Three teams led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists have received awards from the Starr Cancer Consortium in its 17th and final annual grant competition. The grants will fund research on the deep mechanisms of common cancers and related treatment strategies. The Starr Cancer Consortium, established in 2006 with generous support from The Starr Foundation, includes The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medicine. The consortium’s goal has been to encourage highly collaborative and transformative research on cancer biology and novel treatment strategies. ...

Homelessness among people over the age of 50 is on the rise, a phenomenon formal housing strategies often overlook -- but researchers from the University of Toronto and McGill hope to prevent this oversight in the future.  A new study published in The Gerontologist now provides a clear definition of late life homelessness informed by the lives and experiences of older adults. Drawing on interviews with older people who are unhoused and community workers in Montreal, Canada, the researchers aim to spark ...

Background and objectives Gelsemium elegans Benth (G. elegans) is a traditional medicinal plant; however, it is highly toxic, and toxicity varies significantly between species. The cause of this difference has not been clarified. Humantenirine is an important toxic alkaloid in G. elegans, and its metabolism has been poorly studied. This study aimed to compare the different metabolites formed by human liver microsomes, pig liver microsomes, and goat liver microsomes. Methods High-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to study the metabolism of humantenirine in human liver microsomes, ...

In fire-prone areas, water isn’t the only thing used to quell blazes. Wildland firefighters also apply chemical or synthetic suppressants. Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters explored whether these suppressants could be a source of elevated metal levels sometimes found in waterways after wildfires are extinguished. Several products they investigated contained high levels of at least one metal, including chromium and cadmium, and could contribute to post-fire increases in the environment. “Wildfires ...

As a leader in academic health and biomedical research training, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) covers the West Texas region that comprises half of the state’s land mass and is home to 10% of its population. Research at TTUHSC drives innovation and discovery, changing the lives of those it serves and attracting talented faculty, staff and students. During the latest reporting period (2020-2022), TTUHSC received an average of $12,539,679 annually in National Institutes ...

Societies of the past and present have given high regard to precious metals like gold and silver. Both metals remind us of nobility and luxury. However, they are quite expensive, which restricts their applications. Therefore, materials with attractive but artificial gold- and silver-like metallic lusters are popular, finding use in jewelry, reflective materials, inks, and cosmetics.   Unfortunately, typical metallic luster materials cause environmental harm, rendering them unsustainable. Thus, scientists are actively searching for metal-free alternatives. In this direction, the research fraternity ...

In space exploration, long-distance optical links can now be used to transmit images, films and data from space probes to Earth using light. But in order for the signals to reach all the way and not be disturbed along the way, hypersensitive receivers and noise-free amplifiers are required. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have created a system that, with a silent amplifier and record-sensitive receiver, paves the way for faster and improved space communication. Space communication systems are increasingly based on optical laser beams rather than radio waves, as the signal loss has been shown to be less when light is used ...

Embargoed Until 10/30/24 at 7 am PhD in Public Health candidate Elaine Russell and her mentor Kenneth Griffin, professor in the department of Global and Community Health, in George Mason University’s College of Public Health, worked with Tolulope Abidogun, also a PhD in Public Health student, and former Global and Community Health professor Lisa Lindley, now of Lehigh University, to analyze data from the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA III) in an effort to understand how university ...

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (October 30, 2024) – The first-ever camera trap study of the Central Cardamom Mountains Landscape has recorded 108 species, 23 of which are listed at risk (Vulnerable or above) on the IUCN Red List, underscoring the significance of the region as a global stronghold for biodiversity and rare and threatened species.   Editors please note: Use these links to access camera trap footage and the full report.    The report, released today by the Cambodian Ministry of Environment (MoE), the United States Agency ...

An international team of geoscientists led by a volcanologist at Rutgers University-New Brunswick has discovered that, contrary to present scientific understanding, ancient volcanoes continued to spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from deep within the Earth long past their period of eruptions. In doing so, the research team has solved a long-standing mystery over what caused prolonged episodes of warming during turning points in Earth’s climate history. The work is detailed in today’s issue of the journal Nature Geoscience. “Our ...

In the face of increased human pressures and climate change, a team of Australian scientists led by Dr Georgina Wood at Flinders University have launched a new online tool to assist marine managers and restoration experts to bolster the resilience of marine habitat-forming species. The ‘Reef Adapt’ initiative, developed by experts from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW DPIRD), Flinders University and The University of Western Australia (UWA), aims to expand the tools available to promote diverse, adaptable and resilient ecosystems. Described in a new article in Communications Biology, Reef Adapt harnesses genetic data ...

"Sustainable development pathways are strategies that prevent dangerous climate change while at the same time moving towards a world that allows people to prosper on a healthy planet,” explains Bjoern Soergel, scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK and lead author of the study published in Environmental Research Letters. This is the essence of the 17 SDGs agreed by the United Nations in 2015. “Our analysis shows that all three sustainable development pathways are far more effective than our current ‘business as usual’. They drive substantial progress towards the SDGs, for example reducing the number of people in extreme poverty ...

In the past, African giant pouched rats have learned to detect explosives and the tuberculosis-causing pathogen. Now, a team of researchers have trained these rats to pick up the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood. These animals and plants are listed as threatened and at high danger of extinction. “Our study shows that we can train African giant pouched rats to detect illegally trafficked wildlife, even when it has been concealed among other substances,” ...

Electrons spin even without an electric charge and this motion in condensed matter constitutes spin current, which is attracting a great deal of attention for next-generation technology such as memory devices. An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group has been able to gain further insight into this important topic in the field of spintronics. To investigate the characteristics of spin currents, OMU Graduate School of Science Professor Katsuichi Kanemoto’s group designed a multilayer device consisting of a ferromagnetic layer and an organic semiconductor ...

Anecdotes abound of wildlife behaving “drunk” after eating fermented fruits, but despite this, nonhuman consumption of ethanol has been assumed to be rare and accidental. Ecologists challenge this assumption in a review publishing October 30 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution. They argue that since ethanol is naturally present in nearly every ecosystem, it is likely consumed on a regular basis by most fruit- and nectar-eating animals. “We're moving away from this anthropocentric view that ethanol is just something ...

While pancreatic cancer rates are rising in people under age 50, a new survey conducted by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) shows most people continue to believe that pancreatic disease affects only the elderly – and that there is nothing they can do to reduce their risk. For this survey, respondents were asked about risk factors for pancreatic cancer. More than half (53%) of adults under age 50 said they would not recognize the early signs or symptoms of the disease, and more than one third (37%) believe there is ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct. 30, 2024)—Many studies suggest that an earlier age at menopause is more detrimental to a woman’s health, leading to an increased risk for adverse health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression, among others. However, a new study is linking a later age at natural menopause with a greater risk for asthma. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society. Asthma is a common, chronic disease affecting more than 300 million people worldwide. The prevalence of asthma ...

EMBARGOED: NOT FOR RELEASE UNTIL 00.05 (UK TIME) WEDNESDAY 30 OCTOBER 2024 An international team of paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins. A new paper published today [30 October] in Royal Society Open Science suggests that thalattosuchians, which lived at the time of the dinosaurs, were stopped from exploring the deep due to their large snout sinuses. Whales and dolphins (cetaceans) ...

Botanists have come to understand the channels and transporters involved in the uptake and transport of nutrients, yet how are they positioned where they need to be? For example, plants need boron, which is taken into the cells by molecules known as the boric acid channel. But how do the proteins that form the channel make it to the plasma membrane? A research group led by Professor Junpei Takano of Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Agriculture identified a mutant line of Arabidopsis thaliana in which the boric acid channels are not properly transported to the plasma membrane. The cause was a deficiency in the protein KAONASHI3 (KNS3); the name ...

University of Cambridge media release   Britain’s brass bands older than we thought and invented by soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars, new study reveals   UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 AM (UK TIME) ON WEDNESDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2024   Military musicians returning from the Napoleonic wars established Britain’s first brass bands earlier than previously thought, new research reveals. The study undermines the idea that brass bands were a civilian and exclusively northern creation.   It is widely believed that brass bands originated with coal miners and other industrial communities ...

The Lancet: Health threats of climate change reach record-breaking levels, as experts call for trillions of dollars spent on fossil fuels to be redirected towards protecting people’s health, lives and livelihoods New global findings in the 8th annual indicator report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveal that people in every country face record-breaking threats to health and survival from the rapidly changing climate, with 10 of 15 indicators tracking health threats reaching ...

Just one or two sessions of physical activity at the weekend—a pattern of exercise dubbed ‘weekend warrior’---may be just as likely to lower the risk of cognitive decline, which can often precede dementia, as more frequent sessions, concludes research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. And it may be more convenient and achievable for busy people as well, suggest the researchers. It’s important to identify potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia because a 5-year delay in onset might halve its prevalence, they say, adding that nearly all the evidence to date comes from studies ...

Physical activity of any intensity after a diagnosis of dementia is associated with around a 30% lower risk of death, finds research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The findings prompt the researchers to conclude that those affected should be encouraged to keep up or start an exercise routine, especially as average life expectancy after a diagnosis of dementia may be only around 4-5 years.  Previously published research has linked physical activity with a lower risk of death in people with the disease, but these studies have focused on a single point in time. So it’s not clear if changes in the amount or intensity of physical ...

Lifetime cannabis use is associated with several changes in brain structure and function in later life, suggests an observational study, but these associations may not be causal, finds a genetic analysis of the same data, published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health. Some other unidentified factors may explain the differences found, say the researchers, who nevertheless emphasise that further research is needed to fully understand the effects of heavy use and cannabis potency on the brain. Cannabis use has increased worldwide following its ...

A new paper published today, led by Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, reveals how volunteers across Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan enabled researchers to gather seven years of data on the spawning migrations of suckers, an understudied yet essential group of freshwater fishes. Using observations collected by trained members of the public, the collaborative team of researchers have discovered that temperature is the primary trigger for sucker spawning migration, which can help inform conservation strategies in light of a changing climate. “We believe that conservation of native, non-game fishes ...