Extreme environments expert discusses causes of recent wildfires

Wildfires in Hawaii have devastated the island of Maui. Canada continues to experience its worst ever wildfire season, with more than 1,000 active fires. Brian Lattimer, Director of Virginia Tech’s Extreme Environments and Materials Lab, explains what the Maui and Canadian wildfires have in common.

CIHR chooses Digital Science to support discoveries for Canada’s health

Digital Science is pleased to announce that the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has chosen Altmetric and Dimensions from Digital Science’s flagship products to support its belief that research has the power to change lives.

GW Experts Available: Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Remains Hazardous, Expands Reach

WASHINGTON (June 8, 2023)–The U.S. east coast continues to face hazardous and unhealthy air quality levels from Canada’s wildfires with many cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. experiencing the worst air quality in years. The National Oceanic and…

New Braintrust Seeks to Launch Era of North American Regional Competitiveness

Given the U.S.-China trade conflict and concerns over trade disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, regionalizing supply chains is at the center of the discussion in North America. Now, a new working group spearheaded by the University of California San Diego is using this opportunity to propose policy recommendations for the relocation of global production chains in North America where it’s economically advantageous.

JMIR Perioperative Medicine | COVID-19–Related Backlog: Operating Room Ramp-Up

JMIR Publications recently published “A Canadian Weekend Elective Pediatric Surgery Program to Reduce the COVID-19–Related Backlog: Operating Room Ramp-Up After COVID-19 Lockdown Ends—Extra Lists (ORRACLE-Xtra) Implementation Study” in JMIR Perioperative Medicine which reported that a decrease in surgical services led to substantial backlogs for time-sensitive scheduled pediatric patients.

Addressing status epilepticus management in low-resource regions: “Where do we fit in?”

Low-resource areas face multiple challenges to diagnosing and treating long-lasting seizures, or status epilepticus. We talked with neurologists in four countries about how status epilepticus is managed in their areas.

Worldwide Risk of Death in Road Crashes Caused by Drinking is Higher for Men, Younger People, Motorcyclists, and Europeans

Men, young adults, motorcyclists, and people in European and other reasonably well-developed countries are more likely to die in road crashes caused by drinking, according to a novel review of global data. Researchers found that the risk of dying in a road crash attributed to alcohol consumption varied markedly around the world and across population groups. The new review may be the first to provide detailed information on the rate of fatal injury in traffic crashes caused by alcohol use and its variation by location, the sex and age of victims, or transit circumstances. The World Health Organization estimates that in 2018, one in four road deaths worldwide were attributable to drinking. For the review in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, investigators in Mexico explored how these fatalities are distributed, geographically and demographically. This more granular information can potentially help target prevention resources at locations and communities where they may most eff

World-first COVID vaccine booster randomized clinical trial in transplant patients proves third shot is very effective

The study enrolled 120 transplant patients between May 25th and June 3rd. None of them had COVID previously and all of them had received two doses of the Moderna vaccine. Half of the participants received a third shot of the vaccine (at the 2-month mark after their second dose) and the other half received placebo.
The primary outcome was based on antibody level greater than 100 U/ml against the spike protein of the virus. In the placebo group – after three doses (where the third dose was placebo), the response rate was only 18% whereas in the Moderna three-dose group, the response rate was 55%.

World-first COVID vaccine booster randomized clinical trial in transplant patients proves third shot is very effective

The study enrolled 120 transplant patients between May 25th and June 3rd. None of them had COVID previously and all of them had received two doses of the Moderna vaccine. Half of the participants received a third shot of the vaccine (at the 2-month mark after their second dose) and the other half received placebo. The primary outcome was based on antibody level greater than 100 U/ml against the spike protein of the virus. In the placebo group – after three doses (where the third dose was placebo), the response rate was only 18% whereas in the Moderna three-dose group, the response rate was 55%.

Earthquake Threat! Understanding the Intention to Prepare for the Big One

How do people in high-risk regions for natural disasters, perceive risks and what influences their intentions to prepare? A new study, soon to be published in the journal Risk Analysis, investigates whether residents of higher-risk earthquake areas within the region…

Overfishing of Atlantic Cod Likely Did Not Cause Genetic Changes

Overfishing likely did not cause the Atlantic cod, an iconic species, to evolve genetically and mature earlier, according to a study led by Rutgers University and the University of Oslo – the first of its kind – with major implications for ocean conservation.

How Rocks Rusted on Earth and Turned Red

How did rocks rust on Earth and turn red? A Rutgers-led study has shed new light on the important phenomenon and will help address questions about the Late Triassic climate more than 200 million years ago, when greenhouse gas levels were high enough to be a model for what our planet may be like in the future.

Peginterferon-lambda shows strong antiviral action to accelerate clearance of COVID-19

A clinical study led by Dr. Jordan Feld, a liver specialist at Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, University Health Network (UHN), showed an experimental antiviral drug can significantly speed up recovery for COVID-19 outpatients – patients who do not need to be hospitalized. This could become an important intervention to treat infected patients and help curb community spread, while COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out this year.

Planning Ahead Protects Fish and Fisheries

Conservation of fish and other marine life migrating from warming ocean waters will be more effective and also protect commercial fisheries if plans are made now to cope with climate change, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Science Advances.

Decline of Bees, Other Pollinators Threatens U.S. Crop Yields

Crop yields for apples, cherries and blueberries across the United States are being reduced by a lack of pollinators, according to Rutgers-led research, the most comprehensive study of its kind to date. Most of the world’s crops depend on honeybees and wild bees for pollination, so declines in both managed and wild bee populations raise concerns about food security, notes the study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Suspended studies and virtual lab meetings: How the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting epilepsy researchers

How was epilepsy research forced to morph during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic? Researchers from 11 countries shared their experiences and thoughts on the future of laboratory research, clinical trials, and in-person conferences.

Vitamin D Boosts Chances of Walking After Hip Fracture

Senior citizens who are not vitamin D deficient have a better chance of walking after hip fracture surgery, according to a Rutgers-led study. The findings in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that vitamin D deficiency could limit mobility in older adults, said senior author Sue Shapses, a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.

Climate Change Could Threaten Sea Snails in Mid-Atlantic Waters

Climate change could threaten the survival and development of common whelk – a type of sea snail – in the mid-Atlantic region, according to a study led by scientists at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. The common, or waved, whelk (Buccinum undatum) is an important commercial species that has been harvested for decades in Europe and Canada for bait and human consumption. Its habitat within the mid-Atlantic region is one of the Earth’s fastest warming marine areas and annual fluctuations in the bottom temperature are among the most extreme on the planet due to unique oceanographic conditions.

U.S. protections for constitutional rights falling behind global peers

New research from the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (WORLD) shows that the United States is falling behind its global peers when it comes to guarantees for key constitutional rights. Researchers identified key gaps in the U.S. including guarantees of the right to health, gender equality, and rights for persons with disabilities.