Researchers have combined two or three types of nanoparticles to produce new materials with structures known as superlattices. In some instances, the structures display fundamental new properties such as superfluorescence. The researchers’ discovery is reported in the journal Nature.
Category: Research Results
Results of the COLCORONA study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
Colchicine could be considered as a treatment for non-hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 by PCR test and at risk of complications
Jebel Sahaba: A succession of violence rather than a prehistoric war
Since its discovery in the 1960s, the Jebel Sahaba cemetery (Nile Valley, Sudan), 13 millennia old, was considered to be one of the oldest testimonies to prehistoric warfare.
Driving in the Snow is a Team Effort for AI Sensors
Nobody likes driving in a blizzard, including autonomous vehicles. To make self-driving cars safer on snowy roads, Michigan Tech engineers look at the problem from the car’s point of view–its sensors.
Roots of major depression revealed in all its genetic complexity
A massive genome-wide association study (GWAS) of genetic and health records of 1.2 million people from four separate data banks has identified 178 gene variants linked to major depression, a disorder that will affect one of every five people during their lifetimes.
Study: Cardiac MRI Effective in Detecting Asymptomatic, Symptomatic Myocarditis in Athletes
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A cardiac MRI of athletes who had COVID-19 is seven times more effective in detecting inflammation of the heart than symptom-based testing, according to a study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine with 12 other Big Ten programs.
Visits to ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ common in Ohio
An estimated one in seven Ohio women of adult, reproductive age has visited a crisis pregnancy center, a new study has found. In a survey of 2,529 women, almost 14% said they’d ever attended a center. The prevalence was more than twice as high among Black women and 1.6 times as high among those in the lowest socioeconomic group.
Fungus fights mites that harm honey bees
A new fungus strain could provide a chemical-free method for eradicating mites that kill honey bees, according to a study published this month in Scientific Reports.
Study Examines the Effectiveness of Skin Barriers that Protect Clinicians from Skin Irritation Due to Prolonged Mask Use
Under the guidance of Daniel S. Morrison, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the student led study, published in the May edition of the Journal of Hospital Infection, examined whether the placement of a silicone scar sheet (ScarAway®), Cavilon™, or Tegaderm™ affects 3M™ half-face mask respirator barrier integrity when compared to no barrier using QNFT. 3M half-mask respirators were chosen because they were already being used by clinicians, are reusable, and are readily available. Nine clinicians were enrolled, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and technicians.
Soft drink ads target ‘vulnerable’
What keeps consumers hooked on high sugar soft drink? Advertising, of course. But why are some consumers more adept at ignoring these cues than others?
Sometimes, even 3-year-olds just want to fit in with the group
What makes preschoolers eat their veggies? Raise their hand? Wait their turn? “Because I say so” is a common refrain for many parents.
Families with a child with ADHD can benefit from mindfulness training
Children with ADHD are generally treated with medication and/or behavioral treatments. However, medication-alone is insufficient in a quarter to a third of the children.
Improving gender equity in the Indy 500
When the Indianapolis 500 commences on May 30, it will be the first in the race’s 105-year history to feature a female-forward group of a driver, owner and team. It is a big step in the sport’s commitment to improving equality and inclusion—and research from Michigan State University is helping define that path.
Levels of Certain Blood Proteins May Explain Why Some People Derive More Benefits from Exercise than Others
A new study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) provides insights into the mechanistic links between physical fitness and overall health, as well as the reasons why the same exercise can have different effects in different people.
Hip replacement surgery improves symptoms and biomechanics – but not physical activity
Patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) show significant reduction in pain and other symptoms and improvement in walking gait biomechanics. However, those improvements do not lead to increased daily physical activity levels, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer.
Engineered defects in crystalline material boosts electrical performance
Researchers have discovered that engineering one-dimensional line defects into certain materials can increase their electrical performance.
Survival benefits of immunotherapy combination persist for more than six years in patients with advanced melanoma
In the longest follow-up results from a clinical trial of combination immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, investigators report that nearly half the patients who received the drugs nivolumab and ipilimumab were alive a median of six and a half years after treatment.
Seabirds face dire threats from climate change, human activity — especially in Northern Hemisphere
Many seabirds in the Northern Hemisphere are struggling to breed — and in the Southern Hemisphere, they may not be far behind. These are the conclusions of a study, published May 28 in Science, analyzing more than 50 years of breeding records for 67 seabird species worldwide.
The Robot Smiled Back
Long interested in interactions between robots and humans, Columbia Engineering researchers have created EVA, a new autonomous robot with a soft and expressive face that responds to match the expressions of nearby humans. “The idea for EVA took shape a few years ago, when my students and I began to notice that the robots in our lab were staring back at us through plastic, googly eyes,” said Prof Hod Lipson, who led the team.
Inflammation and Procalcitonin Predict Success, or Not, of Lung Cancer Treatment
In patients with non-small cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), the presence of either high chronic inflammation, or procalcitonin levels in the blood as a response to bacterial infection, both predict a poor response to treatment with immune checkpoint blockade.
Why is it so hard to withdraw from some antidepressants?
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago are a step closer to discovering why it is so difficult for people to withdraw from some antidepressant medications. The paper “Antidepressants produce persistent Gαs associated signaling changes in lipid rafts following drug withdrawal,” published in the journal Molecular Pharmacology, addresses the molecular and cellular mechanisms that cause antidepressant withdrawal syndrome.
Understanding the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and a New Era of Racing Regulation
The journal article discusses the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act . This act was passed by Congress at the end of 2020 and fundamentally changes how thoroughbred racing will be regulated in the United States.
Women: Lower-fat Diet Key to Liver Health Following Weight-loss Surgery
Research suggests that women who have weight loss surgery need to reduce the amount of fat they eat after surgery to reap the full benefit of the procedure and protect their liver function. The study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The Medical Minute: Can exercise lessen the severity of COVID-19?
For years, researchers have studied the benefits of exercise in preventing dozens of health conditions. But can regular physical activity also help people lessen the impact of viruses like COVID-19?
New framework to enhance national climate action and achieve global goals
A novel systematic and independent scenario framework could help policymakers assess and compare climate policies and long-term strategies across countries to support coordinated global climate action.
Delaying lung cancer surgery associated with higher risk of recurrence, death
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that postponing lung cancer surgery for more than 12 weeks from the date of diagnosis with a CT scan is associated with a higher risk of recurrence and death.
Checking out plastic surgeons on Instagram? Your perception may be biased
Social media sites – especially Instagram – have revolutionized the way plastic surgeons market their practice. These platforms allow surgeons to post testimonials, educational videos, and before-and-after photos. This information can help to guide patients in making decisions about whether to undergo cosmetic surgery and which plastic surgeon to choose, based on factors like the surgeon’s experience and results achieved.
Some Forams Could Thrive with Climate Change, Metabolism Study Finds
Woods Hole, Mass. (May 27, 2021) – With the expansion of oxygen-depleted waters in the oceans due to climate change, some species of foraminifera (forams, a type of protist or single-celled eukaryote) that thrive in those conditions could be big winners, biologically speaking.
Shiny mega-crystals that build themselves
An international team led by Empa and ETH Zurich researchers is playing with shape-engineered nanoscale building blocks that are up to 100-times larger than atoms and ions. And although these nano “Lego bricks” interact with each other with forces vastly different and much weaker than those holding atoms and ions together, they form crystals all by themselves, the structures of which resemble the ones of natural minerals. These new mega-crystals or superlattices that are depicted on the cover of the latest issue of “Nature” exhibit unique properties such as superfluorescence – and may well usher in a new era in materials science
NUS researchers use “automated” microscopy to identify predictor of chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer patients
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have found a way to predict if ovarian cancer patients will be resistant to chemotherapy. By using “automated” microscopy, they identified a protein that indicates the resistance of ovarian cancer cells to platinum chemotherapy. This breakthrough could improve the survival rate of ovarian cancer patients, as other treatments may be administered early.
Low on Antibodies, Blood Cancer Patients Can Fight off COVID-19 with T Cells
Antibodies aren’t the only immune cells needed to fight off COVID-19 — T cells are equally important and can step up to do the job when antibodies are depleted, suggests a new Penn Medicine study of blood cancer patients with COVID-19 published in Nature Medicine.
Global Study Finds Each City Has Unique Microbiome Fingerprint of Bacteria and Viruses
Each city has its own unique microbiome, a “fingerprint” of viruses and bacteria that uniquely identify it, according to a new study from an international consortium of researchers that included a team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). The international project, which sequenced and analyzed samples collected from public transit systems and hospitals in 60 cities around the world, was published today in the journal Cell.
Study Finds Lower Rates of Kidney Transplant Referrals at For-Profit Vs. Non-Profit Dialysis Facilities
• Among patients receiving dialysis in the Southeastern United States, those at for-profit dialysis facilities were less likely to be referred for kidney transplantation than those at non-profit facilities.
• Rates of starting medical evaluations soon after referral and placing patients on a waitlist after evaluations were similar between the groups.
Building better bubbles for ultrasound could enhance image quality, facilitate treatments
NIBIB-funded researchers are investigating long-lasting, customizable nanobubbles for ultrasound contrast agents.
Unveiling what governs crystal growth
Crystals are wonders of nature and science with important applications in electronics and optics. Scientists from Argonne have new insights into how gallium nitride crystals grow. Gallium nitride crystals are in wide use in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and may form transistors for high-power switching electronics to make electric grids more energy efficient and smarter.
People prefer ‘natural’ strategies to reduce atmospheric carbon
A cross-disciplinary collaboration led by Jonathon Schuldt, associate professor of communication at Cornell University, found that a majority of the U.S. public is supportive of soil carbon storage as a climate change mitigation strategy, particularly when that and similar approaches are seen as “natural” strategies.
Grocery taxes put low-income families at risk for food insecurity
Approximately one-third of all U.S. counties do not exempt grocery foods from the general sales tax, which means the lowest-income families living in those areas are most susceptible to food insecurity. New research from Cornell University finds that even a slight grocery tax-rate increase could be problematic for many.
Thirdhand smoke impacts gut bacteria for infants, study finds
Infants exposed to thirdhand smoke while hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) show a difference in the composition of their gut microbiome, according to a new study by researchers with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Concussion with Loss of Consciousness May Be Linked to Life with Some Disability
People who have had a concussion where they lost consciousness may be more likely to have some disability or limitations later in life—such as difficulty walking or limitations in the amount or type of work they can do—than people who have never had a concussion, according to a study published in the May 26, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Study shows SARS-CoV-2 variants unlikely to affect T cell responses
In a new study, scientists at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have revealed that most T cell epitopes known to be targeted upon natural infection are seemingly unaffected by current SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Head and neck cancer cells hijack nearby healthy tissue, promoting further invasion of cancer cells
Up to half of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma will experience tumor recurrence or new tumors—tumors that often spread and are difficult to treat.
Similar states of activity identified in supermassive and stellar mass black holes
The researchers Juan A. Fernández-Ontiveros, of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) in Rome and Teo Muñoz-Darias, of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), have written an article in which they describe the different states of activity of a large sample of supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies.
What causes the deep Earth’s most mysterious earthquakes?
The cause of Earth’s deepest earthquakes has been a mystery to science for more than a century, but a team of Carnegie scientists may have cracked the case.
Researchers examine record-shattering 2020 trans-Atlantic dust storm
For two weeks in June 2020, a massive dust plume from Saharan Africa crept westward across the Atlantic, blanketing the Caribbean and Gulf Coast states in the U.S. The dust storm was so strong, it earned the nickname “Godzilla.”
How antibiotic-filled poop helps ‘bessbug’ beetles stay healthy
The lifestyle of the horned passalus beetle, commonly known as the bessbug or betsy beetle, might seem downright disgusting to the average human: Not only does this shiny black beetle eat its own poop, known as frass, but it uses its feces to line the walls of its living space and to help build protective chambers around its developing young.
NIH scientists find that salmonella use intestinal epithelial cells to colonize the gut
The immune system’s attempt to eliminate Salmonella bacteria from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract instead facilitates colonization of the intestinal tract and fecal shedding, according to National Institutes of Health scientists.
Study finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils’ response to transmissible cancer
University of Idaho researchers partnered with other scientists from the United States and Australia to study the evolution of Tasmanian devils in response to a unique transmissible cancer.
Why Italy’s Economy Stopped Growing
A working paper co-authored by Maryland Smith’s Bruno Pellegrino finds that in Italian firms a boss’s family members or cronies are most likely to move up the ladder, contributing to Italy’s nearly stagnant economy.
Study affirms that vaccines are safe for children and adults
A new study looking across a large body of research finds further evidence for the safety of vaccines that are Food and Drug Administration-approved and routinely recommended for children, adults and pregnant women.
Study confirms longer-term lung damage after COVID-19
Hyperpolarised xenon MRI detected lung damage which was not picked up by routine CT scans and clinical tests