420 articles from THURSDAY 18.2.2021
Neoadjuvant combination immunotherapy improves outcomes for early stage non-small cell lung cancer
The first randomized Phase II clinical trial to report on single and combined neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in stage I-III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found combination therapy produced a significant clinical benefit.
New crystalline ice form
Three years ago, chemists at the University of Innsbruck found evidence for the existence of a new variety of ice. Until then, 18 types of crystalline ice were known. The team led by Thomas Loerting now reports in Nature Communications on the elucidation of the crystal structure of ice XIX using neutron diffraction.
New method converts methane in natural gas to methanol at room temperature
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have discovered a way to convert the methane in natural gas into liquid methanol at room temperature.
New recommendations aim to eliminate racial bias in myeloma trials
Recommendations designed to address the under-representation of African Americans in clinical trials for multiple myeloma (MM), a blood cancer that is twice as deadly in this demographic as in whites.
New report calls for universal coverage of long-term care for older adults in U.S.
The COVID-19 pandemic's heavy toll on older Americans highlights the need to strengthen the nation's safety net for people in need of long-term services and supports, according to a new report published by Milbank Quarterly. The report proposes a system of universal coverage to support the long-term care of all older Americans.
New revelations of tiger genomes
A new study reveals differences in the genomic history of tiger subspecies, pointing to the importance of understanding evolutionary history for future conservation
New UCF study examines leeches for role in major disease of sea turtles in Florida
University of Central Florida researchers are homing in on the cause of a major disease of sea turtles, with some of their latest findings implicating saltwater leeches as a possible factor. The results, published recently in the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, present the first evidence of a significant association between leeches and the disease in sea turtles, according to the...
Oil spill has long-term immunological effects in dolphins
A study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry has found long-term impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico on bottlenose dolphins' immune function.
Older adults and antibiotics: Study shows healthy attitudes but unhealthy practices
While most adults over 50 understand that overuse of antibiotics is a problem, and say they're cautious about taking the drugs, a sizable minority have used antibiotics for something other than their original purpose, and appear to think the drugs could help treat colds, which are caused by viruses not bacteria.
Organoids grown from bile duct cells repair human livers; may aid liver transplant processes
Organoids grown from bile duct epithelial cells can be used to repair damaged bile ducts in transplanted human livers, researchers report.
Pandemic got you down? A little nature could help
Researchers have long been aware of the positive impact of a connection with nature on psychological health and, according to a new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the pandemic hasn't decreased the power of nature to improve mental well-being.
Paper: STEM skills gap modest among IT help desk workers
The incidence of prolonged hiring difficulties for workers with science and technology backgrounds is consistent with persistent hiring frictions and not a 'skills gap' in the labor market for information technology help desk workers, one of the largest computer occupations in the US, says new research by U. of I. labor professor Andrew Weaver.
Perception critical to women's breast reconstruction decision making
Women who undergo surgical treatment for breast cancer often also have reconstructive surgery but new research from QUT in Australia reveals many feel left out of the decision making process. Approximately one in every three women surveyed stated their surgeon had more input than they did.
Physical conditions linked to psychological distress in patients with cancer
Among patients with cancer, having additional physical comorbidities was linked with a higher risk of experiencing psychological distress. The finding comes from a Psycho-Oncology analysis of 2017 data from the National Health Survey of Spain.
Physics of tumours: Cancer cells become fluidised and squeeze through tissue
Working with colleagues from Germany and the US, researchers at Leipzig University have achieved a breakthrough in research into how cancer cells spread. The team of biophysicists led by Professor Josef Alfons Käs, Steffen Grosser and Jürgen Lippoldt demonstrated for the first time how cells deform in order to move in dense tumour tissues and squeeze past neighbouring cells. They have now...
Poor swelter as urban areas of US Southwest get hotter
As climate change accelerates, low-income districts in the Southwestern United States are 4 to 7 degrees hotter in Fahrenheit -- on average -- than wealthy neighborhoods in the same metro regions.
Promoting and protecting human milk and breastfeeding during COVID-19
With stressors mounting daily on the health care system due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a de-prioritization of the childbearing family has been noted. Their care has changed, resulting in mothers forced to go through labor and birth without their partners, parents barred from NICU visitation, and discharge of mothers and newborns early without enough expert lactation care.
PTSD in patients after severe COVID-19 infection
Characteristics associated with posttraumatic stress disorder in patients after severe COVID-19 were analyzed in this observational study.
Quantum computing: when ignorance is wanted
Quantum technologies for computers open up new concepts of preserving the privacy of input and output data of a computation. Scientists from the University of Vienna, the Singapore University of Technology and Design and the Polytechnic University of Milan have shown that optical quantum systems are not only particularly suitable for some quantum computations, but can also effectively encrypt the...
Real world data on hospital readmissions of patients with heart failure
In an analysis of information on 448 patients with heart failure who were discharged from a hospital in Sweden, 20.3% of patients were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, and 60.9% were readmitted within 1 year. The ESC Heart Failure analysis found that most of the patients who needed to be rehospitalized were readmitted for heart failure.
Researchers uncover new information on the effects of antidepressants
The findings of a new study challenge the prevailing thinking on the primary role of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the effects of antidepressants.
Rich nations see virus rates fall quicker -- study
Richer countries were more likely to see rates of COVID-19 fall faster during the first wave of the pandemic, according to new research published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.
Scientists identify over 140,000 virus species in the human gut
Viruses are the most numerous biological entities on the planet. Now researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have identified over 140,000 viral species living in the human gut, more than half of which have never been seen before.
Selective concentration of cationic species
POSTECH Professor Geunbae Lim Develops a Multiscale-Porous Anion Exchange Membrane.
Setting hospital prices would save more than increasing competition or price transparency
Spending on hospital services is the largest health spending category in the U.S., accounting for one-third of national health expenses. A new study finds that among strategies to curb hospital prices among the commercially insured population in the U.S., direct price regulations such as setting rates are likely to achieve greater savings than other approaches like increasing competition or...