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 ...

Bill Dingus ’81, a Rice University alumnus, and his wife Mary Anne have pledged $1 million to support the university’s Human Impacts on the Earth Fund, dedicated to mitigating and addressing the negative environmental effects caused by human activities on the planet. Additionally, the Dingus family is matching other donors’ contributions to the fund up to $250,000. The Dingus’ donation enables the launch of the Earth and Planetary Opportunities in Research (EXPLORE) program, a new initiative offered through the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (EEPS) that allows undergraduates of any major hands-on experience in research projects ...

Most patients may continue to safely take glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists as prescribed before undergoing elective surgery and gastrointestinal endoscopies, according to new clinical guidance released today by five surgical and medical societies including the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), International Society of Perioperative Care of Patients with Obesity (ISPCOP), and Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). The guidance, published online in Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Using computational tools, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a method to assess which patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer could benefit from immunotherapy. The work by computational scientists and clinicians was published Oct. 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Immunotherapy is used to try to boost the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. However, only some patients respond to treatment, explains lead study author Theinmozhi Arulraj, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins: “It’s really important ...

About The Study: The PROTECTED transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) trial could not show that the use of cerebral embolic protection (CEP) had a significant effect on the incidence of periprocedural stroke during TAVR. Although there was no significant interaction by geographic region, this exploratory post hoc analysis suggests a trend toward greater stroke reduction in the U.S. cohort but not in the outside the U.S. cohort. These findings are hypothesis generating, and further research is needed to determine if regional differences in patient characteristics or procedural practices ...

Jake Lewis, an entomologist in the Environmental Science and Informatics Section at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), is fascinated by weevils, a diverse group of beetles that includes many species with elephant trunk-like mouthparts (called a rostrum). Weevils provide various ecosystem services such as pollination and decomposition, but some species are serious pests known to decimate crop fields and timber forests. Using x-ray microtomography, a 3D imaging technique ...

Ultrasound, once used almost exclusively to take images of the body, is quickly developing into a targeted therapy that can have a potentially life-changing impact on our brains, according to the authors of a new article. For decades, health professionals across the world have used ultrasound as a means of monitoring the development of unborn babies and assessing the health of patients’ internal organs. But writing in the journal PLOS Biology, researchers from Stanford University, the University of Plymouth, and Attune Neurosciences say it has now been demonstrated to offer a non-invasive and precise way of targeting ...

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded just under $514,000 to an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the U of A to study the efficacy of “self-delivering” gene editors in the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, or DMD.  DMD results from a mutation in the dystrophin gene and is one of the most severe inherited muscular dystrophies, leading to deterioration of the muscle fibers. Presently, there is no cure, but advances in treatment have helped patients live longer, better lives. Gene therapy designed to ...