BALTIMORE, March 27, 2024— Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins Medicine have developed a new, accessible approach to analyze a patient’s walking ability and stances more effectively. Following numerous tests, they determined that a simple video recorded on a personal pocket device, such as a smartphone or tablet, can be used to measure gait at a clinical, high-quality level. Experts say current state-of-the-art approaches to gait analysis are often expensive and inaccessible due ...

A new study led by Michigan State University researcher Peter Williams sheds light on the profound influence of deep geographic isolation on the evolution of mammals. Published in Nature Communications on March 28, the research reveals how long-lasting separation between continents has shaped distinct mammal communities around the globe. “Today’s ecology was not inevitable. If there were different isolating factors long ago, we might have vastly different ecosystems today,” said Peter Williams, the lead author of the study. Williams is a research ...

The first analysis of how synaptic proteins change during early development reveals differences between mice and marmosets but also what's different in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The Kobe University findings offer first insights into the mechanism behind synaptic development and open up routes for research on possible treatments. Given that synapses are the connections between our brain cells, one might think that having as many of these as possible is a good thing. However, primate brains do something unexpected: After early childhood, ...

Lower-income communities across the United States have long been much slower to adopt solar power than their affluent neighbors, even when local and federal agencies offer tax breaks and other financial incentives. But, commercial and industrial rooftops, such as those atop retail buildings and factories, offer a big opportunity to reduce what researchers call the “solar equity gap,” according to a new study, published in Nature Energy and led by researchers at Stanford University. “The ...

PHOENIX, Ariz. — March 28, 2024 — Regulators of gene expression are thought to play an outsized role in disorders from cancers to heart disease. But how exactly do variations in gene regulation translate into a disease’s biology? A team of scientists led by researchers from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of the City of Hope, together with investigators at St. Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, now have a better answer for this question when it comes to pulmonary fibrosis (PF), an incurable respiratory disease. Their study, published today in Nature Genetics, is the first to look at these ...

PULLMAN, WA -- More than half a million cats in the United States could be at risk of a severe or even fatal neurological reaction to the active ingredient in some top-selling parasite preventatives for felines. While the ingredient, eprinomectin, which is found in products like NexGard COMBO and Centragard, appears safe and effective for the significant majority of cats when used at label doses, a study conducted by Washington State University’s Program for Individualized Medicine identified a risk of severe adverse effects in cats with the ...

IOP Publishing (IOPP) and the Institute of Physics and Engineering (IPEM) have introduced checks for sex and gender equality for all manuscripts submitted to their jointly published journal Physiological Measurement.    In line with the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines, which were introduced to ensure that sex and gender considerations are appropriately reported in scholarly literature, all research published in Physiological Measurement must declare the sex and gender balance of subject groups. Authors are ...

Dogs’ sensitive noses can detect the early warning signs of many potentially dangerous medical situations, like an impending seizure or sudden hypoglycemia. Now, scientists have found evidence that assistance dogs might even be able to sniff out an oncoming PTSD flashback, by teaching two dogs to alert to the breath of people who have been reminded of traumas.  “PTSD service dogs are already trained to assist people during episodes of distress,” said Laura Kiiroja of Dalhousie University, first author of the paper ...

Dr. Cheol-Woo Ahn, leading a research team at the Department of Functional Ceramics within the Ceramic Materials Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science(KIMS), has developed the world's first heat dissipation material. This material reduces hydrophilicity through a chemical reaction that forms a nanocrystalline composite layer and increases thermal conductivity by controlling point defects. This process occurs during a simple sintering process that does not require surface treatment. KIMS is a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Conventional ...

Arlington, Va. — March 28, 2024 — A new study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) demonstrates the use of a simple pre-surgical infection prevention protocol to prevent dangerous post-surgical infections. Researchers performed this investigation at the Soroka University Medical Center in Israel. Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a type of healthcare-associated infection with deadly consequences for some patients. According to the latest data from the Centers for ...

Philadelphia, March 28, 2024 – Although the vast majority of clinicians do not view atrial fibrillation (AF) as a genetic disorder, a White Paper in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier, analyzes the current understanding of genetics and the role of genetic testing in AF and concludes there is an increasing appreciation that genetic culprits for potentially life-threatening ventricular cardiomyopathies and channelopathies may initially present with AF. AF is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with increased risks of heart failure, stroke, and death. It is ...

In a Leicester study that looked at whether artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to predict whether a person was at risk of a lethal heart rhythm, an AI tool correctly identified the condition 80 per cent of the time. The findings of the study, led by Dr Joseph Barker working with Professor Andre Ng, Professor of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Head of Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester and Consultant Cardiologist at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, have been published in the European Heart Journal – Digital Health.   Ventricular arrhythmia (VA) is a heart rhythm disturbance originating from the bottom chambers (ventricles) where ...

Reconciling the tasks of producing adequate amounts of nutritious food for the increasing global population while preserving the environment and natural ecosystems simultaneously is an enormous challenge. The concept of agriculture green development (AGD) was detailed in 2017 and the necessary governmental policies were developed to address the aforementioned challenge in China and to help achieve the related global sustainable development goals. AGD emphasizes the synergy between green and development; current agriculture has to transform from the intensive farming with high inputs, high environmental impacts ...

The ALMA radio telescope has detected more than 100 molecular species, including many indicative of different star formation and evolution processes, in a galaxy where stars are forming much more actively than in the Milky Way. This is far more molecules than were found in previous studies. Now the team will try to apply this knowledge to other galaxies. A team of researchers led by Sergio Martin of the European Southern Observatory/Joint ALMA Observatory, Nanase Harada of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and Jeff Mangum of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory ...

A case study on the effects of open waste burning on air quality in Northwestern Greenland calls attention to the importance of no-one-left-behind sustainable air quality monitoring in the Arctic region. To better understand the air quality risks faced by remote Arctic communities, an international team monitored aerial pollutants at a community in Northwestern Greenland. Their findings, published in Atmospheric Science Letters, reveal that open waste burning elevates the concern of health risks to the community. The study focused on Qaanaaq, a small village in Northwestern Greenland with a population of approximately 600. During the summer of 2022, the team conducted the first-time measurement ...

Researchers have used Google Street View to study hundreds of elements of the built environment, including buildings, green spaces, pavements and roads, and how these elements relate to each other and influence coronary artery disease in people living in these neighbourhoods. Their findings, published in the European Heart Journal [1] today (Thursday), show that these factors can predict 63% of the variation in the risk of coronary heart disease from one area to another. Coronary heart disease, where a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries ...

Kyoto, Japan -- Branching patterns are prevalent in our natural environment and the human body, such as in the lungs and kidneys. For example, specific genes that express growth factor proteins are known to influence the development of the lungs' complex branches. Still, until now the mechanics behind this phenomenon have remained a mystery. Kyoto University researchers have unveiled a regulatory system linking signal, force, and shape in mouse lung structure development. The team recognized that the signal protein ERK plays an active role in causing growing lung tissue to curve. "ERK signals the cell tissue to stretch outward to smoothen its ...

SAN ANTONIO, March 27, 2024 – Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be preventable if parents avoid toxic exposures and adopt interventions such as environmental house calls, according to a published study led by researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). Using a validated, self-administered questionnaire now used worldwide to identify individuals with chemical intolerance – the Quick Environmental ...

Niigata, Japan - A new Japanese nationwide study revealed that from 2006 to 2021, the number of patients with incident renal RRT due to RPGN increased, with an increase in the age-specific incidence of RRT due to RPGN in the older age groups (≥70 years old). Given the increasing trend in the incidence of RRT in older age groups and the ongoing population aging in Japan, the number of patients with incident RRT due to RPGN is likely to continue to increase in the future. "RPGN is clinical syndrome that causes a rapid loss of kidney function, usually within a few days to a ...

  The subversive nature of skateboarding is not likely to be affected by its continuing place in the corporate world of the Olympics, experts have predicted.   The inclusion of the street sport – which happened for the first time in Tokyo 2020 – could help to promote pacifism and egalitarianism and help to combat sexism, homophobia and racism, research suggests.   Some had suggested the subversive sport and its links to rebellion, pools, ramps, and skateparks, as well as less typical type of competition, would not fit easily into a world ...

Looking after the NHS workforce is not only an ethical imperative but also a sound investment and must be a top priority, say experts in the third report of The BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS.   From improving basic working conditions to planning for the impact of AI, the authors set out a bold vision to enhance the stewardship of the NHS workforce. In the most recent (2023) NHS Staff Survey only a quarter (26.4%) of respondents said there were enough staff at their organisation for them to do their job properly, just over a quarter (25.6%) are satisfied with their pay, and only 42% say they are satisfied with the extent to which their organisations ...

Prolonged use of certain progestogen hormone drugs is associated with an increased risk of developing a type of brain tumour known as an intracranial meningioma, finds a study from France published by The BMJ today. The researchers say this study is the first to assess the risk associated with progestogens used by millions of women worldwide, and further studies are urgently needed to gain a better understanding of this risk. Progestogens are similar to the natural hormone progesterone, which are widely used for gynaecological conditions such ...

Delirium is a strong risk factor for dementia and death among older people, finds the largest study of its kind published by The BMJ today.  The findings show that, among hospital patients with at least one episode of delirium, the risk of receiving a new dementia diagnosis was three times higher than for patients without delirium and each additional episode of delirium increased that risk by 20%.  The researchers say their findings support the theory that delirium has a strong independent effect on dementia risk in this clinical population. Delirium is a sudden change in a person’s usual mental state. Symptoms include agitation, confusion or being unable to stay ...

London, ON, March 27, 2024 – Dementia in unhoused people was 1.9 times greater than the general population, with a higher prevalence for age groups younger than 85 years, according to new research from Lawson Health Research Institute and ICES. In one of the first population-based studies of its kind and published in The Lancet Public Health, researchers compared dementia prevalence in people experiencing homeless with the general population and people living in low-income neighbourhoods in Ontario, Canada. “Not only did we find that dementia was more common among unhoused individuals, but the difference was greatest between the ages of 55 to ...

Metalenses, nano-artificial structures capable of manipulating light, offer a technology that can significantly reduce the size and thickness of traditional optical components. Particularly effective in the near-infrared region, this technology holds great promise for various applications such as LiDAR which is called the ‘eyes of the self-driving car’, miniature drones, and blood vessel detectors. Despite its potential, the current technology requires tens of millions of won even for fabricating a ...