-like integrin receptor. Yet, a research ...

The study, led by a team based at the University of York and Hull York Medical School and at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, found levels of depression reduced significantly and the benefits were greater than those seen for antidepressants.  Participants in the study reported their levels of emotional loneliness fell by 21% over a three-month period and the benefits remained after the phone calls had ceased, suggesting an enduring impact.    The Behavioural Activation in Social ...

The gross price of insulin in the U.S. is more than nine times higher than in 33 high-income comparison nations, according to a new RAND report.   Although the cost differences of insulin between the U.S. and other nations varied depending on the comparison country and the type of insulin, U.S. prices were always higher -- often five to 10 times higher -- than those in other countries. The new report updates findings from earlier RAND work about U.S. insulin prices.   After accounting for rebates and other discounts often offered by drug ...

Feb. 1, 2024, TORONTO – From the Five Love Languages to the concept of “Happy Wife, Happy Life,” popular culture is riddled with ideas of how sex and relationships are supposed to work, but does the science back these ideas up? According to Faculty of Health Assistant Professor and Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality Amy Muise, the answer is frequently no.  Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Muise, also director of the Sexual Health and Relationship (SHaRe) Lab, can offer alternative theories that are supported by her research and other literature in the ...

A research team led by Nebraska scientists has built the largest-ever metabolic model of corn to study how temperature stress affects the plant and how a certain fungus can help alleviate the problem. The research is an expansion of earlier work with a metabolic model of corn roots that the same team used to study the plant’s nitrogen-use efficiency under nitrogen stress conditions, said Rajib Saha, Richard L. and Carol S. McNeel associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and principal investigator. Saha and ...

Most new prescription drugs are sold first in the U.S. before they reach other nations, but ultimately important medications are sold across most wealthy nations within about a year of first sale, according to a new RAND report.   Researchers say the study’s findings have implications for the debate over whether efforts to reduce high prescription costs in the U.S. could hurt patients’ access to the newest drug treatments.   “Other wealthy nations -- all of which have much lower drug prices compared ...

In a study of women in labor in the U. S., social inequity was associated with lower use of neuraxial analgesia -- an epidural or spinal pain reliever-- among non-Hispanic White women and, to a greater extent, among African American women, according to research at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S). The results are published online in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Neuraxial analgesia, which can be a combined spinal and epidural ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. [February 1, 2024] — For World Cancer Day, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), and the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) are announcing three key areas of policy focus as part of the Alliance for Cancer Care Equity (ACCE) joint collaboration, including advancing diversity in clinical trials, improving cancer screening and early detection, and increasing access to patient navigation. The organizations are also working with Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) to observe the day with a congressional ...

The São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Hologenomic Data Analysis for Agriculture (Hologenome School) will be held from July 29 to August 09, 2024, in São Carlos (São Paulo state, Brazil) at the EMBRAPA Southeastern Livestock, Embrapa Instrumentation, decentralized units of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), and at the University of São Paulo’s Chemistry Institute of São Carlos (IQSC-USP). Hologenome School will provide students and young researchers with an interdisciplinary view of hologenomics and state-of-the-art ...

The gross price of insulin in the U.S. is more than nine times higher than in 33 high-income comparison nations, according to a new RAND report.   Although the cost differences of insulin between the U.S. and other nations varied depending on the comparison country and the type of insulin, U.S. prices were always higher -- often five to 10 times higher -- than those in other countries. The new report updates findings from earlier RAND work about U.S. insulin prices.   After accounting for rebates and other discounts often offered by drug manufacturers, the price of a unit of insulin remained 2.3 times higher in the ...

For centuries, doctors have used their hands as essential diagnostic tools — exploring joints and palpating abdomens to assess a patient’s health. Often a cancer will reveal itself as a lump or unusual stiffness in a normally bouncy tissue or organ. More recently, the relationship between stiffness and cancer has been documented through biophysical studies and clinical trials, particularly in liver and breast cancer. For example, stiffness is a primary hallmark of liver cirrhosis, which can progress to liver cancer. Now researchers ...

Among the buzziest consumer technologies right now are “mixed reality” or “spatial computing” headsets that convincingly blend views of the real world with digital content. A key enabling technology behind these gizmos is passthrough video, which involves blocking out all light so users must rely on cameras on the headsets to see the external world around them via real-time video playing on tiny screens. The arrangement allows users to physically interact with their environments and go about daily activities but with added digital content displayed, ranging from familiar device apps to innovative gaming scenarios. ...

By Maegan Murray Scientists have spent decades finding ways to efficiently and affordably degrade plant materials so that they can be converted into useful bioproducts that benefit everyday life.  Bio-based fuels, detergents, nutritional supplements, and even plastics are the result of this work. And while scientists have found ways to degrade plants to the extent needed to produce a range of products, certain polymers such as lignin, which is a primary ingredient in the cell wall of plants, remain incredibly difficult to affordably break down without adding pollutants back into the environment. These polymers can be left behind as waste products with ...

Researching how bird flight can inform aircraft design is the goal of a new center to be established at the University of California, Davis. Christina Harvey, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UC Davis, and Michelle Hawkins, a professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the California Raptor Center, are launching the bird flight research center with a nearly $3 million grant from the Department of Defense. The new center will utilize motion capture and photogrammetry ...

CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2024 – The use of lead abdominal aprons or thyroid collars on patients when conducting dental X-rays is no longer recommended, according to an expert panel established by the American Dental Association (ADA) Council on Scientific Affairs. Additionally, dentists should take into consideration the diagnostic information needed from X-rays to benefit patient care or substantially improve clinical outcomes. The Journal of the American Dental Association published the new recommendations today, which aim to improve radiation ...

Cell death is fundamental to life and, thus, healthy aging. In the realm of cellular biology, ferroptosis (a form of programmed cell death) has emerged not only as a focal point of research for its potential in eliminating cancer cells, but also its role in a plethora of other diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, eye diseases such as Retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, as well as ischemia, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, acute kidney injury and inflammation. While studies of other forms of cell death such as apoptosis focus largely on ...

JMIR Publications is pleased to announce a new section titled, “AI Language Models in Health Care” in JMIR Medical Informatics. This leading peer-reviewed journal is indexed in PubMed and has a unique focus on clinical informatics and the digitization of care processes. This section will have a broad focus and encompass topics about the successful implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) language models in diverse health care settings. The topics will include details about the process, use, outcomes, and ...

Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona and the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid have captured the world’s first high-resolution images of the earliest moments of microtubule formation inside human cells. The findings, published today in the journal Science, lay the foundations for potential breakthroughs in treating many different types of diseases ranging from cancer to neurodevelopmental disorders. “Microtubules are critical components of cells, but all the images we see in textbooks describing the first moments of their creation are models or cartoons based ...

We often think of fish as carefree swimmers in the ocean, reacting to the world around them without much forethought. However, new research from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) suggests that our marine cousins may be more cognizant than we credit them for.  By observing how a colony of clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) – the species of the titular character in Finding Nemo – reacts to intruders in their sea anemone home, OIST researchers have found that ...

Bacteria are traditionally imagined as single-cell organisms, spread out sparsely over surfaces or suspended in liquids, but in many environments the true bacterial mode of growth is in sticky clusters called biofilms. Biofilm formation can be useful to humans—it is integral, for example, to the production of kombucha tea. But it is more often problematic, because it makes it more difficult to control bacterial growth: When bacterial cells produce a biofilm, it acts as a shield against outside invaders, making the bacteria more ...