Curated News: Top Clipped Stories

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For those whose primary experience with corn is the butter-drenched cob variety, it might come as a surprise that other forms of sweet corn are in trouble. A new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign analysis shows sweet corn production for frozen and canned products has been steadily shrinking in the U.S. over the past 27 years, particularly in rainfed portions of the Midwest.

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The Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach has released a new scientific visualization of data from the CEERS (Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science) Survey. The video represents Webb’s exploration of the region known as the Extended Groth Strip, revealing many galaxies that have never been seen before. It displays a wealth of galaxies across the universe and concludes on Maisie’s Galaxy, which resides 13.4 billion light-years away from Earth.

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Brief electronic intervention providing personalized feedback can help hazardous drinkers substantially reduce their drinking, according to a new study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research.

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Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes.

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Investigating viruses with spillover potential could give us a head start on the next pandemic and minimize its severity; one such virus is RshTT200, discovered in Cambodian bats in 2010. During ACA’s 73rd annual meeting, July 7-11, Samantha Zepeda from the University of Washington will present her team’s investigation into RshTT200. The team used cryo-electron microscopy to solve the spike protein structure. Once the spike proteins were understood, they built harmless, nonreplicating pseudoviruses expressing the spike proteins to investigate how RshTT200 accesses human cells.

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Even low levels of alcohol use can increase the likelihood of developing diseases like cancer and heart disease. A systematic review of studies of the relationship between alcohol use and risk of disease published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research found that disease risk increases as alcohol use increases and high levels of alcohol use have clear detrimental health effects. While lower-level alcohol use can be protective against certain diseases, it can have significant adverse health effects for many other diseases. The authors urge greater awareness that any level of alcohol use can increase a person’s risk of developing serious, even fatal, diseases.

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Patients undergoing bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are at an increased risk of several types of complications, as compared with matched patients undergoing unilateral TKA, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer.

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Communicating science to a general audience can be challenging. Successfully conveying research on polarizing topics such as climate change can be even more difficult.But a new study from University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Nan Li shows that intentionally integrating art with data visualizations can help non-expert audiences more meaningfully engage with climate change while also bridging political divides in ways that data alone cannot.

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Fifty percent of patients with metastatic prostate cancer experience some level of financial hardship due to their treatment, according to a study in the August issue of The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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A new study by the Harvey L Neiman Health Policy Institute found that rates of diagnostic imaging interpretation by non-physician providers (NPP) are on the rise from 2.6% to 3.3% of all imaging studies. The study, published in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology, found that the rate of NPP-billed imaging increased  27% from 2016-2020.

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New AI tool enables in-surgery genomic profiling of gliomas, the most aggressive and most common brain tumors.

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University of Oregon archaeologists have found evidence suggesting humans occupied the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter outside of Riley, Oregon more than 18,000 years ago.

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When you look at a painting in a museum, the colors that you see are likely less bright than they were originally, something that had previously been attributed mainly to light exposure. Now, researchers have discovered a new cause of color degradation: humidity.

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A single-cell study led by MD Anderson researchers and published in Cancer Cell provides a deeper understanding of the evolution of the tumor microenvironment during gastric cancer progression.

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It’s a bonanza! The universe is absolutely teeming with black holes. Researchers have long known this, but less massive black holes that existed in the early universe were too dim to detect – that is until the James Webb Space Telescope began taking observations. Researchers behind the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey are among the first to begin plucking these bright, extremely distant objects from Webb’s highly detailed images and data.

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New research led by the University of Washington uses data collected by coastal residents along beaches from central California to Alaska to understand how seabirds have fared in recent decades. The paper, published July 6 in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, shows that persistent marine heat waves lead to massive seabird die-offs months later.

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Older people who have fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides may have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias compared to people who have steady levels, according to new research published in the July 5, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. While the study found a link, it does not prove that fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides cause dementia.

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Taking good care of your teeth may be linked to better brain health, according to a study published in the July 5, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study found that gum disease and tooth loss were linked to brain shrinkage in the hippocampus, which plays a role in memory and Alzheimer’s disease. The study does not prove that gum disease or tooth loss causes Alzheimer’s disease; it only shows an association.

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The Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory is beginning the installation phase of an upgrade that will enable new breakthroughs in a variety of sciences.

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A new research finding shows that a likely large Earth-like granite system is present on the Moon. The finding, details of which are published in a Nature paper, may help expand knowledge of geothermal lunar processes.

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Supernovae, the explosive deaths of stars, are some of the universe’s biggest bursts of energy and light. When they erupt, one supernova can shine even brighter than an entire galaxy. It’s a fitting reason for NGC 6946, located 22 million light-years away from Earth, to be nicknamed the Fireworks Galaxy. In the past century, nearly a dozen supernovae have been observed flashing in the arms of this galaxy. This includes Supernova 2004et and Supernova 2017eaw, which researchers are now studying with the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). 
Their findings have been surprising—MIRI detected large amounts of dust within the ejecta of each of these objects. The mass found by researchers supports the theory that supernovae played a key role in supplying dust to the early universe.

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New theoretical research proves that machine learning on quantum computers requires far simpler data than previously believed. The finding paves a path to maximizing the usability of today’s noisy, intermediate-scale quantum computers for simulating quantum systems and other tasks better than classical digital computers, while also offering promise for optimizing quantum sensors.

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Until now, researchers have been unable to model how deceptively simple tubular structures —called chemical gardens — work and the patterns and rules that govern their formation.

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A twin baby boom has taken over the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s, with 10 sets of twins in the unit at the same time. Healthcare workers aren’t sure if it’s an official record, but it sure is close.

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A new, EMBARGOED study suggests that reactivation of an ancient retrovirus from 6 million years ago may be at least partly to blame for the aggressiveness and treatment resistance of some glioblastomas.

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Scientists directly observed a pair-density wave (PDW) in an iron-based superconducting material with no magnetic field present. This state of matter, which is characterized by coupled pairs of electrons that are constantly in motion, had been thought to only arise when a superconductor is placed within a large magnetic field. This exciting result opens new potential avenues of research and discovery for superconductivity.

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A new study published today in The Lancet has revealed the most extensive analysis to date on what led to the eventual heart failure in the world's first successful transplant of a genetically-modified pig heart into a human patient.

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In a June 30 article in the journal Science, the IceCube Collaboration — an international group of more than 350 scientists — presents this new evidence of high-energy neutrino emission from the Milky Way. The findings indicate that the Milky Way produces far fewer neutrinos than the average distant galaxies.

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With the growing popularity of medications like Ozempic® (semaglutide), Trulicity® (dulaglutide), and other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and weight loss, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) suggests withholding the medication before elective surgery to reduce the risk of complications associated with anesthesia in adults and children.

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A national study of blood ferritin and hemoglobin levels from tween, teen and young adult females suggests routine screening might be needed for iron deficiency and anemia.

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Scientists have taken an important step forward in predicting who will develop Type 1 diabetes months before symptoms appear.

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Woven across our universe is a weblike structure of galaxies called the cosmic web. Galaxies are strung along filaments in this vast web, which also contains enormous voids.

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More than two dozen researchers with ties to West Virginia University have helped unearth evidence of ripples in spacetime that have never been observed before now. This result emerged from 15 years of data acquired by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, or NANOGrav.

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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.

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Argonne scientists have developed a fluoride-containing electrolyte for lithium metal batteries that could boost the electric vehicle industry. The usefulness of this electrolyte extends to other types of advanced battery systems beyond lithium ion.

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The summit is a good place to be. Staying active on the hiking trails around the southern highlands of Australia, where he retired earlier this year after a career in film marketing, Jon Anderson is feeling there’s little he can’t conquer.

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A new study by Lab scientists finds that as rising global temperatures shift snow to rain, mountains across the Northern Hemisphere will be hotspots for extreme rainfall events that could trigger floods and landslides – potentially impacting a quarter of the world’s population.

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A study of more than 22,000 people with multiple sclerosis has discovered the first genetic variant associated with faster disease progression, which can rob patients of their mobility and independence over time.

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A team led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin has filled a major gap in the state’s fossil record – describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas.

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A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveals that household and community poverty may influence brain health in children. Childhood obesity and lower cognitive function may explain, at least partially, poverty’s influence on the brain.

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People who have just one or two drinks per day are not protected against endocrine conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Parental supply of alcohol is a relatively common practice in Australia, believed by some parents to be an effective means of teaching their children to drink responsibly. New research shows that family and peer factors each play a role in the development of excessive and risky drinking in early adulthood and associated harms. These results and others will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.

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Researchers with UC San Diego School of Medicine identified a potential new drug that improved liver fibrosis in patients with NASH by 27%.

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A sense of purpose in life — whether it’s a high-minded quest to make a difference or a simple hobby with personal meaning — can offer potent protection against loneliness, according to a new study co-authored by Patrick Hill, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Artificial intelligence can bring precision and speed to every sector—defense, healthcare, transportation, education, and more. At the same time, AI poses potential risks to people and property, raising social, ethical, geopolitical, even existential questions.

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Carbon compounds form the foundations of all known life, and as such are of a particular interest to scientists working to understand both how life developed on Earth, and how it could potentially develop elsewhere in our universe. As such, the study of interstellar organic (carbon-containing) chemistry is an area of keen fascination to many astronomers. An international team of astronomers has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to detect a carbon compound known as methyl cation for the first time. This molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. It was found in a young star system with a protoplanetary disk, 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.

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Researchers from Empa and Imperial College London are developing a heat-resistant drone that can analyze the source of danger at close range in the event of a building or forest fire. This allows firefighters to optimize the strategy of a high-risk operation before entering the danger zone.