Month: June 2023

June 29, 2023 sarah Jonasblog

A new study, led by the University of Portsmouth, suggests young children are more vocal when interacting with toys and household items, highlighting their importance for developing language skills.

Awake surgery for cancerous brain tumor brings referee back to the mat

After an awake surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor, a Michigan man is living “more deliberately” than ever — officiating a high school wrestling state championship and participating in research for a potential cure.

JMIR Publications sees a 133% increase in journals with a Journal Impact Factor

June 29, 2023 sarah JonasAnnouncement

JMIR Publications More than Doubles the Number of Journals with a Journal Impact Factor

Cancerous brain tumor cells may be at ‘critical point’ between order and disorder, study suggests

June 29, 2023 sarah JonasAnnouncement

Glioblastoma cells are poised near a “critical point” of order and disorder — meaning, the cells possess some form of large-scale coordination throughout the whole tumor that allows them to respond in practical unison to attempts to kill tumor cells, such as chemotherapy or radiation, a study suggests. Researchers say disrupting the large-scale organization of brain tumors may result in more powerful ways to treat and one day eliminate brain tumors.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Names Sucheta Joshi, MD, MS, FAAP, FAES as Incoming Medical Director of Comprehensive Epilepsy Program

Sucheta Joshi, MD, MS, FAAP, FAES, has been named as incoming Medical Director of the Neurological Institute Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

Soft robo-glove can help stroke patients relearn to play music

Researchers have developed the prototype of a comfortable and flexible ‘soft smart hand exoskeleton’ or robo-glove, which gives feedback to wearers who need to relearn tasks that require manual dexterity and coordination, for example after suffering a stroke. The present study focused on patients who need to relearn to play the piano as a proof-of-principle, but the glove can easily be adapted to help relearn other daily tasks.

Robotic Glove that ‘Feels’ Lends a ‘Hand’ to Relearn Playing Piano After a Stroke

June 28, 2023 sarah JonasFeature

A soft robotic glove is lending a “hand” and providing hope to piano players who have suffered a disabling stroke. Combining flexible tactile sensors, soft actuators and AI, this robotic glove is the first to “feel” the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song and to combine these features into a single hand exoskeleton. Unlike prior exoskeletons, this new technology provides precise force and guidance in recovering the fine finger movements required for piano playing and other complex tasks.

AI tool could speed up dementia diagnosis

A new AI tool that could help doctors assess the early signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s more quickly and efficiently, has been developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield.

Skin disease in endangered killer whales concerns scientists

Scientists studying endangered southern resident killer whales have observed a strong increase in the prevalence of skin disease in this population.

Mothers express their ideals in the fashion photos of their children in social media

Mothers often share fashion photos of their children on social media, a practice which combine the traditions of family photos and the commercial symbolism of fashion images.

How animals are affected by Canadian wildfire smoke: University of Illinois expert available

URBANA, Ill. — Livestock and pets may be at risk due to poor air quality from Canadian wildfire smoke, according to animal welfare expert Angela Green-Miller at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Green-Miller is an associate professor in the Department…

Canadian wildfires and air quality: MSU experts can comment on public health, climate change impacts, pets and wildlife

Contact: Emilie Lorditch, University Communications, [email protected]; Nardy Baeza Bickel, MSU Health Sciences: [email protected]; EAST LANSING, Mich. – Wildfires in Canada are creating hazy skies and prompting air quality concerns from the Midwest to the East Coast of the United States. Michigan…

Benzodiazepine use associated with brain injury, job loss and suicide

Benzodiazepine use and discontinuation is associated with nervous system injury and negative life effects that continue after discontinuation, according to a new study.

‘Critical climate solution’ or ‘worse than coal’? Study explores debate around divisive energy technology

A new study has explored the battle lines of public debate around a controversial energy technology which is heralded as “critical to combating climate change” by its advocates and branded “worse than coal” by its critics.

GPT-3 informs and disinforms us better

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Zurich delved into the capabilities of AI models, specifically focusing on OpenAI’s GPT-3, to determine their potential risks and benefits in generating and disseminating (dis)information.

Leading cardiovascular physician & scientist available to discuss the impact the Canadian fires have on those with cardiovascular disease

Sanjay Rajagopalan, MD, can speak to ways to protect your health during the current air quality alert throughout parts of the midwest. Dr. Rajagopalan is the director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute and is recognized as a leading cardiovascular physician…

NeuWS camera answers ‘holy grail problem’ in optical imaging

Engineers from Rice University and the University of Maryland have created full-motion video technology that could potentially be used to make cameras that peer through fog, smoke, driving rain, murky water, skin, bone and other media that reflect scattered light and obscure objects from view.

Vehicle color recognition based on smooth modulation neural network with multi-scale feature fusion

Vehicle Color Recognition (VCR) is vital in intelligent traffic management and criminal investigation assistance. However, the existing vehicle color datasets only cover 13 classes, which can not meet the current actual demand.

Blocking sun’s rays not ‘substitute’ for cutting emissions

The European Union will reportedly look into blocking rays from the sun as a possible option to combat climate change. Douglas MacMartin, associate professor at Cornell University, researches climate engineering (also known as solar geoengineering or climate intervention). He…

A sudden liberating thought pops into your mind – but is it really yours?

Do you deserve praise and recognition for good ideas that seemingly just pop into your mind? Yes, says philosopher Francesca Secco, who wants to provide nuance to what can be considered an action.

Research reveals sources of CO2 from Aleutian-Alaska Arc volcanoes

Scientists have wondered what happens to the organic and inorganic carbon that Earth’s Pacific Plate carries with it as it slides into the planet’s interior along the volcano-studded Ring of Fire.

Among Professional Fighters, New Criteria Can Identify Who May Develop CTE

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts that athletes get from contact sports. However, the definitive diagnosis of the disease can be made only after death through an autopsy.

Blood test aids in predicting lung cancer mortality risk

A blood-based four-protein panel (4MP), when combined with a lung cancer risk model (PLCOm2012), can better identify those at high risk of dying from lung cancer than the current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) criteria.

Neutrons look inside working solid-state battery to discover its key to success

Researchers used neutrons to peer inside a working solid-state battery and discovered that its excellent performance results from an extremely thin layer, across which charged lithium atoms quickly flow as they move from anode to cathode and blend into a solid electrolyte.

Reading for pleasure early in childhood linked to better cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in adolescence

Children who begin reading for pleasure early in life tend to perform better at cognitive tests and have better mental health when they enter adolescence, a study of more than 10,000 young adolescents in the US has found.

The worm that learned: Diet found to affect learning in older nematodes

A group from Nagoya University in Japan has discovered that when the diet of nematodes, tiny worms measuring about a millimeter or less in length, includes the bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri, the weakening of associative learning ability caused by aging does not occur.

Vaping a gateway to smoking for non-smokers, research shows

While vaping provides a pathway to help smokers wanting to quit, for non-smokers it may be the first step on a pathway to taking up smoking, a new study has shown.

A Dog’s Breed Can Affect Pain Sensitivity, But Not Necessarily The Way Your Vet May Think

Dog breeds differ in pain sensitivity, but these differences don’t always match up with the beliefs people – including veterinarians – hold about breed-specific pain sensitivity.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Researchers Awarded $15.1 Million Grant to Explore Immune Rejection of Transplanted Organs

Striving to improve organ transplant survival rates, internationally renowned researchers in immunology and bioengineering at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have received $15.1 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to lead a novel, five-year multi-center research program that will explore trained immunity—the innate immune system’s ability to remember infections and other insults—as a target for preventing organ transplant rejection.

Discovering Evidence of Superradience in the Alpha Decay of Mirror Nuclei

Nuclei can absorb energy, pushing the nuclei into excited states. When these states decay, the nuclei emit different particles. The interplay between these decay channels and the internal characteristics of the excited states gives rise to phenomena such as superradiance. In superradiance, a nucleus with high excitation energy has excited states so dense that neighboring excited states overlap. Scientists recently found evidence of the superradiance effect in the differences between decaying states in Oxygen-18 and Neon-18.

For Type 2 Diabetics Who Exercise, Some Approaches Are Better Than Others

An analysis on the positive effects of exercise on blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes shows that while all exercise helps, certain activities – and their timing – are extremely good for people’s health. The study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, provides a comprehensive but straightforward summary of the benefits of exercise on controlling blood glucose levels in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Highlighting Women Scientists: Rutgers Cancer Institute Researcher Awarded V Foundation for Cancer Research Grant

Christina Glytsou, PhD, member of the Cancer Metabolism and Immunology Cancer Pharmacology Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has received an award from The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a premier cancer research charity, to support her research on mitochondrial dynamics adaptations in drug-resistant acute myeloid leukemia.

Zapping municipal waste helps recover valuable phosphorus fertilizer

One of humankind’s most precious fertilizers is slipping away. Phosphorus, which today comes mostly from nonrenewable reserves of phosphate rock, typically winds up in municipal waste streams. In the best cases, wastewater treatment plants sequester about 90% of that phosphorus in “sludge” and decompose that sludge into something known as digestate.

All-in-one device for hemorrhage control

A multi-faceted device for effectively treating deep, non-compressible, and irregularly-shaped wounds has been engineered by the scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI).

Study revealed rainforest releases oxidized organic molecules that form aerosol particles in tropical free troposphere

Oxidized organic molecules originating from the Amazon rainforest are crucial components contributing to the formation of aerosol particles in the tropical free troposphere, according to a new study led by the University of Helsinki.

CDC Health Alert on Malaria Cases – Ochsner Health Expert Available to Interview

This week, the CDC issued an alert related to locally acquired cases of malaria in Florida and Texas. This is the first time in 20 years that malaria has been transmitted from within the US, according to the CDC. Ochsner…

That essential morning coffee may be a placebo

For many people, the day doesn’t start until their coffee mug is empty. Coffee is often thought to make you feel more alert, so people drink it to wake themselves up and improve their efficiency.

Antibody Treatment Prevents Graft Versus Host Disease, a Major Bone Marrow Transplant Complication, in Advanced Preclinical Tests

An experimental antibody treatment largely prevented a bone marrow transplant complication called graft versus host disease (GVHD) in the intestines, without causing broad immune suppression, in a preclinical study led by researchers from Penn Medicine and Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and published today in Science Translational Medicine.

Scholar of Genocide in Wartime: Why Momentum Matters in Ukrainian Counter-Offensive

As the new Ukrainian counter-offensive retakes areas of that country where war crimes may have occurred, speed and mobility by Ukrainian forces may limit Russian occupiers of the time needed remove evidence and cover up those crimes, including genocide, according to Edward Westermann, noted scholar at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Plants Pollinated by Honey Bees Produce Lower-quality Offspring

In a first of its kind comparison, UC San Diego scientists have shown that pollination by honey bees, which are not native to the Americas, produces offspring of considerably inferior quality (lower fitness) than offspring resulting from native pollinators.

Iris Romero named inaugural Executive Vice Dean in UChicago’s Biological Sciences Division

Iris Romero, MD, MS, will be the inaugural Executive Vice Dean (EVD) of the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine. Romero is currently the Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Margaret A. Turk, MD, Selected to Speak at the 2023 AANEM Annual Meeting

The American Association of Neuromuscular &
Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), is excited to announce Margaret A. Turk, MD, as a 2023
plenary speaker at the AANEM Annual Meeting Nov. 1-4 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Expert Comments on Disease Prevention and the Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is ranked as one of the most healthful diets on the planet. The name derives from the geographical region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, which among other countries includes Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia, where this diet…

AACC and National Kidney Foundation Release Guidance to Combat Racial and Gender Inequalities in Chronic Kidney Disease Care

Today, AACC—in collaboration with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)—released guidance to reduce racial and gender disparities in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The document gives members of the healthcare team actionable, evidence-based tools to improve equity in kidney health, including recommendations for using an updated algorithm that does not disproportionately affect any one group of individuals.

Cancer Experts at Jersey Shore University Medical Center Implanting First Targeted Liver Tumor Treatment Pumps in Patients