Category: Research Results

Researchers from NUS Engineering have developed a new aerogel that autonomously absorbs water from the atmosphere and then releases it effortlessly without any external power source. This invention is a promising solution for sustainable, freshwater production.

World’s first test to accurately predict depression and bipolar disorder

University of South Australia scientists have developed the world’s first test to accurately predict mood disorders in people, based on the levels of a specific protein found in the brain.

Hackensack Meridian Health Honors the Life & Legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

New Jersey’s Largest Health Network Hosts Virtual Symposium to Inspire Action and Change, Announce Diversity and Inclusion Strategies for 2021; Part of Year-Round Effort to Close Disparities and Inequality in Health Care

Researchers use lasers and molecular tethers to create perfectly patterned platforms for tissue engineering

University of Washington researchers developed a technique to modify naturally occurring biological polymers with protein-based biochemical messages to affect cell behavior. Their approach uses near-infrared lasers to trigger chemical adhesion of proteins to scaffolds made from biological polymers like collagen.

Automakers delay recalls to minimize stock penalties, avoid being the first safety issue in news cycle, study shows

An initial recall by one firm prompts clusters of additional recalls in close proximity by competitor firms, according to “Hiding in the Herd: The Product Recall Clustering Phenomenon,” forthcoming in Manufacturing and Service Operations Management from the University of Notre Dame.

E-cigarettes Stress Lungs, Impair Protein Function

E-cigarette exposure stresses and inflames the lungs of rats, compromising important quality control proteins, according to new research.

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Researchers Say Mask Mandates Could add $1 Trillion to the U.S. GDP

The team, including UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professors Anne Rimoin and Christina Ramirez, found that near-universal adoption of nonmedical masks in public, combined with complementary public health measures, could successfully eliminate spread of the infection. and add $1 Trillion to the U.S. GDP.

UCLA Researcher’s Team Finds Common Blood Pressure Medications do not Increase COVID-19 Risk

Dr. Marc Suchard, of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, co-led international research team looking at two widely used types of blood pressure drugs.

Scientists Streamline Process for Controlling Spin Dynamics

UPTON, NY—Marking a major achievement in the field of spintronics, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Yale University have demonstrated the ability to control spin dynamics in magnetic materials by altering their thickness. The study, published today in Nature Materials, could lead to smaller, more energy-efficient electronic devices.

UCI researchers: Climate change will alter the position of the Earth’s tropical rain belt

Irvine, Calif., Jan. 18, 2021 — Future climate change will cause a regionally uneven shifting of the tropical rain belt – a narrow band of heavy precipitation near the equator – according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions. This development may threaten food security for billions of people.

New computational tool reliably differentiates between cancer and normal cells from single-cell RNA-sequencing data

MD Anderson researchers have developed a new computational tool to accurately differentiate between cancer cells and normal cells when analyzing large single-cell RNA-sequencing data.

New discovery in breast cancer treatment

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have found new evidence about the positive role of androgens in breast cancer treatment with immediate implications for women with estrogen receptor-driven metastatic disease.

A ‘super-puff’ planet like no other

A Canadian-led team of astronomers discovers that the core mass of exoplanet WASP-107b is much lower than previously thought possible for a gas-giant planet.

Mount Sinai Researchers Build Models Using Machine Learning Technique to Enhance Predictions of COVID-19 Outcomes

Mount Sinai researchers have published one of the first studies using federated learning to examine electronic health records to better predict how COVID-19 patients will progress.

Many Parents Say Teens With Anxiety, Depression May Benefit from Peer Confidants at School

January 17, 2021 sarah JonasResearch Results

Three-quarters of parents in a new national poll think peers better understand teen challenges, compared to teachers or counselors in the school.

Changing Diets — Not Lower Physical Activity or Infectious Disease Burden — May Best Explain Global Childhood Obesity Crisis

Variation in consumption of market-acquired foods outside of the traditional diet — but not in total number of calories burned daily — is reliably related to indigenous Amazonian children’s body fat, according to a Baylor University study that offers insight into the global obesity epidemic.

Research Links Social Isolation to COVID-19 Protocol Resistance

As health officials continue to implore the public to wear masks and practice social distancing, recent research by Humboldt State University Psychology Professor Amber Gaffney provides key insights into connections between social isolation, conspiratorial thinking, and resistance to COVID-19 protocols.

Rapid blood test identifies COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a relatively simple and rapid blood test can predict which patients with COVID-19 are at highest risk of severe complications or death. The blood test measures levels of mitochondrial DNA, which normally resides inside the energy factories of cells. Mitochondrial DNA spilling out of cells and into the bloodstream is a sign that a particular type of violent cell death is taking place in the body.

Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Translational microRNA Biomarkers, and More Featured in January 2021 Toxicological Sciences

in the January 2021 issue, Toxicological Sciences offers an engaging slate of research in toxicology, from endocrine toxicology and biomarkers to genetic and epigenetic toxicology and mixtures toxicology.

Conductive nature in crystal structures revealed at magnification of 10 million times

In groundbreaking materials research, a team led by University of Minnesota Professor K. Andre Mkhoyan has made a discovery that blends the best of two sought-after qualities for touchscreens and smart windows—transparency and conductivity.

COVID-19 deaths really are different. But best practices for ICU care should still apply, studies suggest.

COVID-19 deaths are indeed different from other lung failure deaths, according to two recent studies, with 56% of COVID-19 patients dying primarily from the lung damage caused by the virus, compared with 22% of those whose lungs fail due to other causes. But, the researchers conclude, the kind of care needed to help sustain people through the worst cases of all forms of lung failure is highly similar, and just needs to be fine-tuned.

45% of adults over 65 lack online medical accounts that could help them sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations

As the vaccination of older adults against COVID-19 begins across the country, new poll data suggests that many of them don’t yet have access to the “patient portal” online systems that could make it much easier for them to schedule a vaccination appointment. In all, 45% of adults aged 65 to 80 had not set up an account with their health provider’s portal system.

Vermont’s BIPOC drivers are most likely to have a run-in with police, study shows

Examining more than 800,000 police stops in Vermont between 2014 to 2019, researchers confirm that Vermont authorities stop, ticket, arrest and search Black drivers at a rate far beyond their share of the state’s total driving population.

Social exclusion, career limitations hinder LGBTQ STEM professionals

LGBTQ professionals’ pride in their science, technology, engineering, and math work is not reciprocated, say researchers.

New England Journal of Medicine publishes COVID-19 treatment trial results

A clinical trial involving COVID-19 patients hospitalized at UT Health San Antonio and University Health, among roughly 100 sites globally, found that a combination of the drugs baricitinib and remdesivir reduced time to recovery, according to results published Dec. 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Snakes evolve a magnetic way to be resistant to venom

Certain snakes have evolved a unique genetic trick to avoid being eaten by venomous snakes, according to University of Queensland research.

Changing resilience of oceans to climate change

Oxygen levels in the ancient oceans were surprisingly resilient to climate change, new research suggests.

DNA test can quickly identify pneumonia in patients with severe COVID-19, aiding faster treatment

Researchers have developed a DNA test to quickly identify secondary infections in COVID-19 patients, who have double the risk of developing pneumonia while on ventilation than non-COVID-19 patients.

Are partially protected areas the ‘red herrings’ of marine conservation?

Partially protected areas – marine reserves that allow some forms of fishing – are no more effective socially or ecologically than open marine areas in Australia’s Great Southern Reef, a new UNSW study has concluded.

Fight CRC To Present Research Findings on The Impact of COVID-19 on the Colorectal Cancer Community at 2021 GI ASCO

Fight Colorectal Cancer presents abstract at Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium highlighting the need to address the barriers and opportunities for care within the colorectal cancer community during the COVID-19 pandemic

Divergences between scientific and Indigenous and Local Knowledge can be helpful

Divergences between scientific and Indigenous and Local Knowledge can provide a better understanding of why local pastoralists may be willing, or not, to participate in conservation initiatives for carnivores, a study from University of Helsinki suggests.

Target Discovered That Halts Osteoarthritis-Like Knee Cartilage Degeneration

In a mouse study, researchers used nanotechnology and previous knowledge of a protein pathway to significantly reduce knee cartilage degeneration and pain

Common Understanding of Turing Test Misses the Mark, Scholar Claims in New Book

Bram Van Heuveln, a lecturer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, makes the case for a new understanding of the Turing Test in a chapter of the book Great Philosophical Objections to Artificial Intelligence: The History and Legacy of the AI Wars, published this month by Bloomsbury.

Artificial Intelligence beats us in chess, but not in memory

In the last decades, Artificial Intelligence has shown to be very good at achieving exceptional goals in several fields.

UW researchers develop tool to equitably distribute limited vaccines

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and UW Health have developed a tool that incorporates a person’s age and socioeconomic status to prioritize vaccine distribution among people who otherwise share similar risks due to their jobs.

Will Covid-19 kill the high street once and for all?

The shift to home working during Covid-19, or ‘Zoomshock’, threatens the survival of local goods and services provided in city centres and business parks

New delivery method cuts required dose, promises relief from adverse side effects of antipsychotic medication

A team of neuroscientists and engineers at McMaster University has created a nasal spray to deliver antipsychotic medication directly to the brain instead of having it pass through the body.

Want a hot stock tip? Avoid this type of investment fund

“Buy low and sell high” says the old adage about investing in the stock market. But a relatively new type of investment fund is luring unsophisticated investors into buying when values are at their highest, resulting in losses almost immediately, a new study has found.

Study: X-Rays Surrounding ‘Magnificent 7’ May Be Traces of Sought-After Particle

A new study, led by a theoretical physicist at Berkeley Lab, suggests that never-before-observed particles called axions may be the source of unexplained, high-energy X-ray emissions surrounding a group of neutron stars.

Mount Sinai Finds That Transgender Women Can Safely Stay On Their Hormone Treatments During Gender Affirming Surgery, Without An Increase of Blood Clots

This is the first study to demonstrate that there is no difference in blood clots when transgender women remain on estrogen hormone therapy for gender affirming surgery. Because both estrogen therapy and surgery can increase a person’s risk of blood clots, experts had long suggested that transgender women stop taking estrogen when undergoing gender affirming surgery. However, there was previously no published data on the blood clot risk specific to transgender women undergoing surgery.

CHOP Researchers Find NTRK Fusions More Common than Expected in Pediatric Tumors

In a large study of pediatric cancer patients, researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have analyzed the frequency, fusion partners, and clinical outcome of neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) fusions, which are clinical biomarkers that identify patients suitable for treatment with FDA-approved TRK inhibitors. The researchers found that NTRK fusions are more common in pediatric tumors and also involve a wider range of tumors than adult cancers, information that could help prioritize screening for NTRK fusions in pediatric cancer patients who might benefit from treatment with TRK inhibitors.

Researchers Help Pioneer New Era in Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers are looking at ways to combine imaging and biomarkers to predict prostate cancer progression more accurately.

Houston Methodist study finds males of all ages more affected by COVID-19 than females

A new Houston Methodist study found males are more likely to test positive for COVID-19, have complications and die from the virus than females, independent of age. The peer-reviewed observational study appears in PLOS ONE, a multidisciplinary journal published by the Public Library of Science.

An Unexpected, and Novel, Target for Prostate Cancer – Our Biological Clock

Researchers find that CRY-1, a regulator of circadian rhythms, promotes tumor progression by altering DNA repair.

Potential COVID-19 Drug Is Successful in Lab Study

A new potential therapy for COVID-19 developed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center has shown success in preventing the disease’s symptoms in mice.

Accounting for the gaps in ancient food webs

Studying ancient food webs can help scientists reconstruct communities of species, many long extinct, and even use those insights to figure out how modern-day communities might change in the future. There’s just one problem: only some species left enough of a trace for scientists to find eons later, leaving large gaps in the fossil record — and researchers’ ability to piece together the food webs from the past.

A new paper shines a light on those gaps and points the way to how to account for them.

Acute itching in eczema patients linked to environmental allergens

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that allergens in the environment often are to blame for episodes of acute itch in eczema patients, and that the itching often doesn’t respond to antihistamines because the itch signals are being carried to the brain along a previously unrecognized pathway that current drugs don’t target.

UNH Researchers Discover New Inhibitor Drug Combination for Rare Form of Cancer