The origin of many diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's can be found at the molecular level in our body, in other words, in proteins. In a healthy system, these proteins are responsible for numerous physiological functions. In order to carry out certain tasks, they may also assemble in groups consisting of numerous proteins. Once that job is done, they split up again and go their own ways. However, if larger clusters of a hundred or more proteins form so-called fibrils, which are bundles of long, filament-like accumulations of proteins, the ...

Young people’s mental health may depend on how they use social media, rather than how much time they spend using it, according to a new study by University of B.C. researchers. The research, led by psychology professor Dr. Amori Mikami (she/her) and published this week in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, examined the effects of quitting social media versus using it more intentionally. The results showed that users who thoughtfully managed their online interactions, as well as those who abstained from social media entirely, saw mental health benefits—particularly in reducing symptoms ...

A new study highlights how some marine life could face extinction over the next century, if human-induced global warming worsens.  The research, led by the University of Bristol and published today in Nature, compares for the first time how tiny ocean organisms called plankton responded, when the world last warmed significantly in ancient history with what is likely to happen under similar conditions by the end of our century.   Findings revealed the plankton were unable to keep pace with the current speed of temperature rises, putting huge swathes ...

Researchers have developed an AI powered model that — in 10 seconds — can determine during surgery if any part of a cancerous brain tumor that could be removed remains, a study published in Nature suggests.    The technology, called FastGlioma, outperformed conventional methods for identifying what remains of a tumor by a wide margin, according to the research team led by University of Michigan and University of California San Francisco.     “FastGlioma is an artificial intelligence-based diagnostic system that has the potential to change the field of neurosurgery ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of adults hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) before the 2023 introduction of RSV vaccines, RSV was associated with substantial burden of hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and in-hospital deaths in adults, with the highest rates occurring in adults 75 years or older. Increasing RSV vaccination of older adults has the potential to reduce associated hospitalizations and severe clinical outcomes. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Fiona P. Havers, MHS, MD, email fhavers@cdc.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For ...

About The Study: Among patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and comorbid obesity/type 2 diabetes, the use of semaglutide and liraglutide were associated with a substantially decreased risk of hospitalization due to AUD. This risk was lower than that of officially approved AUD medications. Semaglutide and liraglutide may be effective in the treatment of AUD, and clinical trials are urgently needed to confirm these findings.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Markku Lähteenvuo, MD, PhD, email markku.lahteenvuo@uef.fi. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link ...

Reliable crop yields fueled the rise of human civilizations. As people embraced a new way of life, cultivated plants, too, had to adapt to the needs of their domesticators. There are different adaptive requirements in a wild compared to an arable habitat. Crop plants and their wild progenitors differ, for example, in how many vegetative branches they initiate or how many seeds or fruits they produce and when. A common concern among crop conservationists is dangerously reduced genetic diversity in cultivated plants. But crop evolution needs not be a unidirectional loss of diversity. “Our panel of 1,000 plant genetic ...

Researchers at Oxford University have developed a new method to extract fluorine from fluorspar (CaF₂) using oxalic acid and a fluorophilic Lewis acid in water under mild reaction conditions. This technology enables direct access to fluorochemicals, including commonly used fluorinating agents, from both fluorspar and lower-grade metspar, eliminating reliance on the supply chain of hazardous hydrogen fluoride (HF). The findings are published today in the journal Nature. Currently, all fluorochemicals – critical for many industries – are generated from the highly dangerous mineral acid ...

In sickness or in health, the billions of microorganisms that inhabit our guts are our constant companions throughout life. In the past few decades, scientists have shown how the nature of this ‘microbiome’ can provide valuable clues to human diseases and their treatment.  A new study from the Bork group at EMBL Heidelberg, recently published in the journal Cell, reports that a number of conditions, such as lifestyle and disease, affect the total number of microbes in the gut, making this often neglected metric one that bears ...

An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has identified three ultra-massive galaxies – nearly as massive as the Milky Way – already in place within the first billion years after the Big Bang. This surprising discovery was made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope's FRESCO program, which uses the NIRCam/grism spectrograph to measure accurate distances and stellar masses of galaxies. The results indicate that the formation of stars in the early Universe was far more efficient than previously thought, challenging existing galaxy formation models. The study is published in Nature. In the theoretical model favored by scientists, galaxies form ...

EMBARGOED by JAMA Network Open until 11 a.m., ET until Nov. 13, 2024 Contact: Gina DiGravio, 617-358-7838, ginad@bu.edu   (Boston)—Burnout is a public health crisis that affects the well-being of physicians and other healthcare workers, and the populations they serve. Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, lack of motivation, and feelings of ineffectiveness and inadequate achievement at work. Past studies have shown that compared to the general working U.S. population, physicians ...

An international team that was led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and includes Professor Stijn Wuyts from the University of Bath in the UK has identified three ultra-massive galaxies – each nearly as massive as the Milky Way – that had already assembled within the first billion years after the Big Bang. The researchers’ results indicate that the formation of stars in the early Universe was far more efficient than previously thought, challenging existing galaxy formation models. The surprising discovery – described today in the journal Nature – was made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) ...

The secrets of fossil teeth revealed by the synchrotron: a long childhood is the prelude to the evolution of a large brain Could social bonds be the key to human big brains? A study of the fossil teeth of early Homo from Georgia dating back 1.77 million years reveals, thanks to the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, a prolonged childhood despite a small brain and an adulthood comparable to that of the great apes. This discovery suggests that an extended childhood, combined with cultural transmission ...

A new joint study by the University of Eastern Finland and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found that the GLP-1 agonists semaglutide and liraglutide, which are used for treating diabetes and obesity, were associated with fewer hospitalisations among individuals with alcohol use disorder, AUD. Fewer hospitalisations were observed for alcohol related causes, substance use related causes, and for physical illnesses. However, no association was observed for hospitalisations due to attempted suicide. Effective treatments for alcohol dependence exist; however, they remain underused and are not effective, or suitable, for all patients with alcohol or substance use disorder. Previous ...

With hospitals already deploying artificial intelligence to improve patient care, a new study has found that using Chat GPT Plus does not significantly improve the accuracy of doctors’ diagnoses when compared with the use of usual resources.  The study, from UVA Health’s Andrew S. Parsons, MD, MPH and colleagues, enlisted 50 physicians in family medicine, internal medicine and emergency medicine to put Chat GPT Plus to the test. Half were randomly assigned to use Chat GPT Plus to diagnose complex cases, while the other half relied on conventional methods such as medical reference sites (for example, UpToDate©) and Google. The researchers then compared the resulting ...

Extreme weather spurred by climate change, including droughts and heavy rains, may increase the risk of nitrates from fertilizers ending up in groundwater, according to a recent study from researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study found heavy rains after a drought caused nitrates to seep 33 feet under farm fields in as little as 10 days. The study was published in Water Resources Research.  “The conventional wisdom was that it could take several weeks to years for nitrates to move from the crop root zones to reach groundwater,” said corresponding author Isaya Kisekka, a professor in the Departments ...

Background and Aims Liver cancer is a digestive system malignancy that poses a significant public health challenge globally. This study aimed to analyze and compare the epidemiological trends of liver cancer attributed to hepatitis B (LCHB) and alcohol use (LCAL) over the past 32 years. Methods Data on mortality and disability-adjusted life years for LCHB and LCAL in China, globally, and across five sociodemographic index regions were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 database and comprehensively ...

One only needs to glance at the news, social media, or even just out the window to understand the devastation caused by flooding. Recent back-to-back major hurricanes have brought catastrophic rainfall that has devastated communities across the southeastern United States.  With climate change, experts predict these extreme weather events will increasingly become the norm. Among the many ways that researchers are devising strategies to protect and assist vulnerable areas, one such effort involves increasing the speed and accuracy of damage assessments. “Research ...

Stories on the discovery of vital fluid-transport systems in the human body are among the winners of the 2024 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards. Winning journalists also did immersive stories on scientists and physicians at work – in the field, in the lab and in the emergency room.    Independent panels of science journalists select the winners of the awards, which are administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and endowed by The Kavli Foundation. There is a Gold Award ($5,000) and Silver Award ($3,500) for each of the eight categories. The global awards program drew entries ...

Mass General Brigham AI is hosting the Healthcare AI Challenge, a multi-institutional virtual, interactive series of events where healthcare professionals can explore and assess the latest AI healthcare technologies in real-world healthcare scenarios. The Healthcare AI Challenge Collaborative is launching with a diverse set of healthcare institutions and their healthcare professionals, including Mass General Brigham; Emory Healthcare; the Department of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; and the Department of Radiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The American College of Radiology (ACR), ...

NEW YORK, NY— The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2024 AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty. The AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty program provides up to $150,000 for a one- to two-year award to junior faculty (MDs and PhDs) to conduct research that will serve as the basis for longer term research efforts on the biology of aging. The major goal of this program is to assist in the development of the careers of early career investigators committed to pursuing careers in aging research. Selected through ...

Highlights: An FDA-approved vaccine for smallpox and mpox is effective but causes side effects. The other requires multiple doses. An experimental single-dose vaccine uses the horsepox virus to harness the benefits of both strategies.  Previous studies suggest that inoculation with horsepox elicits an antibody response to mpox and provides 100% protection in animal models. New data show that the horsepox virus is significantly more attenuated, or weakened, compared to the virus used in the FDA-approved live virus vaccine.  Washington, D.C.—Vaccines that prevent smallpox and mpox come in 2 varieties. One uses a single shot of a live virus but ...

The Mass General Brigham Gene and Cell Therapy Institute, a hub of innovation dedicated to accelerating groundbreaking research, conducting clinical trials and developing FDA-approved treatments, today announced four winning project groups, consisting of seven individuals, of its second annual Spark Grant program. The program was created to fund gene and cell therapy projects by Mass General Brigham investigators that demonstrate tangible advancements towards clinical applications and commercialization outcomes, including licensing, partnerships, or new company creation. A total of $1,150,000 ...

CLEVELAND—Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have identified a new target to treat atherosclerosis, a condition where plaque clogs arteries and causes major cardiac issues, including stroke and heart attack. In a new study, published in the journal Cell Reports, they identified an inflammation-reducing molecule—called itaconate (ITA)—that could be the foundation of a new approach to treat such a common and deadly disease.  Heart disease is the leading cause of death for ...

A research team led by Dr. Jung-Je Woo at the Gwangju Clean Energy Research Center of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) has successfully developed a cost-effective and eco-friendly technology for recycling cathode materials* from spent lithium-ion batteries. *Cathode Materials: Materials that play a crucial role in generating electricity by storing and releasing lithium ions during battery charging and discharging. With the recent rise in electric vehicles and mobile devices, managing spent batteries has become a critical global challenge. By 2040, the number of decommissioned electric vehicles is expected to exceed 40 million*, leading ...