There has been a real race among scientists to create a technology that enables easy protein sequencing. Professor of Chemical Biology Giovanni Maglia of the University of Groningen has now found the missing piece in the puzzle: a way to transport a protein through a nanopore, which allows sequencing of proteins in a simple, handheld device.  DNA sequencing has been a revolution in how we understand life, and sequencing proteins is the next holy grail. Maglia explains: ‘DNA is mostly static. The processes in our cells are executed by proteins: they do the actual work. ...

This month, Ochsner Health is launching a pilot program that uses AI to draft simple messages to patients in the MyOchsner app portal. A small group of Ochsner clinicians will participate in testing a new Epic feature that drafts responses to routine patient requests, which will then be reviewed and edited by the clinicians. The feature is meant to speed up app response time to patients and allows doctors to spend more time with patients. “Ochsner has long been a leader in using digital tools to improve the patient experience,” said Ochsner ...

An augmented-reality headset is an effective digital tool for improving posture and gait in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent Cleveland Clinic trial. Findings were published in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. Augmented reality, or AR, allows users to complete digital programs projected into the world around them. The “Dual-task augmented Reality Treatment” (DART) uses the Microsoft HoloLens2 to run patients through dual-task training (DTT), a series of tasks designed to engage the brain and body simultaneously. Activities ...

A team of UC researchers across three colleges has been awarded an additional $1.5 million state grant to continue research on improving firefighter protective gear. In 2022, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) awarded a UC team an initial $1.2 million to provide proof of concept on the development of a firefighter jacket liner that brings a firefighter’s body temperature down through advanced cooling technology and protects the body from other external hazards. That grant, and the new $1.5 million grant to carry the proof of concept to commercialization, ...

CMAJ headlines: Pediatric ED visits and hospitalizations for self-harm, suicidal thoughts increased in Canada during pandemic, especially in young adolescent females "Less is better" is the best message when talking to patients about alcohol Pediatric ED visits and hospitalizations for self-harm, suicidal thoughts increased in Canada during pandemic, especially in young adolescent females The COVID-19 pandemic had an outsized impact on the mental health of adolescents, especially young adolescent females, with a higher-than-expected number of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for self-harm and suicidal ideation, according to two new research ...

Healthcare organizations, in reviewing care delivery opportunities and providing feedback to staff, often focus on what went wrong, but a new study suggests that reversing this perspective may help organizations improve their work culture by understanding what went right. A team of Mass General Brigham researchers analyzed peer-to-peer positive feedback, systematically collected when caring for a dying patient as part of a mandatory mortality review process. They found that standardized collection and sharing of positive feedback — what went right — is a feasible way to increase mutual ...

An international team of scientists has developed a method for simultaneously detecting thousands of lipid molecules that are displayed to T cells in the human immune system. The study, co-led by D. Branch Moody, MD, of the Division of Rheumatology, Immunity and Inflammation at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, represents a collaboration among researchers from Oxford, United Kingdom, Melbourne, Australia and Groningen, Netherlands. Results are published in Cell. The team developed a new and sensitive method to detect more than 2,000 lipids bound to CD1 ...

The implementation of artificial intelligence-powered large vessel occlusion (LVO) detection software for acute stroke triage can improve endovascular thrombectomy treatment times, according to new research from UTHealth Houston. The study, which was published today in JAMA Neurology, was led by co-first authors Youngran Kim, PhD, assistant professor of management, policy, and community health with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health; and Juan Carlos Martinez-Gutierrez, MD, a former surgery fellow in the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth ...

About The Study: This economic evaluation’s findings indicate that the economic burden of youth violence, including medical care, lost productivity, reduced quality of life from injury morbidity, and avoidable mortality, reached $122 billion in 2020, dominated by male firearm homicides. Prevention strategies can reduce this substantial burden.  Authors: Cora Peterson, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.3235) Editor’s ...

About The Study: Increased TV/DVD screen time from age 1 year negatively affected later development in this study of 57,980 children. To reduce the negative consequences of excessive media use, researchers and health care professionals should encourage family media management and recommend social support for parents who tend to rely on the media.  Authors: Midori Yamamoto, Ph.D., of Chiba University in Chiba, Japan, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.3643) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this study using nationally representative survey data with difference-in-differences analysis of school-based health center (SBHC) adoption, SBHCs were associated with access to care and reduced income-based disparities. These findings support additional SBHC expansion.  Authors: Michel Boudreaux, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland in College Park, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.34532) Editor’s ...

About The Study: The results of this study of 6,499 patients initiating buprenorphine treatment between 2016 and 2020 suggest that the value of higher buprenorphine doses than currently recommended needs to be considered for improving retention in treatment.  Authors: Laura C. Chambers, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.34540) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, ...

A UCSF telecare program that improves outcomes for patients with dementia and lightens the load for unpaid caregivers also has the surprising bonus of cutting Medicare costs, according to UC San Francisco research. In the study, publishing in JAMA Internal Medicine on Sept. 18, 2023, researchers, led by UCSF, compared the Medicare costs of 780 patients with dementia. The patients were randomized 2:1 to receive Care Ecosystem support – which included medical and practical assistance – or their usual care for a 12-month period. Both groups were similar in age, severity of dementia ...

Individuals with opioid use disorder who were prescribed a lower buprenorphine dose were 20% more likely to discontinue treatment than those on a higher dose, according to a study of patients prescribed buprenorphine in Rhode Island from 2016 to 2020, as fentanyl became widely available. The study, published today in JAMA Network Open, was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and conducted by researchers at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; NIDA and the Rhode Island ...

Plants produce an impressive array of metabolites, including many medically valuable steroids. Well-known examples of this class of substances obtained from plants are cardenolides. As early as 1785, the British physician William Withering (1741-1799) published a book on the red foxglove and its use in medicine (An account of the foxglove, and some of its medical uses: with practical remarks on dropsy, and other diseases. Birmingham 1785).  He had found out in experiments that taking extracts ...

Hospital staff spend a significant amount of time working to protect patients from acquiring infections while they are being cared for in the hospital. They employ various methods from hand hygiene to isolation rooms to rigorous environmental sanitation. Despite these efforts, hospital-onset infections still occur—the most common of which is caused by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, the culprit of almost half a million infections in the U.S. each year. Surprising findings from a new study in Nature Medicine suggest that the burden of C. diff infection may be less a matter of hospital transmission and more a result of characteristics associated ...

New research provides insight about the bedrock scientific principle that mitochondrial DNA — the distinct genetic code embedded in the organelle that serves as the powerplant of every cell in the body — is exclusively passed down by the mother. The study, a collaboration among Oregon Health & Science University and other institutions, published today in the journal Nature Genetics. Scientists have long recognized the fact that mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, comes exclusively from egg cells in humans, meaning only the mother contributes the genetic code carried by ...

HOUSTON ― Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that certain nano-based cancer therapies may be less effective in younger patients, highlighting the need for further investigation into the impact of aging on the body’s ability to respond to treatment. The researchers found age-related differences are due to how effectively the liver filters the bloodstream. Younger livers are more efficient at this process, which helps limit toxins in the blood but also filters out beneficial treatments, potentially rendering them ineffective. The study, published today in ...

As we seek more efficient utilization of waste thermal energy, use of “phase change materials (PCMs)” is a good option. PCMs have a large latent heat capacity and the ability to store-and-release heat as they change from one state of matter to another. Among many PCMs, sugar alcohols (SAs), a class of organic compounds commonly used as sweeteners, stand out due to their low cost, non-toxic, non-corrosive, and biodegradable nature. In particular, SAs generally have their melting point in 100–200 °C, which is an important temperature range where a huge amount of waste heat exists but is currently ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University will lead a new multimillion dollar international center devoted to using artificial intelligence to help understand climate impacts on biodiversity.   The AI and Biodiversity Change (ABC) Global Climate Center will bring together ecologists and computer scientists from six universities in the United States and Canada, with partners in UK, Europe, and Australia, to develop new AI-enabled, data-supported approaches to study how changes in climate are impacting life – including animals, plants and insects – on Earth.   $5 ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine led the creation of evidence-based consensus guidelines for genetic testing and counseling for patients with  amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that affects the cells in the brain and spine. These evidence-based, consensus guidelines provide clinicians with a framework for the offer of genetic testing and outline the information that should be provided to persons with ALS before and after testing. In addition, the guidelines provide specific recommendations regarding ...

Indicators of high school grades and standardized test scores that take into account the levels of school, neighborhood, and family resources available to students are strongly associated with those students’ success in college, according to new research published today. The study, published in AERA Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association, emerges against the backdrop of the recent Supreme Court decision to ban race-conscious admissions in higher ...

Diversity fuels prosperity in cities, but where do people from diverse backgrounds meet? A study from the Complexity Science Hub now indicates that locations offering a range of rare shops and services may hold the key.   Extensive research consistently underscores a common factor in successful cities: diversity. Encouraging interactions between individuals of different backgrounds fosters the exchange of ideas, leading to innovation and economic success. “However, segregation persists in urban ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA [September 18, 2023] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 2023 Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies™ returns to San Francisco this week, for the first time since 2019. The meeting features insights from world-renowned experts on providing optimal, evidence-based treatment for various blood cancers, plus best practices for protecting vulnerable populations in a changing healthcare landscape. The live event is taking place September 22-23, 2023, at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. ...

Editor’s Note: September is National Suicide Prevention Month.   COLUMBUS, Ohio – Research led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Wesleyan University found that depression screening tools outperformed suicide risk screenings under most conditions.  “We compared the effectiveness of multiple depression and suicide risk screening methods for the purpose of identifying primary care patients who subsequently attempted suicide. Our findings may generate a lot of discussion within the suicide prevention community, as it contradicts long-held assumptions ...