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UrduThe most strongly disease-relevant genetic variants can be hard to localize in widespread scanning of the genome – but by zooming in on key genetic locations associated with these DNA methylation imbalances in multiple normal and cancer tissues, the scientists report they have uncovered promising new leads beneath the broader statistical signals.
Category: Research Results
Faster processing makes cutting-edge fluorescence microscopy more accessible
Scientists at NIBIB have developed new image processing techniques for microscopes that can reduce post-processing time up to several thousand-fold.
UCLA survey seeks public opinion on allocating resources during COVID-19
As California prepares for a potential surge of COVID-19, there is a pressing need to determine how critical care resources should be allocated, especially if there is an extreme shortage of those resources.
New 3D model shows how paradise tree snake uses aerial undulation to fly
For more than 20 years, Virginia Tech biomedical engineering and mechanics professor Jake Socha has sought to measure and model the biomechanics of snake flight and answer questions about them, like that of aerial undulation’s functional role.
Showing pro-diversity feelings are the norm makes individuals more tolerant
Showing people how their peers feel about diversity in their community can make their actions more inclusive, make members of marginalized groups feel more like they belong, and even help close racial achievement gaps in education, according to a new study. Drawing on strategies that have worked in anti-smoking, safe-sex and energy-saving campaigns, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers decided to try to change behavior by showing people that positive feelings about diversity are the norm.
WFIRM Scientists Prove Bioengineered Uteri Support Pregnancy
WFIRM scientists were able to show that bioengineered uteri in an animal model developed the native tissue-like structures needed to support normal reproductive function.
An Understanding of Relaxor Ferroelectric Properties Could Lead to Advances in Multiple Fields
A new fundamental understanding of the behavior of polymeric relaxor ferroelectrics could lead to advances in flexible electronics, actuators and transducers, energy storage, piezoelectric sensors and electrocaloric cooling, according to a team of researchers at Penn State and North Carolina State.
Clues to COVID-19 Complications Come from NET-like Inflammatory Response
An overactive defense response may lead to increased blood clotting, disease severity, and death from COVID-19. A phenomenon called NETosis—in which infection-fighting cells emit a web-like substance to trap invading viruses—is part of an immune response that becomes increasingly hyperactive in people on ventilators and people who die from the disease.
Studies examine how race affects perceptions of law-involved Blacks, school discipline
The extent of discriminatory treatment Black adults and children experience at every point of contact within the legal system and the biases that result in Black children’s behavior being managed more harshly in school are detailed in two new analyses from researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Study Validates Combination Therapy for Aggressive Endometrial Cancer
Yale Cancer Center (YCC) scientists have found that combining the targeted drug trastuzumab with chemotherapy significantly improves survival rates for women with a rare, aggressive form of endometrial cancer.
Mount Sinai Researchers Find That COVID-19 Patients with HIV Did Not Experience Poorer Outcomes
Patients with HIV who were hospitalized with COVID-19 did not experience poorer outcomes compared to a similar comparison group of patients.
One-third of jobs lost to COVID-19 were back online in May
About one-third of U.S. workers who were laid off or absent from work in April because of COVID-19 were back to work in May, according to a new analysis of employment data.
Researchers control elusive spin fluctuations in 2D magnets
A Cornell team developed a new imaging technique that is fast and sensitive enough to observe these elusive critical fluctuations in two-dimensional magnets. This real-time imaging allows researchers to control the fluctuations and switch magnetism via a “passive” mechanism that could eventually lead to more energy-efficient magnetic storage devices.
At-Risk Twin Pregnancies Benefit from an Intervention Called Cerclage
New evidence upturns long-held medical practice, showing the efficacy of an intervention to prevent premature labor and miscarriage for mothers carrying twins.
Study Reveals Presurgical Expectations of Foot and Ankle Patients Exceed Those of Their Surgeons
In the first-ever study to compare surgeon and patient expectations in foot and ankle surgery, research performed at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City has determined that two-thirds of patients have higher presurgical expectations than their surgeons. The paper, titled “Comparison of Patients’ and Surgeons’ Expectations in Foot and Ankle Surgery,” is available online as part of the AAOS 2020 Virtual Education Experience.
Researchers print, tune graphene sensors to monitor food freshness, safety
Researchers are using high-resolution printing technology and the unique properties of graphene to make low-cost biosensors to monitor food safety and livestock health.
1/3 of Parents in 3 States May Not Send Children to School Because of COVID-19
Most parents surveyed in three states support measures to reduce COVID-19 exposure risk, including decreasing the number of children on buses, daily temperature screens for students, alternating between in-person and online classes, regular testing of school staff, and requiring school staff and older children to wear masks.
A Study of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer in Young Adult Men Reveals “Hotspots” of Death in the United States
A study led by Charles Rogers, PhD, examines a trend of increasing incidence and mortality among young men diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The authors identify “hotspot” areas of the U.S. where colorectal cancer is on the rise. For men with early-onset colorectal cancer, Black men are more likely to die of the disease than other racial groups.
Pantera leo’s family tree takes shape
As the “king of beasts,” majestic lions have been used as a symbol of courage, nobility and strength by rulers for over 6000 years. A lion became the symbol of a Norwegian king at least as early as 1280. It still stands proudly on Norway’s Coat of Arms.
WHOI Researcher Dives to Challenger Deep
A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researcher became one of just a handful of people to visit the deepest part of the ocean following a successful dive in the deep-submergence vehicle Limiting Factor on Monday.
How conspiracy theories emerge — and how their storylines fall apart
A new study by UCLA professors offers a new way to understand how unfounded conspiracy theories emerge online.
Montana State researcher publishes paper examining COVID-19 spread
How many people in the U.S. have had COVID-19? Using a database of information collected after the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, a Montana State University researcher is helping develop a better understanding of the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Study finds high-skill hiring down amid COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has left very few corners of the U.S. economy unscathed, but it has hit high-skill job seekers and small companies particularly hard, according to Cornell-led research that analyzed recent job-vacancy postings.
Tiny Japanese dinosaur eggs help unscramble Cretaceous ecosystem
When most of us think of dinosaurs, we envision large, lumbering beasts, but these giants shared their ecosystems with much smaller dinosaurs, the smaller skeletons of which were generally less likely to be preserved.
SNAP Work Requirements Put Low-Income Americans at Risk
WASHINGTON, DC (June 26, 2020) – When work requirements for a federal food safety-net program start again, many low-income Americans will lose benefits – and Black adults will be hardest hit, according to a study published today. In addition, some disabled people will lose these crucial food assistance benefits.
The millenial pre-colonial cultural inluence is evident in the Amazon forest
More than ten years ago, large geometric earthworks found in the southwestern parts of the Amazon, called geoglyphs, were reported in the global scientific news.
It’s not just Alzheimer’s disease: Sanders-Brown research highlights form of severe dementia
The long-running study on aging and brain health at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Alzheimer’s Disease Center has once again resulted in important new findings – highlighting a complex and under-recognized form of dementia.
Designer Peptides Show Potential for Blocking Viruses, Encourage Future Study
Chemically engineered peptides, designed and developed by a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, could prove valuable in the battle against some of the most persistent human health challenges. The team’s findings, recently published in Nature Scientific Reports, demonstrate how researchers can engineer peptides capable of selectively and specifically binding to polysialic acid (PSA) — a carbohydrate that is present in many human cells and plays a key role in various physiological and pathological processes, including neurological development and disease progression.
Process for ‘two-faced’ nanomaterials may aid energy, information tech
A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory implanted atoms precisely into the top layers of ultra-thin crystals, yielding two-sided Janus structures that may prove useful in developing energy and information technologies.
Cross-Sector Collaboration May Be ‘Invaluable’ in the Current Crisis
It may seem like a truism that, in a time of crisis, the various players and institutions in a community should set aside their individual agendas and pull together for a common cause.
This MicroRNA Might Help Detect, Treat Ovarian Cancer
In cell and mouse models, one microRNA showed promise as a biomarker for early stage ovarian cancer and may help make immunotherapy treatment more effective.
Planning for a growing elderly population
A new study investigated the prevalence of activity limitations among older adults in 23 low- and middle-income countries, to help policymakers prepare for the challenges associated with the world’s aging population.
States with the highest income inequality also experienced a larger number of COVID-19 deaths
States with the highest level of income inequality had a larger number of COVID-19-related deaths compared with states with lower income inequality. New York state, with the highest income inequality, had a mortality rate of 51.7 deaths per 100,000 vs. Utah, the state with the lowest income inequality and which had a mortality of 0.41 per 100,000.
Bizarre saber-tooth predator from South America was no saber-tooth cat
A new study led by researchers from the University of Bristol has shown that not all saber-tooths were fearsome predators.
Should Physicians Rethink Terms Used to Describe Kidney Health?
• A new study has found that common terms used by physicians to describe kidney health may be distressing or too difficult to understand for patients with kidney disease.
Unorthodox Desalination Method Could Transform Global Water Management
Over the past year, Columbia Engineering researchers have been refining their unconventional desalination approach for hypersaline brines—temperature swing solvent extraction (TSSE)—that shows great promise for widespread use. The team now reports that their method has enabled them to attain energy-efficient zero-liquid discharge of ultrahigh salinity brines—the first demonstration of TSSE for ZLD desalination of hypersaline brines.
Politics Driving Personal Economic Decisions Amid COVID-19
A new working paper from researchers at the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management and the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, details how political persuasion is driving stock market optimism.
Declines in patient visits during COVID-19 shutdowns projected to cost U.S. primary care $15 billion in revenue by year’s end, study shows
• On average, a full-time primary care physician in the U.S. will lose more than $65,000 in revenue in 2020.
• Overall, the U.S. primary care sector will lose nearly $15 billion.
• Losses stem from drastic reductions in office visits and fees for services during COVID-19 shutdowns from March to May.
• Losses threaten practice viability, reducing further an already insufficient number of primary care providers in the United States.
• Findings underscore the need for a plan that provides support for independent primary care doctors, small independent practices.
Marine Training May Take More Mental Than Physical Grit
Keck Medicine of USC study identifies psychological measures that may predict who is more likely to complete – or quit – a demanding marine training course
Researchers Discover Critical New Allergy Pathway
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have identified the sequence of molecular events by which tiny, tick-like creatures called house dust mites trigger asthma and allergic rhinitis.
Promising treatment to slow kidney disease doesn’t prove out in clinical trial
Historically, half or more of people with type 1 diabetes develop kidney disease, which frequently progresses to kidney failure requiring hemodialysis or a kidney transplant for survival. Progression of kidney disease in type 1 diabetes is correlated with increased amounts of uric acid. A multi-institution randomized clinical trial of a drug used to control uric acid did not show the desired clinical benefits, but did give a very clear answer to an important scientific question.
Global pollution estimates reveal surprises, opportunity
Using recent satellite observations, ground monitoring and computational modeling, researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis have released a survey of global pollution rates. There are a couple of surprises, for worse, but also, for better.
X-rays size up protein structure at the ‘heart’ of COVID-19 virus
Researchers have performed the first room temperature X-ray measurements on the SARS-CoV-2 main protease—the enzyme that enables the virus to reproduce. It marks an important first step in the ultimate goal of building a comprehensive 3D model of the enzymatic protein that will be used to advance supercomputing simulations aimed at finding drug inhibitors to block the virus’s replication mechanism and help end the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online trackers follow health site visitors, use sensitive information
Internet trackers are more likely to follow people who visit popular health sites to other types of sites, suggesting that advertisers might be more likely to target people based on sensitive health information than previously understood.
Supercomputer Simulations Show How DNA Prepares Itself for Repair
Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston recently used the Comet supercomputer at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California San Diego to uncover the novel ways in which DNA prepares itself for repair.
Consumers can distinguish between bitter tastes in beer — doesn’t alter liking
Although most beer consumers can distinguish between different bitter tastes in beer, this does not appear to influence which beer they like. It seems they just like beer, regardless of the source of the bitterness.
Dolphins learn in similar ways to great apes
Dolphins use unusual techniques to obtain food: One of them, called “shelling”, is used by the dolphins in Shark Bay in Western Australia. Dolphins in this population trap fishes inside large empty gastropod shells.
Better sleep with a partner
In many countries, sharing a bed with a partner is common practice. Yet, research investigating the relationship between bed sharing and sleep quality is both scarce and contradictory.
Researchers identify N95 respirator decontamination method using microwave-generated steam
Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, there is an increasing shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) crucial to protecting health care workers from infection.
Acute acral lesions in a case series of kids, teens during COVID-19 pandemic
This case series describes 20 children and adolescents who presented with new-onset acral inflammatory lesions during the COVID-19 pandemic.