Researchers at UCLA Health have found that a person's risk of developing psychotic-like experiences may be influenced by both childhood attention problems and their genetic makeup.  The findings, published in Nature Mental Health, build upon a long-studied association between childhood attention problems and the likelihood of later developing schizophrenia. Using data from about 10,000 children over six years, UCLA researchers led by Dr. Carrie Bearden sought to determine how attentional variability ...

It is well known that acting quickly in the event of a cardiac arrest is important, but what does a quick initial shock with a defibrillator mean exactly for patients' chances of survival? Researchers from Amsterdam UMC analysed the data of 3723 patients who had a cardiac arrest outside the hospital and concluded that for the first shock, every minute reduces the chance of survival by 6%. The results of this research were published today in the international journal Circulation.   "Our research shows that every minute of delay in giving the first shock has a major impact. If the first shock was given within six minutes, it was possible ...

An abnormal BMI in children – be it high or low – can now be associated with impaired lung function, but if their BMI is normalised before they reach adulthood, the impairment can be offset, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report. Their results, which are based on data collected under the BAMSE project in Sweden, are presented in The European Respiratory Journal.  One in ten people have reduced lung function development in childhood and cannot achieve maximal lung capacity in adulthood, increasing the risk of serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, lung disease and diabetes. One risk factor associated with impaired lung function development is abnormal ...

Imagine you decide to write a short story about a protagonist who creates an artificial human and then falls in love with it. What gender is your protagonist? What about the artificial human? Would you write a moving love story? A cautionary dystopian tale? Would your story be more compelling than one written by ChatGPT? Likely yes, says Nina Beguš, a researcher and lecturer in UC Berkeley's School of Information and Department of History. Leveraging her background in comparative literature ...

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that heart failure mortality has decreased in Sweden over the last 20 years. The study has been published in the European Journal of Heart Failure. A national study has shown that heart failure mortality has decreased in Sweden over the last two decades. Despite these improvements, the prognosis for heart failure patients remains worrying – 25 percent of those diagnosed in 2022 died within a year. “Our results suggest that advances in heart failure treatment over the past decades have reduced heart failure mortality, both at the population level and for individual patients. ...

Many statistical models and algorithms used by scientists can be imagined as a “black box.” These models are powerful tools that give accurate predictions, but their internal workings are not easily interpretable or understood. In an era dominated by deep learning, where an ever-increasing amount of data can be processed, Natália Ružičková, a physicist and PhD student at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), chose to take a step back. At least in the context of genomic ...

Humans can do plenty, but plants have an ability we don’t: they make energy straight from sunlight, a superpower called photosynthesis. Yet new research shows that scientists are closing that gap. Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have revealed the 3D structure of an artificial photosynthetic antenna protein complex, known as light-harvesting complex II (LHCII), and demonstrated that the artificial LHCII closely mirrors its natural counterpart. This discovery marks a significant step forward in understanding how plants harvest and manage solar energy, paving the way for future innovations in artificial ...

“Vaccines are 100% safe, and anyone who doubts this is ignorant”: Have you ever come across messages like this during the pandemic crisis a few years ago? If you often feel that certain public debates—such as those on vaccines or the climate crisis—boil down to a black-and-white clash between two sides demanding, with harsh tones, unquestioning allegiance to their view, you're not entirely wrong. We are rightly accustomed to being warned about pseudoscientific misinformation and fake news, and much research has been devoted ...

Written by a team of European experts from the marine sciences, Navigating the Future VI discusses how the biodiversity crisis is being played out in the Ocean. It notes that Ocean species large and small are far less well described than their terrestrial counterparts, making it harder to measure declines and their impacts. This publication provides governments, policymakers and funders with robust, independent scientific advice on future seas and Ocean research. With the COP16 on biodiversity already in full swing in Cali, Colombia, it is timely to reflect further on the need to better understand our Ocean biodiversity. “Climate change ...

The research team of Dr. Byeongjin Park and Dr. Sang Bok Lee from the Composites & Convergence Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), has developed the world's first ultra-thin film composite material capable of absorbing over 99% of electromagnetic waves from various frequency bands (such as 5G/6G, WiFi, and autonomous driving radar) using a single material. This electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding material is less than 0.5mm thick and is distinguished by its low reflectance ...

In 2022, U.S. high school students Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson astonished teachers when they discovered a new way to prove Pythagoras’ theorem using trigonometry after entering a competition at their local high school. As a result, both students were awarded keys to the city of New Orleans, and even received personal praise from Michelle Obama. Today they become published authors of a new peer-reviewed paper detailing their discoveries, published in the journal American Mathematical Monthly. Pythagoras’ famous 2,000-year-old ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 GMT MONDAY 28 OCTOBER / 20:01 ET SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 2024 More social species live longer, Oxford study finds New research published today (28 Oct) from the University of Oxford has revealed that species that are more social live longer and produce offspring for a greater timespan. This is the first study on this topic which spans the animal kingdom, from jellyfish to humans.   What are the benefits and costs of sociality? Social organisms may enjoy benefits such as sharing resources, being better protected from predators, and having support to raise offspring. However, by living in more ...

Magic is one of the oldest forms of entertainment, and much of its enchantment is said to rely on the audience not knowing how the tricks are done. However, while magicians swear to keep their secrets forever when they embark on their profession they are happy to share the tricks of their trade in certain circumstances, a new study shows. Illusionists who took part in major new research thought it was OK to expose their own techniques, but not those invented by others, and also believe it is acceptable to reveal the secrets behind tricks invented by someone who has since died. They didn’t think it was right to share the workings of a magic trick just to gain public ...

Like people, birds have fewer friends as they age, but the reasons why are unclear. New research suggests they may just have no drive to. In humans, it’s often been assumed that older people have fewer friends because they’re pickier about who they spend their time with. There’s also the issue that there are fewer people of their own age around. But it’s hard to pick apart the various potential causes for humans, so researchers have turned to animals. The team behind the new research, led by Imperial College London, studied an isolated population of sparrows on the island of Lundy, in the Bristol Channel. By mapping the ...

Background and Aims Early determination of prognosis in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is crucial for optimizing treatment options and liver allocation. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with ACLF and to develop new prognostic models that accurately predict patient outcomes. Methods We retrospectively selected 1,952 hospitalized patients diagnosed with ACLF between January 2010 and June 2018. This cohort was used to develop new prognostic scores, which were subsequently validated in external groups. Results The study included 1,386 ACLF patients and identified six independent ...

Background and Aims Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most fatal malignancies. Epigenetic mechanisms have revealed that noncoding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), are involved in HCC progression. This study aimed to construct a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in HCC and validate one axis within the network. Methods HCC-related transcriptome data were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus, and HCC-related genes were sourced from GeneCards to identify differentially expressed circRNAs and miRNAs. ...

“Our finding that enhanced melting of Arctic sea-ice likely resulted in significant cooling in northern Europe in the earth’s past is alarming,” says Mohamed Ezat from the iC3 Polar Research Hub, lead author of the new study. “This reminds us that the planet’s climate is a delicate balance, easily disrupted by changes in temperature and ice cover.”  Ice-free summer conditions are expected to occur in the Arctic Ocean from the year 2050 onwards.  Earlier this ...

San Diego, CA (October 26, 2024) — For kidney transplant recipients experiencing antibody-mediated rejection, the current standard of care involves removing donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) through plasmapheresis (PLEX)—a procedure that removes antibodies from the plasma portion of the blood. Results from a recent clinical trial reveal that an investigational drug called imlifidase, which cleaves and inactivates the type of antibodies that include DSAs, is more effective than PLEX. The research will be presented at ASN Kidney ...

San Diego, CA (October 26, 2024) — IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune kidney disease, and complement, a component of the innate immune system, plays a role in the condition’s pathogenesis. Investigators have developed and tested a novel gene therapy that enters kidney cells and enables them to block complement activation. The research will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2024 October 23– 27. The gene therapy, called PS-002, uses a modified virus to treat kidney cells called podocytes. Administration of PS-002 in a mouse model of IgA nephropathy reduced signs of kidney dysfunction, lowered complement ...

San Diego, CA (October 26, 2024) — Chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (caAMR) is a common cause of allograft loss after transplantation, with no approved therapies. Clazakizumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), stabilized kidney transplant recipients’ kidney function in a phase 2 trial. Investigators now have data from a phase 3 trial with clazakizumab. The findings from the Phase 3 IMAGINE trial, the largest placebo-controlled study in kidney transplant recipients with caAMR, will be ...

The results of numerous high-impact phase 3 clinical trials that could affect kidney-related medical care will be presented in-person at ASN Kidney Week 2024 October 23–27. Hyponatremia, or a chronically low blood salt level, is the most common electrolyte disorder in hospitalized patients, and is associated with higher risks of death and re-hospitalization. In a recent trial, 2,173 hospitalized patients with hyponatremia from 9 centers across Europe were assigned to undergo either targeted correction of blood salt levels according to guidelines or to receive routine care for hyponatremia. The primary outcome was the combined ...

Background and objectives Mesothelioma is an aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis. Histological diagnosis of mesothelioma using limited tissue samples can be challenging. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a transmembrane protein that is overexpressed in a variety of solid tumors. This study aimed to investigate the clinical utility of CAIX expression in the differential diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma from non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Methods Unstained tissue microarray slides composed of 56 cases of pleural mesothelioma and 82 cases of NSCLC were subjected to immunohistochemical staining using a mouse anti-human antibody against CAIX. Results Of the 38 epithelioid mesothelioma ...

Background and objectives Chlorella vulgaris is a green, photosynthetic microalga in the phylum Chlorophyta. The goal of our study was to perform a bioinformatics analysis of Photosystem I P700 chlorophyll a apoprotein A2, one of its photosynthesis-related proteins, and to hunt for potent bioactive peptides. Methods To generate peptides and estimate the safety and efficacy of each bioactive peptide, we employed the tools BIOPEP-UWM™, PeptideRanker, DBAASP, and ToxinPred. PepDraw was used to understand the physicochemical properties ...

Background and objectives Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection can cause multiple secondary digestive disorders. Some studies have found that polymorphisms in Toll-like receptor (TLR) genes, including TLR10 rs10004195, may be associated with increased susceptibility to H. pylori infection. Despite conflicting reports, we conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the relationship between these factors. Methods We conducted an exhaustive review, encompassing all relevant literature up to February 2024, using databases ...

Background and objectives Nail psoriasis is common in patients with plaque psoriasis and is associated with morbidity, including onychomycosis, which can complicate psoriasis treatments and be difficult to differentiate. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry is a fast and simple technique for identifying microorganisms through protein analysis. This study aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of MALDI-TOF for diagnosing onychomycosis in patients with nail psoriasis, by using conventional mycological and histological methods as the reference standard. Methods A prospective study was conducted on 88 patients with ...