The brain constantly engages in dialogue with the body’s immune system. Such communication appears aimed at ensuring a delicate balance between defending against injury and infection and guarding healthy tissue. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have revealed how the two strike a healthy balance. The study, in mice, found that fragments of immune-stimulating proteins – dubbed guardian peptides – are produced by the brain and spinal cord of the central nervous system to maintain ...

A new study published in Nature unveils a surprising discovery: a substantial amount of meltwater is temporarily stored within the Greenland Ice Sheet during summer months. For the first time, an international group of researchers was able to quantify meltwater with positioning data. The finding challenges current models of how ice sheets contribute to global sea level rise. The Greenland Ice Sheet is currently the largest single contributor to global sea-level rise, with the potential to raise the mean sea level by up to seven meters if it fully melts. While ...

Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, together with an international team of researchers, have deciphered the prehistory of aurochs – the animals that were the focus of some of the most iconic early human art – by analysing 38 genomes harvested from bones dating across 50 millennia and stretching from Siberia to Britain.  The aurochs roamed in Europe, Asia and Africa for hundreds of thousands of years. Adorned as paintings on many a cave wall, their domestication to create cattle gave us a harnessed source of muscle, meat and milk. Such ...

In rural Africa, where livelihoods are often tied directly to the land, environmental degradation poses a critical threat to both ecosystems and people’s well-being. New research reveals ways to tackle the dual challenges of land degradation and poverty. In rural Africa, where livelihoods are often tied directly to the land, environmental degradation poses a critical threat to both ecosystems and people’s well-being. A new study co-authored by researchers at Stanford University and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) analyzes how ...

For the first time, scientists have tracked what happens to stem cells decades after a transplant, lifting the lid on the procedure that has been a medical mystery for over 50 years. Insights could pave the way for new strategies in donor selection and transplant success, potentially leading to safer, more effective transplants.  Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators at the University of Zurich were able to map the behaviour of stem cells in recipients’ bodies up to three decades post-transplant, ...

A gene called COLD6 contributes to cold tolerance in rice, potentially offering a pathway to use molecular design to breed a rice variety with higher resistance to cold stress. This work appears October 30 in the Cell Press journal Molecular Cell. “Cold damage is a major challenge in rice production, and identifying key gene modules in signalling pathways is a crucial step in addressing this issue,” says senior study author Kang Chong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “Our research focused on uncovering the molecular mechanism behind crops’ response to cold stress. We hope to ...

New York, NY [October 30, 2024]—Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a way that ovarian cancer tumors manipulate their environment to resist immunotherapy and identified a drug target that could overcome that resistance. The study, published in the October 30 online issue of Cell [DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.006], used a cutting-edge spatial genomics technology and preclinical animal models, with tumor specimens from ovarian cancer patients further validating the findings. The researchers found that ovarian cancer cells produce a molecule called Interleukin-4 (IL-4), which is typically ...

About The Study: This study found that testosterone prescription data through prescription drug monitoring programs was accessible to law enforcement without basic safeguards (such as a warrant or subpoena) in nearly half of states. The ease of access to this sensitive medical information raises privacy, care quality, and civil liberties concerns, especially amid the proliferation of gender-affirming care bans. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Katie McCreedy, MPH, email mccreedy.k@northeastern.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.20035) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) had strong psychometric properties in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation, including reliability, responsiveness, and validity. These data support use of the KCCQ in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation as a measure of their symptoms, function, and quality of life and also for assessing the impact of interventions, such as transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention, in rigorously controlled trials.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding ...

An important new study led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and with partnership across several Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (TDRA) sites— Baycrest, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Unity Health Toronto, and University Health Network— has demonstrated that a combination therapy can slow cognitive decline in older adults at risk for dementia. The study was published today in JAMA Psychiatry: "Slowing cognitive decline in major depressive disorder and mild cognitive ...

About The Study: This study showed that cognitive remediation and transcranial direct current stimulation, both targeting the prefrontal cortex, is efficacious in slowing cognitive decline in older adults at risk of cognitive decline, particularly those with remitted major depressive disorder (with or without mild cognitive impairment) and in those at low genetic risk for Alzheimer disease.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding authors, email Benoit H. Mulsant, MD, MS, (benoit.mulsant@utoronto.ca) and Tarek K. Rajji, MD, (tarek.rajji@utsouthwestern.edu) To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3241) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of children and adults in the U.S., autism spectrum disorder diagnosis rates increased substantially between 2011 and 2022, particularly among young adults, female children and adults, and children from some racial or ethnic minority groups. Diagnosis prevalence trends generated using health system data can inform the allocation of resources to meet the service needs of this growing, medically complex population. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Luke P. Grosvenor, PhD, email luke.p.grosvenor@kp.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.42218) Editor’s ...

After a heart attack, aging adults face double or triple the risk of life-threatening complications – like a debilitating stroke or another heart attack – when they move forward with elective noncardiac surgeries too soon, according to new University of Rochester research published in JAMA Surgery. A deep dive into the Medicare database of 5.2 million surgeries from 2017 to 2020 for patients 67 and older suggests delaying surgery for three to six months following a heart attack, known as a non-ST-segmented elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Researchers aim to identify the “sweet spot” for safely scheduling additional surgical procedures ...

Philadelphia, October 30, 2024 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that non-Hispanic Black children and those with public insurance and lower Child Opportunity Index (COI) scores were much more likely to seek care for concussions in the emergency department than in primary care or specialty care settings. The findings underscore the need to ensure emergency medicine physicians have specific training and education for diagnosing and managing pediatric concussion and suggest that establishing up-to-date community-level resources could improve care equity for children with possible concussion. The findings were published today by JAMA Network ...

Energy-making chloroplasts from algae have been inserted into hamster cells, enabling the cells to photosynthesize light, according to new research in Japan. It was previously thought that combining chloroplasts (chlorophyll containing structures in the cells of plants and algae) with animal cells was not possible, and that the chloroplasts would not survive or function. However, results showed that photosynthetic action continued for at least two days. This technique could be useful for artificial tissue engineering. ...

A new, large study led by American Cancer Society (ACS) researchers found that lack of health insurance coverage accounts for a significant proportion of racial and ethnic disparities in advanced-stage diagnosis of multiple cancers. The findings are published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI). “Health insurance coverage is a key determinant of access to high-quality healthcare across the cancer continuum from prevention to early detection, treatment, and survivorship in the United States,” said Dr. Parichoy Pal Choudhury, Principal Scientist, Biostatistics at the American ...

— By Jessica Scully Retrofitting a portion of the US shipping fleet from internal combustion engines to battery-electric systems could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be largely cost effective by 2035, according to a new study from Berkeley Lab researchers recently published in Nature Energy. Shipping represents 3% of total US greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, making it an important target for decarbonization. But electrifying ships is more challenging than ...

Australian researchers have developed a new method for spotting plastic rubbish on our beaches and successfully field tested it on a remote stretch of coastline.  The satellite imagery tool developed by RMIT University scientists picks up differences in how sand, water and plastics reflect light, allowing plastics to be spotted on shorelines from more than 600km above.   Satellite technology is already used to track the massive amounts of plastic floating around our oceans – from relatively small drifts containing thousands of plastic bottles, bags and fishing nets, up to gigantic ...

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 ...