WASHINGTON– The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) today expressed profound disappointment in the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) decision to deny the creation of the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine (ABCVM). The ABCVM was proposed by SCAI, the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA), and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) as a necessary step to establish cardiology as its own distinct medical specialty, separate from internal ...

In the race to meet the growing global demand for lithium — a critical component in batteries for electric vehicles — a team of researchers from Rice University’s Elimelech lab has developed a breakthrough lithium extraction method that could reshape the industry. In their study published in Science Advances, the researchers demonstrated near-perfect lithium selectivity by repurposing solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) as membrane materials for aqueous lithium extraction. While originally designed for the rapid conduction of lithium ions in solid-state batteries — where there are no other ions or liquid solvents — the highly ordered and confined structure ...

American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine Chair Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, issued the following statement in response to the American Board of Medical Specialties denial of an independent board for cardiology: “We are deeply disappointed with the American Board of Medical Specialties’ decision not to approve the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine as a new, independent board for cardiology. The decision ignores the evolution of cardiovascular medicine into its own distinct medical specialty, separate from the field of internal medicine, requiring its own set of knowledge, skills, and competencies to sustain professional excellence and effectively ...

Neuroblastoma is a solid tumor that occurs in children. When high-risk, the disease has a poor prognosis. Decades ago, adding the drug retinoic acid to neuroblastoma treatment increased survival by 10-15%. However, this effect was only evident in post-chemotherapy consolidation after bulky primary tumors had largely been eliminated. Why retinoic acid is effective in this setting but not against primary tumors, has been speculated about for nearly 50 years. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists resolved the mystery in a new study, showing retinoic acid uses a novel mechanism to kill metastasized neuroblastoma. The drug “hijacks” ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Novel technology intends to redefine the virtual reality experience by expanding to incorporate a new sensory connection: taste.   The interface, dubbed ‘e-Taste’, uses a combination of sensors and wireless chemical dispensers to facilitate the remote perception of taste – what scientists call gustation. These sensors are attuned to recognize molecules like glucose and glutamate — chemicals that represent the five basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Once captured via an electrical signal, that data is wirelessly passed to a remote device for replication.  Field ...

URBANA, Ill. – Nanozymes are synthetic materials that have enzyme-like catalytic properties, and they are broadly used for biomedical purposes, such as disease diagnostics. However, inorganic nanozymes are generally toxic, expensive, and complicated to produce, making them unsuitable for the agricultural and food industries. A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research team has developed organic-material-based nanozymes that are non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and cost effective. In two new studies, they introduce ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – When people go along with opinions that go against their better judgment, they feel more culpable for the decision if things go wrong than if they hadn’t received another opinion, new research from Cornell University finds. The effect may seem counterintuitive, but going against one’s better judgment increases thoughts about better decisions that could have been made, which amplify feelings of control over the situation.  “If you have another person in the ...

HOUSTON – (Feb. 28, 2025) – A team of researchers at the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing at Rice University has developed an innovative artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled, low-cost device that will make flow cytometry ⎯ a technique used to analyze cells or particles in a fluid using a laser beam ⎯ affordable and accessible. The prototype identifies and counts cells from unpurified blood samples with similar accuracy as the more expensive and bulky conventional flow cytometers, provides results within minutes and is significantly cheaper and compact, making it highly attractive for point-of-care clinical ...

In a study published today in Biofunctional Materials, Prof. Dr. Haidar, Founder and CEO of BioMAT’X I+D+I LABs in Santiago, Chile, unveils a groundbreaking advancement in dental care: Copper-incorporated microvesicles (CiMs). This innovative technology combines the healing power of copper with microvesicles to enhance tissue regeneration, promote healing, and combat oral diseases. With potential applications in dentistry, cranio-maxillo-facial surgery and beyond, CiMs; a promising leap forward in biomedical technology. In an exciting breakthrough ...

NEW YORK, NY (February 28, 2025) -- Primary care practices that employ nurse practitioners (NPs) are more likely to serve socioeconomically disadvantaged communities than practices with no NPs on staff, Columbia University School of Nursing researchers report in JAMA Network Open. Assistant Professor Monica O’Reilly-Jacob, PhD, led the study, published online February 28, 2025.   To better understand the distribution of NPs—who are increasingly critical to improving access to primary care—O’Reilly-Jacob and her colleagues looked ...

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is conducting a research study that will look at whether calcium, vasopressin, or both early in the course of treatment would help severely injured patients that lose a lot of blood survive their injuries. The CAlcium and VAsopressin following Injury Early Resuscitation (CAVALIER) trial will include approximately 1,050 people aged 18 to 90. Patients who have traumatic injuries with loss of blood may be enrolled by participating emergency medical personnel during their transportation to the hospital or after arrival to University Medical Center Hospital. CAVALIER is an Exception from Informed Consent (EFIC) trial, meaning that, the trial ...

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Who, or rather what, will be the next top model?  Data scientists and developers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are trying to find out, exploring some of the latest artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to help make high-performance computers more reliable and less costly to run. The models in this case are artificial neural networks trained to monitor and predict the behavior of a scientific computing cluster, where torrents of numbers are constantly crunched. The goal is to help system administrators quickly identify and ...

DALLAS, Feb. 28, 2025  — Cardiovascular disease disproportionately affects Black communities, with more than 57% of non-Hispanic Black adults living with some form of the disease. To drive solutions that address these disparities, the American Heart Association, a global force changing the future of health for all, launched the Heart of Innovation HBCU Challenge to empower the next generation of health tech entrepreneurs from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). On Monday, Shadrach ...

A recent study published in the journal Engineering delves into the complex world of assessing the transmission risk of infectious diseases in indoor spaces. With the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding how to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) has become crucial. Governments worldwide implemented NPIs to control the spread of COVID-19. Many studies used simulations to measure the risk of infection transmission before and after implementing these measures. However, the choice of metric to quantify ...

Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking AI-driven approach to improve the early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder by analyzing micro-expressions in movies. Micro-expressions, which are fleeting facial movements that reveal hidden emotions, are particularly challenging to detect in individuals with ASD. By employing the Cinemetrics method, the team successfully extracted micro-expressions from films featuring ASD patients and utilized an enhanced YOLOv8-SMART algorithm for precise detection. This advanced model significantly outperformed existing methods, achieving remarkable ...

A new study published in Engineering presents a novel framework that combines machine learning (ML) and blockchain technology (BT) to enhance computational security in engineering. The framework, named Machine Learning on Blockchain (MLOB), aims to address the limitations of existing ML-BT integration solutions that primarily focus on data security while overlooking computational security. ML has been widely used in engineering to solve complex problems, offering high accuracy and efficiency. However, it faces security threats such as data tampering and ...

A new review article published in Engineering offers a comprehensive look at vacuum glazing, a technology that shows great potential in enhancing energy efficiency in buildings. As buildings account for around 40% of society’s total energy consumption, improving the thermal performance of glazing is crucial for achieving low-carbon building goals. Vacuum glazing has gained attention for its heat preservation, sound insulation, lightweight features, and anti-condensation properties. The concept dates back to 1913, but it was not until 1989 that researchers in Australia successfully produced vacuum glazing with excellent thermal insulation performance. Since then, significant ...

About The Study: In this study, differences in out-of-pocket maternity spending among the commercially insured were associated with differences in coinsurance rates. These costs could lead people to forgo needed health care or other basic needs that support health (e.g., food or housing). Changes to health plan benefit design could improve equity in out-of-pocket maternity spending and its consequences. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Anna D. Sinaiko, PhD, MPP, email asinaiko@hsph.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: ...

COLLEGE PARK, MD – A new study out today in JAMA Health Forum is the first to show that Black, Hispanic and Asian people with private insurance tend to pay more out-of-pocket for maternity care than white people.  “The average additional spending on medical care from pregnancy through postpartum paid by people who are Black, Hispanic and Asian is significantly more than white people,” said Dr. Rebecca Gourevitch, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Maryland School of Public Health (UMD SPH).  “We found that out-of-pocket costs were highest ...

About The Study: During the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity decreased among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants in most racial and ethnic groups but did not decrease among non-SNAP participants in any group. These results suggest that during the pandemic, increased SNAP benefit amounts were associated with ameliorating food insecurity for many U.S. adults who were able to access SNAP but did not reduce racial and ethnic disparities in food insecurity. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Yingfei Wu, MD, MPH, email yingfeiwu322@gmail.com. To ...

On February 7, 2025, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced a decision to cap indirect cost reimbursement—which supports the critical infrastructure and staff that make biomedical research possible—at 15%. In a commentary published February 28 in the Cell Press journal Cell, molecular biologist Tom Maniatis of the New York Genome Center (NYGC) and Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute reflects on the impact NIH funding has had on his own career and science, explores the value indirect investment has brought to U.S. science over the last five decades, and calls for urgent, unified action from the scientific community ...

Despite ongoing progress, structural racism and health disparities continue to shape healthcare practices in ways healthcare providers may not even realize. A recent study in JAMA Network Open, published Feb. 28, 2025, shows that continued use of race-specific equations in the diagnostic process of children with asthma symptoms limits the identification of reduced lung function in Black children. “This finding is important because when these children are not identified as having reduced lung function, they may not receive further testing. This can lead to under-diagnosis, ...

Hepatic steatosis, often triggered by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a leading cause of liver dysfunction globally, affecting approximately 30% of the population. The progression from steatosis to hepatic fibrosis, which may ultimately lead to cirrhosis, is a significant concern in liver disease management. This review highlights the critical role of solute carrier (SLC) family transporters in both hepatic steatosis and fibrosis. SLC transporters are membrane-bound proteins responsible for transporting a variety of molecules, including fatty acids, ...

Scientists have a new target to prevent cold sores after University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers discovered an unexpected way the herpes virus re-activates in the body. The finding could also have important implications for genital herpes caused by the same virus. The discovery from UVA’s Anna Cliffe, PhD, and colleagues seems to defy common sense. She and her team found that the slumbering herpes virus will make a protein to trigger the body’s immune response as part of its escape from dormancy. You’d think this would be bad for the virus – that activating the body’s ...

Glenview, Illinois – The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), the PF Warriors, the Rare Disease Diversity Coalition (RDDC)—a program at the Black Woman's Health Imperative—and the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW) announce their collaboration to address idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) as a chronic disease on Rare Disease Day 2025. Together, the organizations will employ designated activities that will build a knowledge base on the current IPF landscape ...