Feature Channels: All Journal News

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Beneficial bacteria in reused poultry litter can reduce Salmonella levels

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In a new study, Johns Hopkins researchers found that testing people for SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — too early in the course of infection is likely to result in a false negative test, even though they may eventually test positive for the virus.

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A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides recommendations for radiation therapy to treat patients with nonmetastatic cervical cancer. The guideline outlines indications and best practices for EBRT and brachytherapy in postoperative and definitive settings, and it also addresses chemotherapy and surgery when used in combination with radiation. The guideline is published online in Practical Radiation Oncology.

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A study of 40 sea ice models finds they all project that the area of sea ice around Antarctica will decrease by 2100, but the amount of loss varies between the emissions scenarios.

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Postgenomic technologies reveal new mechanism of stress-induced chemoresistanceResistance of cancer cells against therapeutic agents is a major cause of treatment failure, especially in recurrent diseases. An international team around the biochemists Robert Ahrends from the University of Vienna and Jan Medenbach from the University of Regensburg identified a novel mechanism of chemoresistance which has now been published in "Nature Communications".

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A newly published study of flies found that protecting liver function also preserves heart health. The research could lead to new therapeutic approaches in human health and illuminate the role of understudied organelles known as peroxisomes.

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Local governments are often innovators of public health policymaking—the first smoke-free air acts, menu labeling laws, and soda taxes were all implemented locally. However, states are increasingly limiting local control over public health issues by passing laws that overrule local regulations, a practice known as preemption. A new study by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, takes a closer look at the strategies state legislatures use—often behind closed doors—to pass preemptive laws that limit local government control.

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• Cambridge-led modelling looks at population-level facemask use. • The more people use facemasks in public, the smaller the ‘R’. • Even basic homemade masks significantly reduce transmission at a population level. • Researchers call for information campaigns – “my mask protects you, your mask protects me” – that encourage the making and wearing of facemasks.

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A new commentary highlights the dramatic decline in emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic and what could be causing the decrease.

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Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are the first to study presolar materials that landed on a planet-like body. Their findings may help solve the mystery: where did all the water on Earth come from?

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New research suggests that trigger warnings have little or no benefit in cushioning the blow of potentially disturbing content and, in some cases, may make things worse.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic sent entire communities into lockdown, doctors quickly adopted telehealth strategies without knowing whether they would be effective or feasible. Now, a new study from the Division of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shows that for pediatric neurology care, the transition was very successful even in a short period of time and may provide guidance on the future of pediatric care after the pandemic subsides.

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A U-M review found national Choosing Wisely recommendations to reduce overtreatment in early stage breast cancer weren’t consistently followed.

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Stress, unhealthy foods contribute to obesity in undocumented adults and children, Rutgers study reports

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A new study led a team that analyzed the role that communication plays in the division of household labor. They found that partner communication is the most important factor linking the division of household labor to satisfaction in the relationship. But the way that the partners’ communication matters depends on gender.

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In a new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Higgins and colleagues at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Indiana University and Kentuckiana ENT found a correlation between searches for symptoms of the disease and new confirmed cases and deaths.

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Evidence from rocks billions of years old suggest that volcanoes played a key role in the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere of the early Earth.

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Lack of proper nutrition education may affect female athletes’ performance and long-term health, says Rutgers researcher

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DALLAS – June 9, 2020 – Serotonin, a chemical known for its role in producing feelings of well-being and happiness in the brain, can reduce the ability of some intestinal pathogens to cause deadly infections, new research by UT Southwestern scientists suggests. The findings, publishing online today in Cell Host & Microbe, could offer a new way to fight infections for which few truly effective treatments currently exist.

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Yale Cancer Center scientists have developed a new cell screening method for agents that alter biologic functions. This approach uses thousands of artificial proteins called “traptamers” and may help to answer research questions that are difficult to address with other cell screening methods, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, COVID-19. The data is published today in the journal Cell Reports.

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Discussed in APL Bioengineering, researchers created a high-fidelity respiratory simulator that accurately represents the interplay between the abdomen, diaphragm, lungs and pleural space, the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the thorax and lungs. The model, using swine lungs, soft robotic materials and artificial muscles, allows precise tuning of pressure in each part of the system, so specific disease conditions can be tested. It also proved extremely useful for testing ventilator-only respiration by removing the elastomeric diaphragm.

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For children and young adults with Crohn’s disease, steroid-sparing therapies may help reduce the risk of developing a severe and common complication of the inflammatory bowel condition, a new study suggests.

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Researchers at North Carolina State University have constructed a paper-based device as a model of wearables that can collect, transport and analyze sweat in next-generation wearable technology. Using a process known as capillary action, akin to water transport in plants, the device uses evaporation to wick fluid that mimics the features of human sweat to a sensor for up to 10 days or longer. They discuss their work in the journal Biomicrofluidics.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, many researchers are studying epidemiological models to predict its propagation. However, a mathematician and expert in complex systems decided to focus on finding targets within SARS-CoV-2 for new drugs to attack. In the journal Chaos, he discusses the dramatic increase in the sensitivity of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 to small disturbances, which made him suspect there is a role for inhibitors to play in killing the virus.

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Our ability to predict who will get cancer, how patients will respond to treatment, or if patients will relapse is still quite limited, despite advances in the detection of genetic mutations and the establishment of risk factors; recently researchers were inspired to find new ways of looking at the problem. In Biomicrofluidics, they report that using cellular mechanophenotyping, along with traditional methods such as immunostaining and genetic analysis, may provide a more comprehensive view of a tumor.

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One of the many questions researchers have about the COVID-19 virus is how long it remains alive after someone infected coughs or sneezes. In Physics of Fluids, researchers examine the drying time of respiratory droplets from COVID-19-infected subjects on various surfaces in six cities around the world. Using a model well established in the field of interface science, the drying time calculations showed ambient temperature, type of surface and relative humidity play critical roles.

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An analysis of high-speed raindrops hitting biological surfaces such as feathers, plant leaves and insect wings reveals how these highly water-repelling veneers reduce the water’s impact.

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New research in mice finds that deficiency in one small component of a signaling pathway may protect against artery stiffening and subsequent kidney disease associated with a high-fat, high-sugar diet.

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While botulinum toxin is commonly known as a cosmetic treatment for facial lines and wrinkles, a growing body of evidence suggests that “Botox” can also be an effective treatment for certain sports injuries and chronic pain conditions, according to a review in the June issue of Current Sports Medicine Reports, official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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The national law requiring calorie labeling on menus at large chain restaurants is estimated to prevent tens of thousands of new heart disease and type 2 diabetes cases—and save thousands of lives—in just five years, according to a new study that estimates the law’s impact.

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Chinese and Australian researchers have combined studies of more than 170,000 people and found conclusive evidence that regular physical exercise reduces the risk of age-related cataracts, the cause of blindness in an estimated 13 million people worldwide.

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Most of the registered clinical trials of potential treatments for COVID-19 underway as of late March were designed in ways that will greatly limit their value in understanding potential treatments, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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A new study from the University of Georgia has shown that exposure to a now-banned flame retardant can alter the genetic code in sperm, leading to major health defects in children of exposed parents.

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An unexpected property of nanometer-scale antimony crystals — the spontaneous formation of hollow structures — could help give the next generation of lithium ion batteries higher energy density without reducing battery lifetime. The reversibly hollowing structures could allow lithium ion batteries to hold more energy and therefore provide more power between charges.

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Researchers summarize runoff water quantity and quality data from native tallgrass prairie and crop-livestock systems in Oklahoma between 1977 and 1999

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To succeed in modern life, people need to accomplish challenging tasks effectively. Many successful entrepreneurs, businesspeople, students, athletes and more, tend to be more strategic – and hence, more effective – than others at meeting such challenges. A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that one important psychological factor behind their success may be a “strategic mindset”.

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Scientists found a new way to build silicon nanodisks that allow the scientists to guide light along the outside of these tiny structures in a way they have never been able to before. Unlike in previous structures, scientists were able to send light in a zig-zag pattern rather than a straight line. Improving the ability to move the light in multiple dimensions will make it easier to integrate these nanostructures into technologies in the future.

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An international team of researchers led by McMaster University has found that while higher heat and humidity can slow the spread of COVID-19, longer hours of sunlight are associated with a higher incidence of the disease, in a sign that sunny days can tempt more people out even if this means a higher risk of infection.

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Plants emit gases like methanol and acetic acid that are not directly related to photosynthesis but that have an unknown origin. Researchers have found a possible source: natural chemical modification in the cellulose in plant cell walls and accompanying metabolic changes.

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Researchers demonstrated new ways to use electron microscopy to study liquids at high resolution. They used this technique to examine how nuclei in liquids and molecules vibrate at multiple length scales. This work can lead to new ways for scientists to describe liquids, the interfaces between fluids, and materials labeled with isotopes.

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A new study reveals how runaway human population growth collapses the role of wildlife in the world’s ecosystems.

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White lab coats and dangerous experiments all epitomise the ‘mad scientist’ from many a Hollywood blockbuster but, even beyond the silver screen, the stereotype lives on, and according to new research, it could mar the next generation of potential scientists.

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Research reveals fewer people have been admitted to stroke centers in Michigan and northwest Ohio since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, and even fewer patients received the life-saving procedure, a mechanical thrombectomy, for ischemic stroke.

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Researchers suggest focusing on disparities to help identify which patients with a heart transplant may be at higher risk for a worse course of COVID-19 infection.

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As clinicians learn about a new disease in real-time, researchers are also investigating what lessons from other respiratory infections could apply to COVID-19.

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Using data from Cook County Jail, researchers analyzed the relationship between jailing practices and COVID-19 community infections. They found that cycling through Cook County Jail—which accounts for the period of time from arrest to awaiting hearings and trials—is associated with 15.9% of all documented COVID-19 cases in Chicago and 15.7% of those in Illinois.

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Chemotherapy has been the lone suspect in a neurological ailment, but cancer also appears to be to blame. The havoc they wreak together is much more than additive.

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Cancer researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have harnessed tools used for the development of cancer immunotherapies and adapted them to identify regions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to target with a vaccine, employing the same approach used to elicit an immune response against cancer cells to stimulate an immune response against the virus. Using this strategy, the researchers believe a resulting vaccine would provide protection across the human population and drive a long-term immune response.

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Developed in the lab of Stanford University Nobelist W.E. Moerner, the technique combines cryoelectron tomography and low temperature single-molecule microscopy. It has potential to answer fundamental questions about the molecular machinery of viruses, parasites, and processes like photosynthesis.

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Epidemiological models of COVID-19 that are used to guide policies on social distancing measures should take into account the special dynamics of the coronavirus’s spread in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to researchers at Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medicine.