NEW YORK, NY--Does this sound like you? You wake up at the same time each morning, get the kids out the door, and rush to catch the subway to work. But at night, maybe you stay up until midnight doing laundry or 1 a.m. to catch up on the bills. Lots of Americans—about one-third of us—are in the same situation and habitually get only five to six hours of sleep instead of the recommended seven to eight hours. But even a mild chronic sleep deficit may heighten the risk of developing heart disease later in life: Surveys of thousands of people ...

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers conducted a statewide survey of all patients on breathing machines in hospitals and long-term care facilities and found that a significant percentage of them harbored two pathogens known to be life-threatening in those with compromised immune systems. One pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii, was identified in nearly 31 percent of all patients on ventilators to assist with their breathing; Candida auris was identified in nearly 7 percent of patients on ventilators, according to the study which was published this week in the Journal ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Oct. 13, 2023 CONTACT: NIAPressTeam@mail.nih.gov, 301-496-1752   Reducing overall calorie intake may rejuvenate your muscles and activate biological pathways important for good health, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues. Decreasing calories without depriving the body of essential vitamins and minerals, known as calorie restriction, has long been known to delay the progression of age-related diseases in animal models. This new study, published in Aging Cell, suggests the same ...

A recent study from the lab of Dr. Jianrong Tang, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine and principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of a specific brain region results in a significant and sustained improvement of memory in Rett mice. Moreover, they found that this treatment promotes the generation of new healthy neurons in these mice. The study, ...

A study from the laboratory of Dr. Hugo J. Bellen, a distinguished service professor at Baylor College of Medicine and a principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital, has discovered that gain-of-function variants in the DOT1L gene cause a new disorder. Further studies revealed that the majority of the symptoms in the patients were surprisingly due to an increase in the enzymatic activity of a histone methylase encoded by this gene. This study was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. “This project originated when the Undiagnosed ...

Greensboro, N.C. (October 13, 2023) – Newly published research from UNC Greensboro’s Dr. Kevin Wilcox and colleagues will help scientists better predict how global changes – such as droughts, fires, and heat waves – will impact the health and sustainability of the Earth’s grassy ecosystems.  The article, published October 10, 2023, in Global Change Biology, provides key steps forward to improving mathematical models that forecast changes to our planet’s savannas, prairies, grasslands, and arctic tundras. “Forest ecosystems tend to get the lion’s share of public ...

A groundbreaking, easy-to-use 3D printable finger prosthesis created by a recent University of Houston graduate could offer amputees a low-cost solution to restore finger functionality. David Edquilang first designed Lunet, which doesn’t need metal fasteners, adhesives or special tools to assemble, as an undergraduate student at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design. While standard prostheses can cost thousands of dollars, Edquilang aims to make his design open access on the internet, instead of selling it. “Not every good idea needs to be turned ...

Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell, published by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), are introducing a new mechanism for publishing peer review reports on each journal’s website. A version of peer review reports has been published with the supplemental material of original research articles in The Plant Cell for some time. However, for the first time the ASPB Editorial Office is introducing a uniform process for formatting and publishing these reports with Plant Physiology original research articles, as well. The ...

An investigational drug, encaleret, restored calcium levels in people with autosomal dominant hypocalcemia type 1 (ADH1), a rare genetic disorder marked by an imbalance of calcium in the blood and urine, as well as abnormally low levels of parathyroid hormone, which regulates blood calcium levels. Led by clinician-scientists from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center, results from the clinical trial are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the mid-phase clinical ...

Reston, VA—A novel therapeutic approach that combines human epidermal growth receptor factor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapies with the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin can reduce the number of cancer treatments required to prevent tumor growth. Monitored by immuno-PET scans, this combination therapy has the potential to personalize treatment for cancer patients and spare them from harmful side effects. This research was published in the October issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have become an eminent cancer treatment because of their ability to precisely target tumors with potent efficacy. HER2-ADC ...

It can be a relief to scratch the occasional itch, but when itch gets out of control, it can become a serious health problem. How does the body know when to stop?    Scientists at UC San Francisco are getting close to an answer. In a breakthrough that could transform how doctors treat conditions from eczema to allergies, they have discovered a feedback loop centered on a single immune protein called IL-31 that both causes the urge to itch and dials back nearby inflammation.    The findings, published on October 13th in Science Immunology, lay the groundwork ...

Newly published research on indoor air quality from Colorado State University shows wildfire smoke may linger in homes long after the initial blaze has been put out or winds have shifted.  The findings, published in Science Advances, show that wildfire smoke can attach to home surfaces like carpet, drapes or counters – extending the exposure for those inside and potentially causing health problems even after an initial cleaning activity by air purifiers. However, Professor Delphine Farmer said the research also shows that simple surface cleaning – like ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus encodes 29 proteins, one of which is an ion channel called E. This channel, which transports protons and calcium ions, induces infected cells to launch an inflammatory response that damages tissues and contributes to the symptoms of Covid-19. MIT chemists have now discovered the structure of the “open” state of this channel, which allows ions to flow through. This structure, combined with the “closed” state structure that was reported by the same lab in 2020, could help scientists ...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 11, 2023) — On Tuesday, Oct. 10, a ribbon-cutting ceremony signified the official opening of Kentucky Children’s Richmond Road, the new home of four pediatric specialty clinics. This facility will offer a continuum of care to infants, children and adolescents with complex medical and behavioral needs. “The mission of Kentucky Children’s Hospital has always been to provide the most advanced, comprehensive care to our patients and their families without them having to travel far from home,” said Scottie B. Day, M.D., physician-in-chief ...

The second SELINA thematic workshop took place from 2-5 October 2023 in Madrid, Spain, hosted by SELINA’s partner Rey Juan Carlos University. This hybrid event with the theme "Advancing solutions" (for mapping, assessment and accounting of ecosystems and their services) brought together over 100 participants (15 of them online) from all 27 EU member states, Israel, Norway, the UK and Switzerland. Apart from the SELINA partners, the event was also attended by the SELINA Advisory Board members ...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 11, 2023) — The University of Kentucky has been selected as the nationwide coordination center for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative. Danelle Stevens-Watkins, Ph.D., will lead the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Racial Equity Initiative as principal investigator. The project is supported by a $3.4 million, five-year NIDA grant.  The UK Racial Equity Initiative Coordinating Center will be a national resource for researchers receiving funding to address health disparities ...

Three faculty members at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), an independent organization made up of leading professionals from multiple fields, such as public health, medicine, and natural, social and behavioral sciences. NAM serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering as advisors to the national and international science communities. The announcement of 100 new members was made October 9. New members elected to NAM are chosen by current ...

A team of investigators from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA School of Dentistry received a five-year $4.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop and improve liquid biopsy technologies for the early detection of lung cancer — the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. UCLA is one of five institutions in the nation that is part of the NCI Liquid Biopsy Consortium that is designed to find a better way to detect early signs of lung cancer in people with ...

NJIT has secured a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to translate science and engineering discoveries into market-ready technologies that will improve quality of life in areas ranging from health care, to sustainable energy, to data privacy. Awarded by the agency’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, the grant will accelerate the development of promising prototypes and enable market validation and other commercialization activities. It will also strengthen the university’s entrepreneurial culture ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Fecal microbe transplants from healthy donors can treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. However, after tens of thousands transplants, little was known about which donor strains provide long-term engraftment, and which engraft early after the transplant. Most failures of fecal microbe transplantation occur in the first four weeks. Recurrent C. difficile infections occur after suppressive antibiotic treatments that knock out almost all of the normal gut flora. Patients suffer watery diarrhea, painful abdominal cramps, a feeling of sickness, fevers and weight loss. In 2021, researchers at the Icahn ...

Pioneering work to develop effective and safe bacteriophages to combat disease has received an £800,000 boost. The grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), is aimed at advancing the production of phages to combat disease in the veterinary field and bring them to market. It has been awarded to Professor Martha Clokie, the Director of the Leicester Centre of Phage Research, and Dr Anisha Thanki who earlier this year successfully developed a bacteriophage ‘liquid’ product to prevent Salmonella ...

The strength of the wind has an important influence on ocean circulation. This is particularly true for extreme events such as storm fronts, tropical storms and cyclones. These weather patterns, which last from a few days to a few weeks, will change in the future due to climate change. In particular, the average energy input into the ocean from mid-latitude storms is expected to decrease, while equatorial regions will become more active. Scientists call these different weather patterns “Atmospheric Synoptic Variability” (ASV). The ...

A Leeds researcher has teamed up with the BBC, Channel 4 and Candour Productions to analyse the role of social class, on screen and behind the scenes of TV production. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the BBC and Channel 4 will work with the research team to support access to two drama productions, where the academics will analyse the series from production to reception. Led by Beth Johnson, Professor of Television and Media Studies at the University of Leeds’ School of Media and Communication, the research will consider the backgrounds of people who produce TV, how social class is represented in each TV show, and how each series is ...

To examine the global state of AI ethics, a team of researchers from Brazil performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of global guidelines for AI use. Publishing October 13 in in the journal Patterns, the researchers found that, while most of the guidelines valued privacy, transparency, and accountability, very few valued truthfulness, intellectual property, or children’s rights. Additionally, most of the guidelines described ethical principles and values without proposing practical methods for implementing them and without pushing for legally binding regulation. “Establishing clear ethical guidelines and governance structures for the deployment ...

Worries that surgery patients would have a tougher recovery if their doctors had to abide by a five-day limit on opioid pain medication prescriptions didn’t play out as expected, a new study finds. Instead, patient-reported pain levels and satisfaction didn’t change at all for Michigan adults who had their appendix or gallbladder removed, a hernia repaired, a hysterectomy or other common operations after the state’s largest insurer put the limit in place, the study shows. At the same time, the amount of opioid pain medication patients covered by that insurer received ...