Penn State chemical engineering researchers recently received a four-year, $1.75 million grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the integration of computer simulations with experiments to quicken the development of new flexible electronics.
Month: October 2019
How Will Your Thinking and Memory Change with Age?
How well eight-year-olds score on a test of thinking skills may be a predictor of how they will perform on tests of thinking and memory skills when they are 70 years old, according to a study published in the October 30, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study also found that education level and socioeconomic status were also predictors of thinking and memory performance. Socioeconomic status was determined by people’s occupation at age 53.
Lost Lou Reed recording for Andy Warhol discovered by Cornell musicologist
Twelve previously unreleased songs by Hall of Fame artist Lou Reed have been discovered on a cassette tape from 1975, stored in the archives of the Andy Warhol Museum.
BYE-BYE, BEACHES
Those beaches, as we know them today at least, almost certainly will not last. By the end of the 21st century, more than $150 billion in property along our coast could be under water. That’s because the level of the sea is rising at an alarming rate, putting these areas at risk for devastating floods.
Sen. Sanders Lauds New Partnership Focused on Increasing College and Career Readiness
Four Vermont schools have joined CFES Brilliant Pathways’ growing network of programs across the US and Ireland in support of students becoming college and career ready. The addition of the Vermont schools supports a statewide initiative known as Advance Vermont launched in 2017 by Gov. Phil Scott focused on 70 percent of working-age residents attaining a postsecondary degree or credential of value.
Improving ecology restoration outcomes
Taking into account the target species, their interactions with existing species and the site’s environmental conditions may increase the success of restoration projects.
Olin College Awarded Grant to Expand Public Interest Work
Olin College received a grant from the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) to expand its work in public interest technology. With the funds from the grant, Olin will launch a student-led Public Interest Technology Clinic named PInT. The work of the clinic will include: supporting students to work with outside stakeholders on PIT projects, providing summer fellowships for students to pursue in-depth PIT work within partner organizations and communities; and convening a series of events and conversations about engineering, policy, and society, and the responsibility of engineers.
Viticulture gets a boost with yield predicting, threat detecting robots
For grape growers, accurately predicting each season’s yield is key to a successful harvest. Underpredict, and you won’t have enough labor on hand or you’ll run out of storage space; overpredict, and you could fall through on promises to your distributors.
Well Living Lab study shows cognitive performance of office workers improves when windows provide access to daylight, view
New research from the Well Living Lab, a Delos™ and Mayo Clinic collaboration, shows that office areas with windows, which provide people with natural light and views of the outdoors, improve workers’ cognitive performance and satisfaction with their office environment.
Collaboration with Texas Biomed, SwRI and UT Health San Antonio targets Bladder Cancer
The San Antonio Medical Foundation (SAMF) has awarded Texas Biomedical Research Institute Professor Jordi B. Torrelles, Ph.D., with a $173,000 grant to study a modified Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette et Guérin (BCG) vaccine shown to have promise for treating bladder cancer. BCG is a weakened strain of Mycobacterium bovis, a vaccine for tuberculosis.
Lessons from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” on How to be a “Good Neighbor”
The film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Rogers, is scheduled for release next month. Louis Benjamin Rolsky, a part-time lecturer in Rutgers University– New Brunswick’s Department of Religious Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences
Shelter animals receive care at ISU College of Veterinary Medicine on their way to adoption
A surgery, anesthesia and community outreach course for third-year veterinary students at Iowa State University prepares students for clinical practice while helping dogs and cats in animal shelters and rescues get adopted. The program treats all common problems presented in shelter pets, including eye, ear and skin problems and gastrointestinal parasites.
Advanced microscopy reveals unusual DNA structure
An advanced imaging technique reveals new structural details of S-DNA, ladder-like DNA that forms when the molecule experiences extreme tension. This work conducted at Sandia National Laboratories and Vrije University in the Netherlands provides the first experimental evidence that S-DNA contains highly tilted base pairs.
Blood Test Can Predict Prognosis in Deadly Brain Cancer
A blood test that measures the amount of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the bloodstream – called a liquid biopsy – correlates with how patients will progress after they are diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM), the deadliest and most common primary brain tumor in adults
Lean Hospitals? How Lessons from Manufacturing Can Improve Health Care
Despite its origins in manufacturing, lean thinking has shown the potential to transform other process-oriented industries, including healthcare. According to Darden Professor Elliott N. Weiss, when it comes to process improvement and eliminating waste, lean is as effective in the hospital as it is on the factory floor.
Tips for accommodating allergies and medical conditions on Thanksgiving
Hosting a holiday celebration can be stressful when trying to accommodate allergies and various medical conditions. Alexa Schmidt, a registered dietitian at Binghamton University, State University of New York, has tips for hosting a Thanksgiving meal that is accommodating to…
Buffalo State expert available to speak on STEM disciplines
Joseph Zawicki, associate professor of earth sciences and science education at Buffalo State, is available to speak about the STEM disciplines, and their impact on the future. Through his work with the WNY STEM Hub, as president of the board of directors, and the New…
How do you know it’s perfect graphene?
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have discovered an indicator that reliably demonstrates a sample’s high quality, and it was one that was hiding in plain sight for decades.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Missouri’s Hearing Over Planned Parenthood Health Center License and the Temporal Block of Alabama’s Abortion Ban
New Brunswick, N.J. (October 30, 2019) — Professor Leslie M. Kantor, a reproductive health expert at the Rutgers School of Public Health, is available to comment on the ongoing hearing to determine the fate of Missouri’s only abortion clinic and the…
Machine Learning Leads to Novel Way to Track Tremor Severity in Parkinson’s Patients
Physical exams only provide a snapshot of a Parkinson’s patient’s daily tremor experience. Scientists have developed algorithms that, combined with wearable sensors, can continuously monitor patients and estimate total Parkinsonian tremor as they perform a variety of free body movements in their natural settings. This new method holds great potential for providing a full spectrum of patients’ tremors and medication response, providing clinicians with key information to effectively manage and treat their patients with this disorder.
Opioid-Related Gifts from Pharma Companies Linked to Physician Prescribing by Specialty
Physicians who received gifts from pharmaceutical companies related to opioid medications were more likely to prescribe opioids to their patients in the following year, according to a new analysis.
The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine Is Now Indexed in PubMed
AACC, a global scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to better health through laboratory medicine, is pleased to announce that its peer-reviewed publication The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine has been accepted for indexing in PubMed, one of the largest and most respected databases of medical research in the world.
Mayo Clinic receives $15 million gift to jump-start new ideas, transform patient care
After giving $200 million to Mayo Clinic — the largest gift in the organization’s history — noted philanthropist Jay Alix has extended his generosity with an additional $15 million endowed gift. The fund will provide resources directed by the Mayo Clinic president and CEO to advance innovative ideas with the potential to transform health care.
GW Experts Are Available to Speak for Stories during Lung Cancer Awareness Month
WASHINGTON (Oct. 30, 2019) — November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and according to the American Cancer Society, more than 220,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year. The George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center has various experts…
MITRE’s Expertise Across AI, Cybersecurity, and Genetic Research Highlighted in Leading Publications
Demonstrating expertise across many domains including cybersecurity, health research, and defense, experts from MITRE are regularly published in leading journals. Invited to enter the company’s annual Best Paper Competition, this year’s winning submissions were announced.
Tuninetti named 2019 Singer Professor in the Humanities
Ángel Tuninetti is a passionate advocate for the importance of the humanities in higher education and society. He has been named the 2019 Singer Professor in the Humanities, recognizing his dedication and commitment to the study of the Spanish language and Latin American literature and cultures.
New NCCN Guidelines Debut to Manage Complications and Improve Readiness for Stem Cell Transplant Recipients
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) published new NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, (aka stem cell transplant or bone marrow transplant), with step-by-step information on best practices for this blood cancer treatment
New research suggests proton radiation therapy can benefit patients with challenging liver tumors
Two new studies support and inform the use of proton radiation therapy to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a common but often fatal type of liver cancer for which there are limited treatment options. The studies were published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics, the flagship scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
An “Evening of Denial” to Feature Advocates and Experts on the Impact of the Rejection of Scientific Knowledge—Nov. 4
New York University will host a “An Evening of Denial,” a panel discussion centering on the rejection of scientific knowledge, on Mon., Nov. 4.
“Writing Lost and Found,” Part of New York Review of Books Classics Series—Nov. 7 Panel Discussion
The New York Institute for the Humanities will host “Writing Lost and Found: How Books Disappear and Are Rediscovered,” a panel discussion featuring Joan Acocella, Robyn Creswell, Edwin Frank, and Jenny McPhee, on Thurs., Nov. 7.
Wearable Activity Trackers a Reliable Tool for Predicting Death Risk in Older Adults
A federally funded study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers shows that wearable accelerometers — mechanical sensors worn like a watch, belt or bracelet to track movement — are a more reliable measure of physical activity and better than patient surveys and other methods used by physicians at assessing five-year risk of death in older adults.
Bionic breakthrough
University of Utah mechanical engineers are developing the world’s first truly bionic legs, a self-powered prosthetic limb with a computer processor and motorized joints in the ankle and knee that enable an amputee to walk with more power, vigor and better balance.
Of All Professions, Construction Workers Most Likely to Use Opioids and Cocaine
Construction workers are more likely to use drugs than workers in other professions, finds a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global Public Health.
Preserved pollen tells the history of floodplains
Fossil pollen can help reconstruct the past and predict the future
Cycling is Safer with More Cyclists on the Road, But Injuries Are on the Rise, Rutgers Study Finds
Cycling is safer with more cyclists on the road, but injuries are on the rise among older riders, a Rutgers study finds
Study: Teens who have a loving relationship with their mother are less likely to enter abusive relationships
A mother’s warmth and acceptance toward her teenagers may help prevent those children from being in an abusive relationship later in life, even if her own marriage is contentious, according to a new University at Buffalo study.
Atlantic Health System Cancer Care Enrolling Patients in Innovative Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials
November is national Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month. This year alone, more than 56,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic tumors are particularly aggressive and hard to treat “due to a mutational profile that makes it resistant to therapies that work better for other tumor types,” explains Angela Alistar, MD, medical director of GI oncology at Morristown Medical Center. Dr. Alistar, an internationally known expert on pancreatic cancer, is now enrolling patients in five clinical trials aimed at pancreatic cancer.
Cleveland Clinic Performs Its First Purely Laparoscopic Living Donor Surgery for Liver Transplant
Cleveland Clinic has successfully performed the Midwest’s first purely laparoscopic living donor surgery for liver transplantation in an adult recipient. The advanced procedure is available at only a few hospitals worldwide, and Cleveland Clinic is the second U.S. academic medical center to offer this approach for living donor liver transplantation.
Five-year breast cancer survival rates at a safety net hospital rival national averages
A multidisciplinary breast cancer clinic individualizes patients’ diagnostic and treatment plans by facilitating work-up and follow-up with appropriate clinicians
The secrets behind a creepy photographic technique
In the 1960s, a French artist named Jean-Pierre Sudre began experimenting with an obscure 19th-century photographic process, creating dramatic black-and-white photographs with ethereal veiling effects. Sudre christened the process “mordanҫage,” the French word for “etching.” Since then, other photographers have…
Surgeons report that 12-hour shifts improve patient outcomes, lower costs
Shorter hospital stays, lower infection rates observed in patients when a hospital uses an acute care model
Vera Serganova and Valery Fokin became Laureates of 2019 George Gamow Award
Mathematician Vera Serganova and chemist Valery Fokin became Laureates of 2019 George Gamow Award
A new high-resolution map of how the brain is wired
Systematic tracing of how neurons connect reveals mammalian brain’s ‘org chart’ of possible information flow
Gallbladder removal linked to better outcomes when performed soon after hospital admission
New study findings suggest that delaying a cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis more than three days after hospital admission may result in increased rate of complications, hospital readmissions, and longer hospital stays
World’s largest computing society announces 2019 distinguished members
Geographically diverse group cited for educational, engineering, and scientific contributions
Will lithium-air batteries ever take flight?
Amid growing climate concerns, many governments and scientists worldwide are trying to reduce air travel’s environmental impact. Electric planes are a possible solution, but better batteries are needed to power large aircraft for long distances. Lithium-air batteries, one of the…
A stretchable stopwatch lights up human skin
Imagine a runner who doesn’t need to carry a stopwatch or cell phone to check her time: She could just gaze at the glowing stopwatch display on the back of her hand. Such human-machine interfaces are no longer science fiction,…
When a major injury occurs again in children, it’s too often no accident
Surgeons identify risk factors for repeated severe injuries in children and teenagers, including engaging in risky behaviors
Movement patterns predict frailty and disability in the elderly
Elderly people who show more random changes in daily movement tend to be at greater risk of frailty, disability and death, according to a large study involving 1,275 individuals over the course of 13 years. The findings – based on…
After mastering a movement, mice may stop relying on primary motor cortex
Disengagement of motor cortex from movement control during long-term learning