CRISPR-Cas systems, which consist of protein and RNA components, originally developed as a natural defense mechanism of bacteria to fend off intruding viruses. Over the last decade, re-engineering these so-called “gene scissors” has revolutionized genetic engineering in science and medicine. The tools can be programmed to find a specific location in our DNA and edit the genetic information in a precise manner. For example, a disease-causing mutation in the DNA can be reverted to its ...

A new analysis of semiconductor patents released today by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services helps to explain why the recently embattled Nvidia is a world leader in AI microchips, despite only appearing 9th on the list of top companies for the number of AI chip patents. Key points: The analysis by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services – a Digital Science company and the patent industry’s most trusted data provider – shows that the Top 5 companies in the US for the number of AI chip patents are: IBM, Samsung, Intel, Google and Microsoft, with IBM way out in front. However, while Nvidia is currently 9th among the Top 10 in the US for the number of AI chip patents, Nvidia ...

A study based on clinical trial data found higher risks of stroke, heart attack, and hospital admission for heart failure in older cancer survivors. In the analysis published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, chemotherapy was also linked to elevated rates of these conditions. Although advances in treatment have led to decreased cancer mortality over the past decade, the growing numbers of cancer survivors may experience long-term effects of cancer and anticancer therapies. For example, the heart may be especially vulnerable to inflammation triggered by cancer and toxic effects from chemotherapy and radiation. To investigate cardiovascular ...

About 2.2 billion people, more than a quarter of the world's population, lack access to safe, managed drinking water, and about half of the world's population experiences severe water scarcity at some point during the year. To overcome these shortages, huge socioeconomic costs are being spent on sewer irrigation and alternative water sources such as rainwater reuse and seawater desalination. Furthermore, these centralized water distribution systems have the disadvantage of not being able to respond immediately to changes in water demand. Therefore, there is a growing interest in decentralized water production technologies, which are electrochemical-based ...

People who initiate a premature or “before medically advised” (BMA) hospital discharge have a 10-fold increase in the risk of drug overdose in the following month, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240364. Patients leave hospital prematurely for a range of reasons, including improperly treated pain, cravings, stress that accentuates psychiatric issues, conflicts with hospital staff, and restrictions on movement or visitors. Hospital patients who initiate a BMA discharge are up to 3 times ...

What: Entomology 2024, the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America Where: Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona When: November 10–13, 2024 Who: 3,500+ insect scientists and entomology experts For four days in November, Phoenix, Arizona, will be the entomology capital of the world at Entomology 2024. As the planet’s largest yearly gathering of insect scientists, the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America will convene more than 3,500 experts, students, and practitioners to share and ...

MILAN — A new study reveals hormonal and biochemical factors that affect alcohol dependence (also known as Alcohol Use Disorder), suggesting that men and women with alcohol problems may benefit from different treatments. Scientists have known that men and women have different risks related to alcohol misuse and related problems and that alcohol treatments may need to be tailored differently to men and women. However, the biological mechanisms underlying those differences are not well understood. "This is the first large study to confirm that some of the variability in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and related ...

Researchers have found that SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) antidepressants have the potential to improve certain cognitive functions, such as verbal memory. They measured brain function in patients before and after taking the SSRI escitalopram and correlated this to a drop in the level of one of the serotonin receptors in the brain and to cognitive improvements during treatment. This work is presented for the first time at the ECNP Conference in Milan, after recent publication in the journal Biological Psychiatry. Serotonin is often described as a ‘feel good’ chemical, and higher levels of serotonin circulating in the brain contribute to a sense of well-being, ...

Cambridge University has today released a groundbreaking report outlining a five-year roadmap to help the aviation sector achieve net-zero climate impact by 2050. Despite ambitious pledges from governments and industry, the aviation sector remains significantly off course in its efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The report, titled “Five Years to Chart a New Future for Aviation,” outlines four 2030 Sustainable Aviation Goals—specific, actionable steps that must be initiated immediately and completed within five years if the aviation sector is to be on track to achieve net-zero by 2050. The 2030 Goals outlined in the report are: Accelerating the deployment ...

A direct comparison between the experimental psychedelic drug psilocybin and a standard SSRI antidepressant shows similar improvement of depressive symptoms, but that psilocybin offers additional longer-term benefits. The comparison, between psilocybin (the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”) and the SSRI escitalopram gave similar long-term improvements in depressive symptoms over a 6-month period, however patients taking psilocybin also reported better psychosocial functioning including experiencing a greater sense of meaning ...

Milan, Italy:    Around 80% of women suffer from “baby blues” after the birth of their child. Normally this is a brief period of feeling down which disappears in a few days. But around 1 woman in 7 develops postpartum depression; this is a more serious depression which can affect how mothers bond with their baby and can have long-term consequences.  These women seem unable to regulate the negative emotions which can follow giving birth. Now a group of European Reesearchers have found that in healthy pregnant women activity in a specific area deep in the brain is linked to regulation of negative ...

LOS ANGELES – Among patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET), symptoms related to sexual health were associated with decreased adherence to treatment in Black women, according to results presented at the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held September 21-24, 2024. Patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer are commonly given endocrine therapy—treatments that block estrogen signaling in the breast—after receiving surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. The recommended regimen for AET ...

LOS ANGELES – In recent years, Black patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) received immunotherapy at significantly lower rates than white patients, according to results presented at the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held September 21-24, 2024. Black women are disproportionately affected by TNBC, an aggressive subtype of breast cancer defined by the lack of three cell surface receptors. The absence of these receptors means that patients with TNBC are ineligible for many of the molecularly targeted therapies used to treat other breast cancer subtypes, explained ...

LOS ANGELES – The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has led to increased guideline-concordant care for colon cancer among non-white patients, patients from rural areas, and patients from the most deprived neighborhoods in Pennsylvania, according to results presented at the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held September 21-24, 2024. “The ACA was the largest change to the health insurance system in the United States since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid ...

A study of stigma against LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people in British Society has shown that there is less stigma against these groups that might be expected from social and media perceptions. The same study looked at stigma against people with mental health problems and discovered that they continue to experience higher levels of stigma. This work will be presented at the ECNP conference in Milan. This is an advance press release see note below. Researcher Professor Karen Ersche (University of Cambridge) said, “Our aim was to look at the level of stigma against LGBTQ people in British society, and also to look at stigma ...

Cells are highly controlled spaces that rely on every protein being in the right place. Many diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders, are associated with misplaced proteins. In some cancers, for instance, a protein that normally stands watch over DNA replicating in the nucleus is sent far from the DNA it is meant to monitor, allowing cancers to grow. Steven Banik, assistant professor of chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences and institute scholar at Sarafan ChEM-H at Stanford University, and his lab have developed a new method to help force misplaced proteins back to their proper homes within cells. The method ...

In a study published July 29 in Advanced Materials, University of Texas at Dallas researchers found that X-rays of the kidneys using gold nanoparticles as a contrast agent might be more accurate in detecting kidney disease than standard laboratory blood tests. Based on their study in mice, they also found that caution may be warranted in employing renal-clearable nanomedicines to patients with compromised kidneys. Before administering renal-clearable drugs, doctors routinely check a patient’s kidney function by testing their ...

The Texas A&M University School of Public Health and USAging have been awarded the 2024 Immunization Neighborhood Champion Award by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit. Matthew Lee Smith, PhD, professor at the School of Public Health, leads the school’s involvement as a founding member of USAging’s Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative (ADVC). Announced as respiratory illness season is ramping up in the United States, this honor recognizes Smith’s work in support of ADVC’s efforts ...

EL PASO, Texas (Sept. 20, 2024) – The University of Texas at El Paso today announced new collaborations with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Security Agency (NSA) that support research and training to strengthen the nation’s leadership in semiconductor, or microchips, technology. NSA, the signals intelligence and cybersecurity agency for the United States, also recently named UTEP as an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Research, making UTEP one of only 11 universities nationwide to hold all three ...

Homicide is a leading cause of death among people 19 and younger in the United States, and firearms are used in a large proportion of these crimes. Although the homicide rate for this population declined in the 1990s and 2000s, it has increased every year since 2013, with a large spike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, new research by Hannah Rochford, PhD, an assistant professor with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, and two colleagues from the University of Iowa, provides insight into the characteristics of ...

Cory Cobb, PhD, an assistant professor of health behavior at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, is leading a research team that has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to create an online platform for the intervention program they developed for United States-based Spanish-speaking Latino parents and their children. The Latino Youth and Family Empowerment (LYFE) program focused on Nuestras Familias: Andando Entre Culturas (Our Families: Walking between Cultures), an intervention designed to enhance the parenting ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama at Birmingham startup company Endomimetics, LLC, has received a $2.8 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Under the grant, Endomimetics co-founders Ho-Wook Jun, Ph.D., a professor in the UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Brigitta Brott, M.D., a professor in the UAB Department of Medicine Division of Cardiovascular Disease, will collaborate with Ramanathan Kadirvel, Ph.D., a professor of neurosurgery and radiology at Mayo Clinic, and David Kallmes, M.D., a professor of radiology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, to develop a BionanomatrixTM ...

As anyone who’s spent time in the saddle knows, riding a horse can be hard on your body. But can it change the way your skeleton looks? The answer, according to archaeologists from the University of Colorado Boulder: It’s complicated. In a new study, the team drew on a wide range of evidence—from medical studies of modern equestrians to records of human remains across thousands of years. The researchers concluded that horseback riding can, in fact, leave a mark on human skeletons, such as by subtly altering the shape of the hip joint. But those sorts of changes on their own can’t definitively reveal whether people have ridden ...

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA UCF Receives Prestigious Keck Foundation Award to Advance Spintronics Technology The work could change the future of electronics, making them faster and more energy efficient. ORLANDO, Sept. 20, 2024 – A team of researchers led by University of Central Florida Pegasus Professor of Physics Enrique Del Barco is working on a new project that could change the future of electronics, making them faster and more energy efficient. The work is funded by a new $1.3 million award from the W.M. Keck Foundation, one of the nation’s ...

Cleveland Clinic Study Shows Bariatric Surgery Outperforms GLP-1 Diabetes Drugs for Kidney Protection   Bariatric surgery was shown to protect kidney function and reduce the risk of kidney failure in study participants when compared to GLP-1 medications  Friday, September 20, 2024, CLEVELAND: A Cleveland Clinic study showed that in patients with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and chronic kidney disease, bariatric surgery was associated with a significant decrease in the progression of chronic kidney disease compared to those who received GLP-1 diabetes medications. The paper was published in Annals ...