Eurekalert

The thunder of a mountain river or the crash of pounding surf have likely been changing how animals communicate and where they live for eons. A new experimental study published in the journal Nature Communications finds that birds and bats often avoid habitat swamped with loud whitewater river noise.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and Bar-Ilan University report in the May 24th issue of the journal Nature Communications the development of a new software tool to detect, evaluate and quantify off-target editing activity, including adverse translocation events that can cause cancer. The software is based on input taken from a standard measurement assay, involving multiplexed PCR amplification and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS).

Having a stroke caused by blocked blood vessels or a transient ischemic attack (TIA) greatly increases your chances of having a future stroke. Identifying the cause or causes of the first stroke is key to developing strategies to prevent additional strokes.Managing blood pressure levels, reducing or quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet, and regular physical activity will reduce the risk of a second stroke, along with managing conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol.

Multi-factorial metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in obesity, independently or in combination, seems to be the critical biological link of obesity, cancer and racial/gender health disparities. However, the specific cross-talk between these factors remain elusive. Because of the extraordinary relevance in understanding the relationship between obesity-associated inflammation and comorbidities with cancer development, progression and intervention, three new papers emphasizing different aspects of the obesity and cancer connection can be found in the latest online issue of Obesity.

People who are successful at weight-loss maintenance spend less time sitting during the week and weekends compared to weight-stable individuals with obesity, according to a paper published online in Obesity, The Obesity Society's flagship journal. This is the first study to examine time spent in various sitting activities among weight-loss maintainers.

A study of 1,095 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 found that two easily measured signs of health - respiration rate and blood-oxygen saturation - predict higher mortality. This context is lacking in current CDC guidance, which tells people with COVID-19 to seek medical care when they experience symptoms such as "trouble breathing" and "persistent pain or pressure in the chest" - indications that may be absent even when respiration and blood oxygen have reached dangerous levels, the authors say.

Dr. Munir R. Tanas from The University of Iowa said, "Sarcomas are difficult to treat malignant mesenchymal neoplasms arising in bone or soft tissue."

The gene correlates of LP-184 sensitivity allow additional personalization of therapeutic options for future treatment of NSCLC.

These Oncotarget findings suggest that urine IL-1α, IL-1ra and IL-8 are useful indicators of bladder cancer.

New research indicates that certain anti-cancer therapies may hasten cellular aging, where changes in the DNA of patients may contribute to greater inflammation and fatigue. The findings are published by Wiley early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Talk of a graduate student mental health crisis is abundant in academic and popular media, but a University of Otago study has found no evidence of one in New Zealand.

SERS is a spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules. It's commonly used in chemistry to provide a structural fingerprint by which molecules can be identified.

Researchers have identified the genetic and molecular mechanisms within cells that make the chemotherapy drug decitabine--used to treat patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) --work for some patients but not others. The findings should assist clinicians in developing more patient-specific treatment strategies.

In a recent study reported in Nature Medicine, Prof. Ido Amit and team members have discovered that a subtype of immune cells, called dendritic cells, becomes activated in the liver in NASH patients and in animal models, and promotes the progression of this condition. This finding may in the future help develop new treatments for NASH.

Gaping policy shortfalls in the Australian Government's 'Closing the Gap' program have seen it fail to reduce disparities in Indigenous health, income, employment, child removal and incarceration, Flinders University researchers say. Their five-year study examined why the targets of Australia's national Closing the Gap strategy to reduce or eliminate inequalities in health, education and employment outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians have mostly not been met.

New research from Australia indicates people with myopia are more likely to experience poorer sleep quality than people with normal vision.The study indicates that people with short-sightedness have more delayed circadian rhythms and lower production of melatonin, a hormone secreted in the brain and responsible for regulating sleep at night, compared to people with normal vision.

A natural food supplement reduces anxiety in mice, according to a new Weizmann Institute of Science study. The plant-derived substance, beta-sitosterol, was found to produce this effect both on its own and in synergic combination with an antidepressant known under the brand name Prozac.

Late last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerted health care professionals that they are monitoring the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) for cases of young adults developing the rare heart-related complication myocarditis, after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

Scientists are investigating whether rising global temperatures may lead to more stillbirths, saying further study is needed on the subject as climates change.

Feeling anxious can direct our attention and memory toward supernatural beings such as gods, a University of Otago study has found.