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New research has shown that COVID-19 infections in healthcare workers during the first wave of the pandemic provided an accurate sample of the general population, suggesting that data from healthcare workers could be used to estimate the severity of future viruses more quickly.

The research team at National Institute of Informatics developed a technique to search automatically for simulation configurations that test various behaviors of automated driving systems. This research was conducted under ERATO-MMSD project. The proposed technique iterates trials on simulations using an optimization method called evolutionary computation so that it discovers simulation configurations that lead to specific features of driving behaviors such as high acceleration, deceleration, and steering operation. This research was presented in ICST 2021.

Study from Bocconi University shows that negative campaigning with electoral attacks on opponents backfires and, in multicandidate races, ends up having positive spillover effects on third candidates

The legacy of systemic racism in the U.S impacts psychosis risk at the individual and neighborhood level, according to a definitive review published online today. Researchers examined U.S. based evidence connecting social and environmental factors with outcomes relating to psychotic experiences, including schizophrenia. The review examined potential risk factors and influence of structural racism within three key areas. These included disparities in neighborhoods; trauma and stress experienced at both collective and individual levels; and complications experienced around pregnancy.

New research shows that planned cesarean deliveries on maternal request are safe for low-risk pregnancies and may be associated with a lower risk of adverse delivery outcomes than planned vaginal deliveries. The study is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

A first-of-its-kind study suggests that microscopic seawater plants, called diatoms, initially capture carbon dioxide (CO2) by biophysical, rather than biochemical, processes. Diatoms remove as much CO2 as all of the world's forests combined and it's vital to understand how this process will respond to rising CO2 levels. This study presents initial evidence about precisely which mechanisms diatoms use in natural oceanic conditions -- and how sensitive they might be to changing ocean conditions.

The chemical concept of aromaticity is inspiring new developments in the area of catalysis.

A new study indicates that the accumulation of several unfavourable environmental factors increases the risk for an extreme form of multiple drug use or "polytoxicomania". Risk factors comprise sexual and physical abuse, living in a big city, experience of migration as well as the use of cannabis and alcohol before the age of 18.

WEHI researchers have identified how natural human antibodies can block malaria parasites from entering red blood cells, potentially indicating how new protective therapies could be developed against this globally significant disease.The research provides greater insight into how antibodies block the entry of Plasmodium vivax malaria parasites into young red blood cells called reticulocytes. It builds on an earlier discovery that the P. vivax latches onto the transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) to enter cells.

Bowel cancer survival rates could be improved if chemotherapy drugs were delivered via tiny nanoparticles to the diseased organs rather than oral treatment.

Green (no-take) and yellow (limited take) fishing zones within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park equally support a great diversity of fish species. The new research on yellow zones is crucial for future marine park management.

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, found that heart transplantation using donation after cardiac death (DCD) with normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is feasible in the United States. Broader application of DCD heart transplantation has the potential to increase cardiac allograft availability by 20-30 percent.

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, finds that AATS Foundation fellowships support success in academic surgery career tracks. The AATS Foundation has two primary grant funding mechanisms: the AATS Foundation Scholarship and the Surgical Investigator Award. The study looked at publications, citations, NIH funding, and leadership position of awardees, among other factors.

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, found that patients treated surgically for segmental Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) had excellent outcomes with the vast majority doing very well in the long term without any additional treatment other than surgery.

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, shows an association between decreased survival at five years and leaving an atrial communication at biventricular repair of unbalanced AVSD after adjusting for other known risk factors. The study sought to determine factors associated with mortality after biventricular repair of AVSD.

An international team led by SPECS Lab at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) reveals how the brain improves through self-supervised learning. Researchers also propose a novel brain-based solution to solve a fundamental challenge in artificial intelligence: how machines could learn without direct supervision. In their opinion article, scientists provide evidence for their hypothesis and new insights into the anatomy and physiology of the core memory system in the human brain: the hippocampus.

Preliminary results of a clinical trial, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, showed that a new, low-profile thoracic aortic endograft is safe and effective in the treatment of descending thoracic aortic aneurysm or penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer (PAU) diseases.

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, finds that patients suffering from severe mitral regurgitation should be carefully screened and counselled before undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral repair (TEER).

A new study presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, found that the percentage of patients undergoing esophagectomy for cancer who suffer Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) post-operatively is much higher than previously reported, with as many as 24 percent suffering from Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) or Pulmonary Embolism (PE). Six-month mortality for patients with VTE was 17.6 percent compared to 2.1 percent for those without.

A new study by The Ohio State University College of Nursing found that critical care nurses nationwide reported alarmingly high levels of stress, depressive symptoms and anxiety even before the COVID-19 pandemic began. These factors correlated with an increase in self-reported medical errors.